Description of the attraction
The Historical Naval Museum in Balaklava opened in 2003, ten years after the official closure of the secret underground submarine shelter, officially identified in documents as “ object 825 GTS". The letters "GTS" in the name were deciphered as "hydraulic structure". In addition to the submarine base, the complex also included a repair plant.
It is one of the most interesting attractions for those interested in modern history and military affairs. He is often called “ cold war museum ”, Because the expositions tell exactly about the times of the arms race and the constant fear of nuclear bombings. Another name for the museum is Submarine Museum.
The history of the complex
Object 825 in Balaklava was designed back under Stalin. His project, intended to shelter the submarine forces of the Black Sea Fleet in the event of a nuclear war, was presented to the leader of the USSR in 1953 year and personally endorsed by him. The construction of the secret structure began in December of the same year. For complete secrecy, the plans were issued to the builders in stages, only after the completion of the previous part of the work. After the completion of the construction, all classified documents were seized.
Entry to the territory of this construction site since 1957 was allowed only with special passes. By 1961 underground submarine repair plant was built. Two years later, they began to build Arsenal, which was supposed to become a technical base that prepared ammunition (including nuclear) for both submarines of the Black Sea Fleet and surface ships.
Arsenal got its own name. It was called "Object 820 RTB of the USSR Navy". RTB means "repair and technical base". In official documents of the Ministry of Defense, the base was referred to as “ military unit 90989". In 1959, about thirty officers from the northern naval training ground "Novaya Zemlya" arrived here to complete this base. Together with them arrived the first commander of the base, captain of the first rank N. I. Nedovesov. All production at the base was in charge of the first deputy commander, chief engineer of the military unit. First chief engineer Balaklava RTB became A. E. Dorokhov.
Atomic ammunition storage
All the personnel of the base signed a nondisclosure agreement. The first nuclear charges were placed in the Arsenal storage already in 1959.… These were the warheads for the P-35 missiles, which were in service with the missile cruisers of the Black Sea Fleet. After the underground structures were completed, the personnel of the base began to live in a military town on the west bank. Nuclear charges were delivered by rail, across a pontoon bridge to the bay. In order to maintain secrecy, the road was closed with five-meter shields on both sides. In addition to charges for naval weapons, charges for coastal complexes and missile weapons of submarines were also stored in the Arsenal.
In case of war, in the city of Balaklava itself, on Stroitelnaya street, a military unit 20553 - "Mobile repair and technical automobile base" is located. Its task was to disperse nuclear charges in field positions. This military unit was created in 1961. Then they spent the first exercises to practice the movement of nuclear weapons in the event of a threat of war … For two weeks, the personnel trained to move nuclear weapons from the Arsenal to the field and issue them to ships and to the coastal units of the Black Sea Fleet. Including on submarines, one of which specially for these exercises arrived in the area of the village of Chernomorskoye. For conventional, non-missile, submarines, nuclear charges for torpedoes were stored in the Arsenal.
In total, the base stored nuclear weapons of six types … A special group of the military was responsible for their storage. Ammunition was stored in two rooms. The large one contained torpedo charges, each in a separate container. In the second - for cruise missiles and anti-submarine missile-torpedoes. They were regularly checked every two years. All operations were carried out according to special instructions in a strict sequence, checking one product took about seven hours. The work was carried out under triple control: the responsible manager, the supervisor and the head of the calculation. At the same time, all technicians were dressed in a jacket and x / b pants, and the soles of their shoes were stitched with metal threads to relieve static electricity. The entire tool was chrome-plated to prevent metal particles from falling on special products. A special temperature regime was maintained in the storage.
This Arsenal was one of three naval storage bases for special ammunition of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, military unit 90989 was disbanded, and atomic ammunition was sent to manufacturing plants.
Submarine Shelter and Repair Plant
The choice of the location for the secret underground submarine base was due to considerations of disguise - from the side of the sea, the entrance to the bay is not visible, the city of Balaklava is also hidden behind the mountainous terrain. In addition, there were convenient access roads from the western bank, and the rocks above the future structure provided the necessary protection from a nuclear explosion. Therefore, it was here that the first experimental underground complex of this kind was built.
The construction project was developed in Leningrad, design institute "Granite". For the first stage of work, a mining and construction detachment of the Black Sea Fleet was allocated. The work was carried out around the clock in three shifts. In the rocky ground, pits were made for explosives, after the explosion, the ground and crushed stone were taken out, the formwork was placed, and concrete was poured into the space between it and the tunnel. At first, it was served by hand with shovels. Then, in 1956, they began to pump with compressed air. In total, 200 thousand cubic meters of rocky soil was extracted for the entire construction. Thus built six hundred meter channel and one hundred meter dry dock for submarines … In 1961, construction was completed.
There was a submarine shelter, a ship repair shop, a separate torpedo preparation shop, and a huge 9,000 ton fuel storage facility … The complex was built to withstand any nuclear explosion. The underwater locks were hermetically sealed; in the event of a war, up to a thousand personnel were regularly sheltered in the complex. The entrance and exit to the underground channel were closed with special gates made of steel and reinforced concrete slabs. In addition, from the side of the bay, the entrance is blocked by a pontoon bridge. Boats entered the shelter only in the dark, to ensure secrecy. The entrance to the underground plant was closed with a camouflage net, and for camouflage from the air, a concrete shed was erected, with dummies of houses and trees. The shelter was designed for a month of autonomous operation, 7-9 submarines could hide in it.
Museum now
Now the complex is officially called Military Historical Museum of Fortifications, but most people call it simpler - Submarine Museum … The part of it, which was once closed "Object 825", can only be reached with a guided tour, since it still remains secure. A special temperature continues to be maintained there: 15-16 degrees Celsius and high humidity, this must be taken into account when visiting. Very young children are not allowed there.
The museum offers two excursion routes - simpler and more complicated, more than a kilometer long. They include inspection underground channel for submarines and nuclear storage facilities … The exposition and numerous stands tell about the very history of this place. A separate hall is occupied by an exhibition of a Soviet poster dedicated to atomic weapons. Of course, the most interesting thing is an exhibition of weapons once held at the Arsenal … There are no submarines here, but some of the equipment removed from them can be seen, and the channel itself for them is still filled with water, and you can see fish swimming along it. The “long” excursion takes place just along the edge of the curved concrete canal and along the long corridors of the complex, the “short” one includes only the main exposition.
Mikhailovskaya battery
The museum complex includes another interesting object. it fort building, built in 1846 … The Mikhailovskaya Battery once defended the city from the north, both from the land side and the bay. It is a separate small fortress. Its walls are almost two meters thick, which is why it is always cold inside the preserved casemates. Initially, the battery had two towers, but only one has survived to this day. The fortress took part in the defense of Sevastopol in 1854-55, and then during the Great Patriotic War. Then, when it lost its strategic importance, the building was used for a long time as a skipper's warehouses, and by the end of the 20th century it turned out to be abandoned and began to collapse.
In 2010, it was restored with the help of benefactors, descendants of the clan Sheremetevs … Now the original setting of the casemates has been reproduced here, Dutch ovens have been restored, and guns have been placed in their places. Exposition "Museum of the Sheremetevs" tells about the history of the Mikhailovskaya battery for a hundred years: from 1846 to 1945. It contains a rich collection of weapons, awards, military uniforms and various other materials dedicated to the history of the Russian army.
On a note
- Location: Sevastopol, Balaklava district, Tavricheskaya embankment, 22.
- How to get there: from the bus station and railway station by trolleybuses No. 17 and 20, by route taxis No. 17, 20A and 26 to the final stop "5th kilometer". From the stop "5th kilometer" to Balaklava by buses No. 9, 94, 98 and 99.
- Official website:
- Opening hours: Wednesday - Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00. Monday and Tuesday are days off.
- Ticket prices: adults - 300 rubles, schoolchildren - 100 rubles. Children under 5 years old are not allowed. Photography is free.
Description added:
Alexey 17.06.2017
"In 1853, this project was personally reviewed by Joseph Stalin, who personally endorsed it."
Not in 1853 but in 1953. - a purely mechanical error.
Very informative and informative site, thanks to the developers. We are going to Crimea tomorrow, here I study the sights. H
Show full text "In 1853, this project was personally reviewed by Joseph Stalin, who personally endorsed it."
Not in 1853 but in 1953. - a purely mechanical error.
Very informative and informative site, thanks to the developers. We are going to Crimea tomorrow, here I study the sights. A small suggestion (hint). If you add in the description of each attraction, for example: object N is located 10 km south of the settlement M. Or object D is located between NP Ivanovo and NP Petrovo, etc., in general, you understand me. And ideally, it would be just to specify the coordinates for the navigator and that's it. Well, for us, for tourists, we are used to driving on the navigator. And so everything is a bomb, thank you very much !!!
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