Pacific sailors after a record trip were greeted in Vladivostok with roasted piglets

On November 18, a detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet returned to Vladivostok after a long combat service in the Mediterranean. Pacific sailors can get into the Book of Records of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The cruise missile cruiser “Varyag”, the anti-submarine ship “Admiral Tributs”, the sea tanker “Boris Butoma” lasted more than 320 days, they traveled over 63 thousand nautical miles.

About the situation in which military service took place, what tasks were performed, what is an outlet on long-distance campaigns, and what you feel when you go ashore, Vasily Dandykin, a military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve, told MK.

– I served on the cruiser of the still old project 68-bis “Admiral Ushakov”, we went to the Mediterranean Sea, military service lasted four months, and that was quite painful, – says Vasily Alekseevich. – There was no connection with relatives and friends, they waited two or three weeks for some tugboat to bring mail from the mainland. We will receive a bag of letters – and rejoice.

Now it’s easier with this, after all, there is a certain connection, you can talk with your household. Of course, in such campaigns it is not as hard as in space. There is more space on the ship, seagulls fly, but all the same – iron is everywhere, it presses. You have to communicate with a limited circle of people.

The captain of the first rank notes that the only thing that brightens up is calls to ports where you can go ashore. But now – combat everyday life, there is no need to be distracted.

– The Black Sea Fleet cannot now go through the straits to the Mediterranean Sea, and replacements cannot be expected from there. Therefore, ships of the Pacific Fleet, the Northern Fleet go there. Ships of the Baltic Fleet also visit. That area of ​​the eastern Mediterranean near Syria, despite the difficulties associated with the special operation, we control. We don’t let them relax.

The ships of the Pacific Fleet left Vladivostok to carry out the tasks of an ocean voyage back in December 2021, and two months later a special operation began in Ukraine.

– The situation was not easy, one group of American ships was in the Adriatic, the other went a little to the west – into the Atlantic. The Mediterranean Sea is crammed with ships, and Turkish, and French, and English. A strategic nuclear missile submarine of the Ohio type entered there, which has not happened for a long time. The Pacific sailors worked with dignity, conducted ship training in air defense and damage control, participated in exercises, and showed a high level of training. Strictly observed the requirements of international law, all attempts at provocative actions were stopped in time.

The missile cruiser “Varyag” and the anti-submarine ship “Admiral Tributs” were accompanied by the sea tanker “Boris Butoma”.

— The tanker provided them with fuel. “Varyag” and “Admiral Tributs” are gas turbine ships that run on diesel fuel. The tanker also supplied them with drinking water. Technical fresh water they can “weld” themselves. (Outboard sea water is heated to a boil, and the outgoing steam is condensed. This is how the distillate is collected – fresh water. Distillation plants are installed on ships. – Auth.). The tanker “Boris Butoma” called at the ports, replenished food supplies, loaded vegetables and fruits on board. Thank God, not all countries “fell” under the Americans.

— What feelings do you experience when you go ashore after a long hike?

– An unprecedented feeling of joy, a surge of strength, as if reborn. All women seem beautiful. Some of the wives meet husbands with newborn children whom they have not seen. Some of the kids have already begun to walk while the folder was on a hike. There are many emotions.

– Fleet Commander Admiral Sergei Avakyants traditionally handed roast pigs to the commanders of the ships.

— This tradition came from the Northern Fleet, since the Great Patriotic War. Lucky submariners who destroyed enemy ships, tankers and other vessels were greeted with a salute from cannons and handed over a roasted pig. Since then, no matter who comes from long trips, surface or submariners, they are met with a roasted pig and beautiful young ladies with bread and salt.

Military expert Vasily Dandykin says that not all sailors from the missile cruiser, anti-submarine ship and offshore tanker will now go ashore.

“Someone will stay on guard.” All Pacific sailors for long-term military service will be entitled to additional leave, but not more than 15 days. Many, I think, will be awarded.

Usually hikes last the longest – six months, rarely – 8 months. And they were at sea for almost a year. Our record holders are usually reconnaissance sailors who go to combat service on reconnaissance ships. They are entitled to additional allowances, dry rations, ram fish, like submariners. This is usually a solitary voyage. In the event of hostilities, they will have to act alone.

In our case, the detachment of ships of the Pacific Fleet still had missile systems. I think that they have fulfilled all the assigned tasks, they have collected a lot of interesting things, now they will analyze everything and report.

As a rule, there is no second crew on surface ships, unlike strategic submarines.

– The sailors will rest a little and go out to sea again. The situation is not easy now, recently the Japanese and Americans conducted joint exercises. The Japanese Navy is one of the strongest in the world.

The good news is that new ships are almost ready for the Pacific Fleet. Corvettes are being built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. A new minesweeper has arrived from St. Petersburg. On the fourth “Varshavyanka” – the diesel-electric submarine “Ufa” – the St. Andrew’s flag was raised. Two more – “Mozhaysk” and “Yakutsk” will be launched in the next two years. The strategic nuclear submarine Generalissimo Suvorov will soon come to Kamchatka.

In the meantime, the sailors of the missile cruiser “Varyag”, the anti-submarine ship “Admiral Tributs” and the sea tanker “Boris Butoma” after a long trip will put the logistics in order.

– It will be necessary to bring the ships into the dock, clean off the shells and everything else that has grown and stuck there from the ocean and interferes with the ship’s progress. Then the hull will be processed and painted with a special ship minium. As a rule, the crew is also involved in these works. The ship is preparing for a new campaign by joint efforts.

The crews of the ships of the Pacific Fleet set several records for the duration of their stay in combat service. They will be entered in the RF Armed Forces Book of Records.

“Records are, of course, good, our sailors have many achievements,” says Vasily Dandykin. – But the main thing is that they all returned alive and well and completed the task.