The frigates "Admiral Butakov" and "Admiral Istomin" will still be completed for India. Family of admirals Admiral Butakov patrol ship

Butakov, Grigory Ivanovich

Adjutant General, Admiral, member of the State Council; genus. in Riga on September 27, 1820, d. in St. Petersburg on May 31, 1882. The elder brother of A. I. Butakov, G. I. Butakov, got used to the sea as early as he did, under the guidance of his father, and then studied with great success in the naval cadet corps and was promoted to midshipman on January 9, 1836. After sailing and cruising in the Baltic Sea in 1836 and 1837, Butakov was promoted to midshipman (December 23, 1837). His father at that time commanded the 5th Naval Division, which was in the Black Sea, where the young Butakov went, and here he was constantly sailing on sailing ships. In 1838, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet M.P. Lazarev sent Butakov to the detachment of General N.N. Raevsky, who then acted against the highlanders on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, and Butakov was on May 12, 13 and 14 when taking up a position near Tuapse. Later, at the Luch tender, he fought with the highlanders who attacked our ships, which were wrecked near Tuapse, and for these military actions he was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 4th degree with an inscription for "bravery", as well as St. Stanislav 3rd degree. In the following years, Butakov went to Greece on the schooner "Swallow", where he was at the disposal of the Imperial Mission, was promoted to lieutenant on April 11, 1843, and then sailed on the schooner "Vestnik" in the Archipelago and the Mediterranean Sea. In 1847, having received command over the Hasty tender, Butakov, together with Shestakov, worked for a long time on the navigation of the Black Sea and compiled a very conscientious work that went through several editions. For this, Butakov, who was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd degree in 1848 and promoted to lieutenant commander on April 22, 1850, was awarded the highest award - a diamond ring. Admiral Lazarev drew attention to the young officer and sent him to England in 1851 to oversee the construction tugboat"Danube", with which Butakov arrived in Nikolaev in 1852. Then, after a short command of the brig "Argonaut", Butakov was appointed, on December 3, 1852, the commander of the steamer "Vladimir", the best in the Black Sea Fleet, which soon gained fame in Crimean War. In 1853, Butakov was under Adjutant General Kornilov in the retinue of the Extraordinary Ambassador to the Ottoman port, Prince Menshikov, and at the same time made the transition from Odessa to Constantinople on the steamer frigate "Gromonosets"; from here he returned to Nikolaev on the ship "Bessarabia". Meanwhile, Butakov also took part in scientific literature on maritime affairs. In 1845 he wrote: "A View of the Docks, Harbors, Shipping, &c., in the United North American States"; in 1850: "On compasses with an oblique arrow"; in 1851 - "On the management of the tender". Soon broke out Eastern War 1853-1856 Butakov was sent on the steamer "Vladimir" to reconnoiter the enemy fleet. Having boldly cut the entire Black Sea, Butakov appeared in sight of Sinop, examined his raid and, finding only merchant ships there, reported this upon his return to Sevastopol. On November 5, 1853, Butakov entered into a single battle near the Anatolian coast with the Turkish 10-gun steamer "Pervaz Bahra", took possession of it and brought it in tow to Sevastopol, for which, in addition to prize money, in the amount of 38,000 rubles, he was awarded the Order of St. . George 4th class for bravery. Vice-Admiral Kornilov, who was on the ship "Vladimir", testified that this battle can serve as a model of practical art and was fought with amazing energy and remarkable composure, qualities that have always distinguished Butakov. Invited by Kornilov to his headquarters, Butakov with a detachment of steamers headed for Sinop and arrived in time for him when Vice-Admiral Nakhimov won his brilliant victory over the Turkish fleet on November 18th. Butakov managed to render a significant service at the same time, clearing the Sinop Bay and withdrawing our ships from the line; he also towed the ship "Grand Duke Konstantin" from Sinop to Sevastopol, on which there were captured Turkish commanders. December 18, 1853 Butakov was promoted to captain of the 2nd rank. Meanwhile, the Anglo-French fleet with a significant landing, after bombarding the city of Odessa, approached the Crimean peninsula, and after the battle at the river. Alma approached Sevastopol, in the defense of which Butakov, until the very surrender of the city, on August 27, 1855, took an active part, commanding the steamer "Vladimir". He went out to sea more than once and made raids on individual enemy ships in the mind of the Anglo-French squadron, took part in all outstanding sorties, went to Streletskaya Bay to act on English camp, attacked the enemy guard at Pesochnaya Bay - a large iron steamer that observed the actions of our ships in the roadstead - and forced him to take refuge in Kamyshinskaya Bay. For these military actions, Butakov was promoted to captain of the 1st rank on March 30, 1855, and in June he was awarded the Order of St. Anna with a crown for participating in repelling the first assault at the 4th and 5th divisions of the defensive line, and then, in July, he received a golden saber for bravery and the Order of St. Vladimir 4 degree with a bow. In a sortie to the Inkerman heights, Butakov contributed a lot to the crossing of our troops across the river. Chernaya, sending all the boats from his ship, which were placed across the river and connected with planks. Then, during the assault on August 21, Bugakov from the steamer hit the assault columns directed at the 2nd bastion with shots. On September 5, he was granted the aide-de-camp of His Majesty. When it was decided to flood the steamer "Vladimir", Butakov was instructed to strengthen the defense of Nikolaev, and on September 26 he was appointed chief of staff in charge of the marine unit in Nikolaev. At the conclusion of the Peace of Paris, Butakov, who was promoted to rear admiral in 1856 with enrollment in His Majesty's retinue, was appointed head of the marine unit and chief commander of the Nikolaev port, and on February 1, 1860, he was transferred to the Baltic fleet as the head (flagship) of a practical squadron screw ships. Here Butakov dealt with the issues of military steamship tactics and had the opportunity to comprehensively test his research on the laws of rotation of screw ships, while sailing with them in 1861 and 1862. The use of steam power in the fleet and the replacement of wooden ships with completely iron or wooden ones with iron armor caused a change in all tactics. sea ​​vessels . Butakov strove to draw up detailed rules for steamship evolution and very successfully solved this problem in his essay: New Considerations in Steamship Tactics. This essay in 1863 was awarded the Demidov Prize by the Academy of Sciences "for a completely independent creation, enriching literature and practice with new fundamental discoveries and research." This work made the name of Butakov known to the entire maritime world. - Butakov now had to form ship commanders, which he did when he was appointed on September 5, 1861, head of the practical squadron of screw boats of the Baltic fleet. Awarded at the end of 1861 with the Order of St. Stanislav of the 1st degree, Butakov was sent to Toulon, where he dealt with the same issues of naval tactics, and in 1863 he was appointed a naval military agent in England and France, where for four years he got acquainted with the wonders of the rapidly developing armored shipbuilding and naval artillery and in At the same time, he continued his tactical research on the marine part. April 16, 1863 Butakov was awarded the Order of St.. Anna 1st class. Promoted to Vice Admiral on October 28, 1866, Butakov was summoned to Russia in 1867 and appointed head of the armored squadron formed by Rear Admiral Likhachev, which formed a large practical squadron, which carried out its exercises and exercises near Vyborg, near Tranzund. Butakov studied the agility of ships, tried to improve signal production, especially at night, introduced electric lighting on ships, and engaged in a lot of ramming. During one of these exercises, the well-known collision of the wooden frigate "Oleg" with the floating battery "Kremlin" took place, and from the impact of her ram "Oleg" sank 15 minutes later at a depth of 36 sazhens, and 16 sailors drowned (the rest were saved). In 1868, Butakov published his work "The Evolutionary System of Steam Ships", in which, according to experts, no one has yet found flaws. Continuing to command a practical squadron, Butakov also completed another enormous work, begun by Rear Admiral Likhachev, on compiling a signal book for a 3- and 4-flag system. January 29, 1868 Butakov was appointed senior flagship of the Baltic fleet. At a review in Tranzund in 1869, Emperor Alexander II congratulated him as adjutant general and personally put on him an aiguillette taken from his bicycle. book. Alexei Alexandrovich, saying: "And first of all, I thank you and congratulate you as My Adjutant General. I am sure that you will remain the way I have always known you." Continuing to command the squadron until 1877, Butakov also compiled a boat signal book (in 1875), gave the first impetus to the mine business in our fleet, applied electric lighting to repel mine attacks and continued experiments on ramming maneuvers that serve as a continuation of his own tactical laws evolutions. During this time, Butakov was awarded: in 1871 - the Order of St. Vladimir of the 2nd degree, and in 1874 - the Order of the White Eagle, having also received the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle and the Swedish Order of the Sword. In 1877 Butakov was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and was appointed commander of the monitors that were part of the squadron sailing in the Baltic Sea under the flag of His Highness General Admiral. In 1873, Butakov was promoted to admiral with the appointment of the head of the naval and coastal defense of Sveaborg and raised his flag on the armored frigate Petropavlovsk. In 1881, Butakov was appointed chief commander of the St. Petersburg port, and he was granted a lease of three thousand rubles. per year for six years. He cared a lot about reducing unnecessary expenses for the port and unnecessary authorities, he also engaged in various transformations in the fleet, established the naval tactical game in the naval assembly, drew up basic rules for it, directed the game, and communicated to it a lively interest with his deep knowledge and years of experience. In March 1882, Butakov was appointed a member of the State Council, but in the same year he died suddenly, crossing the Neva in a skiff. He was buried in the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. - G. I. Butakov devoted his whole life to the glory and greatness of our fleet and enjoyed universal respect from the admiral to the last midshipman. In appearance, gloomy and silent, he knew how to encourage at a critical moment, to say a few warm words that were remembered forever. He was calm, calm and serious in character. He had a remarkable aptitude for language learning as well as technical knowledge and research. As a subordinate, he was an example of exemplary performance of duty; as a chief, he was a teacher and educator of a whole generation of Russian sailors during the 16-year command of a squadron of armored ships of the Baltic fleet. Two bays are named after him: one in the Bering Sea, and the other on the eastern coast of Sakhalin Island. Butakov was a member of the Paris Institut d "Afrique, as well as the Imperial Russian Technical Society, the St. Petersburg River Yacht Club, and so on. In addition to the above-mentioned works by Butakov, he published the following articles in the Marine Collection: 1) On health at sea. 2) A few instructions about boating. 3) A few thoughts about steamship rams. 4) A note about English tower ships. 5) On the properties of cables and chains. 6) Liquid, or Greek fire. 7) Several experiments on the device for fog signals. 8) On the repair of boilers on the steamer "Vladimir". 9) From artillery notes on the Sevastopol roadstead. 10) Several meetings with our coastal border guards.

Berezin and De Livron, "G. I. Butakov", biographical sketch, 1883. - "Kronstadt Bulletin", 1867, No. 20; 1882, No. 64. - "Sea Collection", 1873, No. 5, 1875, No. 4, 1876, Nos. 6, 8, 9; 1877, No. 6, and 1882, No. 7. - 32nd Demidov awards. - General Maritime List, vol. IX, p. 335.

P. Maikov.

(Polovtsov)

Butakov, Grigory Ivanovich

Admiral, adjutant general, member of the state council; genus. in Riga on September 27, 1820; he studied in the naval cadet corps and was released as midshipman in 1838. Since his father commanded the 5th naval division in the Black Sea at that time, Butakov immediately after leaving the corps went south, where he sailed on sailing ships of various ranks. In 1838, he took part in the battle while occupying a place near the Tuapse River, and in the same year, being on the Luch tender, he participated in the battle against the highlanders who attacked our ships that were wrecked near the mouth of the same river. In the 9th year of service, B. was appointed commander of the Hasty tender. He remained in this position until 1851, dealing almost exclusively with the inventory of the Black Sea coast, both Russian and Turkish. In 1851 he was appointed commander of the Argonaut brig, and in 1852 commander of the Vladimir, the best of the Black Sea frigate steamships. All military glory of B. is associated with service on this ship, which, thanks to the brilliant military talent of the commander, received great fame in the era of the Crimean War. On November 3, 1853, B. boldly and in detail reconnoitred the insidious, Balchik, Varna and Burgas raids, and on the 5th of the same month he attacked the Turkish steamer Pervaz-Bakhre and, after a 3-hour battle, forced him to lower the flag. This battle - the first, in time, between ships - brought B. the rank of captain of the 2nd rank and the Order of George of the 4th degree. After that, B. carried out cruising service on his steamer and temporarily, when the Vladimir's car was fixed, on the steamer Odessa. In 1854, on November 24, in the afternoon, a sea sortie was made. The commander of the steamer "Vladimir" was allowed to go to sea together with the steamer "Khersones" in order to inflict as much damage as possible on the two steamers stationed in Streletskaya Bay. The consequence of the sortie was that the enemy placed a three-masted steamer and 4 battery steamers in Streletskaya Bay. From December 1854 until the surrender of Sevastopol, B. participated in its defense as commander of the Vladimir. On August 27, 1855, he successfully carried out a premeditated plan to bombard a raid battery and at the same time acted against enemy troops. Skillful and daring maneuvers of "Vladimir" aroused the general surprise not only of their own, but also of enemies (for a detailed description of this case, see "Admiral Butakov", second edition, corrected by E. Berezin, St. Petersburg, 1884, pp. 30-36, and "Domestic Notes", vol. CXXXI, section I, "Notes of a retired artillery officer I.V."). On the night of August 30-31, according to a prearranged signal, all our steamers were lit and at the same time the taps were opened, and the Vladimir, along with others, sank. In September 1855, Mr.. B. granted the adjutant wing and was appointed chief of staff in Nikolaev. In 1856, B. was promoted to rear admiral with the appointment to the retinue of E. I. V. and the head of the naval unit in Nikolaev and the military governor of Nikolaev and Sevastopol. In 1860, he was transferred to the Baltic as the head of a detachment of screw ships. This appointment gave him the opportunity to comprehensively test his study of the laws of rotation of screw ships and then compose his well-known "Steamboat Evolutions". At the end of the first campaign of this detachment, he was sent abroad for the winter, where, continuing to work on the development of his book, he got acquainted in detail with French and English systems the production of signals, with the evolution of fleets and with the state of the steamship and machine business and the measurement of distances in France. By the next (1861) spring, B. was appointed head of the practical squadron of screw boats and remained in this rank for two years, or rather, two campaigns. Without exaggeration, we can say that the navigation of 40 boats in 1861-62. was a kind of event for the Baltic Fleet. In addition to maneuvering and preparing officers and crew for combat time, B. drew Special attention for the study of Finnish skerries. From 1863 to 1867 B. was a naval agent in England and France. In 1867, Mr.. B. was appointed head of the armored squadron, which he commanded for 10 years, mainly paying attention to the fact that the squadron was one and both the officers and the team were fully prepared for wartime. At the same time, B. published the current Code of Naval Military Signals and the Book of Evolutionary Signals, with a detailed explanation of the evolutions themselves, and also issued all B. orders for the squadron. In 1877, Mr.. B. commanded a detachment under the general command of the Admiral-General and worked out the rules for arranging mines in the fairways. In 1878 he was promoted to admiral. In 1881 he was appointed chief commander of the St. Petersburg port. He held this position for about a year. In the last years of his service, he participated in several commissions on the transformation of our fleet and on the measures that should be taken in naval terms in case of war. Upon the abolition of the post of chief commander of the port of St. Petersburg, B. was appointed a member of the State Council. B. wrote: "More about tenders and their management" ("Marine Collection", 1852, No. 6); translated: "A look at the harbors, docks, shipping of the United States North America"(1845); "On a compass with an inclined arrow" ("Marine Collection", No. 10); "On the properties of cables and chains." His main work: "New Foundations of Steamship Tactics" was awarded the Demidov Prize by the Academy of Sciences. May 31, 1882 B. suddenly died on a skiff, crossing the Neva.

(Brockhaus)

Butakov, Grigory Ivanovich

Adm., steam maker. armadillos. schools in Russian fleet. Genus. 27 St. 1820, brought up in the sea. corps and at the end sailed 2 years in the Balt. sea, after which in 1837 he was transferred to Chernoy. fleet, where he served until 1860 in Chern. sea ​​michm. B. soon attracted attention and was appointed personal. flag officer to adm. M.P. Lazarev. In 1838, sailing on the ship "Silistria" and taking from the sea. landing participation in cases against the highlanders near the Abkhaz coast, B. received the first battles. baptism. In 1843 he was promoted for distinction in lieutenant, in 1856 in cap.-leit. In 1843-50. B. was engaged in hydrography. works and compiled the first systems. the pilot's license Chern. seas. Sent in 1850 to England to receive the Danube steamship under construction, B. brought him to Chern. sea. Last but commanding several. courts, B. especially distinguished himself in November. 1853: commanding the steamer "Vladimir", he made a bold reconnaissance for the tour. shores and took a tour.-Egypt from the battle. steam. "Perwas-Bakhri", for which he was awarded the horde. St. George 4 tbsp.; for participation in Sinopsk. battle produced in cap. 2 p. With the beginning of the Crimea. war, commanding the same ship "Vladimir", B. repeatedly made a bold search for Chern. sea, despite the presence of Comm. English-French fleet. With the beginning of the siege of Sevastopol, commanding the steam-frigate Khersones, he took part in repelling all the enemy. assaults, assisting with their artillery fire ber. batteries. For a widely manifested personality. initiative and courage B. was promoted to cap. 1 p., granted by the adjutant wing, awarded the horde. St. Anna 2 st. with swords, St. Vladimir 4 and 3 st. with swords and bow and angry. weapons with the inscription "For bravery" and as an outstanding fights. officer, appointed chief of staff fleet, in place of the killed adm. Kornilov. In 1856, the 36-year-old B. was promoted to rear admiral with the appointment to the retinue of His Majesty and Ch. commander and governor in Nikolaev. In 1860 he was transferred to Balt. sea ​​and sent to England to study vapors. armadillos. shipbuilding. Returning from England, B. was appointed head of the practical. squadrons of propellers. boats. Since that time, B. devoted himself entirely to the creation of steam in Russia. fleet. The rapid progress of shipbuilding technology after the Crimean and North American. war put our fleet in a difficult position. There was no necessary contingent of technicians, nor equipped. factories, nor funds depleted by the war. The brilliant school of Lazarev, although it gave the fleet battles. sailors, but most of them were dashing sailboats that did not understand the requirements of rapidly developing technology. There was an urgent need to create a new steam school that would prepare the appropriate personal. compound. Screw ship, rifled castle gun, steel. armor and other technical. conquest completely changed the nature of the sea. battlefield, pushing the lengths. a number of tactical questions, the resolution of which is peculiar. B. took up his energy. Possessing great erudition, he was well educated. attention to tactics. fleet training and in this area rightly earned himself the title of "teacher and founder of the armored school." “We must always prepare for battle, constantly, without delay, immediately,” B. said, “prepare for that half hour for which we can be said to exist and in which we will have to show that Russia maintains a fleet not without benefit.” And indeed, in a short time of fighting. the preparation of his squadron was brought to such a height that foreign. the powers sent their sailors to study with B. The famous Farragut personally came to Russia and, having familiarized himself with the squadron of B., expressed the opinion that "the Russian fleet has nothing to fear." The means by which this adm. B., were in the very width. encouragement of personal initiative and in the development of individual qualities fighter. Understanding the great importance of personal factor for the success of the battle, B. did not stop before creating in peace. time, a situation close to combat. They introduced ramming battles for special. ships for the practice of commanders, a number of shootings were introduced, in which the ships made real battles among themselves, hitting artillery. fire shields tied in short tow astern; officers and n. Ch. B. forced to ride boats under the cannon balls to train him to whistle and burst shells, etc. Produced in 1866 to vice admiral, B. was appointed head of the Balt squadron of br ships. seas. In the period from 1867 to 1876, his administrative and military. talents showed up with particular brightness. By this time, he will be noticed. naval works: "New foundations of steamship tactics", awarded the Demidov Prize, and "The Book of Evolutionary Signals", which laid the foundation for further. development of modern marine affairs. No less remarkable are the instructions and especially the orders of B. on the squadron, except. according to the content, depth and breadth of the thoughts expressed in them. The collection of his orders may justly be called "the sailor's bible"; they laid the foundations of the century-marine. upbringings that amaze with their modernity even now, almost 50 years later. Having laid the foundation for the theory of br-snoy tactics, B. was at the same time the initiator of the "v.-sea game" and drew up rules for it. He was also the leader of the first meetings of the marine. officers in charge of it. B. brought up a whole generation of Russian. sailors, showing a rare example of tirelessness, common sense, knowledge and personal virtues. The B. school was a brilliant continuation of the school of his teacher M. P. Lazarev and gave the fleet a number of outstanding figures in the person of N. Kopytov, P. Tyrtov, K. Pilkin, N. Kaznakov, P. Bezobrazov, the unforgettable S. O. Makarov, his beloved student, and many others. The indefatigable work and fruitful activity of B. were fairly appreciated: in 1869, after the battles. review made by Balt. fleet of imp. Alexander II, B. was granted the rank of adjutant general. Produced in adm. in 1878, B. after 2 years was appointed Ch. commander of St. Petersburg. port and beyond. 1882 member State. Owls. Died 31 May 1882

(Military Enc.)

Big biographical encyclopedia. 2009 .

It was G.I. Butakov, who served in the navy during the period of transition from a sailing to a steam-powered armored fleet, not only led the first combat operations of steam-powered ships in practice, but also created a tactic recognized in the world for their use.

Grigory Butakov was born on September 27, 1820 in Riga and came from the family of a naval officer Ivan Nikolaevich Butakov, who ended his life as a vice admiral. On May 6, 1831, Gregory entered the Marine cadet corps and January 9, 1836 successfully completed the course. After 2 years of practice in the Baltic, the midshipman was sent to the Black Sea as a flag officer to Admiral M.P. Lazarev, chief commander Black Sea Fleet and ports. He ended up in the famous "Lazarev naval school": he went to sea a lot, participated in hostilities off the coast of the Caucasus, and repeatedly received awards for courage, resourcefulness and skill. In 1847–1850, Lieutenant Butakov, commander of the Hasty tender, conducted with Lieutenant I.A. Shestakov, an inventory of the domestic and Turkish shores of the Black Sea and the Bosporus. For the excellent performance of the task, both were promoted to lieutenant commander and awarded the Order of St. Anna of the 3rd degree, for compiling the sailing directions, which went out of print in 1851, they were awarded diamond rings.

On March 27, 1851, Butakov was sent to England, where he oversaw the construction of the Danube steamer, brought the ship to Nikolaev and commanded it for 3 years. At the same time, the sailor received a favorable response to the compass he proposed with an inclined arrow. December 3, 1852 he became the commander of the best steam frigate of the Black Sea Fleet "Vladimir". On it, the captain-lieutenant in the first battle of steam ships on November 5, 1853 took possession of the Turkish steamer "Pervaz-Bahri". He, laying the foundations of steamship tactics, maneuvered in such a way as to shoot the Pervaz-Bakhri from the stern, where it had no guns.

Due to damage to the machines, "Vladimir" did not participate in the famous battle of Sinop. But Butakov switched to "Odessa" and temporarily replaced the commander of this steam frigate, towing the damaged ship to Sevastopol " Grand Duke Konstantin" under the flag of P.S. Nakhimov.

At the beginning of 1854, the Anglo-French fleet, under the pretext of protecting Turkey, entered the Black Sea. By spring, more and more enemy ships began to appear off the coast of Crimea. "Vladimir" more than once in intelligence met with English and French ships, but left them. The only steam frigate of a special construction could not fight the enemy alone. When in the fall of 1854 the allies landed troops in the Crimea from a huge sailing and steam squadron, Russian sailing ships could not prevent this. After the beginning of the siege of Sevastopol, steamships, primarily the Vladimir, remained an active part of the fleet.

Butakov fought skillfully. He applied an artificial roll of the steam frigate, which increased the range of his guns to 4–5 kilometers and made it possible to suppress the battery at the Kilenbalochny heights. October 9, 1854 guns "Vladimir" for the first time in the history of Russian naval artillery fired at an invisible target. The next summer, when Butakov introduced improvements in gun mounts, he was able to fire along the coast during the move. The sailors of the "Vladimir" made many improvements, including the blinding of the most important parts of the ship.

The role of the fleet was not limited to defense. November 24, 1854 P.S. Nakhimov ordered Butakov to drive away the French steamer Megara, from which they observed the raid from Pesochnaya Bay. The captain of the 1st rank, in order to divert the attention of the enemy, sent the steam frigate "Khersones" to shell the enemy at Streletskaya Bay. Butakov himself came out first and attacked the Megara, which had fled to its fleet, and then supported the Khersones. When, on the way out, the Russian ships entered into battle with two English and French ships, the commander of the "Vladimir" dragged one of the enemies under the fire of coastal batteries. After this daring sortie, the Allies constantly kept several large steamers at the entrance to the bay.

"Vladimir", together with other ships, opened fire more than once, covering the flank of the Russian fortifications and repelling attacks. When retreating to the North side of Sevastopol, the ship transported 2490 people in two voyages. On the night of August 31, it was set on fire and sunk along with other ships of the Black Sea Fleet that still survived.

On August 26, 1856, Rear Admiral G.I. Butakov was appointed chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet and ports. However, the Paris Peace Treaty forbade Russia and Turkey from having large naval forces in the Black Sea. Instead of restoring the fleet, it was necessary to reduce institutions and the number of sailors. And at the beginning of 1860, Butakov was transferred to the Baltic Fleet as the head of a practical squadron of screw ships, which was created to train sailors of the steam fleet. The rear admiral forced everyone to seriously study maritime affairs. The ships were equipped with rangefinder officers, range measuring devices, for transmitting data on sights from the bridge to the battery, and signals were established for reporting speed to other ships. Experimenting, the rear admiral ensured that different types of ships learned to move in concert. On September 5, 1860, he was awarded the Order of Stanislav 1st degree with swords for excellent service.

In the autumn of 1860, the sailor was sent to England and France to study the development of shipbuilding and maritime affairs. He notified the admiral general that he had learned something new, as well as about his developments in the theory of steamship evolution, which were not yet known abroad.

Appointed in the spring of 1861 as the head of the squadron of screw gunboats, Butakov used them to test his ideas. In the same year, he published the book "Some Extracts from the Experience of the Initial Foundations of Steamship Tactics", which the squadron officers managed to get acquainted with before the campaign. He began his training by checking the mechanics, whose training left much to be desired. As soon as the boats were ready, they were transferred in tow to Helsingfors. In an order dated July 11, 1861, Butakov formulated the main tasks of training: to turn the squadron into a harmonious force and master the skerries in which the squadron was to operate. Avoiding external gloss, Butakov sought fearless control of the ships from the commanders. By the end of the campaign, the boats floated, kept well in the ranks and performed complex maneuvers. The following summer, Butakov complicated training by taking up maneuvering during ramming. During the campaign of 1862, the sailors learned to walk and act decisively in the skerries, confidently carried out all the transformations.

At the end of the campaign, Butakov participated in successful tests of a pole mine, and then was sent to study the experience of other fleets in England. Rear Admiral got acquainted with modern towers, artillery pieces. In early 1863 he returned and was appointed naval attache to England and France. The sailor contributed to the dispatch of the armored battery "Pervenets" from England, sent information about the French collapsible gunboat, about the submarine, and suggested networks as a means of combating it. He came up with the idea of ​​using electric lights as combat searchlights and eventually put this idea into practice.

In 1863, the capital work "New Foundations of Steamship Tactics" came out of print, in which the sailor summarized his thoughts and calculations, verified in the campaigns of previous years. For this work, the Academy of Sciences awarded G.I. Butakov the full Demidov Prize. Soon the work was translated into French, English and Spanish.

October 28, 1866 G.I. Butakov was promoted to vice admiral. At the opening of the World Exhibition in Paris in 1867, he was elected chairman of the expert maritime commission.

On February 6, 1867, the vice admiral was appointed head of the squadron of armored ships built in 1865-1866. In order to make the squadron combat-ready for the campaign, he used new system combat training. Unlike the sailing fleet, for technically complex ships it was necessary to prepare the crews on the shore before the start of the campaign, then in the parking lot, after which the single preparation of the ship on the roadstead and at sea followed. Only then could squadron exercises begin. In June, having completed the preparation of single ships, the squadron gathered on the Tranzund raid. By the end of the campaign, heterogeneous armored ships had learned to stay in line. The sailors treated their work with love, sought to improve their knowledge, competing with each other. In the summer of 1868, the flagship made preparations more difficult. Two gunboats were converted into ships for ramming exercises. Butakov considered it necessary to train gunners so that they could act on the basis of the requirements of the battle. The sailors successfully fired on the move at fixed triangular shields, learned to hit moving shields. When rifled guns came into service in 1870, Butakov introduced firing exercises while rolling. Sailors were taught to swim. The flagship at the transitions between ports carried out the evolution of the squadron, acting as in military cruising.

In the first month of the 1869 campaign, Butakov practiced cruising, in which the ships, moving at full speed, took turns rounding the ships that were in the roadstead, writing out complex eights. The flagship achieved coherence in the maneuvers of detachments of the same type of ships.

Butakov supported the implementation of the proposals of the officers, he himself often suggested improvements. On his initiative, the training of miners and experiments with mine weapons began. In the autumn of 1869, the vice admiral founded a mine school for officers, primarily volunteers. From the 1870 campaign, exercises with mine boat attacks on ironclads became systematic. Since 1873, electric searchlights introduced by Butakov on some ships began to be used to repel mine attacks. In 1874, the position of head of the mine section was established in the Navy, and on October 1, mine officer classes and a mine school for sailors were opened. In many ways, this was the merit of G.I. Butakov.

According to Butakov's project, in 1874, for the first time, the armored frigate Petropavlovsk was equipped with anti-mine artillery.

Exercises were also conducted on the use of a ram; post-campaign evolution drawings were handed out to officers for guidance.

In 1877, Butakov prepared and submitted a note in which he argued that Russia had neither an armored nor a cruiser fleet, having a mass of excellent, but isolated ships. He proposed to build cruisers and battleships in series, designing them in accordance with the intended tasks of the fleets, and to train personnel for them.

Since the beginning Russian-Turkish war In 1877–1878, the armored squadron of the Baltic Fleet was taken over by Admiral General. Butakov was entrusted with the command of the squadron detachment. At the beginning of the war, this detachment laid minefields at Vyborg, Dinamunde and Sveaborg. When the danger of the appearance of the British fleet arose in the spring of 1878, the vice-admiral proposed to keep detachments of mine boats in Kronstadt, Sveaborg, Rochensalm, Bjork, Narva, send a detachment of battleships to Sveaborg, create an optical telegraph line on the coast, connecting them with observation posts with the capital, establish mine banks in different places of the Gulf of Finland. He showed the weakness of the defense of Kronstadt and St. Petersburg. On the recommendation of the naval commander, the meeting decided to strengthen the minefields, covering them with artillery from coastal batteries and ships additionally equipped with mortars.

On April 16, Butakov was promoted to admiral and was soon appointed head of the coastal and naval defense of Sveaborg. The sailor brought a detachment of old battleships to the base. He was engaged in numerous works to strengthen the fortress, prepare minefields, etc. I had to correct many shortcomings of peacetime, including the consequences of abuses.

Dealing with the preparation of ships stationed in Sveaborg, in the summer of 1878, Butakov ordered the introduction of the world's first boat trawl to detect and destroy anchor mines. In 1879–1880, he developed and organized the nautical game.

At the beginning of 1881, G.I. Butakov was appointed chief commander of the Petersburg port. However, protecting the interests of the fleet, he found himself in conflict with the higher leadership, was removed from his post and appointed to the State Council. The admiral was very upset by his dismissal and on the night of May 31, 1882 he died of apoplexy.

Butakov was the link between the sailors of the Lazarev school, mainly sailboats, accustomed to achieving victories physical forces sailors and their own courage, and a new generation of officers, for whom technical education was of paramount importance. His book "New Foundations of Steamship Tactics" became a manual for sailors from different countries.

Candidate historical sciences A. Ya. Lurie

Among the talented Russian naval commanders of the XIX century. one of the first places is occupied by Admiral Grigory Ivanovich Butakov, a student and ally of the heroes of Sevastopol - Kornilov, Nakhimov, Istomin. Belonging to the younger generation of the sailing school of the famous Admiral M.P. Lazareva, Butakov before the war of 1853-1856. managed to appreciate the importance of the first military steam ships and forever connected his fate with the new Russian steam (later armored) fleet.

Activity G.I. Butakov belongs to the period rapid development capitalist mode of production in Russia. In the history of the fleet, this period is characterized by the appearance of the steam engine and the creation of a steam armored fleet instead of wooden sailing ships.

The emergence of new technology entailed the need to change the system of recruiting the fleet, training personnel and creating new tactics.

Admiral G.I. Butakov was one of the first to correctly understand the significance of new technology and the need to create new tactics. An ardent patriot of his homeland, a representative of the advanced Russian naval scientific thought of that time, Admiral Butakov entered the history of the Russian fleet not only as an outstanding organizer, educator and practitioner in all areas of combat training, but also as the founder of the steam armored school of the Russian fleet.

Grigory Ivanovich Butakov was born on September 27, 1820. His father, the commander of the warship "Tsar Konstantin", became famous in the war with the Turks for his exploits near Fr. Crete and during the blockade of the Dardanelles. At the eleventh year of his life in May 1831, Grigory Ivanovich entered the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg, from which he graduated in 1837 and, with the rank of midshipman, was appointed to the Silistria as a flag officer to the famous Admiral M.P. Lazarev, the chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet.

In May 1838, Butakov participated in the landing off the coast of Abkhazia, for which he was awarded two orders with the inscription "For Courage". From September 1838 to August 1840 he sailed on the schooner "Swallow" in the Aegean Sea, and in 1844 on the schooner "Bulletin" - in the Mediterranean Sea. In April 1843 Butakov was promoted to lieutenant.

Even then, his penchant for technical improvements in the field of maritime affairs was revealed (he came up with a special method of "fog signals", invented an original type of windlass). Admiral Lazarev became interested in these inventions, ordered to make a model of the Butakov windlass and even put it in the model room of the Admiralty.

In the autumn of 1846 G.I. Butakov received the tender "Hurry" in independent command. "The tender should be striker, dexterous and light. Like an idea," wrote G.I. Butakov in "Sea Collection".

Beginning in the summer of 1847, Lieutenant Butakov and his corps comrade I.A. Shestakov (commander of the tender "Fast") began to carry out a large and responsible task of Admiral Lazarev - an inventory of the Black Sea coast and drawing up its detailed sailing directions. This work continued until 1850, and the result of it was the Black Sea Pilot published in 1851. The work of describing and compiling the sailing directions gave the young officer exceptional practice, since it was associated with visiting all the Black Sea Russian and Turkish ports, bays, bays, etc. In 1850 G.I. Butakov was promoted to lieutenant commander.

Butakov served in the Navy at a time when steam shipbuilding was still in its infancy. The first military steamships began to be built the earliest in Russia (in 1817 the steamer "Skory" was built, and six years later the 14-gun steamer "Meteor"). In 1851, Butakov was appointed commander of the Danube steamer, which was under construction. Since then, his service has been on steam ships, with the exception of a short period of command of the Argonaut brig, and he gradually grows into the largest specialist in the use of the steam navy.

December 3, 1852 Lieutenant Commander G.I. Butakov was appointed commander of the best 11-gun steam frigate "Vladimir" in the Black Sea Fleet.

In October 1853, the Crimean War. On November 5, 1853, during the next exit to the sea, the steam frigate "Vladimir" under the flag of Vice Admiral Kornilov met the Turkish 10-gun steamer "Pervaz-Bakhri" in the Penderaklia area. By order of Kornilov "Vladimir" entered into battle with an enemy ship. Noticing that the Turkish ship did not have bow and stern artillery, Butakov, avoiding the enemy's side fire, began to keep his steam frigate in the wake of the enemy ship. Whenever the latter tried to bring his airborne artillery into action, Butakov invariably took a favorable position for himself behind the enemy's stern and fired at him from bomb cannons. Kornilov, who was on the "Vladimir", seeing that the battle was dragging on, ordered to speed up the capture or sinking of the Turkish steamer. Butakov gave the order to increase the speed and, approaching the Pervaz-Bakhri at a distance of about 100 m, opened fire with grapeshot from all the guns. As a result of a three-hour battle, the enemy, having heavy losses in personnel and significant damage, was forced to cease fire and lower the flag. November 7, 1853 "Pervaz-Bakhri" was brought to Sevastopol, repaired and put into operation under the name "Kornilov". Kornilov said with admiration about Butakov: "He orders as if on maneuvers." Thus, this battle of two steam ships, the first in the history of the fleets of the world, ended with the victory of the Russians. For this fight, G.I. Butakov was promoted to captain of the 2nd rank and awarded the Order of George of the 4th degree.

Kornilov highly appreciated G.I. Butakov. In the list of naval officers, against the name of Butakov, Kornilov's hand marked: "We love the officers with respect."

During the siege of Sevastopol by enemy troops, Russian batteries were significantly supported by steam frigates operating under the general supervision of the Vladimir commander G.I. Butakov. With his skillful actions, Butakov actively helped the defenders of Sevastopol. Skillfully using convenient positions near the coast, Butakov from his "Vladimir" smashed the enemy's fortifications.

In the future, as some participants in the defense said, the steam frigates G.I. Butakov, "not only taught us by their exploits in the defense of Sevastopol, how and by what the ships of the steam fleet should and can assist the military ground forces in their joint actions, but even ... proved that the spirit of unity of the ground and naval forces can make wonders".

At the most dangerous moments of the enemy shelling, Butakov begged Nakhimov to transfer him to some kind of battery. But Nakhimov flatly refused: "It's impossible," he told Butakov. "You must be saved for the future fleet."

In the terrible days of the August bombardment and the last assault, Butakov with his steamers defended the left flank of the Russian fortifications from the sea. He carried out an amazing maneuver: he managed to get so close to the eastern bank of the Kilen-beam that he turned out to be invulnerable to the French battery, since the nuclei of this battery (as it should have been according to his calculations) flew over the ship over its pipes. Butakov "was the first to give the crew an example of rare composure and fearlessness. Everyone was delighted, looking at him calmly ordering, as if there were no cannonballs flying around him and there was no possibility of being killed every moment."

Before last day defense of Sevastopol, Butakov remained on the "Vladimir" and actively participated in repelling enemy assaults.

On the night of August 31, 1855, Butakov, on the orders of Admiral Novonilsky, removed the crew from his steam frigates and then sank them. Soon after the end of the war in August 1856, G.I. Butakov, promoted to rear admiral, was appointed head of the naval unit in the city of Nikolaev and military governor of Nikolaev and Sevastopol. Overloaded with various administrative and economic concerns, Butakov, however, did not leave classes on naval issues of interest to him. He found time to go out to sea in order to develop the basics of steamship tactics, which he had begun as early as 1854 at the suggestion of Kornilov. The independence of steam ships from the wind and the freedom of their maneuvering, the gradual introduction of more modern guns on them - all this required the development of completely new tactics of naval combat, new rules for building and joint maneuvering of military steamships. Back in 1854, Butakov compiled, on behalf of Kornilov, for his ships short description"evolutions", i.e. such most advantageous turns and approaches of ships in service as are necessary to occupy the most advantageous position during battle and on passage. "I came across that simple idea," he wrote, "that two simple geometric lines must certainly be taken as the basis of steamship evolution: a circle and a tangent to it." Butakov solved some tactical problems, compiled visual tables of the courses and movements of ships, outlined the three main formations of detachments, and so on. The task of constructing steamship tactics was fundamentally, as Butakov put it, solved by him "at the root" (i.e., in essence), and not "from the branches" (superficially).

However, only after the transfer to the Baltic Fleet in 1860, G.I. Butakov could come to grips with the development of steamship tactics. In Nikolaev, this was hindered by administrative duties, which took away all the time. In addition, he had to face clerical chicanery, bribery, embezzlement and other abominations of the tsarist bureaucratic apparatus, which Butakov took a lot of time to fight.

Since 1860 G.I. Butakov almost until the end of his service was in the Baltic Fleet, where he first commanded a squadron of screw ships, then in 1861-1862. - a squadron of screw boats, and from 1867 to 1877 - a squadron of armored ships. From 1863 to 1867 Butakov was in England and France as a naval attaché.

In the Baltic, Butakov managed, on the basis of the experience of commanding squadrons, to engage in theoretical work on the tactics of the steam fleet and test the tactical principles he developed on his squadron. From the very first days of his stay in the Baltic, G.I. Butakov paid the most serious attention to the study of the theater and especially to the question of the possibility of swimming in the Finnish skerries.

The appearance of small propeller-driven ships intended for coastal defense provided ample opportunities for their use in the skerry area. G.I. Butakov clearly imagined that the skerry strip along the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland would be a very important link in the defense of the approaches to Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, provided that the mobile units of gunboats interact with the system of island and coastal fortified points. Having determined the significance of the skerry area for defense, he practically proved the possibility of crossing skerry fairways not only for ships with shallow draft, but also for ships of the line.

Butakov paid attention to the issue of development of skerries throughout his entire activity in the Baltic. By the beginning of 1861, he had assembled 40 gunboats of his flotilla in Helsingfors, which could circulate well and joint movements. Butakov set an important, albeit difficult, task for the flotilla: to carefully study all the Finnish skerries, since it was there that hostilities could unfold in the event of war.

G.I. Butakov tirelessly trained the crews of his ships, teaching the sailors the art of joint maneuvering, developing courage and independence in them.

His remarkable orders played a big role in the success of the Butakov flotilla. In them, Butakov encouraged his officers to boldly manage gunboats. He advised taking risks rather than being overly cautious.

"...AT war time- wrote Butakov - risk is a necessity; I will add that in peacetime one must learn to take risks in order to be able to take risks in wartime; get confidence and strength of nerves". In one of the orders, he noted: "... I never made any remarks to anyone for various inevitable damage done by someone to myself or to the admiral's steamer from the brisk management, and even, on the contrary, constantly thanked for this ... I was always glad to see the brave management of the ship ... ".

Butakov taught not at all blind, reckless courage, but courage, combined with self-control, a clear eye, scientific thinking and orientation.

In 1863, the capital work of G.I. Butakov "New foundations of steamship tactics", which aroused great interest in Russia and abroad. For this work, the Academy of Sciences awarded Butakov the Demidov Prize. Chairman of the Marine Scientist. committee, Rear Admiral Zeleny wrote in his review that the rules of this Tactics, tested in practice, are “completely new ... and make it possible to carry out any rebuilding correctly, quickly, without confusion, with mathematical accuracy. Such definitive rules for the maneuver of each there was no steam ship yet ... ". Butakov's work attracted interest abroad, and it was translated into French, English, Italian and Spanish.

October 28, 1866 G.I. Butakov was promoted to vice admiral. By this time, he already enjoyed world fame as a recognized scientist, an experienced naval commander, a sailor with an impeccable reputation. February 6, 1867 he was appointed head of the Baltic squadron of armored ships.

He directed all his tireless energy to the improvement of combat training. G.I. Butakov paid the most serious attention to the artillery preparation of the squadron. It should be noted that the forms of artillery combat of the sailing period were obsolete. In the field of artillery, the new period was characterized by the replacement of smooth-bore guns by rifled guns, of relatively small caliber deck guns by large calibers, up to 12 inches inclusive. The variety of types and systems of artillery weapons complicated combat training. The appearance of armor posed completely new tasks for artillery. It was necessary to develop new forms of artillery combat. The artillery preparation system on Butakov's squadron was built according to a strictly developed plan, starting with firing a single ship at a fixed shield, then at a towed one, and finally, firing on the move at a moving target. Much attention was paid to the rangefinder case. Butakov demanded that, in addition to using the available rangefinders, in all cases of going to sea, distances should be continuously determined by specially assigned officers, signalmen, and sailors. To transmit distances to the target, dials with movable arrows were installed on the ships of the Butakov squadron. Among other innovations, the use of the so-called "training barrels" widely introduced into the practice of artillery preparation should be dismissed: for primary education artillery crew firing, a rifle barrel was inserted into the gun channel. Thanks to this, shells were saved.

Attaching great importance to the development of combat stamina in subordinates, Butakov strove to conduct all training in conditions close to combat. In the very first year of his command, the admiral began to accustom officers and sailors to precise and fearless work under the whistle of cannonballs flying over them, i.e. in a combat-like setting. “So that our teams learn in advance to hear the whistle of cannonballs,” he wrote in one of the first orders for the squadron, “I propose to send in turn for one hour on a rowing ship with an officer on each of the two buoys placed on both sides of the shield closest to the squadron .. .".

Risk, courage, daring - all these distinctive qualities of a brave sailor Butakov tried to instill in the people of his armored squadron. He especially sought to train the commanders of the ships of his squadron in the practice of maneuvering. Grigory Ivanovich was resolutely against excessive youthfulness, harmful arrogance, but at the same time he encouraged rivalry in "cutting the stern close", since this undoubtedly revealed the self-control and skill of the ship's ruler.

Blind courage Butakov preferred self-control and resourcefulness in a difficult and difficult situation. He noted these qualities with the greatest praise in everyone - whether an officer or a sailor. So it was, for example, during an artillery exercise, when two young inexperienced sailors remained at the shield on the orders of an officer, not suspecting that shooting was about to begin (they "forgot to warn them"). At the moment of the shelling that threatened their lives, they immediately found themselves, grabbed axes and began to chop the drek (that is, the ends of the "drek" - a small anchor on which the shield was held). As soon as one rope was cut off, the shield immediately turned downwind, and this incomprehensible circumstance made the armadillo gunners sense something was wrong and stop firing. Thanks to the resourcefulness of these sailors, their lives were saved. “They passed the exam in the best academy,” Butakov said, noting the feat of the sailors with a special order. were not lost in the midst of the whistle of cannonballs aimed directly at them ... "The signalman was also awarded, who was the first to notice the sailors at the shield.

Butakov attached great importance to boat races under and without sails. The competition of young sailors in races, according to him, is not at all a simple entertainment, not a relic of the former hobby of the sailing fleet: “No, this is almost the best way we have in our hands,” he said, “for young people to know themselves, start tempering your nerves, sharpen your eye and prepare yourself for all the unforeseen accidents of our service ... The competition of boats, at the same time, is an excellent way for us all to find out which of us is from which metal.

To encourage those who compete, Butakov obtained an annual appropriation of 1,500 rubles. to buy prizes, composed and published the Rules for Boat Racing. Especially interesting were the races of sailing boats he introduced without using the rudder. He tirelessly came up with many variations of the boat competition, for example, races around the frigate or in skerries around the island, etc.

At the end of each race, Butakov gave orders, in which he analyzed errors in management and encouraged those who especially distinguished themselves. Once he even ordered six midshipman Fedotov to salute with six cannon volleys for the fact that she was excellently controlled during the "race without rudders."

So Butakov in peacetime tempered his subordinates in a harsh environment, as close as possible to combat conditions. He tirelessly inspired them that the main and ultimate goal of their studies was preparation for a possible war, for that "decisive half hour" of the beginning of the war, when the quality and value of the training received in peacetime is immediately revealed. It is this idea that is expressed in the favorite motto of the best of G.I. Butakov Admiral S.O. Makarova: "Remember the war."

In manifestations of courage, resourcefulness, initiative, in the ability not to get lost in difficult moment G.I. Butakov saw the key to military success.

Once, the armored battery "Pervenets" crashed, breaking through the underwater part of the side against a stone. The commander gave full speed and stumbled on a mudflat, after which a patch was wound up, and the "Firstborn" was able to join the squadron. Butakov not only did not reprimand Commander Kopytov, but even praised him in the order for his resourcefulness: “It is always easy to get into trouble, and especially in our service. It is difficult to get out of trouble if you do not maintain complete power over yourself in difficult circumstances. The calculation with which Captain 2nd Rank Kopytov put the Firstborn battery into silt in order to plug a hole through it that let a stream of water pass a square foot in size deserves fair praise in the eyes of the entire squadron. Further, Butakov notes that he is especially pleased with the spirit "which sent the Firstborn not to Kronstadt, but to the squadron to continue sailing. In wartime, this would mean receiving reinforcements, instead of weakening our forces. We can be proud of this."

During the ten years of command of the armored squadron (1867-1877) G.I. Butakov continued to test his tactical principles, hold competitions and daring ship maneuvers. Each time upon arrival at the Transund raid (in the Gulf of Finland), the squadron was located according to the disposition of a quadrangle with the admiral's ship in the center. Here, on the Tranzund roadstead, individual ships of the squadron made the so-called "cruising" - they went around the quadrangle, rounding the ships in turn, either inside the disposition, then outside, etc. This exercise, done at full speed, was called the "eight".

In the end, Admiral Butakov managed to get his way. Detachments of armored ships made numerous (long ago drawn and calculated by Butakov in his famous "Tactics") joint movements in the roadstead.

As in 1861-1862, when Butakov commanded a squadron of propeller-driven boats, he attached great importance to the commanders' practice of ramming. At that time, for this purpose, a long pole was put forward behind the stern of the boats, which had to be "rammed" by the attacking boat. At the same time, ramming attacks were carried out both by single boats and by groups of boats.

Techniques practiced with small propeller boats could not be used with large armored ships. Therefore, for experiments in ramming, he usually used old gunboats and wooden steam "ram boats" specially built for this purpose with a speed of 6-7 knots. Their sides were sheathed with a layer of fascinator in order to soften the force of ramming blows. The exercises were carried out on the road. At the signal of the admiral, the commanders began the "battle", trying to deliver ramming blows to the "enemy" and evade his blows. Such exercises developed intelligence, the ability to make decisions quickly, calculate circulation on time and accurately, etc. Victory in a ramming battle, according to Butakov, largely depended on self-control and resourcefulness in those critical moments when the slightest indecision and confusion could have the most disastrous consequences. In one of the orders summing up the combat training, Butakov wrote: “Indeed, who was beaten? They also rammed the one whose eye was not trained to cut ships anchored closely, because the enemy, cutting more skillfully, entered the circle of someone else's circulation. positions .... And who rammed? Rammed the one who, despite the highest degree of excitement, knew how to maintain a cold calculation and, vigilantly following the slightest movements of the enemy, instantly used his most insignificant mistakes.

Butakov paid extremely great attention to the development of the mine business. Russia has always been the leader in the development and use of mine weapons. On Butakov's squadron in 1867, the first laboratory of mine experiments was set up under the leadership of Lieutenant Terentyev. Experiments were made with summing up galvanic mines under unusable ships, mines were tested for barriers. Theoretical classes were conducted, and, finally, on October 1, 1874, the Mine Officer Class and the Mine School for the lower ranks were opened.

Thus, in the course of time, Butakov's armored squadron became the center where the studies of his most capable students in the field of naval art were concentrated. By this time, the priority of Russian naval science was indisputable. Foreign naval officers and admirals traveled to Russia, to the Transund raid, to learn the art of war and tactics from an exemplary Russian armored squadron.

During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Butakov developed the rules for laying mines in the fairways and was actively involved in the preparation of the mine defense of Kronstadt.

In March 1878, at meetings of admirals and generals, chaired by G.I. Butakov, the prospects for mine defense of the approaches to St. Petersburg were discussed. Admiral Butakov raised a number of practical questions and answered them in great detail, in contrast to the rather frivolous remarks of some participants in the conferences.

Among the decisions adopted by the meetings was: to put a second line of minefields on the southern fairway between Tolbukhin lighthouse and the London shallows and to protect this new line with tower frigates and the battleship Peter the Great. It was decided to send Petropavlovsk and Sevastopol to Sveaborg (and, if possible, also Svetlana and Prince Pozharsky).

April 16, 1878 Vice Admiral G.I. Butakov was promoted to admiral and appointed head of the coastal and naval defense of Sveaborg. Although the Sveaborg fortifications were equipped with large-caliber guns, they were not at all protected against enemy landing and assault. Thoughtfully getting acquainted with the situation, Butakov took a number of measures to improve the defense and prepare the garrison. He conducted exercises on batteries. Under his leadership, telegraphs and semaphores were arranged, a plan and a minefield system were developed.

At the beginning of 1881, he was appointed chief commander of the St. Petersburg port.

As commander of the St. Petersburg port, Admiral Butakov remained true to his principles: he fought abuses and sought to raise the initiative of his subordinates, no matter how modest their position was. In one of the orders, Butakov wrote:

“I consider it not superfluous to announce in the department entrusted to me that I would like technicians of all kinds, when discussing technical issues with me together, to remember that in these cases I am only a technician, to a greater or lesser extent, and not a boss, but they are technicians, not subordinates. Therefore, I ask them not to be embarrassed by the views that I express, and to defend their views, as an equal with an equal, until my final decision. After it, of course, we again become the boss and subordinates. "

Such speeches by Admiral Butakov could not but arouse the wrath of the higher authorities.

In March 1882 G.I. Butakov was appointed a member of the State Council.

But this "honorary translation" was perceived by Butakov as a kind of surrender to the archive. He reacted extremely painfully to this appointment, which marked for him not only a departure from active naval leadership work, but also a rejection of his principles for preparing the fleet. Soon he became seriously ill and died on May 31, 1882.

The significance of the activities of Admiral G.I. Butakov for the Russian Navy is hard to overestimate. An ardent patriot of his Motherland, imbued with deep faith in the Russian people, G.I. Butakov devoted all his organizational talent and knowledge to the Russian Navy. He was one of the creators of the Russian armored fleet and the school of Russian sailors, from which S.O. Makarov.

Despite the conservatism and inertia of the tsarist government, G.I. Butakov, with his tireless work, advanced the Russian fleet to one of the leading places among other fleets in the world.

Butakov, who in his youth received an excellent maritime education from M.P. Lazarev, Kornilov, Nakhimov, Istomin, he himself, in turn, managed to perfectly educate the cadres of combat officers and engineers of the new steam armored fleet and was called his "father" not without reason.

* * *
Admiral Butakov was the first in the world to lay strong theoretical basis tactics of steam ships, and the most prominent foreign military theorists, despite all their arrogance and self-confidence, were forced to recognize the priority of a gifted Russian admiral-scientist. The valuable experience of applying Butakov's laws of tactics was studied with benefit and with the liveliest interest by officers of all the fleets of the world. American, French, German admirals and officers came to the Tranzund raid to learn Butakov's brilliant achievements, his unsurpassed method of educating personnel, his ramming and mine work. The style of his original orders, the humane attitude towards the sailors, the independent position in relation to the higher authorities - all this strongly resembles Suvorov, Nakhimov. Butakov combined the heroic courage of a naval officer, high education and organizational gift of the flagship-chief with tireless scientific inquisitiveness and the ability for broad scientific generalizations.

Butakov Grigory Ivanovich (September 27 (October 9), 1820, Riga - May 31 (June 12), 1882, St. Petersburg) - Russian naval leader, naval commander, adjutant general, Russian admiral, founder of steam armored fleet tactics, explorer of the Black Sea. Born in the family of Captain 1st Rank Ivan Nikolaevich Butakov, commander of the battleship Tsar Konstantin, who became famous for his exploits near Fr. Crete and during the blockade of the Dardanelles during the war with the Turks. The Butakov family has been known since the 17th century. Uncle Grigory Ivanovich Alexander Nikolayevich graduated from the Naval Corps, trained in the English Navy, rose to the rank of major general. Five brothers of Grigory Ivanovich became sailors, of which Alexei reached the rank of rear admiral, Ivan - vice admiral, and Grigory - full admiral.

May 6, 1831 entered the Naval Cadet Corps, which he graduated on January 9, 1836. From 1836 to 1838 two years of practice on the ships of the Baltic Fleet. Since 1838, midshipman was assigned to the battleship Silistria as a flag officer under the chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral M. P. Lazarev. , participated in the battle when occupying a place near the river. Tuapse, then on the tender "Luch" participated in the battle against the mountaineers. From September 1838 to August 1840, he sailed on the schooner "Swallow" in the Aegean Sea. In April 1843, Lt. In 1844, on the schooner Vestnik, he sailed in the Mediterranean Sea. From the summer of 1847 to 1850, he conducted extensive hydrographic work in the Black Sea (he was awarded the Order of St. Anna III degree and a diamond ring). Sevastopol. From December 3, 1852-1854 - Commander of the 11-gun steam frigate "Vladimir". On November 5 (17), 1853, he captured the 10-gun enemy Turkish steamship Pervaz-Bakhri (the first battle of steam ships in history; G. I. Butakov was promoted to captain of the 2nd rank and awarded the Order of St. George IV degree). In 1854-1855, he participated in the defense of the city of Sevastopol, commanded a detachment of steam frigates, supported the ground forces with fire from ships, and distinguished himself in the battles for Malakhov Kurgan. Awarded with the Golden Weapon "For Courage". And on October 9, 1854, for the first time in the history of Russian naval artillery, he organized firing at an invisible target. On August 31, 1855, he commanded the sinking of steam frigates. In March 1855, captain of the 1st rank. In September 1855, he was an adjutant wing, chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet. In August 1856, Rear Admiral with enrollment in the imperial retinue, in addition, the chief commander of the Nikolaev port and the military governor of Nikolaev and Sevastopol.

In 1860 he was transferred to the Baltic as the head of a detachment of screw ships, September 5, 1860 awarded the Order St. Stanislav I degree with swords. In 1861-1862, the commander of a detachment of screw boats. In mid-September 1862, a commission headed by Admiral Butakovyi tested a pole mine on the armored gunboat "Experience". Based on the results of the tests, he reported to the Naval Department: “With all these experiments, the Commission, under my chairmanship, came to the conclusion that the idea of ​​​​destroyers prepares us for the opportunity to have the most powerful weapon of all hitherto invented, and a charge of 1 pood will cause terrible destruction in an enemy ship with perfect security from this for a mine ship. ”In 1863-1867, the naval attache in England, France and Italy. October 28, 1866 vice admiral. In 1867, the chairman of the expert naval commission at the Paris World Exhibition. armored fleet. His work “New Foundations of Steamship Tactics” became a major contribution to the theory of naval art, and the “Rules for Maneuvering a Steam Ship” developed by him found recognition and application in all fleets of the world. Together with I. A. Shestakov, G. I. Butakov compiled the first systematized location of the Black Sea. In 1867, on his squadron, G. I. Butakov established the first laboratory of mine experiments, which was engaged in experiments on laying galvanic mines on ships and testing mines. At the laboratory, theoretical classes were conducted, which on October 1, 1874 were developed into the Mine Officer Class and the Mine School for the lower ranks. In 1874, according to the project of G. I. Butakov, the armored frigate "Petropavlovsk" was for the first time in history equipped with anti-mine artillery. On February 6, 1867-1877, the head of the Practical squadron of armored ships on the Baltic Sea. Butakov developed the rules for laying mines in fairways, which he put into practice when arranging the mine defense of Kronstadt. He developed the tactics of military operations of small ships in the skerries of the Gulf of Finland. In 1877, G. I. Butakov suggested that Russia had neither an armored nor a cruising fleet, having many excellent, but single ships, and proposed to build cruisers and battleships in series , designed in accordance with the intended tasks of the fleets, and prepare personnel for them in advance. In the summer of 1878, G. I. Butakov, by order, introduced the world's first boat trawl to detect and destroy anchor mines. G. I. Butakov introduced progressive methods of fleet combat training: prepare the fleet not for reviews and parades, but for war, for battle, the outcome of which depends on the skill of officers and sailors; swim more, conduct practical exercises and exercises in conditions as close as possible to combat; the main thing in training and education is the development of courage, initiative, resourcefulness and, of course, also creative ingenuity among personnel; to prepare the fleet for joint operations with the ground forces. From 1868 to January 1, 1881 the senior flagship of the Baltic Fleet. From April 16, 1878 full admiral with the appointment of the head of the coastal and naval defense of the Sveaborg fortress, January 1, 1881 the chief commander of the St. Petersburg port. Awards: Order of St. Anna, 1st class; Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class; Order of St. Alexander Nevsky; Order of the White Eagle. The admiral had powerful enemies and at the end of his life this "restless admiral" was out of work. He settled in a dacha in Finland and started translating scientific articles from in English. In 1881, he was remembered and appointed commander of the St. Petersburg port, and the next year, on March 28, 1882, a member of the State Council. G. I. Butakov reacted extremely painfully to his appointment as a member of the State Council, which for him meant resignation from fleet management and abandonment of his principles of fleet training. Soon he became seriously ill and on May 31, 1882 he died of apoplexy, crossing the Neva on a skiff. The grave of Admiral Butakov G.I. located on an abandoned site of the Nikolsky cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. St. Petersburg

It is interesting:

In Russia, other full namesakes served in the Navy. Unfortunately, we do not have their photos. One of them, Grigory Ivanovich Butakov, was born in 1873 and graduated from the Naval Corps (1893). Midshipman (1894). He graduated from the Naval officer class (1904). Senior officer of the cruiser "Aurora" (since 01/07/1908). Captain 2nd rank (04/13/1908). Commander of the cruiser "Aurora" (07.1914-02.1916). Rear Admiral (1916). Killed by sailors during February Revolution in Kronstadt.

Another of them, Butakov Grigory Ivanovich, was born in 1873. Graduated from the Naval Corps (1894). Captain 1st rank. In the Armed Forces of the South of Russia; from May 1919 commander of the Middle Dnieper flotilla. Evacuated on May 8, 1919 from Odessa to Constantinople on the Vitinin ship (until the autumn of 1920 from Feodosia). Retired Rear Admiral. In exile in Constantinople, from February 1921 to 1923, chairman of the Union of Naval Officers in Constantinople. In exile in France, in 1932 he left the Cabin in Paris for the Naval Assembly (member of VOMO), on January 31, 1944 and January 20, 1949, he was an honorary member of the Society of Former Russian Naval Officers in America. Died May 20, 1960 in Cannes (France).