Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 8,994
To the North Pole...!
On August 17, 1977, the Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker “Artica” became the first surface ship ever to reach the North Pole!
Previously, only submarines have managed to reach this northernmost point on our globe...:
The "Artika", commissioned in Leningrad on October 3, 1971, is the second largest nuclear icebreaker in the world after the icebreaker "Lenin"...:
For the North Pole expedition, the Soviet Navy Minister Timon Gushenko...
… embarked, who is also officially in command.
Unofficially, of course, the ship is commanded by its commander, Yuri Kuchiev...
When it comes to navigation, you have to be absolutely precise on "orders from above" - in view of US reconnaissance satellites, it would be too embarrassing to miss the pole even by a few meters!
At 4:00 a.m. Moscow time on August 17th, the time has come!
The first to disembark is the nuclear facility's chief mechanic, Fidus Faizovich Askhadullin...:
He erects a 10 meter high flagpole made of steel at exactly the “zero” point, on which the flag of the Soviet Union is hoisted a short time later.
A plaque with the coat of arms of the USSR is placed next to the flagpole - here is a copy from the museum at Murmansk...:
The ship's flag, which the researcher Georgy Sedov had on board 100 years earlier, is then hoisted under the Soviet flag.
Sedov…
…had come within 100 kilometers of the pole before his ship, the “Sankt Foca”, was trapped in the ice.
Sedov did not survive the expedition!
As a special surprise, the chief engineer of the "Artica", Rafik Bulatov, has come up with another surprise...:
He carved a postmark out of an old piece of rubber with the words: "North Pole. Nuclear icebreaker "Arktika" August 17, 1977", which is now used on 200 letters from crew members to their relatives. (the mail will of course only be sent after the end of the trip).
After the return of the "Arctica", Minister Gushenko, Commander Kuchiev, Chief Engineer Oleg Pashnin and Fidus Askhadullin are awarded the title and medal "Hero of Socialist Labor"...:
All other crew members as well as the ship itself receive the "Order of the October Revolution"...:
In Murmansk there is also a simple memorial to the North Pole expedition of "Artica"...:
The ship itself lies aground in a bay near Murmansk, has been rusting away in a desolate state for years and is left to its own devices - with two nuclear reactors on board!
The photo was taken in 2012...:
On August 17, 1977, the Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker “Artica” became the first surface ship ever to reach the North Pole!
Previously, only submarines have managed to reach this northernmost point on our globe...:
The "Artika", commissioned in Leningrad on October 3, 1971, is the second largest nuclear icebreaker in the world after the icebreaker "Lenin"...:
For the North Pole expedition, the Soviet Navy Minister Timon Gushenko...
… embarked, who is also officially in command.
Unofficially, of course, the ship is commanded by its commander, Yuri Kuchiev...
When it comes to navigation, you have to be absolutely precise on "orders from above" - in view of US reconnaissance satellites, it would be too embarrassing to miss the pole even by a few meters!
At 4:00 a.m. Moscow time on August 17th, the time has come!
The first to disembark is the nuclear facility's chief mechanic, Fidus Faizovich Askhadullin...:
He erects a 10 meter high flagpole made of steel at exactly the “zero” point, on which the flag of the Soviet Union is hoisted a short time later.
A plaque with the coat of arms of the USSR is placed next to the flagpole - here is a copy from the museum at Murmansk...:
The ship's flag, which the researcher Georgy Sedov had on board 100 years earlier, is then hoisted under the Soviet flag.
Sedov…
…had come within 100 kilometers of the pole before his ship, the “Sankt Foca”, was trapped in the ice.
Sedov did not survive the expedition!
As a special surprise, the chief engineer of the "Artica", Rafik Bulatov, has come up with another surprise...:
He carved a postmark out of an old piece of rubber with the words: "North Pole. Nuclear icebreaker "Arktika" August 17, 1977", which is now used on 200 letters from crew members to their relatives. (the mail will of course only be sent after the end of the trip).
After the return of the "Arctica", Minister Gushenko, Commander Kuchiev, Chief Engineer Oleg Pashnin and Fidus Askhadullin are awarded the title and medal "Hero of Socialist Labor"...:
All other crew members as well as the ship itself receive the "Order of the October Revolution"...:
In Murmansk there is also a simple memorial to the North Pole expedition of "Artica"...:
The ship itself lies aground in a bay near Murmansk, has been rusting away in a desolate state for years and is left to its own devices - with two nuclear reactors on board!
The photo was taken in 2012...:
