The History of the Steamer Marina Raskova.

Abstract

The relevance of the topic is due to the establishment of the wreck and identification of the steamer (transport) Marina Raskova during the scientific and memorial campaign "Kara Expedition - 2015". The purpose of the study is to identify the main events in the history of the steamer Marina Raskova with an emphasis on its participation in convoy operations and preparation for them. The research used general scientific methods, source analysis of historical sources, historical and genetic chronological method. The research revealed facts about the participation of the steamer (transport) Marina Raskova in 8 convoys (Belova & Gregory, 2002) with varying degrees of the convoy operation routes passage. The authors revealed quantitative and qualitative composition of people and the composition of the cargo on board the steamer (transport) Marina Raskova during the convoy BD-5. Also, the researchers determined number of female representatives and a group of minors (under 18 years old) on board the transport, and the corresponding number of deaths from this contingent. The death of the BD-5 convoy is not an ordinary military event in the Arctic in 1941- 1945. The events associated with the BD-5 convoy became the most massive tragedy in terms of the number of people killed among Arctic convoys during the Second World War. The article establishes, according to various historical sources, the tactical, technical and technical characteristics of the steamer Marina Raskova and the weapons installed on it during the participation of the steamer in convoy operations. Since most of the information about the history of the steamer Marina Raskova, especially the events dated 1942-1944, is available in Russian-language publications, this article can be used by the authors to create historical and informational references in other languages. As far as the author knows, this is the first article devoted to this issue in the English-speaking environment