Hello everyone! Again on the pages of this blog with you Vladimir Raichev. Friends, as you know, I am interested in the mystery of the sinking of the Titanic. I wrote about this mystical story and. But there are still a lot of strange things in this whole story.

So much has been written about this ship that it seems that there is probably no magazine or newspaper that returns to this topic again and again ... The legendary Titanic is still not deprived of attention - they talk about it, argue, reflect and put forward new versions his death.

One thing is known for sure - the iceberg was the culprit of the death. The approximate course of events is also more or less explained to the townsfolk, but there are still many questions. For example, there are a lot of questions for those who were not so far from the place of flooding.

The trial of the captain of the ship "California"

If the ships that were not so far away would have arrived at the Titanic as quickly as possible, then many more passengers would certainly have been saved. But everything happened differently. One captain of the "California" was convicted for being unable or unwilling to help drowning people. True, after almost fifty years, this charge was dropped from him. But just imagine what it's like to live with such an accusation.

How was he justified? They simply managed to prove that the captain of the California would not be able, even with the greatest desire, to consider what was happening with the Titanic, for the simplest reason - they were quite far from each other.

It was by proving the existence of this great distance that the captain was justified. But then a strange new riddle was put forward: the whole point is that both of these ships saw another ship!

What ship was next to the Titanic?

Yes, according to the documents of the ships, it turned out that on the California, looking at this ship, they thought it was the Titanic, and on the Titanic they thought that they were seeing the California in the distance. Here is the confusion! And because on the "California" realized too late that the "Titanic" was sinking.

By the way, the presence of a third ship between these ships is documented. But they cannot prove this fact in any way - what a paradox! In the ship logs of both ships there are records that there is an observation of an unknown ship, but what kind of ship it was and what it was doing there at the time of the disaster is still not clear.

The behavior of the ship is also not clear. According to the same logs, the route of this mysterious ship was calculated and it was very strange: either the ship was practically heading to the place of disaster at full speed, then it suddenly got up to drift and, in fact, was no longer in a hurry to save people.

And then it went off in a completely different direction. Having proved the existence of a third vessel, 50 years later, the captain of the California was acquitted, but the question remained of what kind of mysterious ship it was. The answer to this question has not yet been found.

And today I say goodbye to you, I wish you an easy working Monday and good mood. Do not forget to subscribe to the news of my blog - there is a lot of interesting things ahead. Share the article with your friends in social networks I am sure they will be interested in this article. Until we meet again, bye bye.

Finished model length: 95 cm
Number of sheets: 28
Sheet format: A3

Description, history

The battleship was built by the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California. Her keel was laid down on October 25, 1916, and she was launched on November 20, 1919. The "godmother" was Mrs. Barbara Stephens Zane, daughter of California Governor William D. Stephens. Completed the battleship on August 10, 1921 as a flagship Pacific Fleet. The first commander is the captain (captain of the 1st rank) Henry J. Ziegemeier.

For twenty years, from 1920 to 1941, the California served as the flagship of the US Pacific Fleet, then the flagship of the linear fleet. Every year he took part in joint maneuvers with the army, exercises, tactical exercises, fleet training for various purposes. In 1921-1922, he won the right to carry the pennant of the best warship (Battle Efficiency Pennant), and in 1925-1926 he was recognized as the best artillery ship of the fleet. In the summer of 1925, the California led a battle fleet and a cruiser division of the reconnaissance fleet on a goodwill visit to Australia and New Zealand. He took part in the presidential review of the fleet in 1927, 1930 and 1934. In late 1929-early 1930, it underwent modernization and received a more modern anti-aircraft battery. In 1940, the base of the fleet on pacific ocean was moved to Pearl Harbor. From the normal composition of the Pacific Fleet's linear forces (12 ships), by the beginning of hostilities with Japan, three New Mexico-class battleships were engaged in neutral patrols in the Atlantic, the Colorado was under repair in Bremerton, and the remaining 8 were based at Pearl Harbor.

During the Japanese attack on the morning of December 7, 1941, the disposition of the battleships, seven of which formed the famous "battleship row" along the southeast coast of Ford Island, was as follows: the flagship of the commander of the 1st division stood alone on the south side of the F-3 piers battleships and the entire battle fleet in the Pacific Ocean of Vice Admiral W. Pye battleship "California"; behind him at the Petrol pier was the tanker "Neosho"; at the F-5 bollards were "Maryland" and "Oklahoma"; F-6 - "Tennessee" and "West Virginia"; at F-7 - "Arizona" and the floating workshop "Vestal"; the F-8 has "Nevada". The battleship Pennsylvania, along with two destroyers, was in drydock No. 1. The old target battleship "Utah" occupied the regular place of aircraft carriers on the other side of the island.

In the first wave of 189 Japanese aircraft, only 90 Keith (B5N2) torpedo bombers targeted ships. Forty of them carried torpedoes, and the rest carried bombs (converted from 356 mm armor-piercing shells and conventional 250 kg general purpose). They all fell upon the "battleship row". Of the second wave (171 aircraft), 81 Val dive bombers (D3A1), armed with 250-kg bombs, were supposed to attack aircraft carriers and cruisers, but most of them, not finding their targets, also attacked battleships.

Unlike most other ships moored in pairs, the California was open to attack from all sides. About two hundred meters behind the stern, there was a neighbor, not very pleasant during the attack, the Neosho tanker, and in front, behind the small cape of Ford Island, the hydro-aviatender Eivoset. Although the California was one of the last hits, her combat readiness was worse than others: the state of water resistance is poor, most of the officers, including the commander of the captain J. Bankley and Admiral Pye, were on the shore (in fairness, it should be noted that when the first Japanese bombs went down, Bankley was just in the sea - swimming on the beach of the hotel "Halekulani"), and the rest could not act quickly and efficiently. In general, as the historian of the American Navy in World War II S. E. Morison wrote: "It is well known, although never publicly confirmed, the fact that the flagship battleships, outwardly looking neater and more dapper, were inferior to other ships in combat readiness and in terms of material state". Firstly, during inspections for some shortcomings in the materiel, in order not to put the admiral in an awkward position, they turned a blind eye; secondly, the presence of the admiral and his staff forced the crew to devote a lot of time to "protocol" events, and not to improving combat training. And that morning, both the alert and the order to put the ship in a state of complete watertightness (the so-called "Ready Z") were announced with a long delay. Many sailors were not only poorly versed in the types of aircraft and identification marks of a potential enemy, but they even had no idea what kind of ships the countries in the Pacific had. One of the old-timers on the California, pointing to dozens of planes approaching with obviously bad intentions, explained to the young sailors who began to worry: “It seems that a Russian aircraft carrier has come to visit us. These are planes from it. You see, red circles are clearly visible on them "(W. Lord "Day of Shame").

During the attack, the ship received not-so-fatal damage for a battleship. At 08.05, even before the implementation of the "Readiness Z" measures, and simultaneously with the opening of fire with anti-aircraft machine guns, two torpedoes hit the left side of the battleship: one in front of the bow superstructure, the other under the GK turret No. 3. The charge of the newest Japanese aviation torpedoes (200 kg of trinitrotoluene) was slightly larger than that for which the PTZ of battleships of this type was calculated (181 kg of TNT), although some of the aircraft also carried older torpedoes with a 150-kg charge. It is not known exactly which ones hit California, but the PTZ withstood their explosions: not only the internal (hold) bulkhead remained intact, but also two in front of it. Prior to the adoption of counter-flooding measures, these hits led to a roll of only 5-6 °. Although none of this damage was dangerous, the position of "California" was complicated by the fact that she was preparing for an inspection check scheduled for Monday. Therefore, some waterproof hatches (for example, 6 necks leading to the second bottom) were open, and many were only covered, but not battened down, as it should be on a combat alert. The suddenness of the Japanese attack this case played her part. In fact, after being hit by torpedoes, the ship was "without a bottom." It was saved from capsizing only by a quick counter-flooding, which was taken care of by Second Lieutenant of the Reserve Edgar Fane. However, the penetration of the bow fuel tanks led to the fact that salty water mixed with oil, and in 0810 this led to a loss of electricity. In addition to the fact that the drainage means could not work, now it was impossible to supply ammunition to the anti-aircraft guns from the cellars. The same situation arose on most of the battleships, and because of the weak anti-aircraft fire, Japanese aircraft flew over the base as they pleased. True, one of the "kates" that dropped torpedoes on the "California" was shot down after the Ayvoset hydro-aviatender escaped from the attack by anti-aircraft guns.

At 0825, one of the bombs, which hit under the forward superstructure from the starboard side, pierced several decks, ricocheted off the 2nd deck (the main armored one) and exploded, disabling the anti-aircraft ammunition magazine and killing about 50 people. A huge hole formed in the main deck, a huge fire started. Finally, another bomb exploded in the water near the port side of the bow, opening a large hole in the plating. Due to the water taken through it, the battleship quickly settled with its bow more than a meter.

Despite all the efforts of the crew, the ship continued to receive water - soon it rose from the port side above the 3rd deck (anti-fragmentation) and began to slowly fill the compartments above the waterline. Due to the loss of electricity, there were practically no means for pumping out the water entering the hull. The sailors tried to manually do the work of machines and mechanisms, including the supply of shells to anti-aircraft guns. The suffocating fumes of oil and fuel oil that spread throughout the ship made many think about the chemical weapons that the Japanese allegedly used. This only added to the panic, although there were also cases of heroism among the crew - people remained at combat posts, continuing to perform their duties until their death. At 0855, it was possible to restore the power supply and raise the pressure in the fire mains. The fires were brought under control, and at 0910 California was already able to start, having steam in four boilers. By this time, Captain Bankley and Admiral Pye had arrived on board, having reached the base by truck. But before he gave the order to start moving, the flames from burning oil in the water engulfed the stern. The commander in 1002 ordered the crew to leave the ship, but 13 minutes later, when the wind changed and drove away the burning oil, an order was received for everyone to return aboard. But people managed to return to the ship only an hour later. To inspire the crew, Chief Petty Officer Conner thought to attach a battle flag to the stern, which they could not raise during the interrupted morning ceremony. Signal flags fluttered on the halyards of the battleship: "The battle fleet to go to sea." The signal in those conditions was, to put it mildly, meaningless, since five battleships were at the bottom or were close to it, and the Tennessee and Maryland were blocked by sunken ships. And, in principle, what could be expected from a bewildered admiral who, pointing to a heavy American B-17 bomber flying overhead, shouted: “Look! They even wrote "U.S. Army" on their planes!" ("they" are, of course, insidious Japanese).

Although the approaching minesweepers Vireo and Bobolink tried to pump out water with their pumps and handed over portable sump pumps (pumps with gasoline engines) to the battleship, the California continued to fill with water. Bulkheads were not held, destroyed ventilation ducts opened new ways for water. As one of the sailors said, "we just pumped all of Pearl Harbor through the ship." The situation could have been saved with the help of divers, but in the conditions of oil burning on the surface and agitated silt, such an attempt for them was tantamount to suicide. Only on the night of December 10, the battleship stopped sinking, sinking into the silt at the bottom of the harbor with a list of 6.5 ° to the port side, so that only superstructures were visible above the water. In total, out of a crew of 1666 people (120 of them officers), 98 people (of which 6 officers) were killed and missing, and 61 (3 officers) were wounded. It is not known whether the battleship's anti-aircraft gunners managed to shoot down at least one Japanese plane, but in the evening, when Japanese planes seemed to be everywhere, they "distinguished themselves" by killing several rescued from the Utah with a machine-gun burst.

The battleship was raised from the bottom on March 24, 1942, and put into dry dock at Pearl Harbor for preliminary repairs. On June 7, she went under her own power to the Puget Sound shipyard for the final repair of damage and modernization. It was necessary to improve protection, stability, install new anti-aircraft batteries and fire control systems. Only on January 31, 1944, "California" left Bremerton on a trial trip to San Pedro, and on May 5, he left San Francisco to participate in the operation to capture the Mariana Islands. Captain X. P. Burnet commanded the battleship.

Before dawn on June 14, Rear Admiral Oldendorf's fire support group, which included the California, maneuvered 12 miles north of Saipan's northernmost Cape Marley in complete darkness. Suddenly, the battery on the cape opened fire, placing 3 two-shell volleys dangerously close to the ships. She was joined by a well-camouflaged battery on the islet of Maniagassa in Tanapag Bay. Despite the short distance (the ships were 2 miles from the coast), the Japanese shells fell with large shortfalls. California and Maryland quickly silenced the last battery. Artillerymen from the neighboring island of Tinian turned out to be more successful, who covered the Cleveland cruiser, hit the California (1 killed, 9 wounded) and the destroyer Brain (3 killed, 15 wounded). Later it turned out that the fire was fired by a 120-mm field battery disguised in the caves. Despite the hit, "California" remained in service and fired at Japanese positions at the request of the troops. A great danger for the Americans was represented by field guns, which the Japanese, with the beginning of shelling the coast with battleships and cruisers, hid in caves, and then, when landing craft went on the attack, rolled out to firing positions. One of these positions on Cape Afetna was first fired upon by the cruisers Birmingham and Indianapolis, then the battleships Tennessee and California, again California and 2 cruisers, but the Japanese guns were not completely destroyed. Losses in the first wave of landing (20,000 people) were heavy. On the evening of June 15, "California", with the help of the corrective post 31 landed on the shore, 127-mm projectile dispersed the attacking group of Japanese, which was descending from the hill on the paratroopers who had not yet established themselves on the beaches. After Saipan, from July 19 to August 9, California's heavy guns paved the way for the landings on Guam and Tinian. Due to the huge boules, the maneuverability of the battleship became completely disgusting, and in a rather harmless situation on August 24, she collided with the Tennessee of the same type. To repair the bow of the port side, I had to go to the island of Espiritu Santo.

On September 17, the California left for Manus Atoll to prepare for the invasion of the Philippines. Early morning On October 18, in the wake column, ships with paravanes set up due to mine danger approached Leyte Gulf. Although the minesweepers started working a day earlier, immediately upon entering the bay, two mines were noticed: one, which was hooked and forced to float by the California paravane, was immediately shot from machine guns, the other was simply marked with a buoy with a flag.

The battleship played a key role in the Leyte Gulf operation, which lasted from October 17 to November 20. In addition to the usual bombing of the coast and supporting the troops, he happened to take part in the destruction of part of the Japanese fleet in the Surigao Strait on October 25. Then "California" fired 63 356-mm armor-piercing shells, giving mostly 6-gun volleys to save shells, and almost rammed the "Tennessee" again. After part of the ships left to replenish supplies in the bay, the Mississippi, California, Pennsylvania (CTG 77.1 group) remained under the command of the head of the 3rd line division, Rear Admiral Weiler, since these battleships retained most of the main battery ammunition. But they no longer had to engage in battle with surface ships, and the main concern was to repel air attacks, including suicide bombers. On November 16, Rear Admiral T. D. Ruddock took command of the Leyte Gulf guard ships instead of Wayler.

With the capture of the islands of Leyte and Samar, the Americans faced the usual question: where to land next? There were several options for the development of events, and the landing on the neighboring islands of the Philippine archipelago looked the most logical and leaving the largest - Luzon, where the main enemy forces were concentrated (there were three air bases, not counting more than two dozen field airfields). In addition, the northern part of Luzon was within the reach of Japanese aircraft operating from China and the island of Formosa. However, General MacArthur decided to make an unexpected move. At the beginning of the war, the Japanese began to capture the Philippines from the nearest northern coast of Luzon and landed the main landing force in Lingayen Bay on the northwestern coast of the island. And from the Americans who invaded the Philippines from the south, they most likely expected a gradual movement to the north. And MacArthur suggested that the next blow be delivered in the Lingayen Gulf - right in the "heart" of the territory held by the enemy.

After training off the Palau Islands on the first day of the new year, 164 ships and auxiliary vessels gathered in Leyte Gulf, which were to begin Operation Mike G - Landing in Lingayen Gulf. , 6 cruisers and 19 destroyers was divided into detachments: the 1st included Mississippi, West Virginia and New Mexico, and the 2nd California (Oldendorf's flag, commander - Captain S. B. Brewer), Pennsylvania and Colorado.

In addition to them, 12 escort aircraft carriers, 14 destroyers, 6 escort destroyers, 48 ​​motor minesweepers, 10 transport destroyers with teams of underwater saboteurs, 2 tugboats, a hydro-aviatender and 11 LCI landing boats went to sea. These forces were to clear the way for Admiral Kincaid's main landing party. The ships had to go through a difficult path, literally "through the line" of the Japanese coastal aviation. Despite the huge losses in the battles for Leyte, Japan still had a huge number of aircraft. Its undamaged factories produced over 7,000 vehicles monthly. However, the main problem was the pilots, who needed to be trained much longer than the continuously advancing enemy allowed. Japanese naval pilots now lacked the skill and experience of their predecessors. They could not break through the barriers of the prolific American fighters and accurately drop bombs and torpedoes on ships (even on slow transports or landing craft). And the Japanese command found a way out in the traditional samurai style by organizing the Suicide Corps - "kamikaze". Now young pilots did not have to bother with tricks like the point of dropping a bomb from a steep dive, getting out of it, or solving a torpedo triangle at a speed of 400 km / h. It was enough just to aim the whole plane at the intended victim and not turn off course, even if your plane is falling apart under the fire of hundreds of anti-aircraft guns.

It was during the operation to capture Luzon that the Americans first became acquainted with the new tactics of the enemy, which for several months became their main headache. On the morning of January 3, the Japanese "Bel" dived onto the tanker "Kouanesk". And although the material damage from the plane that crashed into the deck turned out to be insignificant, the Americans realized that they were in for a "hot" reception.

The main forces of Oldendorf, passing through the Surigao Strait, in the Sulu Sea broke up into two groups formed around escort aircraft carriers, which have now become the main guarantors of security. About 40 patrol fighters, reinforced by coastal-based aircraft, were constantly in the air. It was thanks to the powerful fighter cover that the attacks of 120 Japanese aircraft from the Clark and Nicolet airbases, among which there were several dozen "kamikazes", ended in vain. Under the conditions massive raids The powerful anti-aircraft weapons of the battleships also played an equally important role in Japanese aviation.

But it was not always possible to do without losses. Already at sunset on January 4, a twin-engine bomber literally fell from the sky onto the deck of the Ommani Bay escort aircraft carrier, which had to be finished off with a torpedo from the destroyer. Neither dozens of observers nor modern radars could detect this aircraft in time. And the only ship that managed to shoot at him was the battleship New Mexico. Another "kamikaze", which flew in just as unexpectedly, missed a little, falling into the sea 45 meters from the escort aircraft carrier Lunga Point.

Attacks on Oldendorf's ships continued on January 5, since now the Americans have approached the main Japanese airfields. Damage from "kamikaze" received heavy cruisers"Louisville" and "Australia", the escort aircraft carrier "Manila Bay" and the destroyer. In response, aircraft from escort aircraft carriers sank the small Japanese destroyer Momi, which, in view of the approaching American armada, tried to escape along with the Hinoki of the same type from Manila to Formosa. Hinoki made a second attempt on January 7, but ran into the main landing force and was sunk by destroyer artillery.

Dawn on January 6 found the task forces of Oldendorf and Commander (Captain 2nd Rank) Lauda (sweeping and hydrographic group) abeam Cape Bolinao, located at the northern tip of the peninsula, fencing off Lingayen Bay. Further, the ships broke up into small groups to begin operations according to the plan. The battleships began shelling Japanese positions on the island of Santiago and Cape San Fernando, located on the flanks of the entrance to the bay. No one knew yet that this day would be called "One Day of Hell". The battleship New Mexico was the first to be seriously damaged, which was hit by a kamikaze in the bow superstructure. Then the "kamikaze" began to crash one after another: into the destroyers "Walk", "Allen M. Sumner", the minesweeper "Long" (sank). In 1519, Oldendorf had to order his battleships to enter the bay to cover the work of minesweepers, which suffered heavy losses under air attacks. According to the ability, it was also proposed to fire at coastal targets with the main caliber. Having placed paravanes, the battleships were drawn into the bay for 20 miles. They managed to fire several volleys along the coast railway, as themselves in 1720 were attacked by five "kamikaze". One of them, breaking through dense anti-aircraft fire, crashed into the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe California mainmast, and a piece of its fuselage fell on the deck between the mast and director No. 4. At the same time, the battleship was showered with fragments of a shell fired by a nearby destroyer to shoot down an aircraft approaching it. In general, hitting anti-aircraft shells or their fragments on their own ships under conditions of massive attacks and powerful fire on aircraft from all calibers has become commonplace. The fighters of the air patrol also often got it. Especially fraught was the flight over their ships with the landing gear extended - all the fire was concentrated on such an aircraft. The fact is that the Japanese, more often than others, used outdated Bel dive bombers with a fixed landing gear as "kamikaze". So on that day, one of the fighters of the patrol, whose hydraulic system was damaged by a shrapnel, due to which the landing gear fell out into the landing position, came under fire from their own ships.

Of the crew of "California" 45 people were killed and 151 were injured, but the damage was superficial. After temporary repairs by ship's means, the battleship continued to bombard Japanese positions. During the same raid, two "kamikazes" were hit by the light cruiser "Columbia", the heavy cruisers "Australia" and "Louisville" (for each it was already the second), and on January 6, "kamikaze" damaged 2 battleships, 5 cruisers, 5 destroyers, 3 auxiliary ships and sank a minesweeper destroyer. On January 7, the destroyers minesweepers Hovey and Palmer went to the bottom. On January 8, California's lookouts at 0720 spotted the approach of five kamikazes. The Japanese always tried to attack immediately after sunrise or just before sunset and at low altitude, so that the rays of the sun hovering over the horizon would blind the gunners. One plane fell into the water not far from the battleship, but the cruiser "Australia" was again unlucky - two "kamikaze" crashed into it (in total, this cruiser "took" 5 Japanese suicide planes from January 5 to 9). Then the onboard plane "California" had to perform an unusual task. At 8 o'clock, a few minutes after the start of the next shelling, one of the aircraft-spotters of the battleship "Colorado" reported on a crowd of people with American and Philippine flags on the southern coast of the bay. Oldendorf ordered a ceasefire and sent one of his flagship's airborne planes with leaflets on board advising all Allied sympathizers to clear the coast. After giving them enough time to escape, the American admiral ordered the bombardment to resume.

Admiral Oldendorf had already perfectly mastered the Japanese tactics of retreating inland as soon as battleships appeared, which turned shelling into a waste of shells. But battleships and cruisers continued to walk along the coast in order to attract as many "kamikazes" as possible. The calculation was simple - the more "kamikaze" shot down powerful anti-aircraft batteries of warships, the less of them will be left to the share of transports with landing forces. On January 10, the day after the landing, Oldenforf's flagship California completed her "work" and left the bay with a return escort to Leyte Gulf. The repair of two battleships out of six became the subject of a long discussion between Nimitz, Kincaid and General MacArthur. Intelligence reported two Japanese battleships on Linga Rose near Singapore (Isho and Hyuga) and 4 more in the Inland Sea (in fact, there were Yamato, Nagato and Haruna), as well as the strengthening of base aviation enemy. In such a situation, MacArthur pointed out the danger of the position of the 7th Fleet between the two Japanese formations and the possible disruption of the timing of the entire offensive. But Nimitz assured that the 5th line division of Rear Admiral Fischler (the oldest Texas, New York, Arkansas) was coming from the Atlantic, and the shipyards were finishing work on the Nevada, Tennessee and Idaho ". So on January 22, California with Oldendorf on board and New Mexico finally left Leyte Gulf. "California" went to the Puget Sound shipyard to complete repairs, where she arrived on 15 February.

Returning to service, on June 15, the battleship joined the operation against Okinawa, remaining in that area until July 21. Since the fighting was already going on in the depths of the island, special events"California" could not boast. Two days later, he joined the 59th Task Force, which was covering the trawling in the East China Sea. In August, the ship made a short trip to San Pedro Bay in the Philippines, and on September 20 set off from Okinawa to cover the landing of the 6th Army in Wakanoura Bay, Honshu Island. There, supporting the occupying forces, "California" remained until October 15, when he left through Singapore, Colombo and Cape Town to Philadelphia, where he arrived on December 7. There, on August 7 of the following year, the old battleship was put into reserve, on February 14, 1947 it was dismantled, and on July 10, 1959 it was sold for scrap.

For participation in the Pacific War, "California" (BB-44) received 7 battle stars:

2. Operation in the Mariana Islands: the capture of the islands of Saipan (June 14-20) and Guam (August 2-9, 1944)

4. Operation in Leyte Gulf: Landing in Leyte Gulf (October 17-November 21, 1944)

6. Operations in Okinawa: landing and capture of the island of Okinawa (June 17-30, 1945)

The ship received awards from the President of the Philippine Republic (for Leyte and Luzon), as well as the Navy Occupation Service Medal (Asia, September 2-October 15, 1945)

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