International Naval Journal

3-12

Authors: Alejandro Anca Alamillo

As is generally known, Francisco Franco Bahamonde was one of the generals who served the Second Spanish Republic and who joined at the last minute the military coup devised by General Mola that led to the Civil War (1936-29). His prestige as a military man led him to be appointed Head of State, a position he would hold for almost 40 years leading a very personal dictatorial regime. Although he always wanted to be a sailor, due to circumstances not yet clarified, he was not, although he would always show great interest in the navy and sympathy for everything related to ships. This article aims to capture this link through a series of anecdotes.

18-25

Authors: Nicholas W. Mitiukov

During the Great Patriotic War, many ships were mobilized for the needs of the Red Army. Unfortunately, not all information was reflected in the funds of the military archives. Many ships retained civilian crews, and probably remained on the list of civilian departments and services. The purpose of this article, using the example of the fleet assigned to Sarapul, is to try to estimate the possible proportion of mobilized ships. For this, a comparison was made between the pre-war and post-war composition of the fleets of the farms of the Sarapul region of the Udmurt ASSR. Due to the small numerical pre-war composition of the fleet, Sarapul farms took an extremely limited part in the Great Patriotic War. Most likely, the reduction of fleets during the war years is more associated with the natural aging processes of the material part, and not with the mobilization of ships. Apparently, only the Osvod ships were mobilized, after the end of the war they returned. An analysis of the composition of the ship confirms the mobilization of no more than 2-3 ships.

30-33

Authors: Vladislav V. Zhdanov

Naval ships and merchant marine vessels transferred to the USSR on account of reparations after the end of World War II are well described in the literature. Even special reference books were published. But as for river reparations, the information in the literature about them is extremely eclectic. It does not create a holistic picture, and often the type or year of construction is not reported about the ships, being limited only by the very fact that this is a reparation. Meanwhile, if we evaluate the contribution of river reparations to the restoration of the post-war economy of the USSR, then it should be recognized that it far exceeded the role of sea reparations. The article provides statistical data on the importance of river vessels received by the USSR in the post-war economy of the country. In addition, a large number of ships received at the time of the end of the war embodied the latest achievements of German shipbuilding. As a result, some of the types, after a comprehensive study, became prototypes for the creation of Soviet post-war river vessels.