1. PORT OF MURMANEK 2. AMMUNITION EXPLOSION AT PIER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001500900001-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2005
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 10, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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COUNTRY
SUBJECT
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DATE OF INFO.
USSR (Arctic)
1. Port of Mhr>e ,nek
2. Ammunition Xcp'loeion at Pier
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
/0 T'vly
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"".2. At noon on 31 January 19531 a group of
Soviet warships, coming from the direction north of Eildin Island (N69-21. 134-.26),
approached from. an easterly direction, steering for the entrance of Murmansk Inlet.1
,They Were sighte when approximately at X69-25t E33-2.. The group included five
25X1 destroyers they all were of the same type.
The ships were in good condition,. having a dark-gray coat of paint, and were
cruisin inperfect or r They proceeded in line about 100 meters apart; they
25X1 Inlet, quickly disappears in the
25X1 ze. the rearmost destroyer was 25X1
flying a white flag with a red inclined cross at her signal yard. the group 25X1
turned away to starboard, and probably put into Olenya Bay (N69-13, 233-21), or
PotYam(N69-12
yy , 233-28). These destroyers, which were abort 100meters long,
had two, raking funnels with a black top band or a smoke hood, 4lhey also had a
tripod mast betweeiz the bridge and the forward funnel, a sm ll signal mast forward
of the after funnel, and carried a rangefinder on the bridge, as well as a top,
a radar installation, with a pear-shaped cupola. They had a twin turret on the
foredeck and two other turrets on the fantail. A torpedo mount, which 2 5XI
d
h
II h
a
t
ree tubes, was located between the two funnels. A similar torpedo
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mount was located aft of the second funnel, and two depth charge throwers were
located on the stern. Antiaircraft s were ted in various places on the
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NAVY
AIR
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25X1 ov a ype patrol vessel, which was
en m or vesse w ou a funnel arrived from the southern entrance of
rekaterininskiy Island (N69-13, 133-27) 25X1
IIruct The Soviet vessel was about 45 meters long, and had two masts, a bridge
II ure on the after deck, and an antiquated shieidless gun with a short, thick
barrel in front of the bridge structure. At the peak of the gaff of her mizzen
mast, she flew the Soviet war ensign, which had a blue stripe on the lower edge.
Three men wears far coats were in the bridge house. while no crew members were
25X1 on deck. the patrol vessel turned off
at high speed in the direction of Polyarn through the southern entrance, making
a good speed and a large bow wave.3 The pilot vessel, which had come from.Tyuva Bay.,
25X1 was a single-masted, motor fishing cutter; it was painted black, and had a plain
bridge house aft. A ermanentl mounted machine Rtm was located each
of
the bridge house. 25X1
soldier was posted on the forward and of the ship, and the other on the fantail.
All sea charts and binoculars were locked in the charthouse.
4. At dusk, a large, brightly illuminated, floating dock was observed at the western
25X1 corner of Vayengs Bay (N69-05, -26). =the entire upper edge of the dock was
25X1 illuminate the dock could accommodate ships up to
20,000 tons. Brightly Illuminated workshops, apparently installations of the
shipyard to which the floating dock belonged,, were observed ashore. No details
25X1 of the shipyard installations, which seemed to be very large, could be observed.
The silhouettes of some large warships, which were totally blacked out and
25X exhibited only riding lights, were observed in Vayenga Bay.
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5? I Imooring berth
25X1 near a rbor installations in rmana The mooring berth
was in the commercial harbor near a signal tower at the head of the south pier.
A total of 15 border - guards . and customs officers arrived on a small tugI
6. Three auxiliary ships of the Soviet Navy were near the signal tower on the south
pier. They were painted gray, and carried the Soviet war ensign. One,: a si le-stack
vessel of about 1,500 GET, was a former freighter of modern design,, which
25X11 was a tender or supply ship. The second ship, which was a single-masted
2 5X1 one-stacker of about 1,500 GRT, had a flush and unencumbered after deck, fitted with
a large bulb on the upper eArs of her square stern, and large net-lifting cranes
25X1.at the 8 ern- it was a netlayer. The third ship, which
was an auxiliary ship of about 2,000 GRT, had two masts and a single stack.
zt-bac rak .bow and a low foredeyk- and had her deck structure in the mid-section
.
25X1 C_ I the ship was the former German auxiliary
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the a tits
loading quay, a short .stone jetty about 150 meters long.
strong
current was running. The tidal range was about 1.5 meters. Apatite, which
had been dumped in a place close to the pier, was the only cargo shipped at
this berth. The apatite dump had three spur tracks. The loading cars were
emptied by three,small,traveling, motor cranes. No cranes were on the loading
25X1 Pier. The ship was loaded by a floating crane, which was maneuvered between
source's ship and the pier. The crane, which had a capacity of three to four
tons uickl patite from the dump;
9.
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A wooden pier,with some wooden sheds and a high iron smokestack was about 800
meters from the apatite loading place in the direction of Rosta (N69-03, 533-05).
On 2 and 3 February 1953, two large cargo lighters, each of about 1,000 tone'
capacity, lay alongside this pier. They unloaded boxes with their cranes. At
about 1400 hours on 3 February, ammunition, anti-
aircraft and tracer shells, exploded on the pier. er the explosion, the
wooden pier and several wooden sheds were ablaze. The two lighters were
hurriedly towed to the opposite shore by a small tug, while firemen and soldiers
fought the fire. The area was cordoned off by soldiers. The fire was mothered
during the afternoon. F777 I
observed at another pier tied up side by side, north of the ammunition dump.
Two warships of remarkably large size, with widely separated funnels,, were
a heavy, multi-staged 'naYral, mast on one of the ships.
In the northern
25X1 e own. about 100 navy men, who wore dark blue,
knee-length cloaks with gold anchor buttons; they wore blue sailor'bats'with a
black ribbon and gold inscription[ I They were
25X unarmed and loitered about. ]about men walking to the harbor.
They wore fur caps with ear I.Laps, as c coats without epaulets. Some of them
had fur collars, and wore leather waist belts with istol hole on their coats;
others carried rifles slung on the shoulder. I some unarmed
2 5X1soldiers with visor-type caps with flat crimson tops and dark-red edges. They
wore camel-hair cloaks with broad, red epaulets, and a brown waist belt.
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Legend to the, of Murmansk:
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2. Three Soviet auxiliary ships.
3. A stone signal tower with a small house on the roof,with a signal moat on the
latter. During the night, the signal station made its signals by flashing light.
4. Coaling pier with electric cranes, store sheds, and spur tracks.
5. "Lesnyye"- bridge loading pier.
6. Apatite loading pier.
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25X1 8? Floating crane
9. Wooden pier on which an ammunition dump exploded on 3 February.
1.0. Two lighters which unloaded boxes at the wooden pier. Following the
explosion, the lighters were towed to the opposite shore.
11. Two large warships, with two widely separated funnels, and a very large,
multi-staged fighting tower (sic).
12. Sunken vessel.
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25X1 1. Comment. Set Point is probably Set-Navalok (N69-24,.133-30).
25X1 2. I (Comment. The description seems to indicate that these vessels were
new "Modified 0-Class" destroyers.
25X1 3. r----]Comment. The description indicates that vessel BO-234,isnot a
BO-type or AR'PILLBRIST-Class vessel. It is interesting that B0-234
returned to Polyarn'',. through the southern passage, which in German
sea chart No. 1195 (1944 Edition) is charted as a drying tidal flat.
The Soviets seem to have dredged this passage, which can now presumably
be used by destroyers.
25X1 4. L ____j CQn1 ent. For sketch of Murmansk harbor installations, see page 5.
25X1 5? 0 Comment. A single-funnel netlayer was observed at a pier off Rosta
on 22 August 1952. No former German auxiliary by the name of GOMM is
2 5X1 6. I ! Co ent. The two large ships were the two CHAPAYKP-Class crmisers,
the CRLP4YJ and the ZHZEI NYAKOV, which were transferred to the Arctic
waters from the Baltic Sea in the summer of 1951.
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