BK-13, warship memorial on the Central Embankment in Volgograd, Russia
BK-13 is a Project 1125 armoured boat built in 1941 at the Zelenodolsk shipyard and launched in spring 1942. Since 1994 it has stood as a monument at the central entrance of the Battle of Stalingrad museum-panorama in Volgograd, and in 1995 it was placed on a pedestal designed by architect T. P. Sadovsky.
The BK-13 is a Project 1125 armoured boat laid down at the Zelenodolsk shipyard in 1941 and launched in spring 1942. It joined the Volga Military Flotilla on 10 July 1942 and fought in the defence of Stalingrad from 24 July to 17 December 1942; its commander, Lieutenant Dmitry Markin, received the Order of the Red Banner. Transferred to the Dnieper Flotilla on 14 September 1943, it later served in the Danube Flotilla until that unit was disbanded in 1960.
The boat's number, 13, gave it the nickname "Trinadtsaty" ("The Thirteenth"), used in the local press. A memorial plaque placed beside the monument in 2013 lists the names of the crew members, so visitors can read who served aboard during the Stalingrad fighting.
The boat stands outdoors at the central entrance of the Stalingrad Battle panorama museum on the Central Embankment, on a pedestal by architect T. P. Sadovsky since 1995. A memorial plaque with the crew's names was added beside it in 2013. It is a walk-by monument, not a vessel you board, so allow a short stop while crossing the embankment.
The BK-13 is one of at least twelve surviving armoured boats of project 1125 kept as monuments in Russia and the former USSR. Its near-identical twin, the BK-31, sunk in action on 9 October 1942, was raised from the Volga in 2017 and is being restored in Volgograd.
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