Boris Prokozov

[redoctober]

Before the war, Boris studied at military school. At the beginning of the war joined the army and served in the Baltic Fleet. He was demobilized in 1961. He worked in a munitions factory where he tested prototypes hovercraft for military purposes.

 

^ Boris with his Grandchildren Natalia and Olga

 

Award Card

Order Booklet 728786

1. Last name: Prokazov

2. Name and patrionymic: Boris Aleksandrovich

3. Rank: Petty Officer 1^st Class

4. Gender: Male

5. Birthyear: 1918

6. Birthplace: Yaroslav Oblast, in the area of the holiday area “Red Hill”

7. Party membership: since 1942

8. Education: Secondary

9. Nationality: Russian

10. Time in Red Army: since 09.09.1938

11. Place of service at awarding: 7^th Watchboat Unit of Regional Water Protection for Luga Naval Base, Commander of a section of motormen

12. Place of work at present: 5^th Baltic seperate unit of patrol ships, LV MVD – Motorist 1 class

13. Home address: Yaroslav Oblast, in the area of the holiday area “Red Hill”

14. Awards:

     

Designation Serial Number Awarding Organization

Red Banner 114 821 Decree of the Command of the Baltic Fleet No.62 of 5.7.1944
Defense of Leningrad - Decree of 22.2.1942
Victory over Germany - Decree of 9.5.1945

Verified by the commander of the 5^th Baltic seperate unit of patrol ships

Captain 3^rd rank / [signed] / Budko

6^th June 1946

 

^The crew of the ZK-40 in 1953

 

 

Award Sheet

To Commander of a section of motormen, ship“ZK-40”, 7^th Watchboat Unit of Regional Water Protection for Luga Naval Base
Petty Officer 2^nd Class Prokazov, Boris Aleksandrovich
for Medal for Ushakov

 

1. Year of Birth: 1918

2. Nationality: Russian

3. Social Status: Worker

4. Party membership: Communist party member

5. Since when in the Red Army or Red Navy: Since 1939

6. Participation in the Civil War: No participation

7. Wounds and contusions: None

8. Recommended previously for an award, when and what for: Recomended for ship repairs during winter of 1943-1944

9. Any promotions or awards that have been previously granted: Medal for the Defense of Leningrad; Gramota from the command of the Baltic fleet for ship repairs and numerous thanks.

10. Service in the white and other Bourgeois armies and time spent in captivity: Hasn't served and hasn't been held captive.

11. Home address: [blanked out]

Short, concrete description of combat feat or service

In the performance of combat operations in the campaign of 1944 and in the destruction of the newly found design of booby-trap, Petty Officer 2nd Class Prokazov as an experienced sailor was appointed as oarsman in a boat – after approaching the mine-trap, risking his life he fastened the ends of a cable to them and undermined them. He personally has secured and undermined 13 mine-traps.

During an enemy aircraft raid, Comrade Prokazov was positioned in the engine room where he quickly started the engine and ensured the required course for maneuvering the ship in the repelling of enemy aircraft.

During the winter the repairs of his ship regularly overfulfilled the norms specified by 200-250%.

In the course of 1943 he served in the post of commander of detachment of motormen, thanks to his hard work and knowledge of the materiel they suffered no breakdowns of any engines.

In Great Patriotic War he has taken part in more than 460 combat outings.

For courage and bravery displayed in combat with the enemy he is worthy of the government award, the Ushakov medal.
Commander of the 7^th Watchboat Unit of Regional Water Protection for Luga Naval Base
24^th June 1944

Deserves the Government award, the Ushakov medal
Commander of Regional Water Protection for Luga Naval Base of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet
Captain 1^st Rank / [signed] / Bogdanovich
25^th June 1944

Deserves the Government award, the Order of the Red Banner
26^th June 1944

^ZK-40 in 1944

A Dangerous Bouquet

 

Shortly before the landing of boats at Vyborg, the 7^th Unit of Minesweeper boats relocated to the mobile base at Gakkovo – a small fishing village. By daylight we trawled Luga bay, chosing Kurgalsky reef to be trawled and bypassing Haylodu, entering the Narva bay whose waters were crammed with mines.

Even in Ust-Luga naval base they showed us pictures from the decrypted film of the central section of the Narva bay and the south banks of Vigrund. These pictures were especially clear with precise lines, which meant we knew the mines exhibited a small indentation. At the same time in the headquarters we were told that the commander of the gunboat "ZK-40" received orders – to use wooden shields to protect us in the most dangerous quadrants.

On June 13th-14^th, panels were towed out and anchored. This “Mine Square” our bombers used as a training ground – practivcng in precision bombing and simultaneously discharging an enemy minefield.

We learned that the commander of the “40”, at the junction of two waterways – 305G and 306A – discovered a large number of green floats in the water.
He thought of fishing nets: for booby-traps (which exactly they were), but he had no idea. The boat barely escaped from the "networks" and returned to Gakkovo.
The report from the commander of the “40” alarmed the commanders of the Regional Water Protection.

They created a shock-search group. It included the boat “ZK-40”, two boats – trawlers from our 7^th battalion - “KT-97” and “KT-356” under the command of Chief Petty Officer G.M Davidenko and Midshipman V.D Rakhaeva, as well as a detachment of boats such as ZIS with a minimal wake.

On June 18^th, after careful preperation the shock-search group left Gakkovo. They didn't have to search long for the booby-traps: they were in sight. Seven traps were destroyed on the first day. One, undercut the trawler “KT-97” while being towed in Gakkovo. The head of the shock-search group's flagship miner, Captain 3^rd Class Andrei Barabanov easily disarmed her. It turned out to be a anchored electro-percussive mine “type G” with an additional explosive tripwire.

The subsequent search delivered several more mines and they were disarmed. It became clear that the traps had been manufactured and delivered recently on floats as they had fresh paint and a production date of "1944". For a week - from the 20^th to 26^th June – the shock-search group destroyed 108 traps and mapped (from northwest to southeast) the places of operation of these new snares.

So what exactly makes up this mine-trap?

The device is very simple. A hemp rope - eight millimeters thick and thirty meters long - at one end with two wires with clips attached to an electrical sensor or electro-percussive cap. Secondly, the free end is held on the surface by a serie of cork floats, positioned every six to eight meters. A Rotor, rudder, ship's hull or a submarine periscope, touches the rope, pulls it, the sensors are triggered, there is an explosion, then the ship is destroyed or crippled. These booby-traps are especially dangerous at night, in windy weather and fog.

The first encounter with the enemy's invention in 1943 was by commander of the 1st battalion VK Kimaev. He brought the traps to the island of Lavensari. There they studied them and made a detailed descripton of their workings. We knew about them.

The booby-traps we discovered in 1944 was somewhat reconstructed. The memp rope was replaced with steel and had been shortened shortened and they had used bottles of sea waters as the floats. In calm, clear weather traps are visible far away. The series of floats, lit by the rays of the sun, shine, shimmer and seem to be sitting on the water like small colorful birds. In bad weather, when the wind blows, waves roll, the floats are tangled, intertwined and become like floating bouquet of flowers. Signalman of "KT-47" sailor Nicholas Tolstopyatov once reported:

“Straight ahead on the water I see the "bouquets of flowers".”

When the "bouquets" had been undermined and the roar of the explosions died down, some of the sailors shouted:

“Well, thank you, Tolstopyatov, you noticed the "flowers" in time!..”

The treacherous traps brought us a lot of hassle. Somehow our neighbors, boats from the 1st Battalion, trawled a minefield, littered with shallowdraft mines and traps. The boat "R-707" of midshipman Vladimir Chernonosova snagged a mine, and a few minutes later - a second. The mines were not hooking. "707" lost speed. Soon the lookout reported:

“Right twenty, distance forty, traps!”

A huge gale of wind blew the boat towards the trap. Chernonosov attempted to manouver but the mines which were located in the trawl didn't allow him to do it. Abandon the trawl? The commander was going to, but he couldn't. The boat carried. Chernonosov stalled the engine, estimating that by drifting facing starboard, the trap will be held astern. It didn't guarantee security, but there was no alternative.

They were rescued by detachment commander Lieutenant Yevgeny Arkhipov. His boat "KT-715" at approached the "R-707" at full speed and his second lieutenant with extraordinary dexterity threw the bow a Mooring Shot (ring) over the anchor leg of the "707".

“Hold on, Ensign!” - Shouted Arkhipov and not slowing down he rolled back to the left.

^Boris and family

Chernonosov then commanded them to complete their course and the traps, only that now they are just 5 or 6 metres from the side, were left behind. The stern of the trawler had surfaced 2 undercutting mines. Among them they hurried away the boat carrying the demolition squad and soon the explosions thundered.

We learned to deal with traps. The commander of the "KT-97" Petty Officer 1st Class Gregory Davidenko proposed such a method. Two sailors on a boat approached the mine trap, tied to her a hundred-meter cable, the free end kept on board the boat where it's fastened his bollard and - full speed ahead! Behind you goes the explosion. Finnish booby traps were even more dangerous. They do not float on the surface and are at a depth of 10-15 centimeters, and even in high visibility you could detect them only at a distance of 20-30 meters, whereas the German models - 350-500 meters.

In order for the sailors to learn to recognize this insidious weapon, at Gakkovo they conducted special training sessions. All ships as a visual aid received neutralized traps, their description and the rules to combat them.

The intention of the German naval command – to weaken our minesweeping forces, to make the fleet idle, trapped in our bases - failed. We found and destroyed their minefields of booby-traps. Thus we didn't lose a single ship. But it's true, the struggle with traps required the large concentration of effort, skill and time of the personnel. On June 25^th, our units received a combat mission - to explore with trawl nets a significant portion of the Gulf of Narva. It was the quadrant that was protected by the boards from boat "ZK-40".

I have already said that our pilots were carrying out bombing training in this quadrant. To the north was another goal - a sunken transporter, its superstructure and part of the body rose above the water. The work of our pilots, we often watched from trawling areas and heard the rumble of explosions. The pilots destroyed the mines, we had to completely clear the place as it was on a very important fairway.

Aerial photographs managed to find mines in our area, set at a depth of 60 centimeters to one and a half meters. For two days - 25 and 26 June - the sea was creeping fog, we trawled. In the next two days we revealed a dense barrage of shallow set anchored mines. We destroyed 19 mines and a number of mine defenders.

 

Nikolai Mikhailovich Yeramenko
Commander of ship ZK-40

Awarded the Order of the Red Banner by the same decree as Boris Prokazov

“In the Gulf of Narva they had found a minefield of booby traps which in a timely manner they plotted and actively began to look for a method to destroy them in order to prevent the destruction of their ships, and he found this method.
He is currently involved in the liquidation and destruction of a minefield of discovered booby traps.
Under his leadership and direct supervision they have already destroyed more than 50 booby traps whilst contending with enemy artillery and air attacks.
During his work on 21.6.44 while working in a minefield to destroy booby traps the enemy planes swooped down and began to attack our ships that were working in the mine fields. With their fire they managed to fight off the enemy aircraft, not only from themselves but from the other ships which thereby made it possible for them to continue to work on the destruction of the traps.

The boat ZK-40 shot down one FW-190.
With the opening of the route, as an experienced commander they were first to be sent on a combat mission / keeping watch, escorting convoys, search the minefields for the enemy / of these operation they have successfully carried out more than 50.
Personally he has shot five mines and 9 enemy buoys.
During the winter season of 1944 he was well prepared to navigate his ship. He invented a lag technique (method of measuring distance at sea) which currently enjoys success.
During the campaign in 1943 he has taken part in 156 combat sorties, 21 times under heavy artillery fire and conducting caravans under convoy of over 36,000 tons of cargo. 27 postings were under exposure to enemy aircraft.

For exceptional courage and valor displayed in the battles with the enemies of the homeland, he is worthy of the government award of the Order of the Red Banner.”

 

Family Life

Boris Prokazov married his wife Valentina Pertseva in 1949,

Born in Leningrad in 1925, she graduated from a course in radio operation and was sent to the front in 1943. That same year she was wounded and spent 6 months in hospital. In 1944 she was relocated to the far east and returned to Leningrad in 1945.

^Valentina in 1943

^The Prokozov family in happier times

Valentina Pertseva was born to Maria (Solodkova) Pertseva and Ivan Pertsev.
Maria survived the war but Ivan sadly perished in 1942 from starvation in the besieged Leningrad.

^Valentina and her parents Ivan and Maria

"Pertseva, Mariya Fedorovna

I am sending the very best possible greetings and wishes from your loving spouse Ivan N. Pertseva. This greeting i hope will live on forever in your heart and memory for a lifetime. The Patriotic War of the Soviet Union against German fascism has claimed a lot of people, as well as their names, from where there is no return. Marusiya, bring up our daughter so that after all of this she can live for many years and remember her father, that is, her papa Ivan Nikolaevich Pertsev.

Goodbye with eternal greetings, Pertsev I.N.

1st May 1942"

 

[Leaftree]

Fascinating read,  thanks for posting.?

[Egorka]

So great of a read! Thank you very much for sharing!

[Egorka]

Here is the record for ORB # 114821 being awarded to Petty Officer 2st Class PROKAZOV.

[Wild Card]

An amazing story and presentation.

Thank you for your time and effort.

Wild Card