Severnaia Dvina Naval Flotilla

Severnaia Dvina Naval Flotilla 

a flotilla created in the period Aug. 5–14, 1918, after the interventionists’ seizure of Arkhangel’sk, primarily from ships and vessels previously removed from Arkhangel’sk. The base of formation was initially Krasnoborsk and subsequently Kotlas. P. F. Vinogradov was the organizer of the flotilla.

In August 1918 the Severnaia Dvina Naval Flotilla included three armed steamships, a patrol tugboat, and a landing company of 142 seamen. By September 1919 it had been augmented by nine gunboats, five floating batteries, 11 minesweepers, five patrol vessels, eight patrol cutters, 35 vessels of various other classes, a landing and reconnaissance detachment, and a detachment of 11 seaplanes. K. I. Pronskii commanded the flotilla from Aug. 30, 1918, and V. N. Varvatsi from June 1919 to February 1920.

The Severnaia Dvina Naval Flotilla engaged in combat operations against the superior forces of the river flotillas of the White Guards and interventionists; it supported units of the Sixth Army and landed parties behind enemy lines. On May 26, 1920, after the interventionists and White Guards had been defeated in the north, the flotilla was disbanded; part of its forces were shifted to the North Sea Naval Forces.