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Aleksandr Osipovich Shabalin

Alexander Osipovich Shabalin is a hereditary northerner. Born on November 4, 1914 in the village of Yudmozero in the Onega district of the Arkhangelsk region.

At the age of seventeen, Alexander Shabalin left for Murmansk and became a cabin boy on a fishing trawler. In 1935 he completed navigator courses at the Murmansk Maritime College. In October 1936, Alexander Shabalin was drafted into service in the Navy and sent to the electromechanical school of the training detachment in Kronstadt.

Since September 1938, he served as commander of the torpedo boat TKA-112, and since May 1939, he commanded this boat. Participant of the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940: commander of a detachment of mobilized ships converted into fleet patrol ships. In November 1940, he was sent to repair his boat at the Kronstadt Marine Plant, where he was caught by the news of the beginning of the war. The future twice Hero of the Soviet Union became an officer and commander of a torpedo boat, without having a special higher military education.

In battles of the Great Patriotic War since August 1941. Urgently returning to the North, he received command of the torpedo boat TKA-12. In his first military campaign he showed himself to be a creatively thinking commander: he carried out an attack on a German convoy (a transport accompanied by 4 ships). On the night of October 5-6, Shabalin again attacked the convoy (2 transports, 2 escort ships), reporting the sinking of a large transport (later at the fleet headquarters they “found out” that there were 2,000 soldiers on it). Alexander Shabalin’s battle score continued to grow. On April 18, 1943, a pair of boats under his command attacked a convoy (2 transports, 8 escort ships), reporting the sinking of one transport and damage to the second. On December 22, 1943, during an attack on a large convoy (3 transports, 11 ships and 10 security boats), it torpedoed and sunk the German patrol ship V-6106 Tyrol. Shabalin was the first in the Northern Fleet to begin attacking the enemy from his own shore.

By the beginning of 1944, Shabalin sank a submarine, 4 transports and 2 enemy patrol ships. The title Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded on February 22, 1944.

Lines from the award sheet - “... for the sinking of a submarine, four transports and two enemy patrol ships, for an aircraft shot down in an unequal battle, for repeated mine laying, for landing and shooting sabotage and reconnaissance groups, for rescuing personnel and demonstrating heroism, bravery and courage to award Captain-Lieutenant Shabalin the title of Hero of the Soviet Union."

For high military skill during a double breakthrough with a group of torpedo boats on October 13, 1944 to the port of Liinakhamari (Finland) and a successful landing, commander of a detachment of boats of the 1st division of torpedo boats (torpedo boat brigade, Northern Fleet) Lieutenant Commander Shabalin November 5, 1944 was awarded the second Gold Star medal.

His attacks were always desperately daring and well thought out. Shabalin explained the success of his attacks simply - “...I never used the once and for all established technique of a torpedo attack. It would be a template against which it would be easy to find counteraction. I tried to build each attack in a new way, and for this you need to know the enemy well : where and what kind of firepower he has, how his forces are located."

After the war - commander of a brigade of surface warships, deputy chief of staff of the Northern Fleet.

In 1951 he graduated from the Caspian Higher Naval School.

In 1955 – academic courses at the Naval Academy.

Since 1969 - Deputy Head of the Higher Naval School named after M.V. Frunze.

Since 1975 - counter admiral A.O. Shabalin in reserve.

He was awarded two Orders of Lenin, three Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree, the Red Star, “For Service to the Motherland in the USSR Armed Forces,” 3rd degree, and many medals. He always considered Murmansk, where his career began, to be his hometown, and he visited here several times. Therefore, it is no coincidence that there is a street in the city named after him.

He died on January 16, 1982. He was buried in Leningrad at the Serafimovskoye cemetery.