The molten walls of the Zverev fort cause controversy among historians

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

About 4 km from about. Kotlin and 7, 5 km from the coast of the bay on the northern roadstead there is a fort Zverev. It is interesting that there are a lot of numbered forts in the vicinity of Kronstadt, but our hero has several names of his own at once. Locals know this picturesque and majestic object, built back in 1860, under the names Northern Fort No. 4, Pogorelets or Gorely. This small fortress had a number of guns in 4 casemates and a pair of mortar batteries outside under the rampart, it was capable of flanking and frontal fire.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the island fort was turning into a storage for naval ammunition; a special railway was even laid to the huge warehouse building. By the way, it was here that the first asphalt pavement in Russia was used for the construction of roads. Further, the Zverev fort is used mainly for shooting practice and tactical training, but in 1941-45 it was again armed with 120 mm guns for shelling enemy units entrenched in Peterhof and Strelna.

As soon as you get inside the fort, eerie views of melted walls and brick icicles open up to your eyes.

There is an official version to explain this mystery.

In 1961, Northern Fort No. 4 was decommissioned, all defensive equipment was confiscated. Careless handling of ancient monuments leads to tragedy. In 1970, the building completely burns out. The fire was so powerful that it burned for several weeks. The terrible consequences of the elements are still visible on the walls, the brickwork literally melted, and millions of icicles hang from the ceiling. The impression is that the old casemates are splashed with streams of boiling magma.

Eerie traces of thermal effects have turned the ancient fort into a kind of extinct volcano. It is not surprising that after inspecting this place, many suspicions arose about the materials once stored here. It is known that melting a brick requires about 1000 ° C, and for a ceramic one 1800 ° C.

One of the versions says that there is a warehouse with fuel. When fuel oil burns, the temperature can rise to 1300 ° C. It seems to be suitable … But for the combustion of petroleum products oxygen is needed.

Other researchers suspect that the warehouses contained not only lubricants, but also secret phosphorus ammunition that could flare up with great fury like napalm.

However, I believe that the most plausible version was that there was a warehouse of artillery powder. Many will be indignant, they say, gunpowder explodes! But not everyone knows that an explosion requires combustion in an enclosed space. And by itself, gunpowder simply burns with a strong and fast flame, and does not need oxygen from the air.

But be that as it may, the controversy continues.