Watch All-Female Crew Put Out Fires, Stop Water Intake During Drills in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet

Women make up about seven percent of the Russian military’s total strength, and have historically played a crucial role in ensuring victory during the Second World War II. For most of the country’s history, however, the navy has remained a man’s domain.

P-834, a Raptor-class high-speed patrol boat in the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has received its first-ever all-female crew, who are now engaged in advanced training exercises.

The crew of three’s initial preparation began earlier this year at the Navy’s joint training center in St. Petersburg, with trainees engaging in studies and using a simulator to practice going out to sea and safe navigation in various sea conditions.

During the second stage, under the guidance of instructors, the trainees have carried out multiple strenuous tasks including extinguishing fires in the ship’s interior, patching up leaks in the hull, and reversing water intake.

Report by Zvezda, the Russian Defence Ministry's official television channel, showing some aspects of the all-female patrol boat crew's training.

At the moment, the crew is undertaking advanced drilling and practical exercises as part of an anti-submarine warfare and anti-sabotage detachment at the Black Sea Fleet’s naval base in Crimea. The next step is combat training.

The Raptor-class high-speed patrol craft is a multi-purpose vessel designed for a range of missions from coastal patrolling to search and rescue, anti-sabotage and counter-terrorism. The boats are fitted with a remotely-operated 14.5mm machine gun, and bracket mounts for additional weapons, and feature a 2,000hp engine enabling them to accelerate to up to 50 knots. The Raptor’s other features include an integrated modern navigation and detection system and computerized command and control.

Women in the Military

Around 41,000 women currently serve in the Russian armed forces, about 4,000 of them officers, with over 40 reaching the rank of colonel. Another 272,000 women work in military units and various structures of the Russian armed forces.

Women first got the opportunity to serve aboard Russian Navy’s surface ships in 2018, with the decision to reform the rules on their recruitment made in 2015. Since then, dozens of women have trained in naval academies, studying everything from the use of firearms, and marching in formation to deep-sea diving and more.

The last time that women were widely mobilized for service in the Navy was during the Second World War, when some 21,600 women signed up to serve in the Pacific Fleet and the Amur Flotilla. These women joined hundreds of thousands of others who signed up to partisan, air force and sniper units and even tank crews, with their exploits becoming the stuff of legend and nearly one hundred of them earning the title Hero of the Soviet Union.