October 5 combined several eras of Mykolaiv‘s history at once: from the 19th-century sailing fleet and submarine shipbuilding to a future city mayor, a missile cruiser and the COVID-19 pandemic. For the Korabelnyi District the year 2020 was especially memorable, when the local hospital literally within a day was transformed into an almost full COVID hospital.
October 5, 1826: the ship-of-the-line “Empress Maria” was laid down in Mykolaiv
At the Main Admiralty of Mykolaiv the ship-of-the-line “Empress Maria” was laid down, which later joined the Black Sea Fleet. An important calendar clarification is needed here: construction began on September 23, 1826 old style, which corresponds to October 5, 1826 in the modern calendar; this date is cited by the Central Naval Museum.
October 5, 1937: construction of the submarine “S-31” began
At Mykolaiv Plant No. 198 named after A. Marti, formerly “Naval”, construction began on the submarine “S-31” of the IX-bis series for the Black Sea Fleet. Materials of the National University of Shipbuilding record that it entered the combat fleet on June 25, 1940; in total 6 submarines of this series were laid down in Mykolaiv, of which 4 were completed before the start of the German-Soviet war.
October 5, 1948: the long-serving mayor Volodymyr Dmytrovych Chaika was born
Volodymyr Dmytrovych Chaika was born on October 5, 1948 in Beryslav of Kherson region, and later his family moved to Mykolaiv. Korabelov.info reported that he worked at the plant named 61 Kommunar, and from 1985 he was deputy head of the Korabelnyi district executive committee. From 2000 Chaika was elected mayor of Mykolaiv four times. He died on March 2, 2013 at the age of 64 and was buried on March 4. On October 5, 2013, the day he would have turned 65, a memorial plaque was installed near the house where he had lived.
October 5, 1978: the future cruiser “Marshal Ustinov” was laid down in Mykolaiv
On the slipway of the Mykolaiv Shipbuilding Plant named after 61 Kommunar a project 1164 missile cruiser was laid down under the name “Admiral of the Fleet Lobov”. The publication “Militarnyi” confirms that the ship was launched on February 25, 1982, and later received the name “Marshal Ustinov”.
October 5, 2020: a COVID hospital with 150 beds was deployed in Korabelnyi
At City Hospital No. 5 in the Korabelnyi District of Mykolaiv, the former Vitovka Central District Hospital, the pediatric, therapeutic and neurocardiology departments were repurposed for patients with COVID-19 and pneumonia. Korabelov.info reported that 150 beds were deployed, and by the next morning 132 were already occupied. Chief physician Olena Viktorivna Terentyeva also spoke then about a shortage of oxygen points, ill medical staff and personnel resignations.
On this day in Ukraine and the world
On October 5, 2023 Russian forces carried out a missile strike on a cafe in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv region, where people had gathered after the burial of a serviceman. The UN later confirmed the deaths of 59 civilians and concluded that the strike was carried out by Russian forces. Also, every year on October 5 the world marks World Teachers’ Day, which UNESCO has celebrated since 1994.
That is how the date October 5 remained in the history of Mykolaiv and the Korabelnyi District: for almost two centuries the city laid down ships and submarines, a future mayor began his career here, and in the pandemic year 2020 the local hospital within hours found itself almost completely filled with patients.
Earlier we wrote:
- From an aircraft carrier to a trolleybus: what made October 4 memorable in Mykolaiv
- From the first coat of arms to the “Malyutka” and 16 “Shahed” — what made October 3 memorable in Mykolaiv
- A newspaper, shipbuilders, a cruiser and a “three‑day” at “Okean”, MGH shelling: a very Mykolaiv-like October 1
- One aircraft-carrying cruiser launched, the second laid down: what made September 30 memorable in Mykolaiv
- Chess, planes, alumina and a new church: a very Mykolaiv-like September 29
