Fort Count Milyutin was originally named something completely different. The first name was Third Southern, and the second was Tower Battery. The current name was given to the structure by Alexander II himself, who made a personal visit to these places and thus honored the famous Russian Field Marshal General Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin.
Built in 1855–1856 (Totleben), rebuilt in 1869–1879 (Zverev). The fort is named after General-Adjutant Milyutin, Dmitry Alekseevich (1816–1912), a close associate of Alexander II in carrying out progressive reforms, a doctor of history, chairman of the Military Council, corresponding and honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, honorary member of the Mikhailovskaya Military Academy. During his tenure as Minister of War, reforms of the military department and modernization of the Kronstadt forts were carried out. It was during this time that the transition from smoothbore artillery to rifled artillery took place, which significantly increased firing range and led to changes in battle tactics.
In 1863, a decision was made to build a battery equipped with Coles turret installations. The guns in the turrets, installed on coastal fortifications, had an almost full circular firing sector and high shooting accuracy due to their fixed base and preliminary sighting.
Fort 3 Milyutin was initially considered in many different variants, but no final decision could be reached. The fate of the structure was determined only closer to 1865, when Totleben himself, a domestic general-adjutant, visited these places. The battery was approved as a turret battery and was built not in the previous location but a little closer to the western part. After the project was approved, construction began, retaining the previously assigned number but on a different site. Fort South 3 Count Milyutin is a structure on frames with pile reinforcement. This construction technology was previously actively used for building other defensive batteries. In 1868, by decree of the same Alexander II, the battery was named "turret," and Fort Milyutin began to take on its modern outlines. This fort is depicted in many drawings and assembled models. However, in the mid-19th century, artillery armament was rapidly developing, and weak and inaccurate smoothbore guns began to be replaced by rifled guns. Moreover, England and the USA had already begun testing entire turret installations, which were later installed on Battery 3. Six such installations, made according to the Coles system, opened a completely new chapter in the history of Kronstadt's defense. Briefly about the turrets of the southern fort: Their diameter was 8.5 meters, and the armor thickness was about 30 centimeters. The armor was produced directly at the Kama plant and had quite impressive characteristics. For example, the protective layer could easily withstand direct hits from 14-inch rifled gun shells. Furthermore, the turrets themselves could rotate using special steam engines, with steam supplied from local boiler houses. A full rotation of such a turret could be completed in one minute, and manually soldiers could turn it in three minutes. Inside the turrets were huge guns that fired shells weighing 240 kilograms. These shells were supplied to a height of 6 meters using the same steam engines. By 1879, construction of the facility was fully completed, and inside each turret, 11-inch guns produced in 1867 were installed. In total, the assembled weight of one such turret was about 500 tons. Such dimensions and firepower inspired fear even in the strongest enemy, as the structure seemed invulnerable. Time is merciless to everything, as is progress. Therefore, Fort Milyutin underwent several changes in its architecture. At the very end of the 19th century, for example, a special brick casemate for a concealed searchlight was added here. The solution was unique in that it became the first such project in fortresses. Later, the steam engines responsible for automating the moving parts were replaced by electric generators, for which a casemate for a locomotive was installed in 1899. By the early 1890s, the fort had quite impressive armament. Inside the turrets were 12 guns (11 inches), 6 field 9-pounder guns in the amount of 4 pieces, and two 4-pounder guns. Over time, rearmament proceeded on schedule, but closer to modern times, the guns were gradually removed, and the building itself received UNESCO heritage status.
Source:
https://droogie.ru/spot/fort-3-yuzhnyj-graf-milyutin/
https://vk.com/@kronstadt.live-forty-kronshtadta
