History

The Order of Nakhimov was established on March 3, 1944 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This Order was created for naval officers and designed by M.A Shipelevski, E.A Berkov, and M.B Khomich. It was named after the Russian Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, who defended Sevastopol from 1854 to 1855.

The II Class was awarded to naval officers for personal leadership in the defence of coastline, communications, bases, and the accompanying destruction of enemy forces; for audacious operations conduct in mining enemy coastlines; for successfully completing a mission while demonstrating personal bravery, and also resulting in the significant destruction of enemy ships; for subordinate leadership that contributed to victory; or for support of operations that allowed for combat success. The II Class was awarded to 467 individuals and 2 units.

The II Class consists of three pieces composed of silver and red enamel. The reverse is solid silver, with a Monetny Dvor mint mark in two lines below the screwpost and the hand-engraved at the 6 o'clock position. Serial numbers range from roughly 20-300.

The obverse Russian inscription translates to: "Admiral Nakhimov."