Kara-class cruiser | |
---|---|
Class overview | |
Builders: | 61 Kommunara Zavod Black Sea Shipyard |
Operators: |
Soviet Navy Russian Navy |
Preceded by: | Kresta |
Succeeded by: | Udaloy / Slava |
Completed: | 7 |
Active: | Kerch |
Laid up: |
Petropavlovsk Vladivostok Ochakov |
Retired: | Azov |
General characteristics | |
Displacement: |
8,200 tons standard 9,700 tons full load[1] |
Length: | 173.2 m |
Beam: | 18.6 m |
Draught: | 6.7 m |
Propulsion: | 2 shaft COGAG, 4 gas turbines, 120,000 hp (89 MW) |
Speed: | 34 knots |
Range: | 9,000 miles |
Complement: | 380 |
Armament: |
2 quad SS-N-14 Silex anti-submarine missiles 2 twin SA-N-3 Goblet surface to air missile launchers (80 missiles) SA-N-4 Gecko surface to air missile launchers (40 missiles) 2 twin 76mm AK-726 dual purpose guns 4 30mm AK-630 CIWS 2x5 533 mm PTA-53-1134B torpedo tubes 2 RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers 2 RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launchers 24 SA-N-6 Grumble surface to air missiles [on Azov] |
Aircraft carried: | 1 Kamov Ka-25 'Hormone-A' or Kamov Ka-27 'Helix' |
The Kara class were Cold War era Soviet warships designated guided missile cruisers by NATO. The Soviet designation is Project 1134B Berkut B - Беркут Б (Golden Eagle) and the Soviet mission description is "large anti-submarine warfare ship" (BPK) and not "cruiser".
Design[]
These ships were enlarged versions of the Kresta II class, with gas turbine engines replacing the steam turbines. These ships were fitted as flagships with improved command, control and communications facilities. These are dedicated ASW ships with significant anti-aircraft capability including both SA-N-3 and SA-N-4 surface to air missiles. The specifications for the class were issued in 1964 with the design being finalised in the late 1960s. The gas turbine engine was chosen instead of steam for greater efficiency and quietness, and because the main Soviet gas turbine plant had a long association with the Nikolayev shipyards.
The cruiser Azov was constructed as a trials ship for the SA-N-6 missile system and was also fitted with the associated Top Dome Radar. During the Cold War she was confined to the Black Sea.
Ships[]
These ships were built by the 61 Kommunar Shipyard at Mykolaiv (Nikolayev) on the Black Sea.
Ship | Fleet | Laid Down | Launched | Completed | Fate/Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nikolayev - Николаев | Black Sea | 25 June 1968 | 19 December 1969 | 31 December 1971 | Scrapped in 1994 |
Ochakov -Очаков | Black Sea | 19 December 1969 | 30 April 1971 | 4 November 1973 | Decommissioned 22 August 2011 |
Kerch- Керчь | Black Sea | 30 April 1971 | 21 July 1972 | 26 December 1974 | Active, Black Sea Fleet, 2009 |
Azov - Азов | Black Sea | 21 July 1972 | 14 September 1973 | 25 December 1975 | Decommissioned 28 December 1998, scrapped at Inkerman (Sevastopol) in 1999-2000 |
Petropavlovsk - Петропавловск | Russian Pacific Fleet | 9 September 1973 | 22 November 1974 | 29 December 1976 | Sold for scrap in 1996. |
Tashkent - Ташкент | Pacific Fleet | 22 November 1974 | 5 November 1975 | 21 December 1977 | Sold for scrap in 1994 |
Vladivostok - Владивосток - (ex Tallinn) | Black Sea Fleet | 5 November 1975 | 5 November 1976 | 31 December 1979 | Sold for scrap in 1994 |
References[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nikolaev class cruiser. |
- ↑ Chant, Chris (2004). Warships Today. Summertime Publishing Ltd. p. 98. ISBN 0-7607-6700-9.
- Gardiner, Robert (ed.) (1995). Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN 0-85177-605-1. OCLC 34284130. Also published as Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław (1995). Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7. OCLC 34267261.
- (Russian)Article
- (English)FAS.org
- (English)Kara Class "Kerch" Photoalbum
- (English)warfare.ru page
- (English)Global Security.org
- (English) All Russian Kara Class Cruisers - Complete Ship List
|
|
The original article can be found at Kara-class cruiser and the edit history here.