Kirov class battlecruiser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Kirov class battlecruiser Frunze |
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders: | Leningrad |
| Operators: |  Soviet Navy Russian Navy |
| In service: | 1980 |
| Completed: | 5 |
| Cancelled: | Dzerzhinsky |
| Active: | Admiral Nakhimov (ex-Kalinin) Pyotr Velikiy (ex-Yuri Andropov) |
| Retired: | Admiral Ushakov (ex-Kirov) Admiral Lazarev (ex-Frunze) |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 24,300 tons Standard, 28,000 (Full Load) |
| Length: | 252 m (830 ft) |
| Beam: | 28.5 m (94 ft) |
| Draft: | 9.1 m (30 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft CONAS, Nuclear propulsion with steam turbine boost 140,000 shp |
| Speed: | 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Range: | 1,000 nautical miles (2,000 km) at 30 knots (56 km/h) (combined propulsion), Essentially unlimited with nuclear power at 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement: | 710 |
| Armament: | 20 P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck) AShM 14 SS-N-14 Silex ASW cruise missiles (Ushakov only) 12x8 (96) S-300PMU Favorit SA-N-6 Grumble surface-to-air missiles (Ushakov, Lazarev, Nakhimov) 96 S-400 (SA-NX-20 Gargoyle) long-range SAM (Pyotr Velikhy) 192 9K311 Tor (SA-N-9 Gauntlet) point defense SAM 44 OSA-MA (SA-N-4 Gecko) PD SAM 2x RBU-1000 305 mm ASW rocket launchers 2x RBU-12000 (Udav-1) 254 mm ASW rocket launchers 1 twin AK-130 130 mm/L70 dual purpose gun (2x AK-100 100 mm/L60 DP guns in Ushakov) 10 533 mm ASW/ASuW torpedo tubes, Type 53 torpedo or SS-N-15 ASW missile 8x AK-630 hex gatling 30 mm/L60 PD guns (Ushakov, Lazarev) 6x CADS-N-1 Kashtan missile/gun system (Nakhimov, Pyotr Velikhy) |
| Armour: | 76 mm plating around reactor compartment, light splinter protection |
| Aircraft carried: | 3 helicopters |
| Aviation facilities: | Below-deck hangar |
The Kirov class battlecruisers are the largest and most powerful surface combatant warships in the Russian Navy and the world. Originally built for the Soviet Navy, in Russia they are usually known by the designation Project 1144 Orlan (meaning Sea eagle).
They are among the largest warships in the world, second only to aircraft carriers, and are similar in size to a World War I battleship. Because of this, the ships are sometimes known as battlecruisers in the West. It is more appropriate to consider Kirov an oversized guided missile cruiser, analogous to the U.S. Navy Alaska-class large cruiser, which had the displacement and armament of a battlecruiser but otherwise was closer to a heavy cruiser in mission and construction. Soviet and Russian naval analysts always referred to it as a "large missile cruiser." The appearance of the Kirov class played a role in the recommissioning of the Iowa class battleships.
The Kirov hull design was used for the nuclear-powered command ship SSV-33.
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[edit] Armament
This class has an impressive armament of missiles and guns as well as electronics. Its largest radar antenna is mounted on its foremast, and called "Top Pair" by NATO. The Kirov class's main weapons are 20 × P-700 Granit (SS-N-19) Shipwreck missiles mounted on deck, designed to engage large surface targets, and air defense is provided by 12 × 8 S-300F launchers with 96 missiles and 2 × 20 Osa-MA with 40 missiles. The ships had some differences in sensor and weapons suites; the lead ship Kirov came with SS-N-14 ASW missiles; on subsequent ships they were replaced with 4 × 9K331 Tor SAM systems. Kirov and Frunze had eight 30 mm AK-630 close-in weapon systems, which were supplanted with the Kashtan (CADS-N-1) air-defence missile/gun system on later ships.
Other weapons are the automatic 130 mm AK-130 gun system (except on Kirov which had two single 100 mm guns instead), 10 × torpedo/missile tubes (capable of firing SS-N-15 missiles on later ships, Udav-1 with 40 anti-submarine rockets and the 2 × RBU-1000 six-tube launchers.
[edit] Deployment
The lead ship, Kirov (renamed Admiral Ushakov in 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union) was laid down in June of 1973 at Leningrad's Baltiysky Naval Shipyard, launched on December 26, 1977 and commissioned on December 30, 1980. When she appeared for the first time in 1981, NATO observers called her BALCOM I (Baltic Combatant I).
Kirov suffered a reactor accident in 1990 while serving in the Mediterranean Sea. Repairs were never carried out, due to lack of funds and the changing political situation in the Soviet Union. She may have been cannibalized as a spare parts cache for the other ships in her class.
Frunze, the second vessel in the class, was completed in 1984. She was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. In 1991, she was renamed Admiral Lazarev. The ship became inactive in 1994 and was decommissioned four years later.
Kalinin was the third ship to enter service, in 1988. She was also assigned to the Northern Fleet. Renamed to Admiral Nakhimov, the ship was mothballed in 1999 and reactivated in 2005.
Construction of the fourth ship, Yuri Andropov encountered many delays; her construction was started in 1986 but was not completed until 1996, when she was christened Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great). The ship currently serves as the flagship of the Russian Northern Fleet.
On March 23, 2004, the Russian Northern Fleet Chief Commander, Admiral Vladimir Kuroedov said that Pyotr Velikiy's reactor was in an extremely bad condition and could explode "at any moment". This statement was later withdrawn and may have been the result of internal politics within the Russian Navy, as Admiral Igor Kasatonov (the uncle of Pyotr Velikiy commander Vladimir Kasatanov) was testifying in the court hearings on the loss of the K-159 and the Kursk disaster.
The ship was sent to port for a month, and the crew lost one-third of their pay. Examinations found no problems with the ship's reactor.
The fifth ship, to be known as Dzerzhinsky, also ran into delays. Her name was changed to Oktybrskaya Revolutsiya (October Revolution),[1] and then Kuznetsov,[2] and later scrapped while incomplete.
[edit] Description
Radars:
- Voskhod MR-800 (Top Pair) 3D search radar on foremast
- Fregat MR-710 (Top Steer) 3D search radar on main mast
- 2 × Palm Frond navigation radar on foremast
Sonar
- Horse Jaw LF hull sonar
- Horse Tail VDS (Variable Depth Sonar)
Fire control:
- 2 × Top Dome for SA-N-6 fire control (the forward Top Dome is replaced with Tomb Stone in Pyotr Velikiy)
- 4 × Bass Tilt for AK-360 CIWS System fire control (not in Nakhimov or Pyotr Velikiy)
- 2 × Eye Bowl for SA-N-4 fire control (Also for SS-N-14 in Ushakov)
- 2 × Hot Flash/Hot Spot for SA-N-11 Grisom (CADS-N-1 units only)
- 1 × Kite Screech for AK-100 or AK-130
- 2 × Cross Sword for SA-N-9 (Gauntlet-equipped units only)
[edit] Units
| Original Ship Name | Renamed | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirov | Admiral Ushakov | December 30, 1980 | Inactive since early 1990s. Slated for scrapping[3] |
| Frunze | Admiral Lazarev | October 31, 1984 | Decommissioned in 1997 |
| Kalinin | Admiral Nakhimov | December 30, 1988 | Undergoing repairs at Sevmash since 1999. Completed ahead of schedule in 2005, returned to active service in the Northern fleet. |
| Yuri Andropov | Pyotr Velikiy | April 18, 1998 | Active |
| Dzerzhinsky | Kuznetzov | Cancelled | Never finished |
[edit] References
- ^ GlobalSecurity.org Ship list.
- ^ GlobalSecurity.org Project 1144.2 Orlan.
- ^ GlobalSecurity.org Project 1144.2 Orlan - Kirov class - Guided Missile Cruiser (Nuclear Powered) - class article.
[edit] External links
- Globalsecurity.org page on Kirov class
- Kirov class photos from Mark Meredith
- article in Russian from Encyclopedia of ships
- article in Russian from the Military Reform Support Fund
- article in Russian discussing the ships' armament
- article in English from FAS
[edit] See also
- Kirov class cruiser for World War II-era ships
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