Kirov class battlecruiser

The Kirov class nuclear powered missile cruisers are some of the largest and most powerful surface warships of the Russian Navy, though they were originally built for the Soviet Navy. They are the biggest warships in the world except for aircraft carriers and are similar in size to a World War I battleship. The appearance of the Kirov class was a significant factor in the U.S. Navy recommissioning the Iowa class.

This ship 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 × SS-N-19 Shipwreck missiles mounted on deck, designed to engage large surface targets, and air defense is provided for with 12 × S-300F launchers with 96 missiles, 2 × Osa-MA with 40 missiles and the Kashstan air-defence missile/gun system.

Other weapons are the automatic 130 mm AK-130 gun system, 30 mm AK-630, 10 × torpedo/missile tubes, Udav-1 with 40 anti-submarine rockets and the 2 × RBU-1000 six-tube launchers.

The lead ship, Kirov (renamed Admiral Ushakov in 1992 for political reasons) was laid down in June of 1973 at Leningrad (now St. Petersburg)'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.

In 1984 the second ship in the Kirov class, Frunze, was completed. 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 Kirov-class ship to enter service, in 1988. She was also assigned to the Northern Fleet. Renamed to Admiral Nakhimov, the ship was mothballed in 1999.

Construction of the fourth ship, Yuri Andropov encountered many delays; her construction started in 1986 but wasn't completed until ten years later, in 1996, whereforth she was christened Pyotr Velikhy (Peter the Great). The ship has been declared the flagship of the Russian Northern Fleet.

On March 23, 2004, the Russian Northern Fleet Chief Commander, Admiral Vladimir Kuroedov said that Pyotr Velekhy'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 Velekhy 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 October Revolution, and then Kuznetsov, and later scrapped while incomplete.

Contents

1 Units 2 Statistics (Kirov) 3 External links 3.1 See also

Units

• Kirov (Admiral Ushakov) - Status unknown, believed decommissioned in 2001
• Frunze (Admiral Lazarev) - Decommissioned in 1997
• Kalinin (Admiral Nakhimov) - Undergoing repairs at Sevmash. Due to complete 2007
• Yuri Andropov (Pyotr Velikhy) - Active
• Dzerzhinsky - Not completed

Statistics (Kirov)

• Displacement: 28,000 tons
• Dimensions:
  • Overall length: 826.8 ft (252.0 m)
  • Waterline length: 754.6 ft (230.0 m)
  • Beam: 93.5 ft (28.5 m)
  • Draft: 29.5 ft (9.0 m)
• Propulsion System:
  • 2 × KN-3 water pressurized nuclear reactors
  • 2 × oil fired high pressure boilers
  • 2 × GT3A-688 geared steam turbines 70,000 hp (52 MW) each
  • Two shafts with fixed pitch propellers
• Performance:
  • Power: 140,000 hp (104 MW)
  • Maximum speed: 30 to 32 knots (56 to 59 km/h)
  • Endurance: 1000 nautical miles (1,852 km) at full speed
• Weapon Systems
  • Guns
    • 2 × 100 mm/59 cal AK-100 (Kirov)
    • 1 × twin 130mm AK-130
    • AK-360 30mm rotary cannons as the CIWS system
  • Missiles
    • Surface-to-air missiles:
      • 2 × twin retractable SA-N-4 Gecko missiles twin launchers
      • 12-cell VLS for SA-N-6 Grumble missiles
    • Surface-to-surface missiles: VLS for SS-N-19 Shipwreck missiles
    • Anti-submarine warfare
      • 1 × twin cylinder launcher for SS-N-14 Silex missiles
      • Torpedoes: 10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes.
• Electronic Systems
  • Radar:
    • 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
    • 2 × Top Dome for SA-N-6 fire control
    • 4 × Bass Tilt for AK-360 CIWS System fire control
    • 2 × Eye Bowl for SA-N-4 fire control
  • Sonar:
    • Horse Tail VDS (Variable Deep Sonar)
• Aircraft: 3 × Kamov Ka-27 "Helix" stored in a below-deck hangar at the stern
• Crew:
  • Ship's complement: 727
  • Aircrew: 18
  • Flag staff: 15

External links

• Globalsecurity.org page on Kirov class (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/1144.htm)
• Kirov class photos from Mark Meredith (http://www.steelnavy.com/KirovRBNF.htm)

See also

• Kirov class cruiser for World War II-era ships