The Bora-class hoverborne

Surface effect ship

A Surface Effect Ship or Sidewall Hovercraft is a watercraft that has both an air cushion, like a hovercraft, and twin hulls, like a catamaran. When the air cushion is in use, a small portion of the twin hulls remain in the water...

 guided missile

Guided Missile

Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....

 corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

 of the Russian Navy, also bears the NATO class name Dergach, is one of the few types of military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 surface effect ship

Surface effect ship

A Surface Effect Ship or Sidewall Hovercraft is a watercraft that has both an air cushion, like a hovercraft, and twin hulls, like a catamaran. When the air cushion is in use, a small portion of the twin hulls remain in the water...

 built solely for marine combat purposes, rather than troop landing or transport. Its designation in the Soviet

Soviet Navy

The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...

 and Russian navies is Project 1239; the first vessel produced under this designation was Sivuch, which was later renamed Bora. It is one of the largest combat sea vehicles with catamaran design.

The ship is one of many marine craft built by the Russian Federation for coastal defense, both domestically and for export. The weapons array Bora class warships carry varies depending on which of several configurations it is built to. The specifications listed are for the two existing craft.

Deployment

The Bora-class was designed in 1988 mainly for coastal defense and patrol duties against surface vessels, large and small. Two were built and are currently in service, both assigned to the Russian Black Sea Fleet

Black Sea Fleet

The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....

. A future series of hovercraft have been planned based on this model for future production.

Ships

• Bora (formerly Sivuch) (615) - Launched 1988, commissioned 1997. Black Sea Fleet
  Black Sea Fleet
  The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
  
  .
• Samum (616) - Launched 1995, commissioned 2000. Black Sea Fleet

External links

• Missile hovercraft, project 1239. Zelenodolsk
  Zelenodolsk, Russia
  Zelenodolsk is a town in the northwestern portion of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the left bank of the Volga River, from Kazan. It serves as the administrative center of Zelenodolsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population: Due to its location,...
  
  Shipyard.
• Rosoboronexport State Export Corporation Website, Navy Catalog (PDF Format) - Various export configurations are listed in this catalog. Follow the link and click the "PROJECT 1239 BORA" link on the third page of the pdf.
• Guided Missile Corvette "Bora" from Russian Black Sea fleet (with 48 photos)
• Guided Missile Corvette "Samum" from Russian Black Sea fleet (with 30 photos)
• http://web.archive.org/web/20070120021850/http://www.militarism.navy.ru/1239.htm
• http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/1239.htm
• Google Maps photo All Russian Bora Class Ships - Complete Ship List