Kirov class cruiser
Encyclopedia
The Kirov-class (Project 26) cruiser
s were six vessels built between 1935 and 1944 for the Soviet Navy
: Kirov
, Voroshilov
, Maxim Gorky
, Molotov
, Kalinin
, and Kaganovich
. After the first two ships, armor protection was increased and subsequent ships are sometimes called the Maxim Gorky class. These were the first large ships built by the Soviets from the keel
up after the Russian Civil War
and were derived from the Italian light cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli
, being designed with assistance from the Italian Ansaldo
company. Two ships each were deployed in the Black
and Baltic Sea
s during World War II
while the last pair was still under construction in Siberia
and saw no combat during the war. The first four ships bombarded Axis
troops and facilities after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union
in June 1941. All six ships survived the war and lingered until the 1970s in training and other secondary roles before being scrapped
.
and the subsequent Russian Civil War
, Soviet industry was not capable of designing large, complex warships by itself and sought foreign assistance. The Ansaldo
company provided plans for the contemporary s and a design displacing 7200 tonnes (7,086 LT) and armed with six 180 millimetres (7.1 in) guns in twin turrets was produced in 1933. The Italians guaranteed that the cruiser could make 37 knots on trials if the size was kept under the 7200-tonne limit. The designer of the new turret managed to persuade his superiors that he could fit triple turrets to the ship while keeping it within the specified limit, and this design was approved in November 1934 as the Project 26.
The Soviets bought an example of, and plans for, the machinery of the later Duca d'Aosta class
cruisers and had some difficulty in adapting the smaller hull for the larger and more powerful machinery, so much so that it delayed the start of construction. Another problem was that the Italian design had to be adapted to use the Soviet preference for a mix of longitudinal framing for the hull framing amidships and transverse framing for the ends while also reinforcing the hull structure to withstand the more severe weather conditions that the Soviets commonly encountered.
The Kirovs were built in pairs, each pair incorporating some improvements over the earlier pair. These pairs were designated as the Project 26, Project 26bis, and Project 26bis2 in sequence. The differences between pairs usually related to size, armor, armament and aircraft.
of 17.66 metre and at full load a draft of 6.15 metre. They displaced 7890 tonnes (7,765 LT) at standard load, and 9436 tonnes (9,287 LT) at full load. Their single rudder meant that they were not very maneuverable. Kirov and Voroshilov were fitted with a massive quadruped foremast, but this proved to restrict the view from the conning tower as well as the fields of fire of the 100 mm anti-aircraft guns and greatly increased their silhouette. It was reduced to a simple pole mast in the later ships and the superstructure enlarged to accommodate the fire control facilities formerly housed in the foremast.
Shortly after Kirov was launched in 1936, the two Project 26bis ships were laid down. They incorporated a number of changes from the first batch, not least of which was that they were larger. They displaced 8177 tonnes (8,048 LT) at standard load and 9728 tonne at full load. They were only slightly longer at 191.4 metre overall and had a deep draft of 6.3 metre at full load. On trials they proved to be the fastest ships of the class with a speed of 36.72 knots. Their armament was much the same as the earlier ships, although nine 45 mm 61-K anti-aircraft guns were mounted rather than the six on the first pair and they were fitted to carry 150 Model 1908/39 mines in place of the Model 1912 mines.
The Project 26bis2 pair were still larger and displaced 8400 tonnes (8,267 LT) at standard load, and 10400 tonnes (10,236 LT) at full load. They were a tenth of a meter shorter than the Project 26 ships, although the waterline length did not change at all between any of the pairs. Their turbines proved to be slightly more powerful than those of the Project 26bis ships and propelled them at 36 knots on trials. Production delays with the 100 mm B-34 dual-purpose guns forced them to use 85 mm 90-K guns instead and ten 37 mm 70-K anti-aircraft guns supplemented the 45 mm guns. The mines changed yet again as they could carry 100 KB or 106 Model 1926 mines.
180 mm B-1-P guns. The turrets were very small to fit them into the hull space available and were so cramped that their rate of fire was much lower than designed (only two rounds per minute instead of six). The guns were mounted in a single cradle to minimize space and were so close together that their dispersion was very high because the muzzle blast from adjacent guns affected each gun. The turrets weighed approximately 236 to 247 t (232.3 to 243.1 LT) and the guns could be depressed to −4° and elevated to 48°. The guns fired 97.55 kilograms (215.1 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
of 900–920 m/s (2,952.8–3,018.4 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of around 38000 m (41,557.3 yd), depending on ammunition and gun type. 100 rounds per gun were normally carried, although an additional four rounds per gun could be carried at overload by the Project 26 ships only.
The secondary armament consisted of six single 56-caliber 100 millimetres (3.9 in) B-34 anti-aircraft
guns with 325 rounds per gun fitted on each side of the rear funnel in all ships except the Project 26bis2 which used eight single 52-caliber 85 millimetres (3.3 in) 90-K guns with 300 rounds per gun when the B-34 program ran into problems. Light AA guns initially consisted of six semi-automatic 45 mm 21-K
AA guns with 600 rounds per gun and four DK
12.7 millimetre (0.5 in) machine guns, with 12,500 rounds per gun, but were significantly increased in service. The Project 26bis ships carried nine 21-K mounts and the Project 26bis were built with an additional ten fully automatic 37 millimetres (1.5 in) 70-K AA guns with a thousand rounds per gun. Over the course of World War II
most, if not all, of the 45 mm guns were replaced by 37 mm guns and one or two Lend-Lease
quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun
MK III mounts were fitted to the ships in the Baltic and Black Seas, although each ship varied in its anti-aircraft suite.
Six 533 millimetres (21 in) 39-Yu torpedo tubes were fitted in two triple mountings; these tubes could be individually adjusted to spread out their salvos. Molotov and Kaganovich replaced their launchers with the more modern 1-N mount during the war. 96 KB or 164 Model 1912 mines
could be carried by the first pair of ships. A pair of depth charge
racks were mounted as well as four BMB-1 depth charge throwers. Twenty large BB-1 and thirty small BM-1 depth charges were carried although no sonar
was fitted for the Project 26 and Project 26bis ships. They did mount the Arktur hydrophone
system although that was useless at speeds above three knots. Kalinin and Kaganovich received the Lend-Lease ASDIC-132 system, which the Soviets called Drakon-132, as well as the experimental Soviet Mars-72 sonar system.
The Project 26 ships were fitted with the Molynia fire control system for their main guns which included the TsAS-2 mechanical computer and the KDP3-6 director. Each turret and the director had DM-6 rangefinders which allowed multiple targets to be engaged using a combination of local and central fire control. The four later ships had an improved Molynia-ATs fire control system which could accept data from spotter aircraft. The anti-aircraft armament was controlled by the Gorizont-1 system with a SO-26 computer, Gazon vertical gyroscope
and a pair of SPN-100 directors on each side of the superstructure. Each director had a fully stabilized 3 metre rangefinder. Voroshilov had SPN-200 directors, but the Project 26bis ships used the Gorizont-2 system. This had a more advanced Gorizont-2 computer and Shar vertical gyroscope.
The first Soviet ship to carry a radar
was Molotov which was given a Redut-K air warning system in 1940, which she used for the entire war. Lend-Lease
radars equipped most of the other ships. The British Types 281, 291 and the American SG radars were used for air search. Main battery fire control radars were the British Types 284 and 285 while anti-aircraft fire control was provided by the Type 282 radar. Soviet-designed Yupiter-1 and Mars-1 gunnery radars were fitted in Molotov and Kalinin by 1944.
to Italian plans. The Soviet TB-7 geared turbines proved to be more powerful and more economical than the originals. Kirov burned 0.8 kg (1.8 lb) of fuel oil
per unit of horsepower compared to Kalinins 0.623 kg (1.4 lb). Furthermore Kirov produced only 113500 shp on trials while Voroshilov made 122500 shp and was almost a full knot faster. Six license-built Yarrow-Normand type water-tube boiler
s powered the turbines with a nominal capacity of 106-tonnes/hour of superheated steam
at a pressure of 25 kg/cm2 and a temperature of 325 °C (617 °F). Each shaft drove a three-bladed 4.7 metres (15.4 ft) bronze propeller for a designed speed of 36 knots, although this varied from ship to ship. The normal oil capacity was between 600 to 650 t (590.5 to 639.7 LT), but the ships varied widely in the amount of oil carried at full load; this ranged from 1150 to 1660 t (1,131.8 to 1,633.8 LT). Endurance figures also varied widely at full load, from 2140 to 4220 nmi (3,963.3 to 7,815.4 ) at 18 knots. The maximum amount of fuel that could be carried ranged from 1430 to 1750 t (1,407.4 to 1,722.4 LT).
, deck
and traverse bulkhead
s uniformly 50 mm (2 in) in thickness. The turret
and barbette
armour was also 50 mm thick. The conning tower
sides were 150 mm (5.9 in) with a 100 mm roof. A 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in) box protected the steering gear and a number of control positions were protected against splinters: 14 mm (0.551181102362205 in) for the torpedo control station, 8 millimetre (0.31496062992126 in) for main-battery fire control and secondary gun shield
s, 7 mm (0.275590551181102 in) for the secondary-battery control position and the auxiliary command station had 25 millimetre (0.984251968503937 in) sides and roof.
The belt extended 121 metre or 64.5% of the ship's length. Its total height was 3.4 metre, of which 1.33 metre was below the designed waterline. A double bottom
extended past the armored traverse bulkheads and a thin longitudinal bulkhead provided some measure of protection against flooding. It has been judged too thin to withstand a torpedo
's detonation, but possibly the far-side bulkhead might survive intact, which would cause a list from asymmetrical flooding.
The armor of the Project 26 ships was vulnerable even to destroyer
-class weapons at ranges under 10 km (6.2 mi) and the last four ships were given additional armor. The belt, traverse bulkheads, barbettes and turret face thicknesses were all increased to 70 mm (2.8 in) and the box protecting the steering gear was increased to 30 mm (1.2 in). One oddity of the later ships' armor scheme was the joint between the armour deck and belt. The top and bottom edges of the belt were tapered, the outer surface angling in 200 mm (7.9 in) from the edge to a thickness of 45 mm. Similarly the deck edge was also tapered down to about 25 mm for its outermost 200 mm. It has been speculated that "This seam in the protection, representing a small target area, may simply have served to save weight and simplify construction."
had to be imported. Two Heinkel
K-12 catapults were bought in 1937 for Kirov and Voroshilov. They could traverse 360° and launch an aircraft weighing 2750 kg (108,267.7 in) at a speed of 125 km/h (77.7 mph), although no suitable aircraft was in service until the KOR-1
seaplane entered service in September 1939. They proved to be unsuitable for rough-weather landings and were disembarked when Operation Barbarossa
began. Gorky and Molotov mounted Soviet-built ZK-1 catapults of roughly comparable performance, but were destined never to use them for lack of suitable aircraft.
The Project 26 ships landed their catapult during 1941 to make room for more AA guns as did Molotov in 1942. A ZK-1a catapult was installed aboard Molotov in 1943 and she conducted successful experiments with a catapult-launched Supermarine Spitfire
fighter. The Project 26bis2 ships did not receive a catapult until after the end of the war when a ZK-2b was fitted. The catapults, however, were removed from all ships by 1947.
Components for the Project 26bis2 ships were manufactured in the West (Ordzhonikidze built those for Kalinin and Marti those for Kaganovich) and shipped to Komsomolsk-on-Amur
for assembly. They were launched from drydocks and towed incomplete to Vladivostok
for fitting-out.
in the autumn of 1938, but was still being worked on into early 1939. She sailed to Riga
on 22 October 1940 when the Soviet Union began to occupy Latvia
; the following day she sailed for Liepāja
. During the Winter War
, Kirov, escorted by the destroyers Smetlivyi and Stremitel'nyi, attempted to bombard Finnish
coast defense guns at Russarö
, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Hanko
. She only fired 35 rounds before she was damaged by a number of near misses and had to return to the Soviet naval base at Liepāja for repairs. She remained there for the rest of the Winter War and afterwards was under repair at Kronstadt
from October 1940 to 21 May 1941.
Both Kirov and Maxim Gorky were transferred to the Gulf of Riga
on 14 June 1941, shortly before the beginning of Operation Barbarossa
. Both cruisers were active in the last days of June covering Soviet defensive mining operations, but Gorky and her escorts ran into the German-laid "Apolda" minefield on the 23rd and Maxim Gorky and the destroyer Gnevny both lost their bows. Gnevny sank, while Gorky made it to port before being transferred, with assistance, to Tallinn
and later to Kronstadt. Kirov followed her to Tallinn at the end of the month, after being lightened to pass through the shallows of Moon Sound
.
Gorky had a new bow section fabricated in Kronstadt and it was mated with the ship on 21 July. Kirov provided gunfire support during the defense of Tallinn and served as the flagship of the evacuation fleet from Tallinn to Leningrad
at the end of August 1941. For most of the rest of the war both cruisers were blockaded in Leningrad and Kronstadt by Axis minefields and could only provide gunfire support for the defenders during the Siege of Leningrad
and support for the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive in mid—1944. Both ships were damaged by German air and artillery attacks, but were repaired during the war.
, but the destroyer leader Moskva was sunk by a mine and Kharkov was damaged by return fire. She bombarded Axis positions near Odessa
in mid-September, but was transferred to Novorossiysk
shortly afterwards. On 2 November, she was hit twice in harbor by Junkers Ju 88
bombers of KG 51
; one hit started a fire in #3 magazine
that was extinguished by water flooding in from the second hit. She had to be towed to Poti
for repairs, which lasted until February 1942. She shelled Axis positions near Feodosiya on 2 April 1942, but was damaged by some near misses on 10 April and had to return to Batumi
for repairs. In May she supported Soviet troops around Kerch
and the Taman Peninsula
while helping to transfer the 9th Naval Infantry Brigade from Batumi to Sevastopol
. On 29 November 1942, she was damaged by nearby mine
explosions while bombarding Feodonisi
, but managed to return to Poti under her own power. Just after her repairs were completed she assisted Soviet forces landing behind German lines at the so-called "Malaya Zemlya
" at the end of January 1943. The loss of three destroyers to German aircraft attempting to interdict the German evacuation of the Taman Bridgehead on 6 October 1943 caused Stalin
to forbid the deployment of large naval units without his express permission and this meant the end of Voroshilovs active participation in the war.
Molotov was commissioned just before the German invasion and spent most of 1941 moving from port to port to take advantage of her air warning radar, the first fitted in the Soviet Navy. She bombarded Axis positions near Feodosiya in early November and was sent to reinforce Sevastopol with elements of the 386th Rifle Division from Poti. Damaged by a number of shell hits while off-loading troops on 29 December, she was still able to take 600 wounded when she departed. She reprised her role as a transport during the first week of January. Her bow was damaged during a heavy storm in Tuapse when it was thrown against the jetty on 21–22 January 1942. She spent most of the next month under repair, although her bow could not be straightened which reduced her speed by several knots. After making a number of bombardment sorties in support of Soviet troops on the Kerch Peninsula, she returned to Poti for more permanent repairs on 20 March. In June she made a number of transport runs in support of the garrison of Sevastopol. On 2 August her stern was blown off by torpedo bombers acting in concert with Italian MAS torpedo boats
. The damage reduced her speed to 10 knots and she had to be steered by her engines. She was under repair at Poti until 31 July 1943, using the stern of the incomplete Frunze, the rudder of the incomplete cruiser Zheleznyakov, the steering gear from the Kaganovich and the steering sensor from the submarine L-25. She saw no action after completing her repairs due to Stalin's order.
Even though Lazar Kaganovich and Kalinin were both commissioned before the end of the war, they saw no action during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945; in any event, Lazar Kaganovich was not fully completed until 29 January 1947.
and East Germany, and was sold for scrap on 22 February 1974. Two of her gun turrets were installed at Saint Petersburg as a monument. Maxim Gorky tested the first Soviet naval helicopter
, the Kamov Ka-10
, in December 1950 and began her refit in mid-1953. This was planned much like Kirovs refit, although her displacement was to increase 1000 tonnes (984 LT) from torpedo bulges, with consequent penalties to her speed and range. The Navy reevaluated the scope of the work in 1955, deemed it insufficient to create a fully modern ship, and suspended the refit. Gorky was sold for scrap on 18 April 1959 after it was decided that she was not required as a missile test ship.
Voroshilov began her postwar modernization in April 1954, but encountered the same issues as Maxim Gorky. Unlike her half-sister, she was selected for conversion as a testbed for missile development as Project 33 on 17 February 1956. The conversion process was quite prolonged, as her armament was removed and she received an entirely new superstructure and masts; and she was not recommissioned as OS-24 until 31 December 1961. She was modernized under Project 33M from 11 October 1963 to 1 December 1965. Converted to a floating barracks on 6 October 1972, she was briefly redesignated as PKZ-19 before being sold for scrap on 2 March 1973. Voroshilovs 14-ton propeller
and 2.5-ton stop anchor
are on display at the Museum of Heroic Defense and Liberation of Sevastopol on Sapun Mountain in Sevastopol
. Molotov suffered a fire in the #2 turret handling room on 5 October 1946 which required the magazine to be flooded; 22 sailors were killed and 20 wounded. She was used as a testbed for the new radars intended for the and cruisers in the late 1940s
. Modernized like her half-sister Kirov between 1952 and 29 October 1955, she was renamed Slava on 3 August 1957 after Vyacheslav Molotov
fell out of favor with Nikita Khrushchev
. She was reclassified as a training cruiser on 3 August 1961 and deployed to the Mediterranean
during 5–30 June 1967 to show Soviet support for Syria
during the Six-Day War
. She returned to the Mediterranean between September and December 1970 where she assisted the Kotlin-class
destroyer Bravyi after the latter's collision with the aircraft carrier
on 9 November 1970. She was sold for scrap on 4 April 1972.
Kalinin was placed in reserve on 1 May 1956, and was restored to the Navy List on 1 December 1957 before being disarmed and converted into a floating barracks on 6 February 1960. She was sold for scrap on 12 April 1963. Kaganovich was renamed Lazar Kaganovich on 3 August 1945 to distinguish her from Lazar's
disgraced brother Mikhail Kaganovich. She was renamed Petropavlovsk on 3 August 1957 after Lazar Kaganovich was purged from the government after an unsuccessful coup against Nikita Khrushchev
that same year. Her superstructure was badly damaged by a Force 12 typhoon
on 19 September 1957 and she was deemed uneconomical to repair and sold for scrap on 6 February 1960.
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s were six vessels built between 1935 and 1944 for the Soviet Navy
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...
: Kirov
Soviet cruiser Kirov
Kirov was a Project 26 of the Soviet Navy that served during the Winter War, World War II and into the Cold War. She attempted to bombard Finnish coast defense guns during action in the Winter War, but was driven off by a number of near misses that damaged her...
, Voroshilov
Soviet cruiser Voroshilov
Voroshilov was a Project 26 of the Soviet Navy that served during World War II and into the Cold War. She bombarded German troops during the Siege of Odessa before being badly damaged in November 1941 by German bombers...
, Maxim Gorky
Soviet cruiser Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky was a Project 26bis of the Soviet Navy that saw action during World War II and continued in service into the Cold War. The ship’s bow was blown-off by a mine in the Gulf of Riga during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, but she made it to Kronstadt for repairs...
, Molotov
Soviet cruiser Molotov
Molotov was a Project 26bis of the Soviet Navy that served during World War II and into the Cold War. She supported Soviet troops during the Siege of Sevastopol, the Kerch-Feodosiya Operation and the amphibious landings at Novorossiysk at the end of January 1943.The ship was extensively...
, Kalinin
Soviet cruiser Kalinin
Kalinin was a Project 26bis2 of the Soviet Navy that was built during World War II. She was built in Siberia from components shipped from European Russia. She saw no action during the war and served into the Cold War. Her post-war career was uneventful until she was disarmed and converted into a...
, and Kaganovich
Soviet cruiser Kaganovich
Kaganovich was a Project 26bis2 of the Soviet Navy that was built during World War II. She was built in Siberia from components shipped from European Russia. She saw no action during the war and served into the Cold War. She was renamed Lazar Kaganovich in 1945 to distinguish her from Lazar's...
. After the first two ships, armor protection was increased and subsequent ships are sometimes called the Maxim Gorky class. These were the first large ships built by the Soviets from the keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
up after the Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
and were derived from the Italian light cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli
Italian cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli was a Condottieri class light cruiser serving with the Italian Regia Marina during World War II. She survived the war and served in the post-war Marina Militare until 1964.-Design:...
, being designed with assistance from the Italian Ansaldo
Gio. Ansaldo & C.
Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.-From foundation to World War I:...
company. Two ships each were deployed in the Black
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
and Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
s during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
while the last pair was still under construction in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and saw no combat during the war. The first four ships bombarded Axis
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
troops and facilities after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in June 1941. All six ships survived the war and lingered until the 1970s in training and other secondary roles before being scrapped
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
.
Design
Following the October RevolutionOctober Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and the subsequent Russian Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, Soviet industry was not capable of designing large, complex warships by itself and sought foreign assistance. The Ansaldo
Gio. Ansaldo & C.
Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.-From foundation to World War I:...
company provided plans for the contemporary s and a design displacing 7200 tonnes (7,086 LT) and armed with six 180 millimetres (7.1 in) guns in twin turrets was produced in 1933. The Italians guaranteed that the cruiser could make 37 knots on trials if the size was kept under the 7200-tonne limit. The designer of the new turret managed to persuade his superiors that he could fit triple turrets to the ship while keeping it within the specified limit, and this design was approved in November 1934 as the Project 26.
The Soviets bought an example of, and plans for, the machinery of the later Duca d'Aosta class
Condottieri class cruiser
The Condottieri class was a sequence of five, different, light cruiser classes of the Regia Marina , although these classes show a clear line of evolution. They were built before World War II to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea...
cruisers and had some difficulty in adapting the smaller hull for the larger and more powerful machinery, so much so that it delayed the start of construction. Another problem was that the Italian design had to be adapted to use the Soviet preference for a mix of longitudinal framing for the hull framing amidships and transverse framing for the ends while also reinforcing the hull structure to withstand the more severe weather conditions that the Soviets commonly encountered.
The Kirovs were built in pairs, each pair incorporating some improvements over the earlier pair. These pairs were designated as the Project 26, Project 26bis, and Project 26bis2 in sequence. The differences between pairs usually related to size, armor, armament and aircraft.
General characteristics
The Project 26 class ships were 191.3 metre long overall. They had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 17.66 metre and at full load a draft of 6.15 metre. They displaced 7890 tonnes (7,765 LT) at standard load, and 9436 tonnes (9,287 LT) at full load. Their single rudder meant that they were not very maneuverable. Kirov and Voroshilov were fitted with a massive quadruped foremast, but this proved to restrict the view from the conning tower as well as the fields of fire of the 100 mm anti-aircraft guns and greatly increased their silhouette. It was reduced to a simple pole mast in the later ships and the superstructure enlarged to accommodate the fire control facilities formerly housed in the foremast.
Shortly after Kirov was launched in 1936, the two Project 26bis ships were laid down. They incorporated a number of changes from the first batch, not least of which was that they were larger. They displaced 8177 tonnes (8,048 LT) at standard load and 9728 tonne at full load. They were only slightly longer at 191.4 metre overall and had a deep draft of 6.3 metre at full load. On trials they proved to be the fastest ships of the class with a speed of 36.72 knots. Their armament was much the same as the earlier ships, although nine 45 mm 61-K anti-aircraft guns were mounted rather than the six on the first pair and they were fitted to carry 150 Model 1908/39 mines in place of the Model 1912 mines.
The Project 26bis2 pair were still larger and displaced 8400 tonnes (8,267 LT) at standard load, and 10400 tonnes (10,236 LT) at full load. They were a tenth of a meter shorter than the Project 26 ships, although the waterline length did not change at all between any of the pairs. Their turbines proved to be slightly more powerful than those of the Project 26bis ships and propelled them at 36 knots on trials. Production delays with the 100 mm B-34 dual-purpose guns forced them to use 85 mm 90-K guns instead and ten 37 mm 70-K anti-aircraft guns supplemented the 45 mm guns. The mines changed yet again as they could carry 100 KB or 106 Model 1926 mines.
Armament
The main armament consisted of three electrically powered MK-3-180 triple turrets with three 57-calibreCaliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
180 mm B-1-P guns. The turrets were very small to fit them into the hull space available and were so cramped that their rate of fire was much lower than designed (only two rounds per minute instead of six). The guns were mounted in a single cradle to minimize space and were so close together that their dispersion was very high because the muzzle blast from adjacent guns affected each gun. The turrets weighed approximately 236 to 247 t (232.3 to 243.1 LT) and the guns could be depressed to −4° and elevated to 48°. The guns fired 97.55 kilograms (215.1 lb) projectiles at a muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity
Muzzle velocity is the speed a projectile has at the moment it leaves the muzzle of the gun. Muzzle velocities range from approximately to in black powder muskets , to more than in modern rifles with high-performance cartridges such as the .220 Swift and .204 Ruger, all the way to for tank guns...
of 900–920 m/s (2,952.8–3,018.4 ft/s); this provided a maximum range of around 38000 m (41,557.3 yd), depending on ammunition and gun type. 100 rounds per gun were normally carried, although an additional four rounds per gun could be carried at overload by the Project 26 ships only.
The secondary armament consisted of six single 56-caliber 100 millimetres (3.9 in) B-34 anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
guns with 325 rounds per gun fitted on each side of the rear funnel in all ships except the Project 26bis2 which used eight single 52-caliber 85 millimetres (3.3 in) 90-K guns with 300 rounds per gun when the B-34 program ran into problems. Light AA guns initially consisted of six semi-automatic 45 mm 21-K
45 mm anti-aircraft gun (21-K)
The 45 mm anti-aircraft gun was a Soviet design adapted from the 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 . This was a copy of a German weapon designed by Rheinmetall that was sold to the Soviets before Hitler came to power in 1933 that had been enlarged to in increase its penetrating power...
AA guns with 600 rounds per gun and four DK
DShK
The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield...
12.7 millimetre (0.5 in) machine guns, with 12,500 rounds per gun, but were significantly increased in service. The Project 26bis ships carried nine 21-K mounts and the Project 26bis were built with an additional ten fully automatic 37 millimetres (1.5 in) 70-K AA guns with a thousand rounds per gun. Over the course of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
most, if not all, of the 45 mm guns were replaced by 37 mm guns and one or two Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun
Vickers .50 machine gun
The Vickers .50 machine gun, also known as the 'Vickers .50' was basically the same as the Vickers machine gun but scaled up to use a larger calibre round.-Mark II, IV and V:...
MK III mounts were fitted to the ships in the Baltic and Black Seas, although each ship varied in its anti-aircraft suite.
Six 533 millimetres (21 in) 39-Yu torpedo tubes were fitted in two triple mountings; these tubes could be individually adjusted to spread out their salvos. Molotov and Kaganovich replaced their launchers with the more modern 1-N mount during the war. 96 KB or 164 Model 1912 mines
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
could be carried by the first pair of ships. A pair of depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
racks were mounted as well as four BMB-1 depth charge throwers. Twenty large BB-1 and thirty small BM-1 depth charges were carried although no sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
was fitted for the Project 26 and Project 26bis ships. They did mount the Arktur hydrophone
Hydrophone
A hydrophone is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates electricity when subjected to a pressure change...
system although that was useless at speeds above three knots. Kalinin and Kaganovich received the Lend-Lease ASDIC-132 system, which the Soviets called Drakon-132, as well as the experimental Soviet Mars-72 sonar system.
The Project 26 ships were fitted with the Molynia fire control system for their main guns which included the TsAS-2 mechanical computer and the KDP3-6 director. Each turret and the director had DM-6 rangefinders which allowed multiple targets to be engaged using a combination of local and central fire control. The four later ships had an improved Molynia-ATs fire control system which could accept data from spotter aircraft. The anti-aircraft armament was controlled by the Gorizont-1 system with a SO-26 computer, Gazon vertical gyroscope
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
and a pair of SPN-100 directors on each side of the superstructure. Each director had a fully stabilized 3 metre rangefinder. Voroshilov had SPN-200 directors, but the Project 26bis ships used the Gorizont-2 system. This had a more advanced Gorizont-2 computer and Shar vertical gyroscope.
The first Soviet ship to carry a radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
was Molotov which was given a Redut-K air warning system in 1940, which she used for the entire war. Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
radars equipped most of the other ships. The British Types 281, 291 and the American SG radars were used for air search. Main battery fire control radars were the British Types 284 and 285 while anti-aircraft fire control was provided by the Type 282 radar. Soviet-designed Yupiter-1 and Mars-1 gunnery radars were fitted in Molotov and Kalinin by 1944.
Machinery
The ships had a twin-shaft-unit machinery layout with alternating boiler rooms and engine rooms. The machinery for the Kirov was shipped from Italy (being diverted from the contract for the ). The machinery for the rest was built in KharkivKharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
to Italian plans. The Soviet TB-7 geared turbines proved to be more powerful and more economical than the originals. Kirov burned 0.8 kg (1.8 lb) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
per unit of horsepower compared to Kalinins 0.623 kg (1.4 lb). Furthermore Kirov produced only 113500 shp on trials while Voroshilov made 122500 shp and was almost a full knot faster. Six license-built Yarrow-Normand type water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s powered the turbines with a nominal capacity of 106-tonnes/hour of superheated steam
Superheated steam
Superheated steam is steam at a temperature higher than water's boiling point. If saturated steam is heated at constant pressure, its temperature will also remain constant as the steam quality increases towards 100% Dry Saturated Steam. Continued heat input will then generate superheated steam...
at a pressure of 25 kg/cm2 and a temperature of 325 °C (617 °F). Each shaft drove a three-bladed 4.7 metres (15.4 ft) bronze propeller for a designed speed of 36 knots, although this varied from ship to ship. The normal oil capacity was between 600 to 650 t (590.5 to 639.7 LT), but the ships varied widely in the amount of oil carried at full load; this ranged from 1150 to 1660 t (1,131.8 to 1,633.8 LT). Endurance figures also varied widely at full load, from 2140 to 4220 nmi (3,963.3 to 7,815.4 ) at 18 knots. The maximum amount of fuel that could be carried ranged from 1430 to 1750 t (1,407.4 to 1,722.4 LT).
Protection
The armour scheme formed a raft around the vitals, protected by a waterline beltBelt armor
Belt armor is a layer of heavy metal armor plated on to or within outer hulls of warships, typically on battleships, battlecruisers and cruisers, and on aircraft carriers converted from those types of ships....
, deck
Deck (ship)
A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...
and traverse bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
s uniformly 50 mm (2 in) in thickness. The turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
and barbette
Barbette
A barbette is a protective circular armour feature around a cannon or heavy artillery gun. The name comes from the French phrase en barbette referring to the practice of firing a field gun over a parapet rather than through an opening . The former gives better angles of fire but less protection...
armour was also 50 mm thick. The conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
sides were 150 mm (5.9 in) with a 100 mm roof. A 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in) box protected the steering gear and a number of control positions were protected against splinters: 14 mm (0.551181102362205 in) for the torpedo control station, 8 millimetre (0.31496062992126 in) for main-battery fire control and secondary gun shield
Gun shield
thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] manning an [[M240 machine gun]] equipped with a gun shieldA gun shield is a flat piece or section of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun or artillery piece, or, more rarely, to be used with an assault rifle...
s, 7 mm (0.275590551181102 in) for the secondary-battery control position and the auxiliary command station had 25 millimetre (0.984251968503937 in) sides and roof.
The belt extended 121 metre or 64.5% of the ship's length. Its total height was 3.4 metre, of which 1.33 metre was below the designed waterline. A double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
extended past the armored traverse bulkheads and a thin longitudinal bulkhead provided some measure of protection against flooding. It has been judged too thin to withstand a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
's detonation, but possibly the far-side bulkhead might survive intact, which would cause a list from asymmetrical flooding.
The armor of the Project 26 ships was vulnerable even to destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
-class weapons at ranges under 10 km (6.2 mi) and the last four ships were given additional armor. The belt, traverse bulkheads, barbettes and turret face thicknesses were all increased to 70 mm (2.8 in) and the box protecting the steering gear was increased to 30 mm (1.2 in). One oddity of the later ships' armor scheme was the joint between the armour deck and belt. The top and bottom edges of the belt were tapered, the outer surface angling in 200 mm (7.9 in) from the edge to a thickness of 45 mm. Similarly the deck edge was also tapered down to about 25 mm for its outermost 200 mm. It has been speculated that "This seam in the protection, representing a small target area, may simply have served to save weight and simplify construction."
Aircraft
The Kirovs were designed to carry two aircraft, but German catapultsAircraft catapult
An aircraft catapult is a device used to launch aircraft from ships—in particular aircraft carriers—as a form of assisted take off. It consists of a track built into the flight deck, below which is a large piston or shuttle that is attached through the track to the nose gear of the aircraft, or in...
had to be imported. Two Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
K-12 catapults were bought in 1937 for Kirov and Voroshilov. They could traverse 360° and launch an aircraft weighing 2750 kg (108,267.7 in) at a speed of 125 km/h (77.7 mph), although no suitable aircraft was in service until the KOR-1
Beriev Be-2
-See also:...
seaplane entered service in September 1939. They proved to be unsuitable for rough-weather landings and were disembarked when Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
began. Gorky and Molotov mounted Soviet-built ZK-1 catapults of roughly comparable performance, but were destined never to use them for lack of suitable aircraft.
The Project 26 ships landed their catapult during 1941 to make room for more AA guns as did Molotov in 1942. A ZK-1a catapult was installed aboard Molotov in 1943 and she conducted successful experiments with a catapult-launched Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
fighter. The Project 26bis2 ships did not receive a catapult until after the end of the war when a ZK-2b was fitted. The catapults, however, were removed from all ships by 1947.
Construction
While Voroshilov was laid down first, Kirov was the prototype for the class and was completed first. Her trials were a disappointment as her Italian-built turbines initially had minor defects and she was a knot slower than guaranteed. The Italians pointed out that the guarantee only applied if she displaced 7200 tonnes or less, and she was overweight by over 500 tonne. Her turrets had numerous teething problems and inflicted more blast damage than anticipated, which showed that her welding plan had not been followed. Her firing arcs were reduced in an attempt to mitigate the problem. Voroshilovs Soviet-built turbines were more powerful than anticipated and she almost achieved her design speed.Components for the Project 26bis2 ships were manufactured in the West (Ordzhonikidze built those for Kalinin and Marti those for Kaganovich) and shipped to Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, situated on the left bank of Amur River. It is located on the BAM railway line, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population: -Geography and climate:...
for assembly. They were launched from drydocks and towed incomplete to Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
for fitting-out.
Ships
| Project 26 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
| Kirov Soviet cruiser Kirov Kirov was a Project 26 of the Soviet Navy that served during the Winter War, World War II and into the Cold War. She attempted to bombard Finnish coast defense guns during action in the Winter War, but was driven off by a number of near misses that damaged her... (Киров) |
Ordzhonikidze Yard Baltic Shipyard The Baltic Shipyard is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia. It is located in Saint Petersburg in the south-western part of the Vasilievsky Island. It is one of the three shipyards active in Saint Petersburg... , Leningrad Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea... |
22 October 1935 | 30 November 1936 | 26 September 1938 | scrapped 22 February 1974 |
| Voroshilov Soviet cruiser Voroshilov Voroshilov was a Project 26 of the Soviet Navy that served during World War II and into the Cold War. She bombarded German troops during the Siege of Odessa before being badly damaged in November 1941 by German bombers... (Ворошилов) |
Marti South Black Sea Shipyard The Black Sea Shipyard is located in Mykolaiv, Ukraine and is the largest shipyard with near direct access to the Black Sea. It is most often referred to as the Nikolayev South Shipyard and was known as Soviet Shipyard No... , Nikolayev Mykolaiv Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:... |
15 October 1935 | 28 June 1937 | 20 June 1940 | scrapped 2 March 1973 |
| Project 26bis | |||||
| Maxim Gorky Soviet cruiser Maxim Gorky Maxim Gorky was a Project 26bis of the Soviet Navy that saw action during World War II and continued in service into the Cold War. The ship’s bow was blown-off by a mine in the Gulf of Riga during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, but she made it to Kronstadt for repairs... (Максим Горький) |
Ordzhonikidze Yard, Leningrad | 20 December 1936 | 30 April 1938 | 12 December 1940 | scrapped 18 April 1959 |
| Molotov Soviet cruiser Molotov Molotov was a Project 26bis of the Soviet Navy that served during World War II and into the Cold War. She supported Soviet troops during the Siege of Sevastopol, the Kerch-Feodosiya Operation and the amphibious landings at Novorossiysk at the end of January 1943.The ship was extensively... (Молотов), later renamed Slava (Слава Glory) |
Marti South, Nikolayev | 14 January 1937 | 4 December 1939 | 14 June 1941 | scrapped 4 April 1972 |
| Project 26bis2 | |||||
| Kaganovich Soviet cruiser Kaganovich Kaganovich was a Project 26bis2 of the Soviet Navy that was built during World War II. She was built in Siberia from components shipped from European Russia. She saw no action during the war and served into the Cold War. She was renamed Lazar Kaganovich in 1945 to distinguish her from Lazar's... (Каганович), later renamed Lazar Kaganovich and later still Petropavlovsk (Петропавловск) |
Amur Shipbuilding Plant Amur Shipbuilding Plant Amur Shipbuilding Plant is an important shipyard in eastern Russia, based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and founded in 1932. It employs 15,000 people, and produces both civilian and military ships, including nuclear submarines.... , Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, situated on the left bank of Amur River. It is located on the BAM railway line, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population: -Geography and climate:... |
12 August 1939 | 8 May 1942 | 31 December 1942 | scrapped 6 February 1960 |
| Kalinin Soviet cruiser Kalinin Kalinin was a Project 26bis2 of the Soviet Navy that was built during World War II. She was built in Siberia from components shipped from European Russia. She saw no action during the war and served into the Cold War. Her post-war career was uneventful until she was disarmed and converted into a... (Калинин) |
Amur Shipbuilding Plant Amur Shipbuilding Plant Amur Shipbuilding Plant is an important shipyard in eastern Russia, based in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, and founded in 1932. It employs 15,000 people, and produces both civilian and military ships, including nuclear submarines.... , Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur Komsomolsk-on-Amur is a city in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, situated on the left bank of Amur River. It is located on the BAM railway line, northeast of Khabarovsk. Population: -Geography and climate:... |
26 August 1938 | 7 May 1944 | 6 December 1944 | scrapped 12 April 1963 |
Baltic Fleet
Kirov was commissioned into the Baltic FleetBaltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
in the autumn of 1938, but was still being worked on into early 1939. She sailed to Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
on 22 October 1940 when the Soviet Union began to occupy Latvia
Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940
The Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 refers, according to the European Court of Human Rights, the Government of Latvia, the State Department of the United States of America, and the European Union, to the military occupation of the Republic of Latvia by the Soviet Union ostensibly under the...
; the following day she sailed for Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
. During the Winter War
Naval warfare in the Winter War
The Naval warfare in the Winter War was the naval part of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union from 30 November 1939 to 13 March 1940. Overall, the level of naval activity was low. However, Finland had coastal artillery batteries which took part of battles along its coast.-Navies in...
, Kirov, escorted by the destroyers Smetlivyi and Stremitel'nyi, attempted to bombard Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
coast defense guns at Russarö
Russarö
Russarö is an island south of Hanko. The island is closed to the public as it is military area of the Finnish Defence Forces. The island has a five-story stone lighthouse built in 1863 and a Finnish Meteorological Institute weather station.- External links :...
, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of Hanko
Hanko, Finland
Hanko , is a bilingual port town and municipality on the south coast of Finland, west of Helsinki. Its current population is , with a majority being Finnish speakers and a strong minority being Swedish speakers.-Politics:...
. She only fired 35 rounds before she was damaged by a number of near misses and had to return to the Soviet naval base at Liepāja for repairs. She remained there for the rest of the Winter War and afterwards was under repair at Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
from October 1940 to 21 May 1941.
Both Kirov and Maxim Gorky were transferred to the Gulf of Riga
Gulf of Riga
The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. According to C.Michael Hogan, a saline stratification layer is found at a depth of approximately seventy metres....
on 14 June 1941, shortly before the beginning of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. Both cruisers were active in the last days of June covering Soviet defensive mining operations, but Gorky and her escorts ran into the German-laid "Apolda" minefield on the 23rd and Maxim Gorky and the destroyer Gnevny both lost their bows. Gnevny sank, while Gorky made it to port before being transferred, with assistance, to Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
and later to Kronstadt. Kirov followed her to Tallinn at the end of the month, after being lightened to pass through the shallows of Moon Sound
Muhu
Muhu , is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of 198 km² it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa....
.
Gorky had a new bow section fabricated in Kronstadt and it was mated with the ship on 21 July. Kirov provided gunfire support during the defense of Tallinn and served as the flagship of the evacuation fleet from Tallinn to Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
at the end of August 1941. For most of the rest of the war both cruisers were blockaded in Leningrad and Kronstadt by Axis minefields and could only provide gunfire support for the defenders during the Siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
and support for the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive in mid—1944. Both ships were damaged by German air and artillery attacks, but were repaired during the war.
Black Sea Fleet
On 23 June 1941, Voroshilov covered Soviet destroyers bombarding ConstanţaConstanta
Constanța is the oldest extant city in Romania, founded around 600 BC. The city is located in the Dobruja region of Romania, on the Black Sea coast. It is the capital of Constanța County and the largest city in the region....
, but the destroyer leader Moskva was sunk by a mine and Kharkov was damaged by return fire. She bombarded Axis positions near Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
in mid-September, but was transferred to Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
shortly afterwards. On 2 November, she was hit twice in harbor by Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
bombers of KG 51
Kampfgeschwader 51
Kampfgeschwader 51 "Edelweiss" was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during World War II. The unit began forming in December 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17, Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88 light and medium bombers...
; one hit started a fire in #3 magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
that was extinguished by water flooding in from the second hit. She had to be towed to Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
for repairs, which lasted until February 1942. She shelled Axis positions near Feodosiya on 2 April 1942, but was damaged by some near misses on 10 April and had to return to Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
for repairs. In May she supported Soviet troops around Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
and the Taman Peninsula
Taman peninsula
The Taman Peninsula is a peninsula in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia. It is bounded on the north by the Sea of Azov, on the west by the Strait of Kerch and on the south by the Black Sea. The peninsula has evolved over the past two millennia from a chain of islands into the peninsula it is...
while helping to transfer the 9th Naval Infantry Brigade from Batumi to Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. On 29 November 1942, she was damaged by nearby mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
explosions while bombarding Feodonisi
Snake Island (Black Sea)
Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island, , is a Ukrainian island located in the Black Sea near the Danube Delta.The island is populated. A rural settlement of Bile was established in February 2007, which is part of the Vylkove city, Kiliya Raion, Odessa Oblast...
, but managed to return to Poti under her own power. Just after her repairs were completed she assisted Soviet forces landing behind German lines at the so-called "Malaya Zemlya
Malaya Zemlya
Malaya Zemlya was a Soviet uphill outpost on Cape Myskhako that was recaptured after fierce, bloody battles with the Germans during the Battle of Caucasus, on the night of 4 February 1943...
" at the end of January 1943. The loss of three destroyers to German aircraft attempting to interdict the German evacuation of the Taman Bridgehead on 6 October 1943 caused Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
to forbid the deployment of large naval units without his express permission and this meant the end of Voroshilovs active participation in the war.
Molotov was commissioned just before the German invasion and spent most of 1941 moving from port to port to take advantage of her air warning radar, the first fitted in the Soviet Navy. She bombarded Axis positions near Feodosiya in early November and was sent to reinforce Sevastopol with elements of the 386th Rifle Division from Poti. Damaged by a number of shell hits while off-loading troops on 29 December, she was still able to take 600 wounded when she departed. She reprised her role as a transport during the first week of January. Her bow was damaged during a heavy storm in Tuapse when it was thrown against the jetty on 21–22 January 1942. She spent most of the next month under repair, although her bow could not be straightened which reduced her speed by several knots. After making a number of bombardment sorties in support of Soviet troops on the Kerch Peninsula, she returned to Poti for more permanent repairs on 20 March. In June she made a number of transport runs in support of the garrison of Sevastopol. On 2 August her stern was blown off by torpedo bombers acting in concert with Italian MAS torpedo boats
MAS (boat)
Motoscafo Armato Silurante , commonly abbreviated as MAS was a class of fast torpedo armed vessel used by the Regia Marina during World War I and World War II...
. The damage reduced her speed to 10 knots and she had to be steered by her engines. She was under repair at Poti until 31 July 1943, using the stern of the incomplete Frunze, the rudder of the incomplete cruiser Zheleznyakov, the steering gear from the Kaganovich and the steering sensor from the submarine L-25. She saw no action after completing her repairs due to Stalin's order.
Pacific Fleet
Postwar careers
Kirov was damaged by a German magnetic mine while leaving Kronstadt on 17 October 1945. She was under repair until 20 December 1946. Refitted from November 1949 to April 1953, her machinery was completely overhauled, with her radars, fire control systems and anti-aircraft guns being replaced by the latest Soviet systems. She was reclassified as a training cruiser on 2 August 1961, regularly visited PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and East Germany, and was sold for scrap on 22 February 1974. Two of her gun turrets were installed at Saint Petersburg as a monument. Maxim Gorky tested the first Soviet naval helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, the Kamov Ka-10
Kamov Ka-10
The Kamov Ka-10 was a Soviet single-seat observation helicopter that first flew in 1950.It was a development of Ka-8, not much more than an open rig with an engine and coaxial rotors. Only 12 units were built.-Variants:...
, in December 1950 and began her refit in mid-1953. This was planned much like Kirovs refit, although her displacement was to increase 1000 tonnes (984 LT) from torpedo bulges, with consequent penalties to her speed and range. The Navy reevaluated the scope of the work in 1955, deemed it insufficient to create a fully modern ship, and suspended the refit. Gorky was sold for scrap on 18 April 1959 after it was decided that she was not required as a missile test ship.
Voroshilov began her postwar modernization in April 1954, but encountered the same issues as Maxim Gorky. Unlike her half-sister, she was selected for conversion as a testbed for missile development as Project 33 on 17 February 1956. The conversion process was quite prolonged, as her armament was removed and she received an entirely new superstructure and masts; and she was not recommissioned as OS-24 until 31 December 1961. She was modernized under Project 33M from 11 October 1963 to 1 December 1965. Converted to a floating barracks on 6 October 1972, she was briefly redesignated as PKZ-19 before being sold for scrap on 2 March 1973. Voroshilovs 14-ton propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
and 2.5-ton stop anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
are on display at the Museum of Heroic Defense and Liberation of Sevastopol on Sapun Mountain in Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. Molotov suffered a fire in the #2 turret handling room on 5 October 1946 which required the magazine to be flooded; 22 sailors were killed and 20 wounded. She was used as a testbed for the new radars intended for the and cruisers in the late 1940s
1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png|Above title bar: events which happened during World War II : From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft approaching "Omaha" Beach on "D-Day"; Adolf Hitler visits Paris, soon after the Battle of France; The Holocaust occurred during the war as Nazi Germany...
. Modernized like her half-sister Kirov between 1952 and 29 October 1955, she was renamed Slava on 3 August 1957 after Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
fell out of favor with Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
. She was reclassified as a training cruiser on 3 August 1961 and deployed to the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
during 5–30 June 1967 to show Soviet support for Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
during the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
. She returned to the Mediterranean between September and December 1970 where she assisted the Kotlin-class
Kotlin class destroyer (Project 56)
Kotlin class destroyers were Cold War era ships built for the Soviet Navy. The Russian name for this class was Project 56 Spokoinyy . 27 ships were built between 1955 and 1958; they were all decommissioned in the late 1980s. The Kildin class is based on the design of the Kotlins...
destroyer Bravyi after the latter's collision with the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
on 9 November 1970. She was sold for scrap on 4 April 1972.
Kalinin was placed in reserve on 1 May 1956, and was restored to the Navy List on 1 December 1957 before being disarmed and converted into a floating barracks on 6 February 1960. She was sold for scrap on 12 April 1963. Kaganovich was renamed Lazar Kaganovich on 3 August 1945 to distinguish her from Lazar's
Lazar Kaganovich
Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich was a Soviet politician and administrator and one of the main associates of Joseph Stalin.-Early life:Kaganovich was born in 1893 to Jewish parents in the village of Kabany, Radomyshl uyezd, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire...
disgraced brother Mikhail Kaganovich. She was renamed Petropavlovsk on 3 August 1957 after Lazar Kaganovich was purged from the government after an unsuccessful coup against Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
that same year. Her superstructure was badly damaged by a Force 12 typhoon
Pacific typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean between 180° and 100°E. This region is referred to as the northwest Pacific basin. For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions: the eastern , central , and...
on 19 September 1957 and she was deemed uneconomical to repair and sold for scrap on 6 February 1960.