Novorossiysk was a conventionally powered heavy aircraft carrying cruiser or 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...

 that served 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...

, and later the Russian Navy, from 1982 to 1993. She was the third Kiev

Kiev class aircraft carrier

The Kiev class carriers were the first class of fixed-wing aircraft carriers built in the Soviet Union....

 class vessel to be built. She was designed to engage in offensive actions as a guided missile cruiser mostly using her deck mounted missiles as well as support anti-submarine and surface actions with her embarked air group.

History

Novorossiysk was laid down at the former Soviet Black Sea Shipyard

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...

 in Mykolaiv

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:...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 on 30 September 1975, launched on 24 December 1978, commissioned on 12 September 1982, and decommissioned in June 1993. The third ship in her class she served in the Soviet Pacific Fleet.

In March 1984, the Novorossiysk and escorting battle group departed the Sea of Japan, sailed to the south of Okinawa and then east across the Pacific. After approximately eight days, the ships turned and headed northwest toward the Kuril Islands, simulating an enemy carrier strike against the Soviet Union. As the Novorossiysk approached the islands, about 700 miles east of Japan, Soviet Bear

Tupolev Tu-95

The Tupolev Tu-95 is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the former Soviet Union in 1956 and is expected to serve the Russian Air Force until at least 2040...

 bombers flew reconnaissance missions near the battle group and helped vector some 20 Backfire

Tupolev Tu-160

The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Although several civil and military transport aircraft are larger in overall dimensions, the Tu-160 is currently the world's largest combat aircraft, largest...

 bombers to their targets, practicing the Soviet strategy of bomber launched anti-ship missile warfare. A U.S. Navy description of the Novorossisysk exercise notes that "The force was hit by simulated air strikes and probably by submarines firing torpedoes and cruise missiles from 1120km east of Japan, on 14 April. They came at it with submarines and aircraft--everything they had."

In 1995 the Novorossiysk hulk, which had suffered a serious engine room fire, was sold for scrapping, and was broken up in 1997 at Pohang

Pohang

Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River...

, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

.

External links

• Kiev Class Aircraft Carriers