Soviet cruiser Vitse-Admiral Drozd
 Vitse-Admiral Drozd underway on 6 March 1986. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | Vitse-Admiral Drozd |
| Builder: | A.A. Zhdanov, Leningrad |
| Yard number: | 793 |
| Laid down: | 26 October 1965 |
| Launched: | 18 November 1966 |
| Commissioned: | 27 December 1968 |
| Decommissioned: | 1 July 1990 |
| Fate: | Sank on the way to be scrapped in India March 1992 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Project 1134 Berkut class cruiser |
| Displacement: | 5,340 tonnes (5,260 long tons; 5,890 short tons) standard, 7,170 tonnes (7,060 long tons; 7,900 short tons) full load |
| Length: | 156.2 m (512 ft 6 in) |
| Beam: | 16.8 m (55 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 5.6 m (18 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft; 4 x KVN-98/64 boilers, 2 x TV-12 GTZA steam turbines, 46,000 shp (34,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 34 knots (63 km/h) |
| Range: | 10,500 nmi (19,446 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement: | 30 officers, 282 ratings |
| Sensors and processing systems: | 1 x MR-500 and 1 x MR-310 Angara-A air/surface search radars, 1 x MRP-11-12, 2 x MRP-13-14 Uspekh-U and 1 x MRP-15-16 Zaliv reconnaissance radars, 1 x Volga navigation radar, 1 x Binom-1134, 2 x 4R90 Yatagan, 1 x MR-103 Bars, 1 x Grozna-1134 and 1 x Burya-1134 fire control systems, 3 x Nickel-KM and 2 x Khrom-KM IFF, 1 x ARP-50R radio direction finder, 1 x MG-312M Titan and 1 x GAS-311 Vychegda sonars, 1 x MG-26 Khosta underwater communication system, 1 x MI-110R and 1 x MI-110K anti-subrmarine search stations, 1 x Planshet-1134 combat information control system |
| Electronic warfare & decoys: |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 1 Kamov Ka-25 'Hormone-A' or KA-25T 'Hormone-B' |
| Aviation facilities: | Hanger and helipad |
Vitse-Admiral Drozd (Russian: Вице-адмирал Дрозд) was the third ship of the Soviet Navy Project 1134 Admiral Zozulya-class Large Anti-submarine Ships (Russian: Большой Противолодочный Корабль, BPK) also known as the Kresta I-class guided missile cruisers. The vessel was reclassified a Large Rocket Ship (Russian: Ракетные крейсера проекта, RKR) in 1977.
Design
Vitse-Admiral Drozd was approved by Nikita Khrushchev as part of Sergey Gorshkov’s build up of the Soviet Navy.[1] The vessel displaced 5,340 tonnes (5,260 long tons; 5,890 short tons) standard and 7,170 tonnes (7,060 long tons; 7,900 short tons) full load, and was 156.2 m (512 ft) in length.[lower-alpha 1] The hull was made of steel, while the superstructure was constructed of aluminium-magnesium alloy.[3] Power was provided by two TV-12 steam turbines, fuelled by four KVN-98/64 boilers and driving two fixed pitch screws that 46,000 horsepower (34,000 kW). Design speed was 34 knots (63 km/h), range being 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at 32 knots (59 km/h) and 10,500 nautical miles (19,400 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h).[4]
Armament
Vitse-Admiral Drozd was originally intended to mount the P-500 Bazalt (NATO reporting name SS-N-12 'Sandbox') but protracted development meant that instead 4K44 missiles (SS-N-3 'Shaddock') were retained.[5] However, they were launched from two specially designed twin KT-35-1134 P-35 launchers mounted midships, and the ship was equipped with a helipad and hanger for a Kamov Ka-25 helicopter to provide missile guidance. Two twin ZIF-102 M-1 Volna-M launchers, one forward and the other aft, and up to 64 4K91 (SA-N-1 'Goa') missiles, gave protection against aerial attack, supplemented by two twin 57 mm (2 in) AK-725 guns.[3]
Defence against submarines was provided by two quintuple 533 mm (21 in) torpedo launchers, a pair of six-barrelled RBU-1000 Smerch-3 launchers for 300 mm (12 in) anti-submarine rockets and a pair of twelve-barrelled RBU-6000 Smerch-2 launchers for 213 mm (8 in) anti-submarine rockets.[5] An extensive anti-submarine sensor suite was also fitted, with MG-312M Titan and GAS-311 Vychegda sonars, the MG-26 Khosta underwater communication system and both MI-110R and MI-110K anti-submarine search stations.[4]
Between January 1980 and March 1983, Vitse-Admiral Drozd was upgraded with four AK-630 close-in weapon systems, with their attendant fire control radars, installed near the bridge to improve anti-missile defence.[6]
Service
Launched on 18 November 1966, Vitse-Admiral Drozd joined the Baltic Fleet as part of the 120th Missile Ship Brigade Russian: бригада ракетных кораблей in 5 May 1969. The ship operated in the Northern Atlantic Ocean in June 1969 and then took part in Kolskiy Bereg between 12 and 15 August 1969 and Okean-70 between 10 March and 22 April 1970. Cruises in 1970 in the Norwegian Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea included a visit to Cienfuegos, Cuba, between 14 and 25 May; a return visit to Cuba in February 1971 took place as part of further tours of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea between 13 January and 28 April 1971. On 13 April 1971, the vessel tracked a submarine northeast of Ireland, subsequently tracking a NATO task force off the Faroe Islands and participatiing in the Soviet Orbita exercise.[7]
The ship crossed the equator for the first time on 17 February 1972 but returned to the Bay of Biscay to take part in the rescue operation for the Project 658 submarine K-19 between 3 and 20 March. On 3 May, the ship was visited by Soviet Navy commander Admiral Serghey Gorshkov.[7]
After repairs and modernization at the A.A. Zhdanov Yard in Leningrad which took the ship out of action between January 1973 and February 1975, Vitse-Admiral Drozd sailed with Admiral Isachenkov and Smyshlennyy from Liepāja to Severomorsk and then operated in the Central Atlantic and Mediterranean, including visiting Annaba twice. Between 2 September and 2 October 1977, the vessel observed the NATO exercise Strong Express.[7]
On 20 June 1980, the ship’s keel was damaged in an accident with Project 670 submarine K-508, which was repaired as part of a overhaul and upgrade that took place at Kronshtadt between January 1981 and March 1983. The ship was back in Severomorsk in May 1984, but spent the first six months of 1985 operating in the Mediterranean Sea as part of a task force led by Kiev. This cruise included a visit to Dubrovnik between 9 and 13 May. The first half of 1986 was also spent in the Mediterranean, with visits in April to Tripoli and Tobruk.[7]
After over 20 years of service, Vitse-Admiral Drozd was decommissioned on 1 July 1990. The flag was taken down on 2 June 1991 and, in March 1992, the vessel sank while being towed to India to be scrapped.[7]
Pennant numbers
| Pennant Number[4] | Date |
|---|---|
| 583 | 1968 |
| 553 | 1970 |
| 548 | 1971 |
| 592 | 1972 |
| 298 | |
| 224 | 1976 |
| 299 | 1976 |
| 087 | 1979 |
| 560 | 1982 |
| 060 | 1984 |
| 097 | 1985 |
| 054 | 1988 |
| 034 | 1990 |
Notes
References
- ↑ Sondhaus, Lawrence (2004). Navies in Modern World History. London: Reaktion. p. 302. ISBN 9781861892027. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ↑ Hampshire, Edward (2017). Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 9781472817402.
- 1 2 Averin, A.B. (2007). Адмиралы и маршалы. Корабли проектов 1134 и 1134А [Admirals and Marshals: Ships Project 1134 and 1134A] (in Russian). Moscow: Voennaya Kniga. p. 10. ISBN 9785902863168.
- 1 2 3 "Guided Missile Cruisers: Project 1134 Berkut". Russian Ships. 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- 1 2 Gogin, Ivan (2015). "ADMIRAL ZOZULIA large ASW ships (project 1134) (1967 - 1969)". Retrieved 20 April 2018.
- ↑ Prézelin, Bernard; Baker, A.D. (1990). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1990/91. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 566. ISBN 0-87021-250-8.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Holm, Michael. "Project 1134: Kresta I class". Soviet Armed Forces 1945–1991. Retrieved 20 April 2018.