Soviet cruiser Murmansk (1955)

Murmansk (Russian: Мурманск) was a light cruiser project no. 68-bis (designated the Sverdlov class by NATO) of the Soviet and later the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet.

For other ships with the same name, see Soviet cruiser Murmansk.
The stranded Murmansk before being dismantled
History
Russia
Name: Murmansk
Builder: Zavod № 402, Severodvinsk
Laid down: 1953
Launched: 24 April 1955
Commissioned: 22 September 1955
Decommissioned: 1989
Struck: 1994
Fate: Wrecked off Norway on 24 December 1994; scrapped 2013
General characteristics
Class and type: Sverdlov-class cruiser
Displacement:
  • 13,600 tons standard,
  • 16,640 tons full load
Length:
  • 210 m (690 ft) overall
  • 205 m (673 ft) waterline
Beam: 22 m (72 ft)
Draught: 6.9 m (23 ft)
Propulsion: 2 shaft geared steam turbines, 6 boilers, 110,000 hp (82,000 kW)
Speed: 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph)
Range: 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement: 1,250
Armament:
  • 12 × 15.2 cm (6.0 in)/57 cal B-38 guns in 4 triple Mk5-bis turrets
  • 12 × 10 cm (3.9 in)/56 cal Model 1934 guns in 6 twin SM-5-1 mounts
  • 32 × 3.7 cm (1.5 in) AA guns
  • 10 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes
Armour:

She was laid down in Severodvinsk in 1953 and commissioned on 22 September 1955. Murmansk joined the 2nd Cruiser Division on the division's formation in 1956.

Fate

In 1994 Murmansk was sold to India for scrapping but ran aground off the Norwegian village of Sørvær during the transfer. During that time, a photo was taken by a native Norwegian that had shown the ship in almost perfect condition with a massive list. It was first estimated that the winter storms would destroy parts of Murmansk above the water, but the ship remained in one piece and in 2009 funding was allocated to pay for the dismantling of the vessel.

Since the ship was in a very bad state when the decision to remove it was made, there was no possibility to tow it. Scandinavia's largest demolition contractor, AF Decom, constructed a massive breakwater and dry dock around Murmansk to access the shipwreck from land and demolish it where it rested. The dock around the wreck was sealed in April 2012.[1] By mid-May the dock was almost empty of water and the demolishing of the cruiser began. The project was completed in 2013.[2]

There is a dispute about possible radioactive substances within the ship.[3]

References
  1. Karlsbakk, Jonas (16 May 2012). ""Murmansk" demolition in final phase". Barents Observer. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  2. "AF Gruppen is removing the abandoned ship, Murmansk". AF Gruppen. 15 May 2009. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  3. Johansen, Per Anders (1 August 2008). "Ny gjennomgang av miljøgiftene i Murmansk". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 18 April 2015.


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