Koni-class frigate

Last updated
Del'fin1982-2.jpg
Class overview
NameProject 1159 Del'fin anti-submarine ship
Operators
Preceded by Mirka class
Succeeded by Gepard class
Built1975–1988
Completed14
Active5
Lost1
General characteristics
TypeLight ASW Frigate
Displacement
  • 1,140 tons (standard)
  • 1,900 tons (full load) [1]
Length95 m (311 ft 8 in)
Beam12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draft5 m (16 ft 5 in) [2]
Propulsion
  • CODAG 1 gas turbine M8V DN59L4 unit 13.4 MW + 2 diesels
  • 3 shafts; 35,000  shp (26,000 kW) total [1]
Speed27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range3,300 km (1,800 nmi; 2,100 mi) at 26 km/h (14 kn; 16 mph)
Complement110 [1]
Sensors &
processing systems
  • MR-104 Rys' (NATO designation: "Drum Tilt"), Radar barret-2, Slim Net, Strut Curve, Pop Group, Hawk Screech
  • Sonar - Herkules hull mounted & dipping sonar
Armament

The Koni class is the NATO reporting name for Project 1159 Del'fin anti-submarine warfare frigates built by the Soviet Union. 14 were built in Zelenodolsk shipyard between 1975 and 1988. They were originally intended to replace the older Riga-class frigates, but were instead chosen as a design for export to various friendly navies. The Koni I sub class were designed for European waters and the Koni II were made for warmer waters. [3] One ship was retained by the Soviets in the Black Sea for training foreign crews. Only a few of these vessels remain in service today.

Contents

The Romanian Admiral Petre Bărbuneanu-class corvettes were similar.

Design

Armament

The armament consisted of two AK-726 twin 76 mm (3.0 in) gun mountings and two AK-230 twin 30 mm (1.2 in) anti-aircraft guns, 4 P-15M Termit anti-ship missile launchers were fitted in some ships, depth charge and naval mine racks were fitted at the stern. The Libyan vessels had a redesigned layout with the P-15M missiles forward of the bridge. The ships had contemporary Soviet radar and sonar.

Propulsion

The ships had 3-shaft CODAG machinery suite, identical to that used in the Project 1124 corvettes. The middle shaft had an 18,000  hp (13,000  kW ) gas turbine while the outer two shafts had diesel engines with 9,000 hp (6,700 kW) in total for economical cruising.

Ships in class

Project 1159 - NATO reporting name Koni I
NameLaid downLaunchedCommissionedFate
Del'fin21 April 197319 July 197531 December 1975in 1989 to Bulgarian Navy as Smeli in service 2014
Nerpa22 October 19744 June 197731 December 1977in 1978 to East Germany as Rostock , scrapped after 1990
Krechet19 January 19773 July 197831 December 1978in 1979 to East Germany as Berlin - Hauptstadt der DDR, scrapped after 1990
Sokol January 197821 April 197930 November 1979in 1980 to Yugoslavia as Split, later to Serbia & Montenegro, scrapped 2013
SKR-48125 December 197924 December 198130 September 1982in 1982 to Yugoslavia as Koper, scrapped 1998
SKR-1498 April 198330 June 198425 June 1985in 1985 to East Germany as Halle, scrapped after 1990
Project 1159T - NATO reporting name Koni II
SKR-482 10 June 197812 January 198030 September 1980in 1980 to Algeria as Mourad Rais
SKR-2817 July 197921 June 198030 December 1980in 1981 to Cuba as Mariel
SKR-35 11 June 198030 April 198130 November 1981in 1982 to Algeria as Rais Kellik, in service
SKR-47124 April 198131 July 198217 August 1983in 1984 to Cuba as 356
SKR-129 7 July 198211 November 198330 August 1984in 1985 to Algeria as Rais Korfu, in service
SKR-4516 May 19863 May 198725 December 1987in 1988 to Cuba as Moncada
Project 1159TR - NATO reporting name Koni II
SKR-20122 September 198227 April 198530 December 1985in 1986 to Libya as Al Hani; in Malta for refit since 2013 [4] [5]
SKR-19518 April 198527 April 198625 December 1986in 1987 to Libya as Al Ghardabia, sunk 2011 during the Libyan civil war

Patrol Boat 383, P.B.

On July 16, 1998 the former Cuban Navy Koni II-class frigate designated 353 was scuttled in shallow water near the Cuban resort town of Varadero in the Parque Submarino Cayo Piedra del Norte as an attraction for divers. It is rumored that Fidel Castro promoted the project, being an avid diver himself. The frigate sank upright, and sits on the sand bottom in 90 ft (27 m) of water. For an unknown reason her hull number was changed from 353 to 383 prior to the scuttling. [6] The dive operators in the Varadero area refer to the dive site as Patrol Boat 383 or simply P.B even though it is a frigate.

Original operators

Mourad Rais of Algerian National Navy in 1986. One of the warm-water export versions. MouradRais1986.jpg
Mourad Rais of Algerian National Navy in 1986. One of the warm-water export versions.

See also

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Koni class - Project 1159". FAS.org . 2000-09-07. Archived from the original on 2016-04-28. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  2. ↑ Couhat Jean. Combat Fleets of the world 1982/1983 Their Ships, Aircraft, and Armament Paris: Editions Maritimes et d'Outre-Mer, 1981 ISBN   0-87021-125-0 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-50192 Pg.2
  3. ↑ "Koni Class - Project 1159". globalsecurity.org. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Libyan frigate arrives for repairs". Times of Malta. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  5. ↑ Balzan, Jurgen (8 September 2018). "US blocks release of Libyan military ship docked in Malta". The Shift, Malta. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  6. 1 2 "Monkada (353) (+1998)". wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Conway 1995, p. 135

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.