The Polnocny (or Polnochny)-class ships are amphibious warfare vessels. They were designed in Poland, in cooperation with the Soviet Navy and were built in Poland between 1967 and 2002. They now serve in several different navies, and some have been converted to civilian use. The name comes from the Stocznia Północna shipyard (Northern Shipyard) at Gdańsk, where they were built. 107 were built by 1986 (last 16 by Stocznia Marynarki Wojennej (Naval Shipyard) at Gdynia, Poland). In 2002, one ship of a modernised design NS-722 was built in Gdynia for Yemen.
The Polnocny-class ships are classified as medium landing ships in the Russian Navy, and are loosely equivalent to Western tank landing ships. They are equipped with a bow ramp that allows beach landings. The Polnocny-C version can carry 12 BMP-2 armored personnel carriers, or 4 Main Battle Tanks, or 250 infantrymen with their weapons like 82 mm Mortars and ATGMs, or 250tons of rations & stores. Unlike their Western counterparts, these ships can provide substantial fire support for landed troops with their onboard multiple rocket launchers. Other armament consists of anti-aircraft guns and short-range surface-to-air missiles.
Variants
The Polnocny class comprises several sub-types that vary in size and capacity:
Built in large quantities, the Polnocny-class ships were once the mainstay of the Soviet amphibious forces, and gave the Soviet naval infantry an effective force projection capability. They were gradually phased out in favour of hovercraft, and few remain active in a number of navies.
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