The Don-class submarine tender was the NATO reporting name for a group of seven submarine tenders built for the Soviet Navy in the late 1950s. The Soviet designation was Project 310 Batur. Evolving from a need for dispersed basing of submarines in the advent of a nuclear war, the ships were designed to support distant operations of the Soviet Union's submarine fleet, capable of repairing and resupplying. However, the Soviets returned to stationary basing of their submarines and the Don class were later converted into flagships. One vessel was exported to Indonesia in 1962 and due to the ship's heavy armament, was used primarily for patrol duties. The ships of the Don class were removed from service in the mid 1990s and broken up for scrap.
Bditel'nyy or Bditelnyy was a Project 1135 Burevestnik Large Anti-Submarine Ship or Krivak-class frigate that served with the Soviet and Russian Navies. Launched on 28 March 1970, the vessel served as part of the Baltic Fleet but operated more widely than the Baltic Sea, demonstrating the emerging blue water capability of the Navy. A dedicated anti-submarine vessel, with an armament built around the Metel system, the ship spent the period between 26 December 1970 and 30 September 1971 undertaking trials and tests to prove the new systems. During that time General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and Admiral of the Fleet Sergey Gorshkov were both hosted on board. The vessel then subsequently undertook tracking of submarines in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean Seas, and even travelled as far as Cuba, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The ship also visited friendly ports like Annaba in Algeria, Gdynia in Poland and Rostock in East Germany. With the end of the Cold War, the ship also travelled to Belgium and visited Antwerp. During June 1993, Bditelnyy took part in BALTOPS-93, the first joint exercise between NATO and Russia. However, soon afterwards, the ship was retired and, on 31 July 1996, decommissioned and subsequently broken up.
Zadornyy was a Project 1135 Burevestnik-class guard ship or Krivak-class frigate that served with the Soviet and Russian Navies. Displacing 3,200 tonnes full load, the vessel was built around the Metel anti-submarine missile system. Zadornyy was launched on 25 March 1979 in Leningrad, the last of the class to be built by the A.A. Zhdanov shipyard, and served with the Northern Fleet. After taking part in exercises Avangard-81, Sever-81 and Okean-83, and cruising as far as Havana, Cuba, the vessel was upgraded between 11 June 1990 and 23 May 1995 with missiles that added anti-ship capability. While serving with the Russian Navy, the ship took part in joint exercises with frigates of the Royal Navy, including a commemoration of the first Arctic convoy of the Second World War with HMS Campbeltown. After more than twenty-five years service, the ship was decommissioned on 3 December 2005.
Deyatelnyy was a Soviet Navy 1135 Burevestnik-class Large Anti-Submarine Ship or Krivak-class frigate. Displacing 3,200 tonnes full load, the vessel was built around the Metel anti-submarine missile system. Launched on 6 April 1975, Deyatelnyy served with the Black Sea Fleet and, as well as Bulgaria in the Black Sea, spent the next two decades travelling as far as the Mediterranean Sea to visit ports in North Africa for cultural reasons and to improve relations between the Soviet Union and other nations, For example, in 1981, the ship was the first Soviet vessel for more than ten years to visit Libya. In 1987, the vessel was used to test a new missile for the Metel system that added anti-ship capability. The ship was taken out of service for repair and modernisation in 1991. However, lack of funding meant that, instead, Deyatelnyy was decommissioned on 10 June 1995 and broken up.
During the Second World War, the Royal Romanian Navy operated a total of 9 submarines: three fleet submarines and six midget submarines. These vessels fought on the Axis side during the war. Only two of them survived the war and continued to serve in the Romanian Navy until the 1960s.
Marshal Timoshenko was a Project 1134A Berkut A class cruiser of the Soviet Navy. The eighth ship of her class, the vessel served during the Cold War with the Northern Fleet, often operating in the Atlantic Ocean but also travelling to various ports in the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The cruiser was taken out of service to be modernised in 1988 but a lack of funds meant the work was not completed. Instead Marshal Timoshenko was decommissioned in 1992.
Vasily Chapayev was a Project 1134A Berkut A class cruiser of the Soviet Navy named for Soviet commander Vasily Chapayev. The ninth ship of the class, the vessel was launched in 1974 and served during the Cold War with the Pacific Fleet. Based at Vladivostok, the ship travelled extensively in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, visiting a large number of friendly ports in Angola, Ethiopia, India, Mozambique and Yemen. In 1978 and 1979, the vessel formed part of a flotilla of Soviet vessels including the Project 68bis cruiser Admiral Senyavin that supported Vietnam in the aftermath of the Sino-Vietnamese War. In 1982, Vasily Chapayev was allocated to support the BOR-4 spaceplane programme. 1985 found the vessel undertaking anti-submarine exercises against US Navy submarines demonstrating the Soviet capability of joint operations between aircraft, ships and submarines, which expanded the following year to a dummy attack on the US base at Pearl Harbor. In 1986, the ship took part in the first joint exercises between the Soviet and North Korean Navies. Taken out of active service in 1992, Vasily Chapayev was decommissioned and transferred to be broken up in 1993.
Sposobny was a Project 61 destroyer of the Soviet Navy, which briefly became part of the Russian Navy. The ship served during the Cold War from 1971 to 1989.
Dmitriy Galkin was a Don-class submarine tender of the Soviet Navy.
Magomed Gadzhiev was a Don-class submarine tender of the Soviet Navy.
Magadansky Komsomolets was a Don-class submarine tender of the Soviet Navy.
Nikolay Kartashov was a Don-class submarine tender of the Soviet Navy which later was transferred to the Indonesian Navy and renamed KRI Ratulangi.
Viktor Kotelnikov was a Don-class submarine tender of the Soviet Navy.
Batur was a Don-class submarine tender of the Soviet Navy.
Admiral Lazarev was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy.
Dzerzhinsky was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy.
Admiral Nakhimov was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy.
Razyashchiy was a Project 1135 Burevestnik-class Large Anti-Submarine Ship or Krivak-class frigate of the Soviet Navy. Displacing 3,200 tonnes full load, the vessel was built around the Metel anti-submarine missile system. Launched on 22 July 1974, Razyashchiy joined the Pacific Fleet of the Soviet Navy. While serving in the Arabian Sea, in 1983, Razyashchiy suffered minor hull damage from colliding with the destroyer USS Fife while approaching a US fleet. The ship also undertook visits to Port Louis, Mauritius, and Danang, Vietnam, to, among other objectives, enhance the relationships between these countries and the Soviet Union. In 1991, the vessel was transferred to the newly-formed Russian Navy. After nearly twenty years of service, however, Razyashchiy was in a poor state and so was decommissioned on 29 October 1992 and sold to be broken up on 6 October 1994.
Gromkiy was a Project 1135M Burevestnik-class Guard Ship or 'Krivak II'-class frigate that served with the Soviet and Russian Navies. Launched on 11 April 1978, the vessel operated as part of the Northern Fleet as an anti-submarine vessel, with an armament built around the URPK-5 Rastrub missile system. In 1991, the ship took part in the semicentennial commemoration of the first of the arctic convoys of the Second World War alongside the Royal Navy frigate HMS London. Soon afterwards, the ship was transferred to the Russian Navy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Gromkiy served for less than two years in this new role before being withdrawn for repairs and, ultimately, decommissioning on 16 March 1998.
Pytlivyy is a Project 1135M Burevestnik-class Guard Ship or 'Krivak II'-class frigate that served with the Soviet and Russian navies. Launched on 16 April 1981, the vessel was designed to operate as an anti-submarine vessel, with an armament built around the Metel Anti-Ship Complex. Part of the Black Sea Fleet, the vessel undertook friendly visits to Algeria, Greece, and Malta, at the last hosting a meeting between the Soviet and US leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush. In 1991, the ship was transferred to the Russian Navy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and, following a three-year repair, took part in a number of joint exercises with other navies. For example, 2003 found the vessel operating alongside the Indian Navy and 2005 with the Italian Navy. In 2006, Pytlivyy took part in NATO's Operation Active Endeavour and subsequently formed part of Russia's presence in the Mediterranean Sea in the war against terrorism in the early 21st century. The ship also operated as part of the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war. As of 2021, Pytlivyy remains in service.
Russia
