The Sverdlov-class cruisers, Soviet designation Project 68bis, were the last conventional gun cruisers built for the Soviet Navy. They were built in the 1950s and were based on Soviet, German, and Italian designs and concepts developed before the Second World War. They were modified to improve their sea capabilities, allowing them to operate at high speeds in the rough waters of the North Atlantic. The design carried an extensive suite of modern radar equipment and anti-aircraft artillery. The Soviets originally planned to build 40 ships in the class, to be supported by the Stalingrad-classbattlecruisers and various aircraft carriers.
Secondary missions envisioned for this class of ship were commerce raiding[1] and political presence in the Third World, but they were considered obsolete for the missile age (in which defensive and anti-submarine resources were the priority) by Soviet PremierNikita Khrushchev and the General Staff, who grudgingly conceded only some cruisers for limited roles as flagships in strategic and tactical naval operations. Within the Soviet Navy in 1959, leading admirals still believed that more big cruisers would be helpful in the sort of operations planned in Cuba and in support of Indonesia.
The Sverdlovs were also a threat to the British and Dutch navies, which lacked 24-hour day/night carrier capability before satellite surveillance.[citation needed]
The big ship threat to the Royal Navy was useful to it in justifying maintaining a conventional fleet of warships and aircraft carriers, especially for use in the North Atlantic.[2] The response was to introduce the Blackburn Buccaneer, a carrier-based strike aircraft that had the performance required to approach and attack Sverdlov-class ships at ultra-low level, using toss bombing attacks to deliver nuclear ordnance, while remaining outside the 5km effective range of the Soviet 100mm (3.9in) and 37 mm (1.5 in) guns. When the building program was cut back, and the battlecruisers and carriers were cancelled, the Sverdlovs were left dangerously unprotected when operating in areas outside the cover of land-based aircraft. Their secondary mission, operating on their own as commerce raiders, was also compromised as they would be extremely vulnerable, in good weather, to USN carrier battle groups equipped with modern strike aircraft and to the remaining Baltimore- and Des Moines-class cruisers equipped with 8-inch guns. The Royal Navy's last Fiji- and Tiger-class gun cruisers, and the USN's Gearing- and Forrest Sherman-class destroyers, lacked the armour, range[3] and speed required to counter the Sverdlovs.
In 1954 Sverdlov class construction was cancelled by Khrushchev after 14 hulls had been completed. Two additional hulls were scrapped on the slip, and four partially complete Sverdlovs launched in 1954 were scrapped in 1959. Sverdlov class ships remained in service through the 1970s, during which they underwent a limited modernization program before finally leaving service in the late 1980s.
At the end of the Second World War, Joseph Stalin planned a major modernization and expansion of the Soviet Navy to turn it into a global blue-water navy. Large numbers of cruisers were required to escort heavier ships and leading destroyers.[4] To speed up production, it was decided to build an improved version of the pre-war Chapayev-class cruiser (Project 68), the Sverdlov (Project 68B) instead of a wholly new design (Project 65). The design for the Sverdlov class was formally approved on 27 May 1947.[5][6] Some sources state that 30 Sverdlovs were initially planned, with the order being cut by five in favor of the three Stalingrad-class battlecruisers,[7] but others state that the total of 30 includes the five Chapayevs.[8] The first three ships of the class were named after canceled ships of the Chapayev class.[5] Following the death of Stalin in 1953, this order was cut to 21.[5] Once the first 15 hulls were laid down, the Soviet Navy decided that the remaining six ships would be completed to a modified design (Project 68zif) with provisions for protection against nuclear fallout, but none was completed. Plans were developed, and drawings were created to upgrade the ships to support a cruise missile capability; however, these plans were dropped, and new construction was canceled in 1959. Incomplete ships except Admiral Kornilov (which became a hulk) were scrapped by 1961.[5][7]
Reductions in cruiser force levels were contrary to the views of Soviet Navy leadership, which insisted cruisers still provided a valuable capability to act as command ships for naval gunfire support of amphibious operations. They also thought they would provide a political presence in contested areas of the Third World, e.g. Cuba and Indonesia. Had more Sverdlovs been available at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, they would certainly have been deployed. The Soviet Navy intended to base several older Chapayev class cruisers at Cuban ports had the operation succeeded.[citation needed]
These ships were outclassed as surface combatants due to their lack of an anti-ship cruise missile capability. The limited modernization of those ships still in service in the 1970s relegated them to benefit as naval gunfire support platforms.[9]
The standard Soviet practice was to pass the cruisers in and out of reserve status. Most were relegated to reserve status by the early 1980s.
Today, only one of the ships remains, the Mikhail Kutuzov. It is a museum ship in Novorossiysk.
Design
The Sverdlov-class cruisers were improved and slightly enlarged versions of the Chapayev class. They had the same main armament, machinery, and side protection as the earlier ships. Improvements included increased fuel capacity for more range, an all-welded hull, improved underwater security, and increased anti-aircraft artillery and radar.
The Sverdlov class displaced 13,600tons standard and 16,640tons at full load. They were 210m (690ft)long overall and 205m (673ft) long at the waterline. They had a beam of 22m (72ft) and draft of 6.9m (23ft) and typically had a complement of 1,250. The hull was a completely welded new design, and the ships had a double bottom for over 75% of their length. The ship also had 23 watertight bulkheads. The Sverdlovs had six boilers providing steam to two geared steam turbines generating 118,100 shaft horsepower (88,100kW) to their shafts. This gave the ships a maximum speed of 32.5 knots (60.2km/h; 37.4mph). The cruisers had a range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000km; 10,000mi) at 18 knots (33km/h; 21mph).[5]
Sverdlov-class cruisers' main armament included twelve 152mm (6in)/57 caliber B-38 guns mounted in four triple Mk5-bis turrets. They also had twelve 100mm (4in)/56 cal Model 1934 guns in six twin SM-5-1 mounts. For anti-aircraft weaponry, the cruisers had thirty-two 37mm (1.5in) anti-aircraft guns in sixteen twin mounts and were also equipped with ten 533mm (21in)torpedo tubes in two mountings of five each.[5]
The Sverdlovs had 100mm (4in)belt armor and had a 50mm (2in) armored deck. The turrets were shielded by 175mm (7in) armor and the conning tower by 150mm (5.9in) armor.[5]
The cruisers' ultimate radar suite included one 'Big Net' or 'Top Trough' air search radar, one 'High Sieve' or 'Low Sieve' air search radar, one 'Knife Rest' air search radar, and one 'Slim Net' air search radar. For navigational radar, they had one 'Don-2' or 'Neptune' model. For fire control purposes, the ships were equipped with two 'Sun Visor' radars, two 'Top Bow' 152 mm gun radars, and eight 'Egg Cup' gun radars. For electronic countermeasures, the ships were equipped with two 'Watch Dog' ECM systems.[5]
Modifications
By the early 1960s, torpedo tubes were removed from all ships of the class. In 1957 the Admiral Nakhimov had a KSShch (NATO reporting name: SS-N-1 "Scrubber") anti-ship missile launcher installed to replace "A" and "B" turrets. The modification was designated Project 68ER. This trial installation was unsuccessful, and the ship was decommissioned and used as a target ship in 1961.[5]
Dzerzhinsky had a surface-to-air missile (SAM) launcher for the M-2 Volkhov-M missile (SA-N-2 "Guideline"), which replaced the third or "X" main gun turret in 1960–62, with the designation Project 70E.[5][10]This conversion was also considered to be unsuccessful[citation needed] and no further ships were converted.[5] As the entire missile installation was above the armored deck and the missile itself, based on the S-75 Dvina (SA-2 "Guideline"), was liquid-fueled (acid/kerosene), it would have represented a serious hazard to the ship in action.[citation needed]
Zhdanov and Senyavin were converted to command ships in 1971 by replacing the "X" turret with extra accommodation and electronics, four twin 30 mm AK-230 guns, and a 4K33 "Osa-M" (SA-N-4 "Gecko") SAM system. Senyavin also had the "Y" turret removed to make room for a helicopter deck and hangar, and four additional AK-230 mounts installed atop the Osa-M missile system. Zhdanov and Senyavin were respectively designated Project 68U1 and Project 68U2.[5]
Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia was refitted with an enlarged bridge in 1977, with Admiral Ushakov and Aleksandr Suvorov receiving the same modification in 1979, and later, Mikhail Kutusov. These ships had four of their 37mm twin mounts removed, and eight 30mm AK-230 mounts were added. These ships were designated Project 68A.[5]
Named after Yakov Sverdlov. On 14 February 1978, it was relegated to the reserve and stationed at Liepaya. On 30 May 1989, it was decommissioned and, in 1990, towed to Kronshtadt. In early 1991 it was sold to an Indian company for scrap, and in October 1993 towed to India and scrapped.[11]
Named after Andrei Zhdanov. It was converted into a command ship with the "X" turret removed, replaced by office space, and extra electronics added. It was then scrapped in 1991.
Named after Dmitry Senyavin. Converted into a command ship with aft turrets removed and replaced by a helicopter hangar and office space, Scrapped in 1991
Named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze. Sold to Indonesia 1962, recommissioned KRI Irian in 1963. Sold for scrap to Taiwan in 1972. British frogman Lionel Crabb disappeared in 1956 when secretly inspecting this ship for MI6 when it was docked in Portsmouth Harbor.
Named after revolutionary and head of the first Soviet secret police Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. On 19 February 1980, she was relegated to the reserve and stationed in Sevastopol; Decommissioned on 12 October 1988; 1988-1989 scrapped at Inkerman.[11]
A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea denial.
The Chapayev class were a group of cruisers built for the Soviet Navy during and after World War II. Seventeen ships were planned in total, but only seven were actually started before the German invasion. Two incomplete ships were destroyed when their building yard in Nikolaev was captured by Nazi Germany and the remaining five cruisers were completed only in 1950, with the last ship serving until 1981.
The Stalingrad-class battlecruiser, also known as Project 82, was a Soviet battlecruiser design from 1941. It was a smaller and less-expensive counterpart to the Kronshtadt-class battlecruisers of 1939. The original role was for a light, fast ship intended to break up attacks by British fast-cruiser forces that might attempt bombardment of Russia's northern ports. In keeping with the battlecruiser design concept, they would have been able to outgun any ship with similar speed, or outrun anything more heavily armed. Design work had just started when the German invasion of the Soviet Union opened and the design was put on hold.
Murmansk was a light cruiser project no. 68-bis of the Soviet and later the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet.
Molotov was a Project 26bis Kirov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy that served during World War II and into the Cold War. She supported Soviet troops during the Siege of Sevastopol, the Kerch-Feodosiya Operation and the amphibious landings at Novorossiysk at the end of January 1943.
Mikhail Kutuzov is a Project 68bis light cruiser of the Soviet and later the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet.
Vasily Chapayev was a Project 1134A Berkut A class cruiser of the Soviet Navy named for the naval commander Vasily Chapayev. The Project 1134A vessels were envisaged as a counter to the attack and ballistic missile submarines operated by the members of NATO. To that end, they were equipped with two KT-106 quadruple launchers for eight 85R anti-submarine missiles in the URPK-3 Metel system. The ninth ship of the class, Vasily Chapayev 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 Soviet flotilla, 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, and two years later, the vessel participated in a search for a US Navy submarine that was suspected of being near the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. In 1985, the ship took part in a simulated joint operations attack on the US base at Pearl Harbor that involved the coordinated use of aircraft, ships and submarines. During the following year, the vessel took part in first joint exercises that involved both 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.
RI Irian (201), previously named Ordzhonikidze was a Sverdlov-class cruiser, Soviet designation "Project 68bis", of the Soviet Navy that was acquired by Indonesian Navy in 1962.
Sverdlov was the lead ship of the Sverdlov-class cruisers of the Soviet Navy. The ship was constructed at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad, Soviet Union and was launched on 5 July 1950. The cruiser was commissioned on 15 May 1952. The lead ship of the last class of gun cruisers of the Soviet Navy, Sverdlov spent most of her career making ceremonial port visits to allied and non-allied nations. From 1966 to 1972, the vessel was laid up out of service, only operating again before being laid up again in 1977. In 1989 the ship was disarmed and sold for scrap to an Indian company and broken up in 1993.
Zhdanov was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of Soviet Navy.
Admiral Ushakov was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy.
Aleksandr Suvorov was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of Soviet Navy.
Admiral Senyavin was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy.
Dmitry Pozharsky was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy.
Aleksandr Nevsky was a Sverdlov-class cruiser 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.
Molotovsk was a Sverdlov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy which was later renamed Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya.
↑ D.K Brown. ''Rebuilding the RN. Warship Design since 1945''. Seaforth (2012), p 48 & A. Clarke. "Sverdlov Cruisers and the RN Response". British Naval History, 12-5-2015
Holm, Michael (12 May 2014). "Sverdlov class". Soviet Armed Forces 1945-91 Organisation and Order of Battle. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
Sources
Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen; Budzbon, Przemysław, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-132-7.
Jarovoj, V. V.; Greger, René (1994). "The Soviet Cruisers of the Chapayev and Sverdlov classes". In Roberts, John (ed.). Warship 1994. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp.147–158. ISBN0-85177-630-2.
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