Continuing with the harvest, here comes the SKR projects of 159 and 35 classes, known in west as "Petya" and "Mirka" class respectively.
Pr.159 orginated orginally as replacement for the Pr.122 Class BO's (Large Hunters, Bolshoi Ohotnikov) and were intially designated as such.
But as typically in Soviet practice in cold war days, the follow on to a class usually became the newest example of the class one notch higher in the hierarchy, they eventually came the SKRs (Patrol Ships), and thus they basicly saved the entire designation for continuos use in Soviet Fleet. (The next SRK replacement for pr.50 class, the pr.1135 became designated as BPK /large ASW ships at completion and so on...)
The SKR, or Storoschevnye Korabl, patrol ships, were inherited from pre-WWII days when they were used for slow torbedo-boat like vessels of the Uragan class, and their WWII-era follow ons, the Jastrebs. But after WWII, the fleet planners came to conclusion that there were no need for such vessels in modern Soviet fleet, since their role as combatants was basicly same as for Destroyers, and the coastal escort work they were also intned was lot more practical to be made with large hunters (the pr.122s) and by large armed minesweepers, since mines and submarines were the main threath for local small coastal convoys that Soviets Anticipated they would need in future war. Geostrategically, the large oceanic convoys, that dicated most western Escort ship devolpments in post war plannings were naturally irrelevant to Soviets.
But beside their strategical uselessnes, the SKRs remained, mostly becouse "they have allways been made, and why change it now?" type of mentality that prevailed in Stalin's latter reign.
The postwar SRKs, pr.42 and Pr. 50 [also on my redo schedule for this summer] were nothing more but reduced power destroyers with 100 guns, perfect perhaps for the WWII, but not for nuclear era.
When Pr.159 class were designated as SKRs, the role of the designation changed to more ASW orientated one, and despite Pr.1135 class was first called as BPKs, they were later redesignated for practicality's sake as SKRs. Smaller ASW vessels gained the MPK designation after the BO was withdrawn from use, and when the most notorius MPK, the pr.1124 class was to be replaced with newer class, the Pr.1154, the designation again jumped to SKR, mostly becouse the orginal corvette size desing became large frigate size, and it was deemed more "russian way" to call it with SKR designation rather than (when it perhaps would have been proper time) switch to more international "Frigate".
Anyways...
The Pr.159 came in three different subclasses, the Orginal pr.159 class:
![[ img ]](http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc316/Novgorodsfleet/SKRPr-159_zps7d84dea1.png~original)
The rebuild Pr.159M class with "Vega" towed sonar
![[ img ]](http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc316/Novgorodsfleet/SKRPr-159M_zpsde3c5735.png~original)
And the improved Pr.159A class with better ASW equipment and Rubka radar suite
![[ img ]](http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc316/Novgorodsfleet/SKRPr-159A_zpsdd63a73a.png~original)
Despite they were essentially build as replacement for coastal patrol boats, and dimension wise were actually smaller than the preceding SKR desing, pr.50, they were noteworthy good seaboats, with their high raking bows and thus liked by the fleet. The propulsion arragment was not that statisfactory. As they were the first soviet gas-turbine ships, they fielded the then unique (but later painstakingly common) three-saft propulsion where the two outermost shafts were fed by the gas-turbines, and the middle shaft by diesel engine. This arragment was uneconomical, noisy and gave lot of resistance when the outer shafts were powered up during submarine hunting manouvres. Naturally the main practical solution would have been two-shaft arragment with common gear-boxes for both gasturbines and for diesels, but in the planned-economy, where each manufacturer had their monopoly and own field of expertise, it proved impossible to achieve, untill the fall of Soviet Union. Thus this three saft arragment with seperate gears for each engine type continued to the pr.1124 and pr.1159 desings, and it was only the pr.1166 class that first time fielded two-saft arragment for gas turbines and diesels.
One way to solve the issue was to field the pr.204 class MPKs unique powerplant arragment of two diesels using proplers in water tunnel nozzle, creating type of water-cannon instalment, and the gasturbines motoring their trust directly from the stern of the ship. This arragment combined to the Pr.159A class became the Pr.35 class (and why reusing pre.WWII project name, I don't know...) or "Mirka" class as known in the west.
They had impressive 35 knot speed, one of the fastest for any ASW submarine hunter ever of their size. But as with Pr.204 class, the power output combined, if used on standard arragment would have made possible for even greater speeds, and the arragment was never that reliable, functional or quiet as required for good ASW unit.
![[ img ]](http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc316/Novgorodsfleet/SKRPr-35_zpsb730a026.png~original)
Pr.35M class was normal modification with better eletronics and towed sonar and re-arragment of the ASW weapons
![[ img ]](http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc316/Novgorodsfleet/SKRPr-35M_zps37b38fda.png~original)
I will continue with the export Pr.159's once I find suitable ammount of reference material for them
![[ img ]](http://www.shipbucket.com/Real%20Designs/Russia/SKR%2035%20Mirka%201.gif)
