![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/wX4rZBE.png)
Kiev, Project 1143, NATO 'Kuril' Class, 1975
My alternate RN needs suitable threats to face and so here is the 'Kuril' Class carrier.
The first of three Pr.1173 aviation cruisers were laid down in 1973 at South Yard, Nikolayev. Designed to support Soviet ASW groups these ships offered far superior capabilities to the two Pr.1123 Moskva Class ships completed during the 1960s. The ships combined a powerful air defence capability through medium-range SAMs and the Yak-36M V/STOL fighters carried along with a useful anti-submarine armament comprised of Ka-25 helicopters supported by ship-launched missiles and rockets. Each was equipped as a flagship. The three ships completed were; Kiev, Minsk and Kharkov.
Displacement: 40,000 tons
Dimensions: 281m (long), 60.9m (beam, including flightdeck)
Armament: 2x SA-N-3 SAM launchers, 3x SA-N-4 SAM launchers, 1x SUW-N-1 ASW missile laucher, 6x2 57mm guns, 8x2 30mm guns, 2x RBU-6000 ASW rocket mortars
Airgroup: 25x Yak-36M 'Freehand' V/STOL fighters and 25x Ka-25 'Hormone-A' helicopters
Speed: at least 30kts
Real World: The Kuril was a misidentified Kiev Class. In 1973 DOD analysts only had satellite photos of the hull of Kiev then under construction and they supposed the Kiev would combine the features of the Moskva with a larger flight deck. The drawing above is based on the artists impression republished in The Hybrid Warship and a line drawing produced by Janes around the same time, presumably based on the same artwork. This was reproduced in the 1976 novel A Game of Titans the only time the Kuril made its appearance in fiction. Quite soon however the real armament of the Kievs became clear and NATO dropped the 'Kuril' designation. The analysts for some bizarre reason assumed a gun armament of 28 57mm guns, the mounts in Janes looking like the older ZiF-31 mounts. I decided to make more use of the 30mm.
The Yak-36 is all-new (I've included a basic version in case anyone wants it) and I've touched up the old Ka-25 a bit too. Golly is fully credited here, because although the ship is 90% mine, I've ripped several elements from Golly's excellent Novgorod and Soviet carriers.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/u70BK9x.png)
Kiev, 1973
To counter the Polaris-armed SSBN fleets of NATO, the Soviet Union required more organic ASW aircraft support for the fleet, especially to assist in the defence of the bastions then being created for the Soviets 'boomer' fleet in the arctic. Following on from the two Project 1123 Moskva helicopter-carrying cruisers, the third Pr.1123 ship, Kiev, was redesigned as the Pr.1134, the Soviet's first true aircraft carrier with a full-sized flight deck with an angled deck on the portside to allow the use of helicopters and V/STOL fighters. The Kiev was an interim design before the Project 1143 came into service at the end of the 1970s.
Kiev: completed 24/04/1973, commissioned into the Northern Fleet, decommissioned 14/07/1993
Displacement: 36,000 tons
Dimensions: 287m (long, overall), 232.7m (long, waterline), 54.5m (beam, including flight deck), 8.5m (draught, mean)
Armament: 12x2 76mm AK-257, 2x2 M-11 Shtorm SAM launchers, 1x2 MS-18 launcher for RPK-1 Vikrh, 2x RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers
Airgroup: 18x Kamov Ka-20 'Hound' attack helicopters and Kamov Ka-25 'Hormone' ASW helicopters, 9x Yakovlev Yak-36M 'Freehand' V/STOL fighters
Machinery: 4x 45,000shp TV-12 steam turbines
Speed: 29.5kts
Drawing Notes: Special thanks goes to Alex (Alvama) for sending the source drawing for this. This is another Western artist's impression of Kiev, this time by Italian naval artist A. Nani for Almanaco Navale 1971-72 (think Italian version of Flottes de Combat/ Combat Fleets of the World). It draws heavily upon the Moskva in style but adds a hull and aft section very reminiscent of Western light carriers/LPAs. I find it very interesting because it slightly pre-dates the US Department of Defence artist's impression of what it called the 'Kuril Class', which came out in 1973. Indeed many features are shared but many are also individual to each version (to see them side-by-side to compare please see page 1 of this thread).
Another interesting feature is that despite Moskva having the AK-725 and it being known in the West by this time, A. Nani felt compelled to draw a mount reminiscent of the US Mk37 5in gunhouse, which I have retained here for its interest. The heavy 57mm gun armament was carried over into the US DoD speculations.
Apart from the RPK-1, there is no other fixed ASW system, so I have added a couple of RBU-1000.
The CCA radar aft is also my invention based on A. Nani's outline of a radar that similarly looks invented. The rest of the electronics fit is pure Moskva/Kresta era.
The source drawing was of the starboard side only - the port side profile is entirely my invention.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/JhcwWoa.png)
Project 1808.1 Volga, 1985
With the creation of the Soviet carrier fleet in the early 1970s with the adoption of the Project 1143 'Kuril' class, the Soviet Navy began to look at a cheaper training platform for V/STOL fighter pilots. Having approved plans for a large replenishment ship the first hull was halted and converted into a mini carrier with a hangar, offset deck but retaining its modest self-defence armament. During construction the idea of a ski-jump to enable rolling take-offs had become established and following shore-based trials the offset flight deck was rebuilt with a ski-jump before commissioning. In wartime she would serve as an additional anti-submarine carrier. The Volga was commissioned on 24 July 1978 and would serve with the Black Sea Fleet until its retirement in May 1996.
Displacement: 26,000 tons
Dimensions: 217.6m (long, overall), 200.4m (long, waterline), 34m (beam, including flightdeck), 30m (beam, hull)
Armament: 1x2 Zif-122 Osa-M SA-N-4 'Gecko' SAM launcher, 2x4 Strela-2M SA-N-5 'Grail' SAM launchers, 2x2 76mm AK-176 gun mounts, 3x 30mm AK-630 CIWS mounts, 2x RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers
Airgroup: 20x Yak-36M 'Freehand-A' or Yak-38 'Forger-A' V/STOL fighters or Yak-38U 'Forger-B' V/STOL fighter trainers and 4x (or 30x) Ka-25 'Hormone-A' helicopters
Machinery: 2x 16500shp T-1 gas turbines
Speed: 22kts
Complement: 587
Drawing Note: my fictional design for a Shipbucket design contest but based on known Soviet auxiliary tender hull designs with influence from the British RFA Argus of the same period.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/wY4WsuQ.png)
Tbilisi, Project 1143.5, NATO 'Black-Com-2' Class, 1988
The first of two Pr.1143.5 aviation cruisers were laid down in 1982 at South Yard, Nikolayev. Designed to support Soviet ASW groups as an improved Project 1143 Kiev class design with three deck-edge lifts and two steam-catapults. The Tbilisi completed in 1988 and was assigned as the flagship of the Black Sea fleet and was followed in 1989 by the Riga which was assigned to the Pacific Fleet just as the Communist regime fell in 1990.
Displacement: 60,000 tons
Dimensions: 272m(long, overall), 80m (beam, including flightdeck)
Armament: 16x VLS tubes for SS-N-19 'Shipwreck' supersonic anti-ship missiles, 24x SA-N-6 'Grumble' SAM launchers, 2x2 SA-N-4 'Gecko' SAM launchers, 2x1 100mm AK-100 gun mounts, 8x 30mm AK-630 CIWS mounts, 2x RBU-6000 ASW rocket launchers
Airgroup: navalised Su-27 'Flanker' fighters and Ka-27 'Helix' helicopters
Machinery: 250,000shp steam turbines
Speed: 30-32kts
Complement: 5,000
Real World: By early 1984 rumours began to circulate about a successor to the Kiev class and in August 1984 satellite reconnaissance revealed the hull of the Project 1143.5 Riga, which would later be better known as Tbilisi and later still completed as the Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov. The bow section was incomplete and so speculation continued in the West as to what the new carrier would look like. Would it be a conventional carrier or a heavily armed cruiser-carrier built for power projection. Speculation favoured the heavily armed solution. The design shown here was based on an unattributed Japanese study and illustrated an article by Siegfried Breyer in Naval Forces. This design has the same Kirov-esque heavy missile battery but slightly toned down and actually seems to emphasise anti-air rather than anti-submarine capabilities.
Drawing Notes: no dimensions for this design were given but from scaling the drawing it was clear that the the hull was based on that of the Kiev in size rather than being a 'supercarrier'. Being drawn in 1982 the design is very much a warmed-up Kiev. The deck-edge lift forming the end of the angled deck (actually more of a laterally displaced axial deck) is an odd feature but otherwise the design seems actually seems more well thought out than the 'Kreml' which appeared a few months later.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/RrDp5v5.png)
Kreml (Kremlin), Project 1143.7, NATO 'Kreml' Class, 1989
The first of two Pr.1143.7 aviation cruisers were laid down in 1982 at South Yard, Nikolayev. Designed to support Soviet ASW groups and offer power projection across the world, these ships offered far superior capabilities with powerful missile armament backed up by an effective air group and a contingent of Marines. Only the Kreml was completed, commissioning in 1989 shortly before the collapse of the USSR. On commissioning the Kreml was assigned to the Northern Fleet.
Displacement: 75,000 tons
Dimensions: 335m (long, overall), 90m (beam, including flightdeck), 40m (beam, hull)
Armament: 20x VLS tubes for SS-N-19 'Shipwreck' supersonic anti-ship missiles, 1x2 SS-N-14 'Silex' ASW missile launcher (plus reload missiles), 12 SA-N-6 'Grumble' SAM launchers, 2x2 76mm gun mounts, 9x 30mm AK-630 CIWS mounts, 2x5 533mm torpedo tubes for torpedoes and SS-N-15 'Starfish' ASW missiles, 1x RBU-6000 ASW rocket launcher
Airgroup: 70x navalised Su-27 'Flanker' fighters (and including navalised Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot' attack aircraft) plus Ka-27 'Helix' helicopters
Machinery: 2 nuclear reactors supplying steam to 4 turbines, 250,000shp
Speed: 30-32kts
Complement: 5,000 plus a Marine infantry contingent of 1,500
Real World: By early 1984 rumours began to circulate about a successor to the Kiev class and in August 1984 satellite reconnaissance revealed the hull of the Project 1143.5 Riga, which would later be better known as Tbilisi and later still completed as the Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov. The bow section was incomplete and so speculation continued in the West as to what the new carrier would look like. Would it be a conventional carrier or a heavily armed cruiser-carrier built for power projection. Speculation favoured the heavily armed solution, indeed as completed the Kuznetsov had a powerful battery of 12 SS-N-19 anti-ship missiles, but the Western speculations were far more powerful. The design shown here, dubbed the i]Kreml[/i], was presented in Strategy and Defence in October 1984. The design had two steam catapults on the angled deck for 70 navalised 'Flankers' and a powerful missile battery modelled on that of the Project 1144 Kirov class. Oddly only long-range SAMs were presented despite the large Su-27 airgroup (which could probably never been fitted into such a hull). Being sketched in 1984 the design lacks a phased-array radar, so has a dated radar outfit compared to the Pr.1143.4 Baku which completed in 1988.
The West saw the Soviet carrier fleet as being a key part of global projection, so much so that, like this design, they assumed they would carry Soviet Marines and by the late 1980s rumours (perhaps started by the existence of the Su-25UTG deck trainers) circulated that the carriers would carry Su-25 'Frogfoot' ground attack aircraft. Therefore I have included a modified Su-25 based on the Su-25TM/Su-39 airframe with the raised cockpit. What we have here is an interesting semi-accurate glimpse of the reality but incorrect in many ways and perhaps far too ambitious to be workable.
Drawing Note: I first drew this ship probably 10-12 years ago and although this started as a modernisation it ended up a 100% redraw. Golly's Kiev parts were invaluable in completing this. The original drawing had some rather funky deck heights and layouts and odd angles. I've done my best to interpret them and rejig them into accurate forms that could be workable, but it is rather a complicated island compared to the real ships. I have redrawn the previous Su-33K from scratch and it is now far more accurate and I have kitbashed a naval Su-25.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/5BOrlTr.png)
Tbilisi, Project 1143.5, NATO 'Tbilisi' Class, 1990
The first of two Pr.1143.5 aviation cruisers were laid down in January 1983 at South Yard, Nikolayev. Designed to support Soviet ASW groups as an improved Project 1143 Kiev class design with three deck-edge lifts and two steam-catapults. The Tbilisi completed in 1990 and was assigned to the Northern Fleet just as the Communist regime fell in 1990. Her unnamed sister had been laid down in December 1985 with a planned completion date of 1991-92 but due to the fall of the USSR was never completed.
Displacement: 60,000 tons
Dimensions: 300m(long, overall), 73.38m (beam, including flightdeck), 11m draught
Armament: 16x VLS tubes for SS-N-19 'Shipwreck' supersonic anti-ship missiles, 4x SA-N-9 'Gauntlet' SAM launchers, 8x 30mm AK-630 CIWS mounts, 2x RBU-6000 ASW rocket launchers
Airgroup: 12x navalised Su-27B2 'Flanker' fighters, 12x Yak-41 VTOL fighters and 15-18x Ka-27 'Helix' helicopters
Machinery: 250,000shp gas turbines
Speed: 32kts
Real World: This design comes from the 1989-90 Edition of Janes Fighting Ships. Even by this date much of the details of the Project 1143.5 were still unknown. The drawing by Ian Sturton was a good guess but not completely correct. Janes knew the ships would not be nuclear-powered, but rather bizarrely guessed that they might be gas turbine powered, unlikely for a ship this size (though I think a paired arrangement of the Pr.1164 Atlant powerplant might work). Even the name of the second hull was unknown. The airwing was largely correct, they predicted the Su-27 would be the likely choice for a naval fighter. The armament was sketcky, Janes estimating that 76mm or 100mm gun mounts might be fitted. Its an interesting speculative design which belongs to this thread.
Drawing Notes: dimensions for this design were given but the drawing is clearly labelled "not to scale". It is clear that Ian Sturton has based the hull on the US DoD artist's impressions and actually captures some of the elements of the real ship. The island is simply that of the Project 1143.4 Baku transplanted onto this hull. There was no underwater hull so I have used more or less the earlier Project 1143 style hull. The hangar deck was look rather low, again this is an aretfact of the drawing and I wanted to maintain the spirit of the original drawing.
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/syvLDHj.png)
Tbilisi, Project 1143.5, NATO 'Balcom-5' Class, 1990
Drawing Notes: This design comes a late 1980s (1989?) datasheet, oddly in Cyrillic text but clearly based on Western information, the class being identified by its 'Balcom-5' NATO designation. The specifications include 60 unspecified aircraft but the weaponry is odd being listed as 57mm and 30mm guns but actually twin AK-176s are shown - the entire island being more or less a cut and paste from the Kiev-series. The missiles are odder - SA-N-9 'Gauntlet' despite the inclusion of 'Top Dome' directors for SA-N-6 'Grumble'(!!) and SS-N-22 'Sunburn' SSMs which were never fitted to carriers nor were they vertically launched! So I made the decision to keep S-300F and switched the missiles to the real outfit.
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/LrWLqGA.png)
Tbilisi, Project 1143.5, NATO 'Tbilisi' Class, 1990
Drawing Notes: This one is from Jane's Fighting Ships, circa 1990 and thus earlier than the one I previously drew. The drawing was a basic outline sketch but strongly followed the features of the source for the top drawing. The curious feature of the drawing was an array of 20x CIWS-type guns, some being larger than 30mm mounts. These may have been intended to show AKM-30 and what would become Kortik but this was unclear from the drawing so I took the decision to use the -30M as a change.
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Volgograd, Airborne Headquarters Ship, 1995
First schemed in 1983, perhaps due to lessons learned from the British Royal Navy during the Falklands War, the Soviet Navy schemed an Airborne Headquarters Ship to provide command facilities for Soviet naval task forces, especially those featuring naval aviation ships. Although not given much priority, Volgograd was laid down in 1990 and uniquely was completed in 1995 by the Russian Navy as a relatively cheap means to get aviation assets afloat without operating expensive carriers.
Displacement: 25,000 tons
Dimensions: 227.8m(long, overall), 37.8m (beam, including flightdeck), 8m draught
Armament: 2x Kortik CIWS, 1x 100mm AK-100, 2x5 53mm torpedo tubes for torpedoes & RPK-2 Vyuga, 1x RBU-6000 ASW rocket launchers
Airgroup: a mix of Yak-41 VTOL fighters and Ka-27 'Helix' helicopters
Machinery: gas turbines
Speed: 32kts
Real World: This design comes from the book Alternative: Unbuilt ships of Russian Imperial Navy and Soviet Navy by A. N. Sokolov. Little information is given and its shown as part of the appendix of other designs, its simply called 'Airborne Headquarters Ship' and dates from 1983. The concept never made it to the Shipbuilding Plan.
Drawing Notes: The drawing in Sokolov's book is very basic and crudely scaled. No dimensions were given so I scaled this off the AK-100 and other items, so this cannot really classify as a proper 'never-were' drawing due to the lack of solid information and the rather speculative features of the drawing.
For example, unlike most Soviet ships this design looks very under-armed. Only one RBU is fitted plus 533mm torpedo tubes. No CIWS were shown in the drawing and ahead of the AK-100 was shown one single circle which I presume may have been an 'Gauntlet' VLS but no fire-control radar was shown (also very odd that only one SA-N-9 would be fitted if it is that missile). So I have left off any SAMs. Two EW radomes suited low on the hull sides looked like a rather odd feature to me, so supposing these may have been placeholders for Kortik, I have added them to the drawing to add some proper self-defence capability.
Lastly, seeing that Gollevainien has used Sokolev's speculative drawings of radars etc. for his own Novogorod AU which matched this ship, I have stolen some of his EW equipment for this ship in the absence of real Soviet next-gen kit to properly illustrate this concept. So this drawing should be considered an AU design based on a real concept.
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'Sverdlov (Modified)'-class, 1961
Four modified "Sverdlov" class cruisers of 13,500 tons light displacement were reported to be under construction at Leningrad early in 1959. They are believed to have been designed for guided missiles.
Drawing Notes: So said Jane's in 1960 but in reality the Sverdlov cruiser programme had been dead for several years but this detailed artist's impression makes an interesting companion to the real missile-armed conversions that the Soviets had briefly considered.
The drawing in Jane's is a detailed Pr.58bis line drawing with 'B' and 'X' turrets replaced by a twin-arm SAM launcher (perhaps an early interpretation of the SA-N-2?)and 'A' turret replaced by something that looks like an SS-N-1 'Scrubber' SSM launcher. Four cranes have been added to aid SAM reloading it seems. Notably no SAM fire-control sets are shown and the ship retains its gunnery directors, even the 'Knife Rest' aerial-search set was omitted. Here I have added a basic set for SAM guidance atop the gunnery directors.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/2j9Pssr.png)
Sovetsky Soyuz, 1980
The Soviets required a nuclear-powered cruiser to escort its growing aircraft carrier fleet and to act as a flagship for anti-submarine forces and the defensive screen protecting the Arctic nuclear ballistic-missile 'bastions'.
The Project 1144 would combine formidable surface-striking power with aerial protection for the fleet. Designed to use existing nuclear powerplants, the first ship, the Sovetsky Soyuz was completed in 1980 but delays in her construction had put the design rather behind the latest Soviet missile and radar technologies and so the remainder of the class were cancelled in favour of the Project 1164 and 1165 classes. Laid up in 1992, the Soyuz was refitted but never again went to sea and became a training ship until she was scrapped in 1997.
Displacement: 25,000 tons
Dimensions: 240m(long, overall), 28m (beam), 8m draught
Armament: 3x2 76mm AK-726, 4x6 30mm AK-630 CIWS, 4x2 & 2x1 P-500 Bazalt SSM launchers, 3x2 M-11 Shtorm SAM launchers, 2x2 9K33 Osa SAM launchers, 53mm torpedo tubes for torpedoes & RPK-2 Vyuga, 1x RBU-6000 ASW rocket launcher
Airgroup: 4x Ka-25 'Hormone' helicopters
Machinery: nuclear powered
Speed: 30kts
Drawing Notes: This one comes from the magazine Scale Ship Modeller, probably around 1979-81 when the Kirov-class were still speculative in Western sources and little was known beyond their large size and nuclear-power. The artist of this interpretation named the ship Sovetsky Soyuz before adding the name Kirov later on. The style and speculated armament seems very much like an enlarged Kresta with a superstructure modelled on that of Kiev along with its forward armament layout. The result makes an interesting comparison to the real Kirov.
(The source can be seen here:https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/thread ... ost-250495).
Special thanks goes to Gollevainen to enable its completion.
***
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/ucJuCId.png)
Kirov, 1979
The Soviets required a nuclear-powered cruiser to escort its growing aircraft carrier fleet and to act as a flagship for anti-submarine forces and the defensive screen protecting the Arctic nuclear ballistic-missile 'bastions'.
The Project 1144 would combine surface-striking power with aerial protection for the fleet as well as having a powerful anti-submarine armament. Five of the Kirov-class cruisers were built and distributed among the Northern and Pacific Fleets, although Andropov served as the Flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. Rapidly outdated by advances in missile and radar technology these ships were to be replaced by newer cruisers in the late 1990s.
Kirov: completed 30/08/1979
Frunze: completed 24/07/1981
Kalinin: completed 14/10/1983
Yuriy Andropov: completed 12/07/1984
Dzerzhinsky: completed 04/08/1985
Displacement: 25,000 tons
Dimensions: 237m (long, overall), 26.5m (beam), 8m draught
Armament: 4x2 76mm AK-726, 10x6 30mm AK-630 CIWS, 2x2 P-500 Bazalt SSM launchers, 2x2 M-11 Shtorm SAM launchers, 2x2 9K33 Osa SAM launchers, 1x2 MS-18 launcher for RPK-1 Vikrh, 2x5 533mm torpedo tubes for torpedoes & RPK-2 Vyuga, 2x RBU-12000 Udav ASW rocket launchers, 2x RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers
Airgroup: 4x Ka-25 'Hormone' helicopters
Machinery: nuclear powered
Speed: 30kts
Drawing Notes: Special thanks goes to Alex (Alvama) for sending the sourced drawing for this earlier in the week. This is another Western artist's impression of Kirov, this time by naval artist Elio Orregino in 1979. Elio must have seen either intelligence or Soviet sources on the Kirov's hull and layout as the form is very much like the real Project 1144 Orlan, although the details are quite different. The speculated armament and electronics fit was heavily based on that fitted to the Kresta-class, the small number of 'Shipwrecks' perhaps being the oddest feature compared to the real Kirov's battery. The base drawing had a fairly accurate radar and ECM fit based on that of the Krestas but lacked any 'Tilt Drum' for the AK-630s, so I've added these along with the 'Pop Group' for the Osa-Ms. The underwater hull is not shown in the source so I've recycled the Sovetsky Soyuz hull based on that of Kirov.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/H0X1zxZ.png)
Krasnaia Zvedza, 1977
Krasnaia Zvezda: completed 14/08/1970, commissioned into the Northern Fleet, decommissioned 22/05/1994
Krasnoye Znamya: completed 23/11/1972, commissioned into the Pacific Fleet, decommissioned 19/03/1993
Krasnaya Ploschad: completed 29/09/1974, commissioned into the Northern Fleet, decommissioned 30/05/1994
The Project 1159 Krasnaia-class were basically stretched Project 1134 Kresta hulls modified with a modified submarine twin nuclear reactor machinery set. The ships were armed with a comprehensive armament against aerial, surface and undersea threats. Although intended as cheap nuclear cruisers, their capabilities were mixed and the ships were cramped. From 1994 they were decommissioned due to powerplant problems.
Displacement: 10,780 tons
Dimensions: 179.8m (long, overall), 169.4 (long, waterline), 19.6m (beam), 5.9m (draught, mean)
Armament: 2x2 76mm AK-726, 8x6 AK-630, 2x2 M-11 Shtorm SAM launchers, 2x2 Osa-M SAM launchers, 2x3 launchers for Malakhit P-120 anti-ship missiles, 2x4 KT-106 launcher for Metel A/S missiles, 1x RBU-6000 ASW rocket launcher, 2x RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers, 2x5 533mm torpedo tubes for torpedoes and RPK-2 ASW missiles
Airgroup: 2x Kamov Ka-25 'Hormone' ASW helicopters
Machinery: 2x nuclear reactors driving steam turbines
Speed: 33kts
Drawing Notes: This a long-running fictional design for me. The first version was a cut and paste mashup I did using a Kresta I and Kresta II line drawings from Conway's Fighting Ships 1946-82 back in 2005. The first Shipbucket version I drew was in 2008 and was updated again in 2012. This is began as an update but ended up 95% new and totally redrawn and recoloured and new parts throughout.
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![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/gSLriR7.png)
Project 1808 Mius, 1988
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/iPbdYpA.png)
Project 1808.3 Tobol, 2021
With the creation of the carrier fleet in the early 1970s with and a more global posture, the Soviet Navy began looking at improving its at-sea replenishment capability. The sole Project 1859 ‘Berezina’-class ship (of the same name) was followed by an improved Project 1808 design which was beamier and improved in a number of detailed areas to improve the cargo offloading. There are two liquid refuelling and two solid store gantries as well as two 15-ton and two 10-ton cranes.
The resulting class of eight ships was curtailed; the first ship, Volga was completed as an aviation training ship and two more were completed as command ships and a further two cancelled. Three ships did however complete as planned, Mius, Zeya and Tobolo. The last ship remains in service today, refitted with modern self-defence weapons during the late 2000s to replace her original heavy battery of guns and missiles. She serves with the Northern Fleet but is scheduled to be retired by 2025.
Displacement: 36,000 tons (full load)
Dimensions: 214.7m (long, overall), 200.4m (long, waterline), 30m (beam), 8.53m (draught, over sonar dome)
Armament: (original design) 2x2 76mm AK-726 gun mounts, 1x2 Zif-122 Osa-M SA-N-4 'Gecko' SAM launcher, 2x4 Strela-2M SA-N-5 'Grail' SAM launchers, 4x 30mm AK-630 CIWS mounts, 2x RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers; (as refitted in 2009-11) 1x1 76mm AK-176, 3x Kortik CIWS (2x6 GSh-30K cannon & 8x 9M311K SAMs each), 2x RBU-1000 ASW rocket launchers
Aircraft:: hangar for 2x Kamov Ka-25 ‘Hormone' or Kamov Ka-27 ‘Helix' series helicopters
Cargo Capacity: 16,000 tons of fuel (including avgas), 2,000 tons of dry provisions (including 150 tons chilled and 40 tons of ammunition), 500 tons fresh water
Machinery: 2x 16,500shp T-1 gas turbines
Speed: 21.5kts
Complement: 607
Ships in Class
Volga: completed 24/7/1978 to a modified design as the Project 1808.1 training aircraft carrier
Mius: completed 26/5/1980 to baseline Project 1808 design, assigned to the Northern Fleet, decommissioned in 2005
Zeya: completed 14/9/1982 to baseline Project 1808 design, assigned to the Pacific Fleet, decommissioned in 2009
Tobol: completed 9/6/1984 to baseline Project 1808 design, assigned to the Pacific Fleet, laid up 1992-95, recommissioned and transferred to Northern Fleet in 1996, refitted to Project 1808.3 standard 2009-11, extant in 2021
Neva: completed 23/6/1985 to a modified design as a Project 1808.2 command ship
Kama: completed 17/10/1987 to a modified design as a Project 1808.2 command ship
2 ships: planned as Project 1808 ships, re-planned as Project 1808.4 space tracking ships
***
KvP-92 Class
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/cccguSB.png)
KvP-92 Class, Baltic Fleet 1993 (l), Black Sea Fleet 1995 (m), KGB Border Guards Murmansk Oblast 1996 (r)
The KvP-92 was an amphibious air cushion vehicle developed in the early 1990s for the Soviet Naval Infantry, in effect a hovercraft BMP. The KvP-92 was found to be equally suitable for the Arctic brigades. There is a bow ramp and a door on either side for the embarked troops and the turret is based on that fitted to the BMP-2. The skirts are made of a material similar to Kevlar and have a self-sealing capability similar to that of a puncture-proof tyre.
Displacement: 11 tons
Dimensions: 9.64m (long, overall), 5.7m (beam, skirts fully inflated)
Armament: a turret with 1x 30mm 2A42 autocannon and roof-mounted 9M113 Konkurs ATGM
Cargo Capacity: 1 ton of cargo or 8 troops
Machinery: 1x turboshaft powering a pusher propeller plus 1x axial lift fan
Complement: 3
Drawing Note: this design was in the GDW Twilight 2000 Soviet Vehicles Guide book (1987) for the RPG Twilight 2000 set in a post-WW3 world with the war taking place during 1995-97.
KvP-92v Class
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/QLro25b.png)
KvP-92 Class, Baltic Fleet 1993 (l), Pacific Sea Fleet 1994 (r)
A variant of the KvP-92 for mobile fire support armed with an 82mm 2B9 Vasilek automatic mortar. This weapon could only be fired when the vehicle was stationary, as it tended to destabilise the vehicle due to the recoil.
Displacement: 11 tons
Dimensions: 9.64m (long, overall), 5.7m (beam, skirts fully inflated)
Armament: 1x 82mm 2B9 Vasilek automatic mortar
Machinery: 1x turboshaft powering a pusher propeller plus 1x axial lift fan
Complement: 4
KvP-92z Class
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/3224Phq.png)
KvP-92 Class, Baltic Fleet 1994 (l), Caspian Sea Flotilla 1997 (r)
A variant of the KvP-92 for air-defence, armed with a six-barrelled 30mm gatling gun but lacking any all-weather fire-control equipment, being reliant on open sights. The gatling gun also gave heavy fire-support against ground targets.
Displacement: 11 tons
Dimensions: 9.64m (long, overall), 5.7m (beam, skirts fully inflated)
Armament: 1x6 30mm GSh-6-30 gatling gun
Machinery: 1x turboshaft powering a pusher propeller plus 1x axial lift fan
Complement: 4
KvP-121 Class
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/2ITNtbM.png)
KvP-121 Class, '142', Pacific Fleet, 1997
The KvP-121 class entered service in the early 1990s as a heavy transport hovercraft. Featuring nose and stern doors and ramps for Ro-Ro capability, the hovercraft is lightly armed and unusually for a hovercraft relies on vectored thrust from its gas turbines for horizontal propulsion and steering. The initial hovercraft were assigned to the 18th Hovercraft Transport Regiment of the Pacific Fleet, based on the Kamchatka peninsula.
Displacement: 86 tons
Dimensions: 37.6m (long, overall skirts inflated), 35.6m (long, upper hull), 18.2m (beam, skirts fully inflated)
Armament: 2x2 12.7mm Utes-M machine-gun mounts
Cargo Capacity: 225 tons of cargo/vehicles or 150 troops
Machinery: gas turbines powering 8x axial lift fans plus jet exhausts for horizontal and lateral travel
Complement: 8
Drawing Note: this design was in the GDW Twilight 2000 Soviet Vehicles Guide book (1987) for the RPG Twilight 2000 set in a post-WW3 world with the war taking place during 1995-97.
