Novgorod AU

8. Seccond Naval Construction Program

At the end of the First shipconstruction program, a new program was beign drafted which aim was to restore the Novgorodian naval might into the pre-revolution standards. The decision was boosted by Trotsky advocating new more centralized planned economy and and blooming economical competition with the Soviet Union. RKKF managed to gain favorable position inside the military hieracy as beign able to support foreign sosialistic movements and revolutions which was Trotsky's main focus in international affairs.

Large industialization campaign to support the restoration of the fleet was launched. The already started programs to build a massive shipyard into Severodvinsk and the Whitesea-Baltic canal system was accompanied with large expansions to the existing shipyards in Leningrad and Dalny as well to build new shipyard to Komsomolets-na-Amur in the fareast. New repair facilities were beign build in Murmansk and into Padang and Dumai in Sumatra.

The role of the RKKF and its particular fleets were also redetermined after 1928. Each fleet were given new operational tasks and assesments of their current operational strenghts and laid plans for required new ships. It was decided that the due the geografical separation of the three fleets and their given situations that the main ocean going forced would be divided between Northern Fleet and Pacific fleet. Baltic fleet was demoted into defending and mastering the Baltic Sea as any larger formations of warships would be trapped into the Baltic in case of hosilities would broke out with Germany (the anticipated enemy). The Whitesea canal system was not able to allow ships with higher draught than 8m to pass it. The operational roles for each fleet were:

Baltic Fleet:

-Maintain mastery of the sea in Southern Baltic sea
-Prevent enemy units entering into Gulf of Riga and into Gulf of Finland.
-Prevent enemy landings into Finland
-Distrupt enemy sea communications and sea transport in the Baltics, exspecially between Germany and Sweden.

It was believed that to ensure such tasks, at least 4 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 6 light cruisers and 50 destroyers were needed as well as no more than 90 submarines. Strong emphasis was on minewarfare in both active minelaying and strong minesweeping capability. The close proximity of the land bases allowed effective use of naval aviation. Main possible advessories and enemies were listed beign Germany, Sweden, Finland and possipble intervention units from Great Britain and France.

Northern Fleet:

-Being the western concentration of the main naval forces of RKKF
-Ability to conduct and support long distance naval operations in the Northern Sea, Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea.
-Prevent enemy occupation and invasion of the Northern coast of Novgorod. Prevent enemy intrusion into White Sea.
-Defend Novgorods sea communications to friendly and neutral states.
-Distrupt enemy sea communications in Northern Sea and Atlantic
-Defend the Northern Sea route and maintain possibilty to reinforce Pacific fleet trough the Northern Sea route.

In order to conduct the given tasks, Northern Fleet was to have 8 battleships, 2-3 aircraft carriers, 4 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers and 56 destroyers. Submarine force would include some 60 submarines. Potential enemies and adversors were listed Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy. Its noted at that this point there were no consideration of United States to be involved in a conflict considering Eurpe.

Pacific Fleet:

-The eastern consentration of main naval forces.
-Maintain parity with the Japanese fleet.
-Prevent enemy landings in the Manchurian coast and other key points in the far east coastline
-Support Sea communications between Novgorod and Sumatra and other friendly and neutral ports.
-Break up Japanese supportlines from mainland into Korea and China
-Damage japanese economy by attacking japanese commerce and sea communications in the western Pacific
-Defend northern Pacific area and secure the entrance of the Northern Sea route
-Prepare for 'Decicive Battle' between the japanese fleet.

It was believed that in order to conduct the given tasks, the Pacific fleet was to have 12 battleships, 4 carriers, 8 heavy cruisers, 12 light cruisers and 70 destroyers. At least 100 submarines was needed and the submarine force was given large role in attacking and harashing japanese sea lines.

After these considerations, a plans for new shipconstruction were made. It was toughted that the biggest need for new units were in the Pacific where the threat of Japan was apparent and most potential. In the west, the ongoing detente and poor state of Germany was tought to be apparent for the following time. Thus the main bulk of larger ships beign build during the seccond ship construction program went to the Pacific.

Initially the new construction was focused mainly on the light units, no plans for new capital unit production were made aside new cruisers. However theoretical studies for new battleships started around 1928-29. These studies ended up promoting two different type ships, so called A and B type battleships. The A type was to be the maxium capabilty, over 50 000t displacement and armed with either 406mm or 457mm guns. Those were ment for the Pacific and Northern Fleets. The battleship B was to be smaller and faster, armed with either 305 or 356mm guns. Those were intended to be used in the Baltics as well as in the Pacific, in a role somewhat reminiscent of the original role of Battlecruisers. However during assetments of the possibilities to rebuild and modernisize the existing battleships, only the Navarin class battlecruisers in the Baltics were deemed to be worthwile for such. The 4 existing battleships of the Gangut class were too small and weakly protected that any reconstruction for them would be useless. Thus there were suddenly a big cap in the battleship strenght in the west. Therefore it was decided to go on with the initial studies of the Battleship B type which emerged as the Project 21 battleship with 35 000t standard displacement and with 9 356mm guns in all-forward arragment.

As for the rest of the operational Battleships, the Navarin class and Tsusima class were decided to be reconstructed and modernize. First two of the Tsusima class were rebuild in 1928-32, followed by the Navarin class and eventually the seccond pair of the Tsusima class. The old battlecruiser Novgorod, renamed Frunze was converted into aircraft carrier as were the incomplete battlecruiser Orel. Her sistership Varyag was stricken and the 356mm guns build for the ship was reused in the Project 21 class battleships. All of the 305mm Gangut, 'Birilev', Slava and Komintern class battleships and battlecruisers were laid up and scrapped. Most of them beign unoperational since the Revolution.

Also main bulk of the destroyer fleet was in need of modernisation and overhaul as no new ships were in sight for the following years. All existing destroyers in all fleets were build before or during the first world war and many of them were weared down and in bad conditions. Of those units commisioned into RKKF service, the B class were laid up due their small size and inferior performances. Only the V and G class were considered worthwile for modernisations. The O class was build on lower qualativy standards during the first world war so it was judged to be unfit for any major modernization. The V and G classes were rebuild in various patches troughtout the 30's.

New construction regarding the surface ships was set underway during the seccond shipbuilding program. First were the 6 new light cruisers of the project 20 and followed by project 13 and 45 destroyers. The most prominent surface combatant of the program was however the Project 22 Heavy cruisers. Initially set for be counter to new japanese heavy cruisers, the class envolved into peculiriar “mother ships” with strong airgroup and onboard MTBs and midget submarines. The reason for this were mainly political. As they were the first large naval units beign designed under the new regime they invited quite alot of political intress and thus intervene of the politicals changed the concept of the ships. They were to be vanguards of the world revolution, to be sended in faroff lands with enough fighting power to combat any small navy units and be fast enough to escape from larger capital units. In practice the concept was shortminded and unworkable and towards the end of the 30's the role was reverted back to normal heavy cruiser role.

Submarines were given great emphasis on the operational tasks of the various fleets, most notably in the Pacific and in the Baltics. This was evident on the ship construction program as well and total 55 submarines were laid down during 1928-34. Most of them belonging to the Project 4 & 5, a submarine design obtained from Netherlands firm Ivs during the late 20's.

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