"Admiral Ushakov" (cruiser): history and characteristics

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Soviet Union occupied one sixth of the land. Partly due to geographical location, partly due to technological capabilities, a lot of time was devoted to the development of ships of the Navy in the country. However, any major state is still doing this.

Boats and cruisers, submarines and aircraft carriers, light and large - the list of technological solutions can be continued for a very long time. One of these was "Orlan", or "project 1144". The heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Admiral Ushakov" is the flagship of the project, which has no analogues in any fleet in the world. It is about him, his capabilities, characteristics, military and technical data that we will talk about in the article.

Name evolution

It should be noted that the name "Admiral Ushakov" was not immediately given to the cruiser. "Admiral's stripes" appeared after the collapse of the Union - in 1992. Then he and 3 more Orlans received new names. At the same time, only one - the 4th - bears the name "Peter the Great". The first three became "admirals". These are Ushakov, Lazarev and Nakhimov. When leaving the slipways, the court called"Kirov", "Frunze", "Kalinin" respectively. The fourth cruiser was first named "Kuibyshev", then, even before the completion of construction, it received a new name - "Yuri Andropov".

Today, only "Peter the Great" is in the service. "Nakhimov" is under modernization. The first two, perhaps, will also be updated, but for Nakhimov.

Orlan Project

The idea of creating a ship, which later became the nuclear cruiser "Admiral Ushakov", did not come immediately. The original designs date back to the 1950s. Then it was decided to create two types of ships - one was to become a cruiser (project 63), the second - an air defense ship (project 81). For both types, it was planned to use a nuclear reactor as a power plant.

Then the 81 project was closed, and work on both types was reduced to one direction. The ship was supposed to be not very large, but have the capabilities of both air defense and a simple cruiser. Unfortunately, Project 63 didn't live much longer, and soon it was closed as well.

The return to the "atomic" project comes only at the end of the 60s, when the Leningrad Central Design Bureau is entrusted with the creation of an "inexpensive" nuclear patrol vessel. The ship should have a displacement of about 8,000 tons (for comparison, the flagship of this project, the Admiral Ushakov missile cruiser, received 24,000 tons), be able not only to escort other ships, providing them with fire support, but also to track down, and, if necessary, destroy ships of a probable enemy. One of the main "chips" was tobecome unlimited cruising range. The initial project was to build about 40 such vessels, but as it turned out, the industry was simply not ready to produce a vessel of such a displacement, not to mention its possible price.

"Fugas" + "Orlan"

Despite these inconsistencies, project 1144 gets the green light. Nuclear, artillery installations, torpedo tubes and even an unmanned helicopter are being developed. It is worth noting that the development of these aircraft in the Union began long before this idea dawned on the Americans. However, the ship did not see the helicopter. But there is another, no less important moment for the then "Kirov" (later "Admiral Ushakov"). The cruiser is moving from the category of "tracking ship" to the category of "anti-submarine ship".

The fact is that in parallel with the "Orlan" was the development of a purely strike vessel, the project of which was code-named "Fugas" (or "product 1165"). And in May 1971, when weapons were already being developed for both ships, the projects were combined. The future ship will receive the best weapon options previously developed for each type.

Launching

A year after the merger of the projects, the final version is presented to the military. Then in March 1973 at the B altic Shipyard. Ordzhonikidze laid the lead cruiser. In the final version of the project, 5 ships were planned, 4 of which were built. But it should be noted that the fourth ship - "Peter the Great" - immediately received several differences from its counterparts. ATin particular, it has greater navigation autonomy, improved anti-submarine and sonar weapons, and more modern cruise missiles.

4 years later, on New Year's Eve 1977, the heavy nuclear cruiser "Admiral Ushakov" was launched and enlisted in the Navy of the Soviet Union. This year was marked for the Orlan project by another event. It was then that a new classification was introduced in the Navy, and the Kirov from the category of a simple anti-submarine ship becomes a heavy nuclear missile cruiser.

Description and design

During the design and then construction of the ship, composite materials were widely used in the world. Therefore, the developed superstructures of the floating craft are mainly made of aluminum-magnesium alloys. Most of the weapons are installed in the stern and bow. Additional armored shields close the engine room, ammunition cellars, and almost all important posts of the Admiral Ushakov ship.

The cruiser has an extended forecastle and a double bottom for the entire length of the ship. The surface part has five decks (also along the entire length of the hull). In the rear part there is an underdeck hangar, designed for the permanent presence of three helicopters. In the same place, a lifting mechanism was designed and rooms were provided for storing all materials necessary for flights. In a separate compartment there is a lifting and lowering system for the release of the antenna of the Polynomial complex.

The construction of such a ship put forward very high requirements forpossible manufacturers. Firstly, in the final design, the ship received a displacement of more than 24,000 tons. Secondly, the maximum length of the hull was to be more than 250 m. There were also a number of requirements that only one plant in the Union, Leningradsky, could satisfy.

Armaments

Before talking about weapons, it is worth noting that the Admiral Ushakov nuclear missile cruiser was supposed to strike at enemy aircraft carrier groups, track down and destroy submarines, and, of course, provide anti-aircraft and (in the future) anti-missile defense of their territories. Based on all these tasks, the ship received a whole list of all kinds of weapons. Since a detailed description of each type will require more than one article, we will have to limit ourselves to brief characteristics.

The main strike armament is represented by the Granit system - an anti-ship missile system located in the bow. Includes 20 missiles, maximum flight range 550 km, nuclear warhead. 500 kg warhead.

Anti-aircraft armament - Fort missile system. The cruiser has 12 drum sets with 8 missiles each. In addition to air targets, you can hit enemy ships with a class up to a destroyer. The launch of the rocket engines occurs after it is released from the installation, which ensures explosion and fire protection of the ship. Flight range - 70 km (limited by ship's control systems).

Anti-submarine equipment includes the Metel missile system - 10missile torpedoes. The firing range is up to 50 km, the depth of destruction is up to 500 m. In addition to this system, two five-tube torpedo tubes are used.

Also on the deck are a large number of small cannons, cannons and small six-barreled machine guns.

Serving the Fatherland

Among the many exercises and combat missions that the "eagles" went out to, it is worth noting one in which the "Admiral Ushakov" participated. The cruiser was in our waters when, in December 1983, NATO ships, acting on the side of Israel, began military operations against Syria and Lebanon, allies of the USSR. The ship was ordered to go to the Mediterranean Sea. This is where the curiosity begins. When it entered those waters, and a little less than a day remained to the destination, the NATO ships immediately ceased fire and fled to the island zone. The Americans never ventured closer than 500 km to Ushakov.

Execution cannot be pardoned

The phrase from the old tale above describes very well the situation with the ship at the dawn of the new age. In 1989, when the cruiser was on a mission, the main gearbox broke. Then problems begin with the main power plant, and in 1991 the captain receives an order: the repair must be carried out. The ship is moored, but over the next few years only one important event occurs - the transfer of the vessel to the Russian Navy and the renaming of the Admiral Ushakov heavy nuclear missile cruiser. Modernization and medium repairs begin only by the year 2000.

Further fate is fully consistent with the old fairy tale - it all depends on where the comma is. For 20 years (since parking), this comma has changed its position several times. Either modernization, then disposal, then a new solution, and even a return to the Navy, but this is not final either. What will happen next, and whether the Admiral will go to sea, is still unknown.

Conclusion

One of the few ships in the Russian Navy, the cruiser "Admiral Ushakov" boasts a power plant based on a nuclear reactor. Even today, there is no ship in the world fleet that is comparable in firepower to the Ushakov. The appearance of the flagship on the horizon in many cases radically changed the balance of power in some situations, and it would be a pity if a vessel of this class was simply scrapped.