Soviet cruiser Varyag (1963)

Varyag (Russian: Варяг) was the fourth and final ship of the Soviet Navy Project 58 Groznyy-class Guided Missile Cruisers (Ракетные крейсера проекта, RKR), also known as the Kynda Class.

Varyag on 9 September 1989.
History
Soviet Union
Name: Varyag
Namesake: Varangians
Builder: A.A. Zhdanov, Leningrad
Yard number: 783
Laid down: 13 October 1961
Launched: 7 April 1963
Commissioned: 20 August 1965
Decommissioned: 19 April 1990
Fate: Scrapped
General characteristics
Class and type: Project 58 Groznyy class cruiser
Displacement: 4,350 tonnes (4,280 long tons; 4,800 short tons) standard, 5,400 tonnes (5,300 long tons; 6,000 short tons) full load
Length: 142.7 m (468 ft)
Beam: 16 m (52 ft)
Draft: 5.01 m (16.4 ft)
Propulsion: 2 shaft; 4 x KVN-95/64 boilers, 2 x TV-12 GTZA steam turbines, 45,000 shp (34,000 kW)
Speed: 34.5 knots (64 km/h)
Range: 4,500 nmi (8,334 km) at 14.3 knots (26 km/h)
Complement: 25 officers, 304 men
Sensors and
processing systems:
2 x MR-300 Angara air/surface search radars, 1 x Bizan, 1 x MRP-11-12, 2 x MRP-13-14 and 2 x MRP-15-16 Zaliv reconnaissance radars, 1 x Don navigation radar, 2 x Nickel-KM and 2 x Khrom-KM IFF, 1 x Vizir-1 and 1 x GS-572 Gerkules-2M sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
2 x Krab-11, 2 x Krab-12 ESM radar system
Armament:
Aircraft carried: Helipad for 1 Kamov Ka-25 'Hormone-A'

Design

Displacing 4,350 tonnes (4,280 long tons; 4,800 short tons) standard and 5,300 tonnes (5,200 long tons; 5,800 short tons) full load, Varyag was 142.7 m (468 ft) in length.[1] Power was provided by two 45,000 horsepower (34,000 kW) TV-12 steam turbines, fuelled by four KVN-95/64 boilers and driving two fixed pitch screws.[2] Top speed was 34.5 knots (64 km/h).[3]

The ship was designed for anti-ship warfare around two quadruple SM-70 P-35 launchers for 4K44 missiles (NATO reporting name SS-N-3 'Shaddock’), the vessel carrying a full set of reloads making a total of sixteen missiles.[3] To defend against aircraft, the ship was equipped with a single twin ZIF-102 M-1 Volna launcher with sixteen V-600 4K90 (SA-N-1 ‘Goa’) missiles forward and two twin 76 mm (3 in) guns aft, backed up by two single 45 mm (2 in) guns.[3] Four AK-630 close-in weapon systems were added in the early 1980s.[4] Defence against submarines was provided by two triple 533 mm (21 in) torpedoes and a pair of RBU-6000 213 mm (8 in) anti-submarine rocket launchers.[1]

Service

Laid down 13 October 1961 with the name Soobrazitelnyy (Russian: СообразительныйAstute), the vessel was renamed Varyag on 31 October 1962 while under construction.[5]

Varyag was launched on 7 April 1963 and accepted to the Pacific Fleet on 23 September 1965 as part of the 175th Anti-Submarine Warfare Brigade, sailing to Vladivostok via the northern sea route. The vessel served in the Indian Ocean between 13 December 1971 and 6 March 1972 as part of a substantial Soviet naval presence during the Indo-Pakistani War ostensibly as a counterweight to ensure non-intervention by the Royal Navy and US Navy. Between 1975 and 1981, Varyag underwent repairs and modernisation, returning to service in the Indian Ocean with a cruise that included a visit to Da Nang, Vietnam between 10 and 14 October 1981. The ship was attached to the 183rd Anti-Submarine Warfare Brigade from 1 March 1985, taking part in a large surface fleet exercise with other Soviet vessels between 7 and 10 October 1988.[5]

Varyag was the first in the class to be decommissioned, being stricken in April 1990.[2]

Pennant numbers

Pennant Number[3]Date
3431965
2801965
6211966
8221967
8351968
8301970
8351972
8361974
0151976
0491981
0471982
0431985
0121987
0321990
641
821
079

References

  1. Moore, John (1980). Jane's Fighting Ships 1980-1981. London: Jane's. ISBN 9780710607034.
  2. Gogin, Ivan (2015). "GROZNYY missile cruisers (project 58) (1962 - 1965)". Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  3. Volkov, Roman; Brichevsky, Andrew (2016). "Guided Missile Cruisers: Project 58 Grozny". Russian Ships. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  4. Hampshire, Edward (2017). Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 9781472817402.
  5. Holm, Michael (2015). "Project 58 Kynda class". Soviet Armed Forces 1945–1991. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
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