The Project 58155 Gyurza-M class is a series of small armored

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s in service with the

Ukrainian Navy The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the maritime forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Arme ...

. The first two vessels were

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at the

Kuznia na Rybalskomu Kuznia na Rybalskomu ( uk, "Кузня на Рибальському") is a ship building and armament company in Kyiv, Ukraine. Situated on the Dnieper River and presently concentrating on river ships, the company is also able to produce and re ...

(previously Leninska Kuznia) shipbuilding plant in October 2012. Originally it was planned to build nine such vessels by 2017. In December 2013 the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

withdrew its contract. The class is named after the

Levant viper ''Macrovipera lebetinus'', known as the blunt-nosed viper, Lebetine viper, Levant viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G. 2003. ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. ...

, , in Ukrainian. In mid-2014 construction of the Gyurza-M class was revived and the first two vessels were launched in late 2015. In December 2016 they officially joined the Ukrainian Navy. The new military contract for twenty vessels was to be completed by 2020.

Development and design

The modernized Project 58155 Gurza-M for the

started to be built at the Leninska Kuznia in October 2012. Originally it was planned to build nine such vessels by 2017. In December 2013 the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

withdrew its contract. In summer of 2014 construction of Gurza-M was revived and the first two vessels were expected to be completed in fall of 2015. In December 2016 the first two Gurza-M officially joined the Ukrainian Navy. The new military contract is for 20 vessels that should be completed by 2020.

Vessels

Operators

: As of November 2022, 3 active; 3 captured by Russia; 1 sunk and then raised by Russia; 1 being tested. Previously, 2 ships of the class were captured by Russia and returned in 2018, were repaired and returned to active service in 2020. On 4 November 2022, a Gyurza-M-class gunboat of the

was damaged by a Lancet drone. The attack was recorded on video by another UAV.

Incidents

Kerch Strait incident

On 25 November 2018, two Ukrainian ''Gyurza-M''-class boats, ''Berdyansk'' and ''Nikopol'' were seized by the Russian Navy. They were captured while they tried to cross the

Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait, uk, Керченська протока, crh, Keriç boğazı, ady, Хы ТӀуалэ is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from ...

en route to Ukrainian port city of

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

in the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

. During the

incident Incident may refer to: * A property of a graph in graph theory * ''Incident'' (film), a 1948 film noir * Incident (festival), a cultural festival of The National Institute of Technology in Surathkal, Karnataka, India * Incident (Scientology), a ...

, three Ukrainian crew members were injured. The ships were returned on 18 November 2019, but Ukraine accused Russia of returning them in sub-par condition.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Following the capture of Berdiansk by Russian forces, P 179-''Vyshhorod'' and P 174-''Akkerman'' were captured by Russian forces. Russian forces captured another two craft, P-177 ''Kremenchuk'' and P-178 ''Lubny'', during the

Siege of Mariupol The siege of Mariupol began on 24 February 2022 and lasted until 20 May 2022, as part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It saw fighting between the Russian Armed Forces (alongside the Donetsk People's Militia) and the Ukrainian Armed F ...

. On 4 November 2022, a Gyurza-M-class gunboat of the

was damaged by a

ZALA Lancet The ZALA Lancet (official designation: Item 52/Item 51) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and loitering munition developed by Russian company ZALA Aero Group (part of Kalashnikov Concern) for the Russian Armed Forces. It was first unveiled in Jun ...

drone, the first time a Lancet attacked a naval target during the war.

Notes

References

External links

Gurza-M
at the

State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center ( uk, Державне підприємство «Дослідно-проектний центр кораблебудування» (ДП «ДПЦК»)) is a design bureau specializing in shipbuilding ...

Український флот отримав нові бойові кораблі

На заводі "Кузня на Рибальському" спустили артилерійський катер "Гюрза-М"

"Розбили пляшку шампанського": на воду спустили третій артилерійський катер Гюрза-М

Церемонія спуску на воду малого артилерійського катера

Gurza-M (Project 58155) Class Small Armoured Artillery Boats, Ukraine
{{Ukrainian ships Ships built at Kuznya na Rybalskomu Patrol vessels of the Ukrainian Navy Military boats Gunboat classes