The ''Ob'' class, Soviet designation Project 320, was a class of
Soviet Navy hospital ships active in the 1980s. The ships are , , and .
After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
in 1991, the ships became the property of the
Russian government
The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...
, but no sources indicate how the
Russian Navy made use of the ships.
Development
The four ships of the ''Ob''-class hospital ships were designed to provide medical and recreational facilities. They were also employed as personnel transports. They have civilian crews but carry uniformed naval medical personnel. The ships are fully equipped with surgical equipment. Later two units are Project 320 II, implying a modification to the basic design; the external differences are minor.
Hospital ship ''Ob'' was decommissioned in 1997 and may have been sold to the
People's Liberation Army Navy
The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army.
The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...
, as it was mentioned, a retired Russian hospital ship was purchased in 2007 with plans to restore it for PLAN service as hospital ship.
Project 320
* ''Ob'' (1980-1997)
* ''Yenisey'' (1981)
Project 320 II
* ''Svir'' (1989)
* ''Irtysh'' (1990)
Characteristics
The size of the crew when deployed was nominally 124 sailors and 83 members of the medical staff. The on-board hospital has 300 beds, or in the event of an emergency (e.g. evacuation) for a short time up to 650 passengers. There are more than ten
therapeutic and
diagnostic departments, three
operating rooms and one
pharmacy
Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
. The ship does not carry armaments. At the stern is a landing area and hangar for one search and rescue helicopter type
Kamov Ka-25PS or
Ka-27PS. The propulsion system consists of two Zgoda-Sulzer 12ZV40 / 48 diesels, each with an output of 7800 hp, driving two propellers. The top speed reaches 19 knots. The range is 10,000 nautical miles at a speed of 16 knots.
Ship of class
Gallery
File:Ob' class hospital ship in 1982.jpeg, Aerial view of ''Ob'' underway on 1 April 1982
File:Hospital ship "Yenisey" in 1989 (2).jpeg, Aerial view of underway on 5 May 1989
File:Hospital ship "Irtysh" in 1994.jpeg, Aerial starboard side view of the underway
See also
*
List of ships of the Soviet Navy
This is a list of ships and classes of the Soviet Navy.
Corvettes
In the Soviet Navy these were classified as small anti-submarine ships (MPK) or small missile ships (MRK).
* (projects 122A, 122bis)
* (project 204)
* (project 1124 ''Al'bat ...
*
List of ships of Russia by project number
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ob-class
Hospital ships