Soviet Cruiser Maxim Gorky

''Maxim Gorky'' (russian: Максим Горький) was a Project 26bis of the Soviet Navy that saw action during World War II and continued in service into the Cold War. The ship's bow was blown off by a mine in the Gulf of Riga during the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, but she made it to Kronstadt for repairs. However, after being repaired, the ship was trapped in harbour for most of the war, by Axis minefields at Leningrad and Kronstadt. Despite being trapped, ''Maxim Gorky'' was active in two engagements: the ship provided gunfire in support for the defenders during the Siege of Leningrad, and she later bombarded Finnish positions during the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive in mid-1944. She saw no further action in World War II. A major modernization was begun in 1953, but the navy reconsidered the cost-effectiveness of the refit and work was cancelled in 1955. ''Maxim Gorky'' was sold for scrap in 1959.

Description

''Maxim Gorky'' was long at the waterline, and long overall. She had a beam of and had a draft between . She displaced at standard load and at full load.Yakubov and Worth, p. 84 Her steam turbines produced a total of during her sea trials and propelled the ship to a maximum speed of . This was barely short of her designed speed of 37 knots and was because she was over overweight. She normally carried of fuel oil, at full load and at overload. This gave her an endurance of at .

''Maxim Gorky'' carried nine 57-calibre B-1-P guns in three electrically powered MK-3-180 triple turrets. Her secondary armament consisted of six single 56-calibre B-34 anti-aircraft guns fitted on each side of the rear funnel. Her light anti-aircraft guns consisted of nine semi-automatic 21-K guns and four DShK machine guns.Yakubov and Worth, pp. 86–87 Six 39-Yu torpedo tubes were fitted in two triple mountings.Yakubov and Worth, p. 88

Wartime modifications

By 1944 ''Maxim Gorky'' had exchanged her guns for 15 fully automatic 37 mm 70-K AA guns with one thousand rounds per gun, two extra DsHK machine guns and two quadruple Lend-Lease Vickers .50 machine gun MK III mounts.

When war broke out in 1941 ''Maxim Gorky'' lacked radar, but she was equipped with British Lend-Lease radar by 1944. One Type 291 was used for air search. One Type 284 and two Type 285 radars were for main battery fire control, while anti-aircraft fire control was provided by two Type 282 radars.

Service

''Maxim Gorky'' was laid down at the Ordzhonikidze Yard, Leningrad on 20 December 1936 as a slightly improved version, Project 26bis as designated by the Soviets, of the first pair of ''Kirov''-class cruisers, which were called Project 26. She was launched on 30 April 1938 and was completed on 12 December 1938. The ship, and her escorts, ran into the German-laid "Apolda" minefield in the Gulf of Riga while providing cover for Soviet defensive mining efforts on 23 June 1941 and ''Maxim Gorky'' and the destroyer both lost their bows, although ''Gorky'' made it to port where temporary repairs were made. The ship was transferred, with assistance, to Tallinn and later to Kronstadt. She had a new bow section fabricated at Kronstadt and it was mated with the ship on 21 July. For most of the rest of the war she was blockaded in Leningrad and Kronstadt by Axis minefields and could only provide gunfire support for the defenders during the Siege of Leningrad, for example she fired 285 180 mm shells on 4 September 1941 and 701 rounds during the Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive in January 1944. The cruiser was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 22 March for her "exemplary fulfillment of combat missions" and the "courage and valor" demonstrated by her crew.Chernyshev and Kulagin, p. 96 She also bombarded Finnish positions as part of the 4th Artillery Group during the Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive in June, firing a hundred 180 mm shells off Kuokkala on 9 June. ''Maxim Gorky'' was repeatedly, if lightly, damaged by German air and artillery attacks, but her only extended refit occurred over the winter of 1942–43 when her upper deck was reinforced with 37-millimetre armour plates.Yakubov and Worth, pp. 91, 93

Postwar career

Following the end of the war, ''Maxim Gorky'' was transferred to the squadron of the 4th Fleet in the Southern Baltic when the Baltic Fleet was briefly divided on 25 February 1946. As the squadron headquarters she relocated to Liepāja and then Baltiysk. To participated in a parade, the cruiser briefly returned to Leningrad on 7 November 1947. ''Maxim Gorky'' tested the first Soviet naval helicopter, the Kamov Ka-10 in December 1950. The helicopter was located on the aft deck and made the first helicopter first landing aboard a Soviet warship on 7 December, watched by chief designer Nikolay Kamov.

She was relocated to Kronstadt pending a refit at Shipyard No. 194 in mid-1953 and transferred to the ships of the Kronstadt Fortress on 16 June, leading the naval parade up the Neva River for Navy Day in July. The refit, which began late that year, was planned to include a complete overhaul of her machinery while her radar, fire-control systems and anti-aircraft guns were to be replaced by the latest Soviet systems. Torpedo bulges were to be fitted which would increase her displacement by , with consequent penalties to her speed and range. The navy re-evaluated the scope of the work in 1955 and deemed it insufficient to create a fully modern ship and suspended the refit. ''Maxim Gorky'' was removed from the Baltic Fleet on 17 February 1956 before being similarly removed from the navy list and handed over for scrapping on 18 April 1959Chernyshev and Kulagin, p. 97 after the navy had decided that she was unneeded as a missile-test ship.

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Further reading

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External links

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Maxim Gorky on navsource.narod.ru (with photos)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxim Gorky
Kirov-class cruisers
1938 ships
World War II cruisers of the Soviet Union
Cold War cruisers of the Soviet Union
Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard