The Zubr class, Soviet designation Project 1232.2, (NATO reporting name "Pomornik") is a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-designed

air-cushioned landing craft An air-cushioned landing craft, also called an LCAC ( landing craft, air cushioned), is a modern variation on the amphibious landing boat. The majority of these craft are small- to mid-sized multi-purpose hovercraft, also known as "over the bea ...

(LCAC). The name "Żubr" is Polish for the

European bison The European bison (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, along ...

. This class of military

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

is, , the world's largest, with a standard full load displacement of 555 tons. The hovercraft was designed to sealift amphibious assault units (such as

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

and

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

s) from equipped/non-equipped vessels to non-equipped shores, as well as to transport and plant

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...

s. Ten Zubr-class hovercraft remain in service. There are two vessels in the Russian Navy and four with the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of vari ...

. In 2009

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

placed an order for four vessels from

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

as part of a deal worth 315 million USD. Two updated versions of the vessels were built by

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

's Feodosia Shipbuilding Company, followed by two advanced models of the surface warship. The purchase of HS ''Cephalonia'' (L 180) for the Hellenic Navy marked the first time a Soviet-designed naval craft had been built for a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

member. In June 2017 Russia announced the restarting of production of Zubr-class craft. Representatives from the Russian shipbuilding industry soon after responded by stating production could not possibly resume in 2018 and would only be possible by 2019–2021, refuting the government position. Representatives cited the lack of availability of and inability to

mass-produce Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...

components, notably gas-turbine engines and reduction gears as the main obstacles.

NPO Saturn UEC NPO Saturn, PJSC (russian: ОДК-Сатурн НПО) is a Russian aircraft engine manufacturer, formed from the mergers of Rybinsk Motors and Lyul'ka-Saturn (after Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyulka) in 2001. Saturn's engines power many former Eas ...

(ODK GT) and Turboros developed marine

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...

engines M70FRU (D090), FR RU, M70FRU2 (DP/DM71) along M90FR, M75RU, E70RD8 and Elektrosila, AO Zvezda, Metallist, Samara and others developed redactors and gears.

History

Configuration

High strength and buoyancy is provided by a rectangular pontoon, the main load-carrying part of the ship's hull. The superstructure built on the pontoon is divided into three compartments with two longitudinal bulkheads: combat material compartment in the midsection fitted with tank ramps, and outboard sections housing main and auxiliary propulsion units, troop compartments, living quarters, and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

protection systems. To improve working conditions in the battle stations, troop compartments and living quarters are fitted with air-conditioning and heating-systems, sound/heat-insulating coatings, and structures made of vibration damping materials. The ship provides normal conditions for the crew to make meals and rest. Personnel are protected against the effects of

weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natura ...

by airtight sealing of combat stations, crew and troop compartments, augmented with individual gas masks and protection suits. The ship is also protected from magnetic influence mines with an active system to compensate for the

magnetic field A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

s generated by the ship and transported materials. The central command post and MS-227 device compartments are strengthened with alloy armor. Chinese have built their own version designated as Type 958.

Capacity

The Zubr-class landing craft has a cargo area of and a fuel capacity of 56 tons. It can carry three

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension sys ...

s (up to 150 tonnes), or ten armoured vehicles with 140 troops (up to 131 tonnes), or 8

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s of total mass up to 115 tonnes, or 8 amphibious tanks or up to 500 troops (with 360 troops in the cargo compartment). At full displacement the ship is capable of negotiating up to 5-degree

gradients In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the grad ...

on non-equipped shores and -high vertical walls. The Zubr class remains seaworthy in conditions up to

Sea State In oceanography, sea state is the general condition of the free surface on a large body of water—with respect to wind waves and swell—at a certain location and moment. A sea state is characterized by statistics, including the wave height, p ...

4. The vessel has a cruising speed of .

Operators

(ex- Soviet Navy) (2) * 770 ''Evgeniy Kocheshkov'' (former MDK-50) * 782 ''Mordoviya'' (former MDK-94) (2 + 2) * HS ''Cephalonia'' (L 180, former MDK-118) * HS ''Ithaca'' (L 181, former U421) * HS ''Corfu'' (L 182) * HS ''Zakynthos'' (L 183) (4: 2 delivered from Ukraine, 2 built in China)

Former operators

(4) * ''Donetsk'' (U420, former MDK-100) — decommissioned on 11 June 1999, scrapped * ''Kramatorsk'' (U422, former MDK-57) — decommissioned on 11 June 1999, scrapped * ''Horlivka'' (U423, former MDK-93) — decommissioned on 29 November 2000, scrapped * ''Artemivsk'' (U424, former MDK-123) — sold to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

on 24 January 2000

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * * * * {{Ship classes of the Hellenic Navy Amphibious warfare vessels of the Soviet Navy Amphibious warfare vessels of the Russian Navy Amphibious warfare vessels of the Hellenic Navy Military hovercraft Landing craft Amphibious warfare vessel classes Ships of the People's Liberation Army Navy