Kresta II-class cruiser

The Kresta II class, Soviet designation Project 1134A Berkut A (golden eagle), was a class of guided missile cruiser (large anti-submarine warfare ship in Soviet classification) built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. The NATO lists the class as "cruisers" mainly due to the Metel (SS-N-14 ''Silex'') anti-ship missile system capable to strike not only submarines but also surface vessels.

Design

The Kresta II class was an anti-submarine derivative of the , and were armed with a new anti-submarine missile (SS-N-14), new surface-to-air missiles ( SA-N-3) and advanced sonar. Conway's states that the first three ships were to have been armed with the SS-N-9 anti-ship missile but Soviet naval doctrine changed with greater emphasis on anti-submarine warfare. The surface-to-air missiles comprised more advanced SA-N-3 missiles with two twin launchers. New 3D search radar and new fire control radars were also fitted. 4 30mm CIWS guns were also fitted for improved anti-missile defence. A more advanced sonar led to the bow being more sharply raked. The machinery suite comprised two TV-12 steam turbines with high-pressure boilers, identical to the Kresta I class.

General characteristics

The Kresta II-class cruisers were long with a beam of and a draught of . They displaced 6000 tons standard and 7800 full load. They had a complement of 380-400 and were equipped with a hangar aft to stow away a Kamov Ka-25 Hormone-A helicopter.

Kresta II-class vessels were propelled by two TV-12 steam geared turbines powered by four high pressure boilers which created . This gave the cruisers a maximum speed of . They had a range of at and at .

Armament

For their primary role as anti-submarine cruisers, the Kresta II class mounted two quadruple launchers for eight SS-N-14 anti-submarine missiles. They were also equipped with two RBU 6000 12-barrel and two RBU 1000 6-barrel rocket launchers. The Ka-25 helicopter embarked on the cruiser was also capable of aiding in the search and destruction of submarines.

Against aerial threats the cruisers were armed with four 57mm L/80 DP guns situated in two twin mountings. They also had four 30mm AK-630 CIWS mountings. They were armed with two twin launchers for the 48 SA-N-3 surface-to-air missiles they carried.

The ships also mounted two quintuple mountings for dual-role torpedoes.

Sensors

The Kresta II class were equipped with MR600 air search radar MR-310 Angara Don navigational and Volga navigational radars. For anti-submarine warfare they had MG-322 hull mounted sonar. For fire control purposes they had Grom SA-N-1 fire control, MR103 AK725 fire control and Drakon RP33 fire control. They also had a MG-26 communications outfit and a MG-35 Shtil.

The first four ships of the class to be completed were not equipped with the MR-123 Vympel fire control radar for the AK-630, and relied on manual targeting instead.

Ships

All the ships were built by the Zhdanov Shipyard in Leningrad.

See also

*List of ships of the Soviet Navy
*List of ships of Russia by project number

Notes

References

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* Also published as
*

External links

Kresta Class - Project 1134
at Federation of American Scientists website

article in Russian


rticle in Russian
All Russian Kresta II Class Cruisers - Complete Ship List

{{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945

Cruiser classes

Ships of the Soviet Navy