Project 1252 'Izmrud' (

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 ...

reporting name: Zhenya class) were a group of three

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s built for the Soviet Navy in the late 1960s. The ships were a

glass-reinforced plastic Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

(GRP)-hulled version of the preceding wooden-hulled . They were intended to be a prototype of an advanced design, instead the Soviet Navy returned to wooden-hulled minesweeper construction with the following . Of the three minesweepers, one was lost in an explosion in 1989 and the fate of the other two is unknown.

Description and design

The minesweepers of Project 1252 'Izmrud' (

reporting name: Zhenya class) were a GRP-

hulled Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...

trial version based on the preceding wooden-hulled . They had a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of and fully loaded. They measured long with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draught of . The vessels were powered by two

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

s each turning a

propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

shaft creating . The Zhenya class had a maximum speed of and range of at and at . The vessels were armed with twin-mounted /65 calibre guns. They also carried six

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. The Zhenya class was equipped with "Spin Through" and "Don I" surface search

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

and "Two Square Head"

identification friend or foe Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is an identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF systems usual ...

. They had a complement of 40.

Construction and career

The design was accepted for construction in 1961 and three vessels were built by Izhora rated by the Soviet Navy as ''bazovy tralshchik'' (base minesweeper). The first vessel to complete in 1966, ''Komsomelets Turkmenii'', was to be the prototype for an advanced coastal minesweeper design. ''Komsomolets Buryatii'' followed in 1968 and ''BT-177'' in 1969. The design was not successful and the Soviet Navy chose to return to a wooden-hulled design in the . ''Komsomelets Turkmenii'' was lost in an explosion on 19 August 1989. ''Komsomolets Buryatii'' was renamed ''BT-215'' on 18 March 1992. The final fate of the remaining ships is unknown.

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