Aircraft carrier killers: Soviet ships of Project 58

Project 58 cruisers

Missile cruisers of the “Grozny” (project 58) – 4 units

The first missile cruisers of the Soviet Navy were distinguished by their enormous striking power with a small displacement and a complete lack of armor protection. Until September 29, 1962 they were listed as destroyers. During repairs, 4x6 30-mm AK-630 assault rifles were additionally installed on the Grozny, Varyag, and Admiral Golovko.

“GROZNY” (serial number 780). 23.2.1960 was laid down at the plant named after A.A. Zhdanov (“Northern Shipyard”) in Leningrad and 17.9.1960 was included in the list of Navy ships, launched 26.3.1961, entered service on 30.12.1962 and became part of the Federation Council. On October 5, 1966, it was transferred to the KChF and on January 6, 1984, to the DKBF. 12-15.8.1967 paid a visit to Varna and Burgas (Bulgaria), 29.1-4.2.1968. - to Kotor and Zelenina (Yugoslavia), 20-27.7.1969 - to Havana (Cuba), 6-8.8.1969 - to Fort-de-France (Martinique), 20-25.4.1972 - to Casablanca (Morocco), 2-7.7.1973 - to Marseille (France), 20-25.11.1974 - to Latakia (Syria), 19-23.7.1984, 26-30.5.1985 and 18 -23.7.1987 - to Gdynia (Poland), 5-8.10.1984, 7-11.10.1985 and 23-28.10.1987 - to Rostock (GDR) and 19-24.7.1988 – to Szczecin (Poland). In the period from July 19, 1976 to January 1984, it underwent a major overhaul at Sevmorzavod in Sevastopol; on April 1, 1989, it was again delivered to Liepaja for major repairs, but on June 24, 1991, it was disarmed and expelled from the Navy due to with transfer to OFI for dismantling and sale, 31.1 2.1992 disbanded and in 1993 at the Glavvtorchermet base in Liepaja cut into metal.

“STEREGUSCHY” , from October 31, 1962 – “VLADIVOSTOK” , from May 11, 1964 – “ADMIRAL FOKIN” (serial number 781). On September 17, 1960 he was included in the lists of Navy ships and on October 5, 1960. laid down at the A.A. Zhdanov plant (Northern Shipyard) in Leningrad, launched on November 19, 1961, entered service on December 28, 1964, and in the summer of 1965, after crossing the Northern Sea Route from Severomorsk to Vladivostok, it became part of the Pacific Fleet. 11.26-2.1 2.1968 paid a visit to Mombasa (Kenya), 2-7.1.1969 - to Aden (South Yemen), 9-12.1.1969 - to Hodeidah (North Yemen), 5-9.4.1969 - in Nairobi, April 19-23, 1970 and March 10-14, 1977 - in Port Louis (Mauritius). On June 30, 1993, disarmed, expelled from the Navy due to transfer to OFI for dismantling and sale, and disbanded on December 31, 1993.

“VALIANT” , from 12/18/1962 – “ADMIRAL GOLOVKO” (serial number 782). On December 27, 1960, she was added to the list of Navy ships and on April 20, 1961, she was laid down at the A.A. Zhdanov plant (Northern Shipyard) in Leningrad, launched on July 18, 1962, entered service on December 30, 1964 and January 22, 1965 The city is included in the Northern Fleet. From June 1 to June 31, 1967, while in the war zone, he carried out a combat mission to assist the Egyptian armed forces. On March 22, 1968, it was transferred to the KChF. 8-13.5.1970 paid a visit to Algeria, 3-7.8.1972 - to Constanta (Romania), 21-26.8.1975 - to Tunisia and 22-27.6.1978 - to Latakia (Syria) . In the period from June 4, 1982 to March 1, 1989, a major overhaul took place at Sevmorzavod in Sevastopol.

“SAVER” , from October 31, 1962 – “VARYAG” (serial number 783). On August 5, 1961, she was included in the list of Navy ships and on October 13, 1961, she was laid down at the A.A. Zhdanov plant (Northern Shipyard) in Leningrad, launched on April 7, 1963, and entered service on August 20, 1965 and September 23. 1965 included in the KTOF. 10-14.10.1981 paid a visit to Da Nang (Vietnam). On April 19, 1990, it was disarmed, expelled from the Navy in connection with its transfer to the OFI for dismantling and sale, and disbanded on May 21, 1991. During his service, he wore the guards flag, inherited from the Soobrazitelny EM of Project 7-U Black Sea Fleet.

Displacement: full – 5330 standard – 4300 t length – 142.3 m beam – 4.3 m draft – 5.1 m PTU power – 2x46000 hp cruising speed: maximum – 36 economic – 14.5 knots cruising range at economic speed – 6000 miles. Armament: 2x4 PKRK P-35 launchers (16 missiles), 1x2 Volna air defense missile launchers (16 missiles), 2x2 76.2 mm AK-726 guns, 2x12 RBU-6000 (96 RGB-60), 2x3 533 mm TA . Crew - 304 people, including 25 officers.

Missile cruisers Project 58, type "Grozny"

Quantity

4 units

Construction

Leningrad, Shipyard No. 190 named after A.A. Zhdanov (since 1962 Shipyard named after A.A. Zhdanov)

Name

Until September 29, 1962 they were classified as destroyers

Tactical and technical data

General form

General view of the missile cruiser pr.58

Modernization of the project

Progress anti-ship missile system (16 4M44 anti-ship missiles) instead of P-35 M-1 Volna air defense missile system is modernized into Volna-P in 1974-75 Volna-P air defense missile system is modernized into Volna-N (V-601M missile defense system) Installed 4x6 30 mm AK-630 (3000 rounds) - 2 MR-123 "Vympel-A" control systems General detection radar MR-310 "Angara-A" instead of MR-300 "Angara": Grozny, Steregushchiy in 1975 Installed MR electronic warfare radar -262 “Ograda-1” Installed 2 radars of the control center “Uspeh-U”: Grozny in 1975, Admiral Fokin in 1980 State identification equipment “Password” instead of 2 interrogators “Nickel-KM”, 2 transponders “Khrom-KM” Added 2nd Navigation radar "Don"

Distribution by fleet

SF

: Grozny (from 10/5/1966
Black Sea Fleet
, from 01/6/1984
Baltic Fleet
), Admiral Golovko (from 03/22/1968 Black
Sea Fleet
)
Fleet
: Soobrazitelny, Admiral Fokin

Side numbers

Grozny: 898(1962), 239(1965), 261, 843, 846, 841(1967), 854(1969), 943(1969), 859(1969), 841(1971), 851(1973), 847( 1973), 855(1975), 856(1975), 179(1978), 147(1981), 107(1982), 121(1983), 155(1984), 179(1984), 145(1988), 152( 1991), 810, 858, 860, 170 Admiral Golovko: 810(1967), 853(1968), 852(1969), 857, 851(1975), 019(1978), 845(1978), 847(1979), 121(1979), 118(1981), 844(1982), 110(1984), 105(1990), 118(1994), 849, 854, 859, 130, 170, 485 Varyag: 343(1965), 280( 1965), 621(1966), 822(1967), 835(1968), 830(1970), 835(1972), 836(1974), 015(1976), 049(1981), 047(1981), 043( 1985), 012(1987), 032(1990), 641, 821, 079 Admiral Fokin: 336(1964), 176(1966), 641(1968), 823(1968), 831(1969), 835(1971) , 822(1976), 019(1977), 845(1980), 120(1981), 022(05.1987), 017(05.1990)

Write-off

1990 - Varyag (19.04) 1991 - Grozny (24.06) 1993 - Admiral Fokin (30.06) 2002 - Admiral Golovko (13.11)

Export

—

Ships[edit]

The ships were ordered in 1956 and laid down in 1960–1961. All four ships were built at the Zhdanov shipyard in Leningrad. Originally classified as destroyers and given the traditional destroyer names, they were redesignated guided missile cruisers and renamed in September 1962. A total of 16 ships were planned, but in the end only four were built, one for each fleet (Baltic, Pacific, Arctic, Black Sea). In particular, this was caused by a change in priority aimed at anti-submarine warfare, as well as increasing the weight of the ships. This class was followed by the larger Kresta I-class ships, sharing the basic design but optimized primarily for anti-submarine warfare.

• Grozny
  (Grozny) (Grozny)

Laid down on February 23, 1960. Launched on March 26, 1961. Completed on December 30, 1962. Served in the Baltic Fleet. Scrapped 1991

• Admiral Fokin
  (
  Admiral Fokin
  )

Laid down as Steregushchiy
on October 5, 1960. Launched on November 19, 1961. Completed in 1964. Served in the Pacific Fleet. Decommissioned 1993

• Admiral Golovko
  (
  Admiral Golovko
  )

Laid down in Doblestnyy
(valiant) April 20, 1960 Launched July 18, 1962 Renamed October 31, 1962 in honor of Arseniy Golovko. Completed in 1964. She served as the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet from 1995 to 1997 before being decommissioned and decommissioned in 2002.

• Varyag (Varyag)

Laid down as Soobrazitelny
October 13, 1961. Launched April 7, 1963. Completed 1965. Served in the Pacific Fleet. Decommissioned in 1990. This ship was featured in a Soviet television documentary in the late 1970s. The plan was to preserve it as a museum.

Design[edit]

Kynda-class cruiser at the height of the Cold War, 1985. Admiral Golovko
in the Mediterranean Sea

Specifications (TTZ in Russian [ clarification needed

]) for this class were issued in 1956.

The main armament is two trainable quad anti-ship missile launchers SS-N-3; one forward one aft. On board was one set of rechargeable missiles (16 missiles in total). Defensive armament consisted of a twin SA-N-1 launcher in front and two twin 76 mm guns in the stern. Two RBU-6000 anti-submarine missile launchers and two triple 533-millimeter (21.0 in) torpedo tubes were also installed. In the early 1980s, the ships were refitted with four 30 mm (1.2 in) Close Weapons System (CIWS) guns.

The machinery included high-pressure steam turbines in a system of units with alternating boiler and turbine units.

Electronics fitting consisted of:

Radar:

• MP-500 Cleaver air search
• MP-302 Chopping surface search
• Don DonKai navigation

Sonar:

• GAZ-372 Hercules-2M hull

Other systems:

• Bay ESM
• Crab ECM
• Success-U aviation communications
• Scimitar SA-N-1 fire control system (Peel Group SA-N-1 Target Acquisition / Target Tracking / Missile Guidance (TA / TT / MG)
• Fire control MR105 AK-726 (Hawk Screech) Fire control for 76 mm guns
• Fire control by Bin P35 Progress

The Seven Best Missile Cruisers of the Cold War

In the second half of the twentieth century, 180 independent states appeared on the world map, but out of this wild diversity of countries and peoples, only two superpowers had a powerful ocean fleet - the Soviet Union and the United States. For example, no one except us and the Americans built missile cruisers en masse. Four more European countries, in order to maintain their former status as “maritime powers,” made efforts to create their own missile cruisers, but all their attempts ended in the construction of a single ship with predominantly American weapons and systems. “Ships of prestige”, nothing more.

The Americans were pioneers in the field of creating missile cruisers; by the end of the 40s, their military industry had created the first combat-ready air defense systems suitable for installation on a ship. Subsequently, the fate of the US Navy's missile cruisers was determined exclusively by escort functions as part of aircraft carrier groups; American cruisers were never designed for a serious naval battle with surface ships.

But missile cruisers were especially respected in our country: during the existence of the USSR, dozens of different designs appeared in the vastness of the World Ocean: heavy and light, surface and underwater, with a conventional or nuclear power plant, there were even anti-submarine cruisers and aircraft carrier cruisers! It is no coincidence that missile cruisers became the main striking force of the USSR Navy.

In a general sense, the concept of “Soviet missile cruiser” meant a large multi-purpose surface ship with a powerful anti-ship missile system.

The story of the seven best missile cruisers is just a brief excursion into maritime history associated with the development of this unique class of warships. The author does not consider himself entitled to give any specific ratings or create a rating of “the best of the best.” No, this will just be a story about the most outstanding designs of the Cold War era, indicating their known advantages, disadvantages and interesting facts associated with these death machines. However, the nature of the presentation of the material will help the reader independently determine which of this “magnificent seven” is still worthy of the highest pedestal.

Albany-class guided missile cruisers

1944/1962 Total displacement 17,500 tons. Crew 1200 people. Full speed – 32 knots. Cruising range - 9000 miles (at 15 knots). Armament: - Talos long-range air defense system (2 launchers, ammunition 104 missiles); — Tartar short-range air defense system (2 launchers, ammunition 84 anti-aircraft missiles); — anti-submarine missile system ASROC (ammunition 24 missile torpedoes); - 8 Polaris intercontinental ballistic missiles (never installed); — two universal guns of 127 mm caliber.

Three American monsters, rebuilt from heavy cruisers of World War II. After the first successful experiments with missile weapons, the US Navy decided on a global modernization of the Baltimore-class artillery cruisers - they removed all weapons from the ships, cut off the superstructure and tore apart their insides. And so, 4 years later, an incredible “thug” with a tall superstructure and mast pipes studded with secret electronic equipment entered the sea. The fact that this ship was once a heavy artillery cruiser of the Baltimore class was only reminiscent of the shape of the bow.

Despite its ugly appearance, the “Albany series” of cruisers were cool warships capable of providing high-quality air defense of aircraft carrier formations in the near zone (by the standards of those years) - the firing range of the Talos air defense system was more than 100 km, and two hundred missiles on board allowed fend off enemy aircraft for a long time.

Advantages: - 15-centimeter armor belt, inherited from the heavy cruiser "Baltimore", - 8 fire control radars, - high installation height of radars,

Disadvantages: - lack of strike weapons, - superstructures made of aluminum alloys, - generally archaic design.

Baltimore-class heavy artillery cruiser - this is what the Albany cruisers looked like before modernization

Belknap-class guided missile cruisers

1964 Total displacement 8,000 tons. Crew 380 people. Full speed – 32 knots. Cruising range - 7000 miles (at 20 knots). Armament: - universal launcher Mk.10 (80 anti-aircraft and anti-submarine missiles); — automated artillery mount Mk.42 127 mm caliber; — 3 unmanned anti-submarine helicopters DASH (later replaced by the conventional SH-2 Sea Sprite helicopter); — two auxiliary guns of 76 mm caliber (later replaced by Phalanx anti-aircraft guns); - 8 Harpoon anti-ship missiles (added after modernization in the early 1980s).

A series of 9 light escort cruisers, on which great hopes were pinned - already at birth, the Belknap-class cruisers received a universal complex of naval weapons, including the original computerized BIUS, unmanned helicopters and a new under-keel hydroacoustic station AN/SQS-26, supposedly capable hear the propellers of Soviet boats tens of miles from the side of the ship.

In some ways the ship justified itself, in others it did not, for example, the daring project of the unmanned helicopter DASH turned out to be of little use for real use on the open sea - the control systems were too imperfect. We had to expand the hangar and helipad to accommodate a full-fledged anti-submarine helicopter. It is noteworthy that after a short disappearance, 127 mm guns returned to the ship - the American sailors did not dare to completely abandon artillery.

In the 60s...70s, cruisers of this type regularly patrolled off the coast of Vietnam, firing anti-aircraft missiles at North Vietnamese MiGs that carelessly flew into the cruisers’ kill zone. But the Belknap became famous not for its feats of arms - in 1975, the lead ship of this type was crushed in the Mediterranean Sea by the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy.

Its navigational error cost the cruiser dearly - the flight deck of the aircraft carrier literally “cut off” all the superstructures, and a shower of kerosene from the torn fuel lines of the aircraft carrier fell on top of the mangled remains of the ship. The ensuing eight-hour fire completely destroyed the cruiser. The restoration of the Belknap was a purely political decision, otherwise such a stupid death of the ship could undermine the prestige of the US Navy.

Advantages of the Belknap: - computerized combat information and control system NTDS; — availability of a helicopter on board; - small size and cost.

Disadvantages: - the only launcher, the failure of which would leave the ship essentially unarmed; — fire hazardous aluminum superstructures; — lack of strike weapons (which, however, is dictated by the purpose of the cruiser).

Burnt out Belknap

Project 58 missile cruisers (code "Grozny")

1962 Total displacement 5,500 tons. Crew 340 people. Full speed – 34 knots. Cruising range - 3500 miles (at 18 knots). Armament: - anti-ship complex P-35 (2 launchers, ammunition 16 anti-ship missiles); — short-range air defense system M-1 “Volna” (16 anti-aircraft missiles); — two automatic twin guns of 76 mm caliber; — 6 torpedoes of 533 mm caliber; — 2 x 12 RBU-6000 rocket launchers; - Helipad

Nikita Khrushchev's favorite ship. A small Soviet cruiser with colossal striking power for its size. The world's first warship equipped with anti-ship missiles. Even with the naked eye it is noticeable how overloaded the baby was with weapons - according to the plans of those years, “Grozny” had to almost alone carry out watches in the far latitudes of the World Ocean. You never know what tasks may arise for the Soviet cruiser - “Grozny” must be ready for anything!

As a result, a universal weapon system appeared on board the ship, capable of fighting any air, surface and underwater targets. Very high speed - 34 knots (more than 60 km/h), universal artillery, equipment for receiving a helicopter... But what was especially impressive was the P-35 anti-ship complex - eight four-ton blanks, capable of falling off the guides at any moment and rushing beyond the horizon at supersonic speed (firing range - up to 250 km).

Despite doubts about the long-range target designation capabilities of the P-35, powerful electronic countermeasures and anti-aircraft fire from American AUGs, the cruiser posed a mortal threat to any enemy squadron - one of the four missiles from each launcher had a megaton “surprise”.

Advantages: — exceptionally high saturation with fire agents; - great design.

Disadvantages: Most of the disadvantages of the Terrible were in one way or another related to the desire of the designers to place the maximum number of weapons and systems in the limited hull of the destroyer. — short cruising range; — weak air defense; - imperfect weapon control systems; — fire hazardous design: aluminum superstructure and synthetic interior finishing.

USSR naval power

Missile cruiser Long Beach

1961 Total displacement 17,000 tons. Crew 1160 people. Full speed - 30 knots. Cruising range - 360,000 miles. Armament: - Terrier medium-range air defense system (2 launchers, 102 missiles ammunition) - Talos long-range air defense system (1 launcher, 52 missiles ammunition) - ASROC anti-submarine missile system (24 missile torpedoes ammunition) - two universal 127 mm caliber guns; - two Phalanx anti-aircraft guns, 8 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 8 Tomahawk missiles (modernized in the early 1980s).

The world's first nuclear-powered cruiser is undoubtedly worthy of mention in the list of the best ships of the 20th century. In combination, Long Beach became the world's first specialized missile cruiser - all previous designs (Boston-class missile cruisers, etc.) were just improvisations based on artillery cruisers of World War II.

The ship turned out to be gorgeous. Three missile systems for various purposes. The unusual “box-shaped” shape of the main superstructure, dictated by the installation of SCANFAR phased radars, also unique radio systems of its time. Finally, the nuclear heart of the cruiser, which made it possible to accompany the nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise everywhere, for interaction with which this miracle was created.

However, an incredible price was paid for all this - 330 million dollars (about 5 billion at the current exchange rate!), In addition, the imperfection of nuclear technology did not allow the creation of a compact nuclear power system of the required power in the 50s - the cruiser rapidly “grew” in size, finally reaching 17 thousand tons. Too much for an escort ship! In addition, it turned out that Long Beach did not have the opportunity to realize their advantage in practice. Firstly, the ship's autonomy is limited not only by its fuel reserves. Secondly, the aircraft carrier’s retinue included many ships with conventional power plants, which made it difficult for the nuclear cruiser to move quickly.

Long Beach served honorably for 33 years. During this time, he left a million nautical miles astern, while managing to fight in Vietnam and Iraq. Due to its exceptional complexity and cost, it remained the lonely “white elephant” of the fleet, however, it had a significant influence on the development of world shipbuilding (including the birth of our next “hero”).

Advantages of Long Beach: - unlimited autonomy in terms of fuel reserves; — radars with phased array; - versatility.

Disadvantages: - monstrous cost; - less survivability compared to conventional cruisers.

Heavy nuclear missile cruiser pr. 1144.2 (code "Orlan")

1998 Total displacement 26,000 tons. Crew 635 people. Full speed – 32 knots. Cruising range is not limited by fuel reserves. Armament: - anti-ship complex "Granit" (20 launchers, ammunition 20 missiles); — long-range air defense system S-300F “Fort” (6 launchers, ammunition 48 missiles); — long-range air defense system S-300FM “Fort-M” (6 launchers, ammunition 46 missiles); — short-range air defense system “Dagger” (12 launchers, ammunition 128 missiles); — anti-submarine complex “Waterfall” (ammunition of 20 missile torpedoes); — one twin automated artillery mount of 130 mm caliber; — 6 anti-aircraft missile and artillery complexes “Kortik”; — three rocket launchers; - three helicopters.

For comparison, the TAVKR "Peter the Great" was chosen - the last and most advanced of the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruisers of the "Orlan" type. A real Imperial cruiser with an amazing array of weapons - the entire range of systems in service with the Russian Navy is collected on board.

Theoretically, in one-on-one combat, the Orlan has no equal among all the ships in the world - a huge ocean killer will be able to deal with any enemy. In practice, the situation looks much more interesting - the enemy against whom the “Eagles” were created does not go alone. What awaits the Orlan in a real battle with an aircraft carrier and its escort of five missile cruisers? Glorious Gangut, Chesma or the terrible Tsushima pogrom? Nobody knows the answer to this question.

The appearance of the first Orlan in 1980 greatly excited the whole world - in addition to its cyclopean size and heroic stature, the Soviet heavy cruiser became the world's first warship with below-deck vertical launch systems. The S-300F anti-aircraft complex caused a lot of fear - nothing like it simply existed in any country in the world at that time.

In fact, the first ship with the S-300F experimental complex installed was the Azov BOD. In addition, the S-300F guides are not installed completely vertically, but at an angle of 5° to the normal to prevent the rocket from falling onto the deck if the launch engine fails.

As in the case of the American “Long Beach”, when discussing “Orlan” the opinion is often heard about the adequacy of creating such a Miracle. Firstly, nuclear missile submarines Project 949A look more attractive for destroying AUGs. The submarine's stealth and security are an order of magnitude greater, the cost is lower, and the 949A salvo contains 24 Granit missiles.

Secondly, 26 thousand tons of displacement is a direct consequence of the presence of nuclear reactors, which do not provide any real advantages, only wasting space, complicating maintenance and worsening the survivability of the ship in battle. It can be assumed that without the YSU, the displacement of the Orlan would have been reduced by half. By the way, a paradoxical coincidence, the bald eagle is the national emblem of the USA!

Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser

1986 Total displacement 10,000 tons. Crew 390 people. Full speed – 32 knots. Cruising range – 6000 (at 20 knots). Armament: - 122 vertical launchers Mk.41 (launching almost all types of missiles in service with the US Navy, with the exception of submarine-launched ballistic missiles); — 8 anti-ship missiles “Harpoon”; — two lightweight universal artillery systems Mk.45 of 127 mm caliber; — six anti-submarine torpedoes of 324 mm caliber; - two Phalanx anti-aircraft guns; - two Bushmaster automatic cannons of 25 mm caliber.

“Stand by admiral Gorshkov: “Aegis” - at sea!” - “Beware, Admiral Gorshkov: Aegis is at sea!” — it was with this message that the first Ticonderoga, an unsightly ship from the outside, with the most modern electronic filling, set out to sea. For comparison, the cruiser CG-52 “Bunker Hill” was chosen - the lead ship of the second series of “Ticonderogas”, equipped with Mk.41 UVP.

A modern ship thought out to the smallest detail with unique fire control systems. The cruiser is still focused on providing air defense and anti-submarine defense for aircraft carrier formations, but can independently launch massive strikes along the coast using Tomahawk cruise missiles, the number of which can reach hundreds on board.

The highlight of the cruiser is the Aegis combat information and control system. Coupled with stationary phased radar panels AN/SPY-1 and 4 fire control radars, the ship's computers are capable of simultaneously tracking up to 1000 air, surface, and underwater targets, while automatically selecting them and, if necessary, attacking 18 of the most dangerous objects. At the same time, the energy capabilities of the AN/SPY-1 are such that the cruiser is capable of detecting and attacking even fast-moving point targets in low Earth orbit.

Advantages of Ticonderoga: - unprecedented versatility at minimal cost; - enormous striking power; — the ability to solve missile defense problems and destroy satellites in low orbits;

Disadvantages of the Ticonderoga: - limited size, and, as a result, dangerously overloaded ship; — widespread use of aluminum in the design of the cruiser.

Missile cruiser pr. 1164 (code "Atlant")

1983 Total displacement 11,500 tons. Crew 510 people. Full speed – 32 knots. Cruising range – 6000 (at 18 knots). Armament: - anti-ship missile system P-1000 "Vulcan" (8 twin launchers, ammunition 16 missiles); — anti-aircraft missile system S-300F “Fort” (8 drum launchers, ammunition 64 missiles); — two short-range anti-aircraft missile systems “Osa-MA” (2 beam launchers, ammunition 40 missiles); — anti-submarine complex “Waterfall” (ammunition of 10 missile torpedoes); — one twin automated artillery mount of 130 mm caliber; — three batteries of automatic anti-aircraft guns AK-630 (total 6 guns + 3 fire control radars); — two rocket launchers; — an anti-submarine helicopter and a hangar for its long-term storage.

With 2.25 times less displacement than the huge nuclear-powered Orlan, the Atlant cruiser retains 80% of its strike power and up to 65% of its anti-aircraft weapons. In other words, instead of building one Orlan supercruiser, you can build two Atlantas! Two Atlant missile cruisers, which, by the way, are 32 Vulcan supersonic anti-ship missiles and 128 S-300F anti-aircraft missiles. As well as 2 helipads, 2 AK-130 artillery mounts, two Fregat radars and two hydroacoustic stations. And all this instead of one “Orlan”! Those. This suggests an obvious conclusion - the missile cruiser Project 1164 is the “golden mean” between the size, cost and combat capabilities of the ship.

Even despite the general moral and physical obsolescence of these cruisers, the potential inherent in them is so high that it allows the Atlanteans to still operate on an equal footing with the most modern foreign missile cruisers and guided missile destroyers. For example, the S-300F complex, which has no analogues, even modern anti-aircraft missiles of the US Navy, due to the limited size of the standard Mk.41 UVP cells, are inferior in energy characteristics to the missiles of the Fort complex (in other words, they are twice as light and half as slow).

Well, we can only wish that the legendary “grin of socialism” is modernized as often as possible and remains in combat service for as long as possible.

Advantages of "Atlanta": - balanced design; — excellent seaworthiness; — missile system S-300F and P-1000.

Disadvantages: - the only fire control radar of the S-300F complex; — lack of modern self-defense air defense systems; — overly complex design of the gas turbine unit.

Maltese sunset, November 1989. The stern of the cruiser "Slava" is visible, in the foreground is the bow end of the cruiser "Belknap"