Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers by Edward Hampshire

Author:Edward Hampshire
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781472817426
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

KARA CLASS (PROJECT 1134B)

Design development

Project 1134B was clearly a development of its predecessors, but it appears to have been designed from a very early stage as an anti-submarine ship. The staff requirement was issued in August 1964, a few months before the fall of Khrushchev (therefore pre-dating the adoption of the new pro-submarine strategy), but one year after the first visit of a US Polaris boat to the eastern Mediterranean. This class was designed and built in the Black Sea and probably with operations in the eastern Mediterranean in mind.

The Project 1134B vessels had a number of characteristics that demonstrated this focus. The ships were powered by gas turbines, which allowed for economical fuel consumption when cruising turbines were in use, ease of maintenance and a reduction in engine room manpower through semi-automated machinery control. Soundproofing was used around the ship’s gearbox, and the ship’s turbines were placed on beds above the hull structure, thus reducing the ship’s underwater acoustic signature. An additional single gas turbine provided electrical power for the ship’s sonar systems, which now included the Vega variable-depth sonar. The class was armed with AK-726 76mm guns in place of the 57mm and, to further complement the ship’s air defence, the Osa-M short- to medium-range missile system with its distinctive ‘pop-up’ launchers. The increased air defence capabilities and command facilities reflected the need to operate beyond shore-based air cover and command and control.

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