Project 1164 Atlant
Krasina / Slava class
Guided Missile Cruiser
The Slava ("Slava" means "Glory") class was designed as a surface strike ship with some anti-air and ASW capability. Falling midway between the massive 'Kirov' battle-cruiser and 'Sovremenny' class destroyers, this smaller contemporary of the Kirov may have been intended as a less-expensive complement to the larger ships. Slavas were built at the same yard that built the 'Kara' Class cruisers, and the hull appears to be a stretched version of the earlier design.
In the mid-70s, NPO Engineering developed the complex "Basalt" with ASM P-500. The missile had a weight of about 6 tons, and range of 550 km, the normal (500 kg) or a nuclear warhead, a complex flight path and speed, twice exceeding the speed of sound. The complex "Basalt" has improved the distribution system between the eight goals of rockets salvo optimized selection algorithm and the main goal in the warrant AUG. In RCC U-500 was first installed REB, providing protection from the means of air defense AUG. Targeting "Basalt" is ensured by this time established a system MKRTS "Legend" (in service since 1976) and aircraft Tu-95RTS.
The carriers of cruise missiles, among others, were to become the new missile cruiser, capable of use in a single salvo of 16 RCC, that the combat effectiveness of four times the capacity of existing at the time of the RRC. Development of the project was entrusted to the North PKB.
Head RRC projected a series of six of the first in the USSR cruisers with gas turbine project in 1164 under the code name "Atlas". The first was laid on the stocks Nikolayev shipyard them at 61 Communards November 4, 1976 The ship, named "Glory", was launched on July 27, 1979, a year later there was the settlement of the crew came into operation in late 1982, and in February of the following year is included in the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet.
The name "Glory" in the history of the Russian fleet were several ships. This 16-gun frigate, distinguished himself in the war of 1768-1774. Turkey; at the end of the XVIII century. he was replaced by a 38-gun frigate, guarding the waters of the Baltic Sea, and during the 1st World War, with the ships of the German Navy fought the battleship "Slava".
The sixteen SS-N-12 Sandbox anti-ship missiles are mounted in four pairs on either side of the superstructure, giving the ship a distinctive appearance. Many sources credit the Slava with the ability to carry nuclear armed SA-N-6 surface-to-air missiles, and 21-inch nuclear torpedoes, in addition to the SS-N-12. Soviet sources denied that the SA-N-6 missiles on the ship was even nuclear capable. They also indicated that the crane aboard the ship was used for handling boats, and not for loading or reloading SA-N-6 missiles, a procedure accomplished only at portside.
During 1973-87 the Soviets vigorously continued the expansion of their surface ship fleet. They introduced two classes of large destroyers — Sevremennyy and Udaloy — as well as the Slava-class cruiser and the 28,000-ton Kirov-class nuclear-powered cruiser. The Slava class carries the SA-N-6 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system and the Kirov class carries the SA-N-9 and SA-N-6 systems.
Initially designated Black Com1 by Western intelligence and subsequently the Krasina class , the first Slava class cruiser became operational in 1983, and by 1990 three were in the fleet, with the third beginning sea trials in August 1989. Some sources suggest that the Soviet Navy intended to build as many as 21 units of this class, which would have enabled the Soviets to replace the Kynda and Kresta classes as they retired in the 1990s. But such plans were not evident in actual Cold War era building activity. The low priority attached to this class was evident from the unusually long construction period of the units completed by the end of the Cold War, and the fact that only four units were laid down.
Even when he was deputy chief of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces, Admiral Nikolai Amelko strongly objected to bulky and expensive vessels. Especially, there was a cheaper and virtually the same amount of attack missiles on the Project 1164 "Atlas" with 16 anti-ship missiles P-500 "Basalt" against 20 missiles P-700 "Granit" on Project 1144.
On completion was the fourth in the series, "Admiral Lobov", and at various stages on the stocks were fifth - "Russian" (later "October Revolution") and the sixth - "Admiral Gorshkov" [sources disagree as to whether these units had been laid down prior to cancellation]. Starting with the fifth ship in the project were some changes. The hull was prolonged by 6 meters, instead of S-500 anti-ship missiles "Basalt" they used R-1000 "Volcano", instead of 30-mm AK-630 air defense missile systems, and "Wasp" established five SPAR "Dirk". Accordingly there were varied weapons and radar. Instead of one helicopter, now there were based two.
In July 1989 the cruiser "Slava" held Soviet-American experiment on the possibilities of remote detection of nuclear SLCM. The US team members to used the device with a semiconductor detector of gamma radiation on the basis of high-purity germanium crystal with an energy resolution of about 2 keV. The detector was placed directly on the PU "aircraft carrier killer" (a nickname of the cruiser Project 1164 in the West). Obtained within 10 minutes of the spectrum of radiation with peak values characteristic of different isotopes of uranium, plutonium, and some of their decay products, confirms the presence of a nuclear warhead. This measurement results have shown that in this way is practically impossible to obtain additional information on warhead design that suited both parties.
Since the 1989 Kirov cancellation, there were additional indications of cutbacks in naval surface ship procurement. The launch of the fourth Slava-class cruiser, Admiral Lobov, was followed by an August 1990 announcement that the shipyard, traditionally a major producer of cruisers, would henceforth shift its production to commercial ships.
US Navy forward deployed Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and USS McCampbell (DDG 85) began bilateral exercise Pacific Eagle with vessels from the Russian Navy 13 October 2011 Fitzgerald and McCampbell departed Apra Harbor, Guam with Russian Federation Navy (RFN) ships Slava class guided missile cruiser Varyag and the Irkut tanker to conduct at-sea maneuvers as part of exercise Pacific Eagle. The Pacific Eagle’s focus is to improve the USN and RFN maritime interoperability. It included a series of maritime security exercises, ship maneuvering and communication drills.
In this type of cruisers had greatly improved living conditions - there is all that is needed for a normal life and rest during long sea pohodov- television and radio centers, medical unit, library, cinema room, laundry, bakery, hair salon, gym and even a sauna. Crew of the cruiser was about 500 people, of which more than 60 officers. The design is said to be marred by large quantities of flammable material and poor damage-control capabilities. As of 2004 there were only 3 ships of this type available in the Russian Navy.
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