Excursion to the destroyer of the Baltic Fleet "Restless"
The other day, the Ministry of Defense organized a press tour on one of the ships of the Baltic fleet. It should be noted that such trips for journalists and bloggers to military units are carried out quite regularly, but the opportunity to visit a warship is a rarity. At least for the simple reason that around Moscow with the seas it is somehow sparse. Therefore, without further ado, I went to Kaliningrad.
The destroyer “Restless” is based in the harbor of the city of Baltiysk - the most western city of Russia. Until 1946, the city was called Pillau, and the military base was used by the German submarine fleet. Currently, the naval base Baltiysk is the main base of the Baltic Fleet.
"Restless" - the destroyer of the third generation, the project 956. The first of the ships of this series, "Modern", was commissioned in 1981, the last was launched in 1992. In total, the 22 of the ship was laid, currently 9 remains in the Russian Navy, of which 4 are in reserve or under repair. "Restless" was built in 1992, the last time went to sea three years ago, and is now in reserve, waiting for scheduled maintenance and upgrades.
Nevertheless, this is a full-fledged warship with its crew, the board of which is decorated with three big stars. This is not the designation of enemy ships sunk, as many mistakenly believe, but the awards of the commander-in-chief of the Navy.
More information about the ship itself: the length of its 156,5 meter (one and a half football fields), width - 17 meters. The autonomy of navigation - 30 days without entering the ports and refueling, provisions reserves, too, enough for exactly one month. The maximum speed is the 33,4 node (about 62 km / h). But the main advantage of the ship is its armament: two Uragan anti-aircraft missile systems capable of striking air targets at altitudes up to 15 km, two twin-speed 130 mm caliber guns, producing 6 tons of metal per minute, four automatic six-barreled 30-mm artillery units AK-630M (eyewitnesses who observed these guns at the "work", claim that their shots cut the metal like butter).
Anti-ship armament includes two quad rocket launchers of the Mosquito complex with a range of up to 170 km. These “smart” cruise missiles are capable of hitting surface targets with a probability of 94 – 99% even if active radio interference is used. Anti-submarine armament includes two twin torpedo tubes, two jet bombs and a rail installation for setting minefields. According to experts, in the case of a direct duel, the destroyer of the 956 project remains the master of the situation in the fight against any surface ship of the world, surpassing even the newest American warships of the next, fourth generation.
The crew of the ship - 296 people in peacetime and 358 - in the military, from this number 25 officers and 48 midshipmen, the rest of the sailors. And here lies the main headache of the sailors. The sailors-conscripts, as well as the soldiers of the ground forces, serve a year. Previously, the period of service in the fleet was three years, then two. All the officers, as one, claim that there is a categorically short year to prepare a specialist on such a technically complex object as a warship. Even if the sailor got caught up, he only has time to master his military specialty and immediately goes to the reserve. Exit the military see one - to increase the number of contractors.
For example, on a nearby patrol ship, the “Yaroslav the Wise”, moored alongside the “Restless” and regularly going on sea voyages, now only contract sailors serve. Of course, this is the right decision. The destroyer commander hopes that after repair and modernization, the Restless will also be fully staffed with professionals. For twenty years of service of the ship, he received on board a multitude of presidents, ministers and admirals: this is evidenced by the book of honored guests, located in a cozy officer's mess room. Among others, there is also an autograph of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, husband of the Queen of Great Britain. And next to it, amid regalia and souvenirs, the ship's cat, Tyom, undisturbedly slumbers.
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