Black Sea Shipyard: the development of heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers. "Minsk" and "Novorossiysk"
"Minsk". By the beaten path
Modernization of the plant, begun before the construction of the order 101, or "Kiev", continued in the course of work on the order 102 - the cruiser "Minsk". The northern and western outbuilding embankments were dug pits with a depth of 11,25 meters. Because of the rocky soil, it was not possible to reach the planned 16 meters, so it was decided to build new outfitting quays for promising aircraft carriers with all the necessary infrastructure. For the convenience of passing the cruisers of the 1143 project, they dredged the Bug-Dnieper Limansky canal.
The construction of the second ship of the 1143 project was greatly facilitated by the experience gained in the process of working at Kiev. 30 September 1975. The anti-submarine cruiser Minsk was launched three months ahead of schedule. After the completion of the main volume of installation and completion works, the mooring tests began, which were carried out from October 1977 of February to February 1978.
In February 1978, Minsk, which by that time had already been officially reclassified from anti-submarine to heavy aircraft cruiser, went to the Black Sea to conduct factory sea trials. As in the main "Kiev", a naval flag was hoisted on it, although the ship was not formally accepted yet fleet. Factory sea trials were successful, and the cruiser was prepared for state trials, which began in May.
During the tests "Minsk" fired all kinds of weapons, including the main strike complex - П-500 "Basalt". Intensive flights were performed by the naval air group, which, in addition to the Ka-25 helicopters, consisted of the Yak-38 deck attack aircraft that had already been adopted. In addition, the cruiser completed the task of transferring cargo on the move from the integrated supply ship "Berezina", built in Nikolaev at the plant named after 61 of the Communard and also tested. Various types of ammunition were transferred from Berezina to TAKR and fuel and fresh water were pumped. "Berezina" was the first such ship in the domestic fleet.
Unlike the head "Kiev", "Minsk" passed the whole test cycle not in the North, but almost at the place of its birth - in the Black Sea basin. In September 1978, the State Acceptance Commission accepted "Minsk" into the USSR Navy. 5 years, 9 months and 2 days have passed from the moment of laying up to the date of submission. The ship, temporarily enrolled in the 30 Division of anti-submarine ships, at the beginning of 1979, began preparing for the transition to its permanent duty station in the Far East.
24 February 1979 "Minsk" left Sevastopol and, accompanied by large anti-submarine ships "Tashkent" and "Petropavlovsk" went on a campaign. As a support ship, the detachment was accompanied by the tanker Boris Chilikin. In the Mediterranean, the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Minsk" met with its sistership "Kiev". First time in stories the Soviet fleet there was a joint patrol of two aircraft carrier groups. Ships and aviation NATO countries closely monitored all the maneuvers and actions of the Soviet squadron.
At that time, the Soviet Union paid due attention to such a strategic region as the Mediterranean Sea, and there was almost permanently a large naval group, the basis of which was the 5-I squadron. In addition to the complex of combat tasks, worked out jointly with the "Kiev", "Minsk" received fuel and cargo from the ship of the integrated supply "Berezina".
Having completed its mission in the Mediterranean, a detachment of Soviet ships headed by a heavy anti-submarine cruiser went into the Atlantic and headed east to bypass Africa. On the way, the large landing ship Ivan Rogov joined him, making the transition from the Baltic to enter the Pacific Fleet. Along the way, Soviet ships displayed a flag by entering the ports of states friendly to the USSR. Thus, “Minsk” and his escort consistently visited Angola’s Luanda, Maputo (Mozambique), Port Louis (Mauritius) and Aden (People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen). Soviet and military delegations from these countries visited the Soviet ships.
In this campaign, the experience of operating the deck Yak-38 in the tropics was obtained. 3 July 1979 "Minsk" arrived in Strelok Bay and finally joined the Pacific Fleet. Intensive experiments and tests with deck aircraft revealed serious design flaws: fairly strong air currents were created above the cruiser deck, making it difficult to fly. The Yak-38 deck attack aircraft also needed to be improved.
There have been accidents. 27 December 1979 Yak-38U aircraft piloted by test pilots Oleg G. Kononenko and Mikhail Sergeyevich Deksbakh in the Ussuriysky Gulf fell into the sea due to the failure of the nozzle turning system. The pilots managed to escape. 8 October 1980 pilot Oleg Kononenko died in the South China Sea during the next test flight, in which a short run from the deck was practiced. His Yak-38 fell into the water, suddenly sifting after takeoff. This incident happened during the first combat service of a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser.
In August, 1980, he was sent to the South China Sea - in the summer of this year, a border conflict broke out between Thailand and Kampuchea, which increasingly began to resemble a local war. The cruiser was ordered to be in the Siam Gulf and to be engaged in flight training, at the same time denoting the Soviet military presence in the region. Later, “Minsk” made a call to the Cam Ranh base (Socialist Republic of Vietnam).
In November, the 1980 cruiser returned to its permanent base in Strelok Bay. He was expected to upgrade. After painstaking research work - the cruiser “Minsk” was decided to be subjected to a small alteration - he received special fairings-fairings on the front edges of the flight deck and on the small sponson under it. The work was carried out by Dalzavod in Vladivostok by August 1982.
Immediately after the completion of the modernization, “Minsk” again went to the South China Sea. In November, the cruiser went to Cam Ranh, and then his path lay in the Indian Ocean. Having been noted off the shores of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, the cruiser made a visit to the largest Indian port of Bombay. During the stay, the ship was visited by a delegation of Indian military led by the Minister of Defense. The guests were not only shown a cruiser, but also carried out demonstration flights of the Yak-38. The new 1983 year, the crew of "Minsk" met on the roads of Aden, returning to the shores of Yemen. According to the results of the outgoing 1982, the cruiser was recognized as the best ship of the Pacific Fleet.
The following years were also full of hikes and flights. "Minsk" regularly went to sea for combat service, went to foreign ports with friendly visits. Due to intensive exploitation and unsatisfactory conditions of basing, cruiser mechanisms and equipment generously spent their resources. Two main boilers, steam generators, desalination plants and even the main turbo-gear units were constantly in operation. All this could not remain without consequences - with warranty periods of operation in 25 years, the cruiser exhausted them much earlier.
The issue with the repair all the time was postponed. In the Far East there were no enterprises that could carry out the entire scope of work, and it was necessary for Minsk to return to its construction site — at the CSY in Nikolaev. However, the company in those years was fully loaded with orders, and the timing of sending the cruiser from the Far East was postponed all the time. Finally, in 1991, it was decided to send the ship for medium repairs, which he was in dire need of. The transition was significantly complicated by the fact that by that time half of the boilers were already in operation at Minsk.
While preparations were made for a long transition, politics intervened. The Soviet Union collapsed, and Nikolaev suddenly found itself on the territory of a foreign state. There was no money from the Russian fleet, and Minsk was transferred to sediment in the Postovaya Bay. 30 June 1993, the cruiser was expelled from the Navy. In August, the battle flag was lowered and the crew disbanded - the ship began to be prepared for sale for scrap. The deal, worth 4,5 million, took place in October, 1994, and Minsk was to make its last voyage to the South Korean port of Pusan for subsequent dismantling.
However, history was pleased that the second heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser of the 1143 project was preserved, as was the lead ship of the Kiev series. Until the end of the year, the Chinese company bought it for 5 million dollars from the Koreans and in 1998-m towed to the port of Shenzhen. There the ship underwent repairs and refurbishment to the museum, which was solemnly opened in 2000 year. The cruiser became the center of a tourist entertainment complex called “The World of the Aircraft Carrier Minsk", in which it still exists.
Novorossiysk
In February 1975, the director of CSY, Anatoly Borisovich Gankevich, signed an order “On the preparation and deployment of the construction of a ship, factory number 103”. It was laid on the stocks number 0 30 September 1975 of the year. The cruiser was named Novorossiysk. The building was on schedule, by the summer of 1977, the ship's hull was already sufficiently formed. However, in the 3 and 4 quarters, work on the third heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser was suspended. It was connected with the fact that a number of changes were made to the original 1143 project. Now the project for which Novorossiysk was to be completed was designated as 1143.3.
Unlike the first two ships of the series, the third cruiser was supposed to have an air group increased to 36 units, the possibility of placing aboard a landing force and a reinforced deck that could receive transport helicopters. In addition, Novorossiysk was to receive a new electronic and navigation equipment. The insides of the cruiser were largely redesigned, while the appearance of the ship changed only slightly. The place for the 90 man’s landing was obtained by completely abandoning the torpedo weaponry.
It was assumed that in the future, the cruiser group would include the Yak-38 fighters being developed to replace the Yak-41. On the runway deck, three venting devices were mounted to protect its surface from hot gases generated during the take-off of the Yak-41. However, later tests in Zhukovsky showed the dubious effectiveness of such devices, and in the 1979 year, after the launch of Novorossiysk, they were dismantled, which also affected the timing of readiness. Submitted to various reworkings during construction, the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Novorossiysk was launched on December 26 1976.
Another cruiser problem was the near-air defense. In connection with the use by the US Navy of a new Harpoon anti-ship missile, it was ordered to strengthen the Novorossiysk air defense system with the latest Dagger anti-aircraft missile systems and Kortik missile-artillery systems. However, the timing of the development and production of this weapon lagged behind the pace of construction of the cruiser, and as a result, the Novorossiysk received the same 30-mm AK-630M assault rifles, which were installed in Kiev and Minsk. But the same Osa-M anti-aircraft missile system tested on the first two ships (while the Daggers are being brought up) did not bother to mount - as a result, the air defense of the near zone of Novorossiysk was sufficiently conditional. By the way, "Daggers" he never received.
The mooring trials of the cruiser were conducted in the fall of 1981, and on 5 in January of 1982, the Novorossiysk went to Sevastopol to conduct a set of running and state tests. They were held in accordance with the plan, and on December 28 1982, the ceremony of signing the reception act was held.
Like the previous "Minsk", "Novorossiysk" was planned to be part of the Pacific Fleet. On the way to the Far East, the cruiser was to make a trip to Severomorsk. In May, the 1983 was a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Novorossiysk", accompanied by the Large anti-submarine ship "The Restrained" and the destroyer "Resourceful", left Sevastopol and headed for the North. Along the way, which has long become familiar, the new Soviet ship was closely examined and studied by the ships and aircraft of the NATO countries. Not all unnecessary curiosity benefited: the US Navy A-6 “Intruder” attack ground attack aircraft dropped into the water while cruising around the cruiser at the minimum height. The pilot died.
Novorossiysk arrived in Severomorsk at the beginning of June 1983. After taking an active part in a number of exercises, including Ocean-83, and TAKR, in October 1983 began its transition to a permanent base in the Far East. In February, 1984 of the year, having made a number of calls at the ports of friendly states, Novorossiysk arrived in Abrek Bay. Further service was intense and, alas, short-lived. Constant combat exits, exercises, and courtesy visits devoured the life of the ship, which could not be overhauled in the Far East. Such tensely organized premises for the Marines remained unclaimed - the cruiser did not conduct the landing of the landing force.
From 1988 to 1990, the cruiser underwent docking and navigation repairs at Dalzavod, but the question of its full service maintenance remained open, as was the case with Minsk. After the collapse of the USSR, the cruiser was sent to suck. 1993 was unhappy not only for "Kiev" and "Minsk", but also for their fellow "Novorossiysk". In January, a fire broke out in the boiler room, and on June 30, together with two previous heavy aircraft carrying cruisers, it was withdrawn from the fleet. In October, 1993, the cruiser deprived of travel, was towed to Sovgavan in Postovaya Bay, where he stood for the next few years near Minsk. At the beginning of 1996, Novorossiysk was sold to a South Korean company for scrap metal, towed to Busan and dismantled.
- Denis Brig
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