About how ships were cut in the 90s
The first thing they did was cut up the nuclear-powered cruisers - these creatures had long infuriated sailors with their inadequate cost and eternal concerns about their radiation safety. At the same time, nuclear-powered ships had no real advantages, except for the meaningless “unlimited autonomy in terms of fuel reserves.” Firstly, the autonomy of a ship is determined not only by fuel reserves; secondly, when operating as part of a squadron, any difference between a nuclear-powered ship and a ship with a conventional power plant disappears.
“Long Beach”, “Bainbridge”, “Truckstan” - old troughs were sent for recycling without regret. The same fate awaited the more modern “California” and “South Caroline” - despite their seemingly normal age (20-25 years), their fighting qualities had completely depreciated by the early 90s. Modernization was recognized as unpromising - discarded!
But the most offensive thing was to part with the Virginias. Four fantastic designs with nuclear reactors and powerful weapons, capable of circling the globe 7 times without stopping and shooting the enemy with Tomahawks and long-range anti-aircraft missiles anywhere in the world. All four are very young: “Texas” was only 15; the oldest, “Mississippi,” was barely 19 years old. At the same time, the service life of the cruisers was designed for 35 years - until 2015!
However, neither their young age, nor their “nuclear heart,” nor the ready proposal to modernize and install the Aegis system saved the nuclear-powered Virginias from a bitter fate: in the 90s they all ended up in a landfill.
Virginia-class nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Arkansas
Having shredded their nuclear cruisers, the Americans did not calm down, and continued with redoubled energy to cleanse the “Augean stables” of their fleet: there was a huge amount of junk hanging on the balance sheet, which, despite regular modernization, could no longer cope properly with the tasks assigned to it.
18 escort cruisers of the Leghi and Belknap type (the oldest were over 30, the youngest were in their 20s), 46 anti-submarine frigates of the Knox type - all scrapped! Some frigates were lucky and were sold to foreign navies, where they still serve today. The rest lay on the seabed with their sides broken (they were shot during training exercises) or were simply cut up at the docks for scrap metal.
ABOUT! What is it? Missile destroyers "Charles F. Adams", twenty-three units in service. Year of construction? Early 60s. The conversation is short - For scrapping! Along with the Adams, their peers, 10 Farragut-class guided-missile destroyers, were excluded from the fleet.
It's the turn of the honored veterans. Within a short time, 7 aircraft carriers left the US Navy. Of these, six are old ships of the Midway and Forrestal type, another is the fairly new aircraft carrier America (Kitty Hawk class). At the time of decommissioning, "America" was only 30 years old - sheer nonsense by the standards of aircraft carriers, which usually serve for half a century.
The reason for the amazing longevity of aircraft carriers is simple: their main and only weapon - an air wing that is independently updated every ten to fifteen years without any changes in the design of the ship itself. Generations of fighters and bombers change, but the carrier platform remains the same (not counting local work on replacing radars, self-defense systems or installing new air conditioners in personnel compartments).
Therefore, the old Midway aircraft carriers, laid down during the Second World War, were not much inferior to their modern colleagues - the same F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters were based on their decks. The aircraft carrier Midway served for 47 years and was decommissioned immediately after its victorious return from the Gulf War (1991).
The Forrestals lived an equally long life - all four ships were scrapped between 1993 and 1998, when they were already 40 years old.
Aircraft carrier USS America (CV-66), scuttled in 2005
USS America Command Center
The only unlucky one was the USS America. The super-ship, with a total displacement of 80,000 tons, became an innocent victim of American budget cuts. Despite its relatively young age, preserved resource and high combat capability, America was permanently excluded from the US Navy.
The aircraft carrier rusted in a landfill for nine years, and finally, in 2005, a decision was made to scuttle it. Despite numerous protests about the inadmissibility of such “disposal” of a ship that “bears the name of the nation,” on May 14, 2005, “America” was taken to sea with holds full of explosives and ... “Explosion of the ship,” Aivazovsky, oil painting, Feodosia Art Gallery.
Having butchered the aircraft carriers, the conveyor belt of death turned towards the battleships. Four hulks with a total displacement of under 60,000 tons, armed to the teeth with 406 mm cannons and Tomahawk cruise missiles, now your time has come!
Big "J" - battleship New Jersey
Iowa-class battleships served under the Stars and Stripes for half a century, but despite their venerable age, they retained their incredible potential even in the 1990s. In the 80s, modern anti-aircraft systems and a full set of radio-electronic systems were installed on battleships. The possibility of installing Aegis combat information and control system computers and vertical launchers with hundreds of cruise missiles was discussed. A universal attack ship, clad in an impenetrable shell of 300 mm thick steel, the Iowa's armor belt could not be penetrated by any modern anti-ship missiles. In fact, the battleships built in 1943, even half a century later, remained one of the most formidable warships in the world!
Fortunately, the rosy dreams of American admirals did not come true: Congress did not allocate funds for modernization and extension of the operational life of battleships. All four Iowas went together to rust in the Ship Graveyard. A few years later, an agreement was reached to turn the battleships into museums; at the moment, they can be seen in permanent moorings in Pearl Harbor, Philadelphia, Norfolk and Los Angeles.
Despite the well-deserved fears associated with the “resurrection” of American battleships, most experts agree that this is unlikely. Even the limited modernization of the Iowas in the 80s cost as much as the construction of four new Aegis cruisers. One can only guess how much it will cost to transform the Iowas into modern “missile and artillery battleships” with the Aegis system - apparently, it’s easier to build a new nuclear aircraft carrier.
Battleship "Wisconsin" permanently laid up in Norforlk
Having written off 117 ships: nuclear-powered missile cruisers, frigates, destroyers, battleships and aircraft carriers, the Americans did not calm down - there was still a lot of work ahead. First of all, it was necessary to put the “destroyer forces” in order: the appearance of Aegis destroyers of the Orly Burke type instantly devalued the still “fresh” destroyers of the Spruance type - despite the general design principles and completely unified mechanisms and weapons, the absence of the Aegis BIUS "left the Spruances no chance of further survival. Thirty-five* ships of this type were scrapped (alternatively, they were sunk as targets).
"Spruance" is a special series of US Navy destroyers, similar in function to Soviet large anti-submarine ships. The main advantage of the Spruance is its unprecedented standardization and unification with ships of other classes, as well as its enormous modernization potential. The main disadvantage of Spruance is the lack of zonal air defense; the destroyer was focused exclusively on performing anti-submarine and strike functions as part of the AUG. This is what destroyed him.
*The attentive reader was probably surprised by the strange figure: after all, the number of Spruances built was exactly 31. But it is worth remembering that on their basis 4 additional destroyers were built (the “Kidd” subseries), which were distinguished by even more powerful weapons and modern electronics. There is often an opinion that in the 80s, Kidd-class destroyers were the best in the world. All of them were sold to Taiwan in 1998.
Kidd-class guided missile destroyer
As a result, the American fleet lost 35 destroyers. Along with the Spruances, 15 more modern frigates of the Oliver H. Perry class left the US Navy in the 1990s. Some of them were sold to Turkey and Egypt, some were cut up for metal. The reason for write-off is unsatisfactory performance and inflated operating costs.
No less large-scale shocks occurred in the American submarine fleet: in the period 1995-1998. 11 Los Angeles-class multi-purpose nuclear submarines (or “Los” in Russian) were decommissioned. They are all new - at the time of cutting, most of them were only 15 years old!
The Americans classify the Los Angeles as “fast attack submarines,” which in reality means “submarine hunters.” The main tasks of the Elks are to cover aircraft carrier groups and deployment areas of strategic submarine missile carriers, and fight enemy submarines. "Losi" are known for their reliability and low noise level. They are very mobile (underwater speed up to 35 knots), have modest sizes and serious weapons, including 12 Tomahawk missiles. Nuclear-powered Los Angeles ships still form the backbone of the US Navy's submarine force.
Along with 11 new boats, the sailors also got rid of their predecessors - 37 multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the Stegen type (built in the early 70s), and also removed from combat duty 12 strategic missile submarines of the Benjamin Franklin type (all cut up for metal) .
The events described above took place in the period 1990-1999, when, with the threat from the Soviet Union weakening, the Americans decided to reduce their naval arsenals. According to my conservative count, during that period of time the US Navy lost 227 warships: large and small, obsolete and still quite modern.
The world's largest fleet
According to dry statistics, in 1989 the displacement of all ships of the USSR Navy was 17% higher than the displacement of the American Navy. It is difficult to say by what method of calculation this figure was obtained, but even visually it is noticeable how powerful the Navy of the Soviet Union was.
Of course, assessing the power of the fleet by its total displacement is highly incorrect. The Russian Navy also contained a lot of outdated equipment:
- patrol ships pr. 35 and pr. 159 (were built in the early 60s);
- post-war destroyers of Project 56;
- old missile cruisers pr. 58 and pr. 1134;
- obsolete BOD Project 1134A (the same age as the American Belknap-class cruisers);
- “singing frigates” Project 61 (analogs of destroyers of the “Charles F. Adams” type);
- artillery cruisers pr. 68-bis (hello from the 1950s!);
- minesweepers pr. 254 (the most popular type of minesweeper in the world, built from 1948 to 1960);
- ships of the measuring complex “Siberia”, “Sakhalin”, “Chukotka” (former ore carriers, built in 1958)
- diesel submarine pr. 641 (built in the 60s);
- first generation nuclear submarines, etc.
The maintenance of all this rubbish required a lot of material resources, and by the end of the 80s, it could not solve any of the tasks assigned to the fleet. The only clear explanation for the phenomenon of operating hundreds of useless ships is an overstaffing, and, as a consequence, an increase in the number of admiral positions. It is not difficult to guess that all these ships were “breathing their last breath” and were preparing to be sent for scrapping, regardless of the political and economic situation in the country.
As for the sad stories Soviet aircraft-carrying cruisers, the untimely death of the TAVKRs was programmed at their birth. For some unknown reason, no one bothered to build the appropriate coastal infrastructure for their basing - the TAVKRs stood in the roadstead all their lives, wasting the precious resource of their boilers and generators. As a result, they exhausted the resource three times faster than planned. The ships were senselessly destroyed with their own hands. It's a pity.
Perestroika marked the final point in their career: in 1991, the main carrier-based aircraft of the Russian Navy, the Yak-38, was removed from service, but no adequate replacement was found. The supersonic “vertical” Yak-141 was too “crude” to go into mass production, and there was no talk of landing the Su-33 fighter on the short deck of the TAVKR.
In view of all of the above, three prospects opened up for Soviet aircraft-carrying cruisers: a Chinese naval museum, an Indian light aircraft carrier, or going to South Korea for scrap.
Among the brutal losses of the Russian Navy in the 90s, it is certainly worth noting the large reconnaissance ship SSV-33 "Ural" and the ship of the measuring complex "Marshal Nedelin" - unique ocean reconnaissance aircraft, extremely saturated with the most precise electronics, radars and space communication systems.
“Marshal Nedelin” served for only seven years, but during its short life it did a lot of useful things: it carried out telemetry measurements during test launches of ICBMs, established communications with spacecraft, participated in the rescue of the Salyut-7 orbital station, and even carried out brazen filming American naval base Diego Garcia (Indian Ocean). In 1991, the ship came to the side of Dalzavod for a scheduled overhaul, from which it never returned: the ship’s electronics were taken to non-ferrous metal collection points, and Marshal Nedelin was soon taken to India for dismantling.
Fortunately, the sailors were able to preserve the second ship of this type, the Marshal Krylov, which is still used to monitor spacecraft flights and record telemetry during test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Special communications vessel - 33 "Ural"
SSV-33 “Ural” is a stillborn project of a large reconnaissance ship, Project 1941 (what a terrible number!) with a nuclear power plant. With a total displacement of 36,000 tons, it was the largest reconnaissance ship in history. Time has shown that “Ural” is a pure utopia, a dubious project without any purpose or meaning.
In theory, everything looked ideal - a giant nuclear ship could “walk” along the US coast for months, recording all radio communications of interest at any frequency, or, conversely, patrol near American missile test sites, studying the behavior of multiple warheads of ICBMs at the final part of the trajectory.
In practice, everything turned out to be much more complicated: like everything too big, the Ural turned out to be unviable - too expensive, complicated and unreliable. The super-ship never made it to the American missile test site on Kwajalein Atoll. After two fires and a number of serious problems with the nuclear installation and fragile electronic filling, the Ural stood on its “barrels” in Strelok Bay, as it turned out, forever. In 2008, progress began towards its disposal.
Many unpleasant events happened in the 90s in the domestic fleet: there is neither sense nor desire to list the remaining ships that were sold, cut up or dismantled on stocks. Unfinished aircraft carriers "Ulyanovsk" and "Varyag"; a planned but not implemented series of modernized BOD Project 1155.1, mothballed heavy nuclear-powered Orlans, a new generation destroyer 21956, of which only a dream remains...
Stop! It is at this point that the difference between the “reduction” of the American fleet and the “modernization” of the domestic one becomes visible. The Americans, in all seriousness, decommissioned several hundred sometimes of the newest ships in the 90s, however, during the same time, they built 100 even newer and even more formidable ships in their place. However, this is a completely different story.
Gallery of heroes:
And they will find themselves on the shore,
In scales like the heat of grief,
Thirty-three heroes,
All handsome and daring,
Young giants,
All equal, as if chosen
(A.S. Pushkin)
Missile cruiser pr. 58 "Grozny", 1962
RKR pr. 58 "Grozny" at the landfill
Old guided missile destroyer "Charles F. Adams"
Heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Frunze"
Nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser Long Beach
"Long Beach" after modernization, late 80s
Heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Minsk" in Shenzhen (China)
On the deck of the Minsk World attraction (formerly the TAVKR "Minsk"). Shenzhen, China
Measuring complex ship "Marshal Nedelin"
Oliver H. Perry-class frigate
Small nuclear cruiser "Trakstan"
Lehi-class escort cruiser, model 1960
Our news channels
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.
Information