Admiral Nakhimov nuclear-powered cruiser
© RIA Novosti. Oleg Lastochkin
Posted on 12/02/2011 7:42:59 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Admiral Nakhimov nuclear-powered cruiser
© RIA Novosti. Oleg Lastochkin
when originally deployed they were the center of soviet SAGs (Surface Action Group) and mean. it was a tossup between one of these and one of our BB-based SAG. they also werte a big threat to or carriers, especially if they attacked in unison with soviet bombers w/ ASM out of northern russia or norway and Oscar SSGNs.
i wonder how well they survived 10 years of just sitting?
Probably requires a lot of repair work
But I think this a much more beautiful vessel, though she may not have been as capable:
I boarded the Kennedy for the first time only months after she sheared off the top of this beautiful vessel.
I remember my first night boarding her, we drove up in the back of a pickup truck to the pier in Norfolk, and she was bathed under some floodlights. Very impressive. Even though I was a Navy Brat I had seen a lot of carriers close up over the years, it was very different when you were going to get aboard and sail on her.
That night, after everything was loaded up and we had some time to sit around, I sat on the darkened flight deck next to Airman Delgado, who was teaching me how to be a Plane Captain.
We were sitting just forward of the island on the starboard side looking back towards the angle. Delgado described to me how that night, he had been standing in the very spot we were in, and he saw a little red light heading from bow to stern, and his first thought was "What is that idiot doing over there with that flashlight?" when he felt a thump and heard an incredible screeching of metal as the vessel carrying the red light ran bow-first into the flight deck angle. A narrow fountain of flame shot straight up about fifty feet in the air, the Belknap scraped along the angle then broke free and drifted astern, flaming. He said he was completely astonished. Like nothing he had ever seen in his life.
The ship was a wreck and burned for a long time. He said you could actually see the superstructure melting and running down the side of the ship where it disappeared, steaming, into the water. To him, the Belknap was solid flame stem to stern. He thought there was no way anyone was going to live on that ship. Amazing that so few were killed. I don't know where this picture was taken, but she looks pretty rough.
The Kirov class cruiser has always been a favorite of mine, design-wise. Its a great looking ship. The best of all time is the Iowa class battleship, but I'd put the Kirov in 2nd or 3rd. I saw one at sea, back in the day. It makes a definite impression on the horizon.
One big Puppy..... Supposedly designed to operate without Air Superiority, in a hostile environment.
The largest Surface Combatant in active service, anywhere in the world, as large as a ‘tween wars battleship, 827 ft. long.
Sister ship to the Peter The Great (Formerly the Yuriy Andropov,) which is the ship that was in Cuba a couple of years ago).
“The Kirov class cruiser has always been a favorite of mine, design-wise.”
My favorite Soviet ships were the Moskva class hybrid Carrier/Cruisers
Nice SLEEK looking ships, if you didn’t bother looking past the paint. Mechanical nightmares that were very nose-heavy, causing them to ride low in the water.
They were designated as “aviation cruisers” to avoid problems with the 1936 Montreaux Convention, which prohibited passage of “aircraft carriers” through the Dardanelles.
Rooskies talk a lot the last few years about military upgrades.
This boat was bragged to be refitted in 2006. All we know is that Rooskies order big new boats from Kermitville.
In action, all we've seen is the clunker armor that invaded Georgia.
yitbos
Well, as an old Cold Warrior, I for one miss it. We knew who the enemy was back then, and they were an enemy that deserved some measure of respect. And while they were a bunch of dirty commies... The Russian Navy was a worthy and proud adversary. As a sailor, they had our respect and I think we had theirs. The Russians have a long naval tradition that matches any western navy. There’s a spirit, too, among sailors across history that I think we both shared.
This new enemy has none of that honor or history. They are parasites. Mere vermin to be exterminated.
FYI The father of the Russian navy is.......Ready for this ??? John Paul Jones
I agree 100%. I believe the Iowa class were the most beautiful warships ever built...a stunning design.
Nothing else comes close.
When I lived in Subic Bay as a kid, I was an altar boy, and the chaplain used to take me around to the ships when he served Mass on them. One of them was the USS New Jersey.
What I remember best, though, was how well those sailors treated me. After Mass, they let us have breakfast, and the cook asked me what I would like, and I said: “Jelly Doughnuts!”
They brought me out a plate piled high with them! I must have eaten eight or nine of those doughnuts, and I had a pretty severe stomach ache after that!
I remember another time me and my buddy were trying to make the Marine guard move. He was standing rock still at the bottom of the gangway at parade rest with a Garand (I think, but can’t remember if it was an M-14 or not)
We would run up, poke him in the side and run away. The guy refused to even flinch or look at us...I thought it was amazing. I bet he knew he was blowing our minds...:)
Never seen that pic of Belknap. Is that Augusta? Would have been a close port to the incident.
amen, from this CW tanker...true words all.
regards,
My favorites were the Desmoine class of heavy cruisers. The Newport News, Salem, and Desmoines were really something. Automatic 8 inch guns too! Yowza!
While it's true that the Kirov class have two nuclear reactors, the also have two massive oil-fired boilers linked to a separate set of turbines and which can also propel the ship. A useful arrangement considering the Kirov herself, while operating as the Admiral Ushakov, suffered a 'minor' nuclear mishap in 1990 while in the Med and has never sailed since.
Here is a more graphic one:
That’s what killed aluminum superstructures in the Navy.
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