Stalin, along with the leadership of the Soviet Navy, wanted a ship that followed a naval doctrine focused on three priorities:
Secondary missions envisioned for this class of ship were commerce raiding[1] and political presence in the Third World, but they were considered obsolete for the missile age (in which defensive and anti-submarine resources were the priority) by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and the General Staff, who grudgingly conceded only some cruisers for limited roles as flagships in strategic and tactical naval operations. Within the Soviet Navy in 1959, leading admirals still believed that more big cruisers would be helpful in the sort of operations planned in Cuba and in support of Indonesia.
The Sverdlovs were also a threat to the British and Dutch navies, which lacked 24-hour day/night carrier capability before satellite surveillance.
The big ship threat to the Royal Navy was useful to it in justifying maintaining a conventional fleet of warships and aircraft carriers, especially for use in the North Atlantic.[2] The response was to introduce the Blackburn Buccaneer, a carrier-based strike aircraft that had the performance required to approach and attack Sverdlov-class ships at ultra-low level, using toss bombing attacks to deliver nuclear ordnance, while remaining outside the 5 km effective range of the Soviet 100mm and 37 mm (1.5 in) guns. When the building program was cut back, and the battlecruisers and carriers were cancelled, the Sverdlovs were left dangerously unprotected when operating in areas outside the cover of land-based aircraft. Their secondary mission, operating on their own as commerce raiders, was also compromised as they would be extremely vulnerable, in good weather, to USN carrier battle groups equipped with modern strike aircraft and to the remaining - and -class cruisers equipped with 8-inch guns. The Royal Navy's last - and -class gun cruisers, and the USN's - and -class destroyers, lacked the armour, range[3] and speed required to counter the Sverdlovs.
In 1954 Sverdlov class construction was cancelled by Khrushchev after 14 hulls had been completed. Two additional hulls were scrapped on the slip, and four partially complete Sverdlovs launched in 1954 were scrapped in 1959. Sverdlov class ships remained in service through the 1970s, during which they underwent a limited modernization program before finally leaving service in the late 1980s.
The only remaining ship of the class, Mikhail Kutuzov, is preserved in Novorossiysk.
At the end of the Second World War, Joseph Stalin planned a major modernization and expansion of the Soviet Navy to turn it into a global blue-water navy. Large numbers of cruisers were required to escort heavier ships and leading destroyers.[4] To speed up production, it was decided to build an improved version of the pre-war (Project 68), the Sverdlov (Project 68B) instead of a wholly new design (Project 65). The design for the Sverdlov class was formally approved on 27 May 1947.[5] [6] Some sources state that 30 Sverdlovs were initially planned, with the order being cut by five in favor of the three
Reductions in cruiser force levels were contrary to the views of Soviet Navy leadership, which insisted cruisers still provided a valuable capability to act as command ships for naval gunfire support of amphibious operations. They also thought they would provide a political presence in contested areas of the Third World, e.g. Cuba and Indonesia. Had more Sverdlovs been available at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, they would certainly have been deployed. The Soviet Navy intended to base several older Chapayev class cruisers at Cuban ports had the operation succeeded.
These ships were outclassed as surface combatants due to their lack of an anti-ship cruise missile capability. The limited modernization of those ships still in service in the 1970s relegated them to benefit as naval gunfire support platforms.[9]
The standard Soviet practice was to pass the cruisers in and out of reserve status. Most were relegated to reserve status by the early 1980s.
Today, only one of the ships remains, the Mikhail Kutuzov. It is a museum ship in Novorossiysk.
The Sverdlov-class cruisers were improved and slightly enlarged versions of the Chapayev class. They had the same main armament, machinery, and side protection as the earlier ships. Improvements included increased fuel capacity for more range, an all-welded hull, improved underwater security, and increased anti-aircraft artillery and radar.
The Sverdlov class displaced 13,600 tons standard and 16,640 tons at full load. They were 210m (690feet) long overall and 205m (673feet) long at the waterline. They had a beam of 22m (72feet) and draft of 6.9m (22.6feet) and typically had a complement of 1,250. The hull was a completely welded new design, and the ships had a double bottom for over 75% of their length. The ship also had 23 watertight bulkheads. The Sverdlovs had six boilers providing steam to two geared steam turbines generating 118100shp to their shafts. This gave the ships a maximum speed of 32.5kn. The cruisers had a range of 9000nmi at .[5]
Sverdlov-class cruisers' main armament included twelve 152abbr=onNaNabbr=on/57 caliber B-38 guns mounted in four triple Mk5-bis turrets. They also had twelve 100abbr=onNaNabbr=on/56 cal Model 1934 guns in six twin SM-5-1 mounts. For anti-aircraft weaponry, the cruisers had thirty-two 37mm anti-aircraft guns in sixteen twin mounts and were also equipped with ten 533abbr=onNaNabbr=on torpedo tubes in two mountings of five each.[5]
The Sverdlovs had 100abbr=onNaNabbr=on belt armor and had a 50abbr=onNaNabbr=on armored deck. The turrets were shielded by 175abbr=onNaNabbr=on armor and the conning tower by 150mm armor.[5]
The cruisers' ultimate radar suite included one 'Big Net' or 'Top Trough' air search radar, one 'High Sieve' or 'Low Sieve' air search radar, one 'Knife Rest' air search radar, and one 'Slim Net' air search radar. For navigational radar, they had one 'Don-2' or 'Neptune' model. For fire control purposes, the ships were equipped with two 'Sun Visor' radars, two 'Top Bow' 152 mm gun radars, and eight 'Egg Cup' gun radars. For electronic countermeasures, the ships were equipped with two 'Watch Dog' ECM systems.[5]
By the early 1960s, torpedo tubes were removed from all ships of the class. In 1957 the Admiral Nakhimov had a KSShch (NATO reporting name: SS-N-1 "Scrubber") anti-ship missile launcher installed to replace "A" and "B" turrets. The modification was designated Project 68ER. This trial installation was unsuccessful, and the ship was decommissioned and used as a target ship in 1961.[5]
Dzerzhinsky had a surface-to-air missile (SAM) launcher for the M-2 Volkhov-M missile (SA-N-2 "Guideline"), which replaced the third or "X" main gun turret in 1960–62, with the designation Project 70E.[5] [10] and no further ships were converted.[5] As the entire missile installation was above the armored deck and the missile itself, based on the S-75 Dvina (SA-2 "Guideline"), was liquid-fueled (acid/kerosene), it would have represented a serious hazard to the ship in action.
Zhdanov and Senyavin were converted to command ships in 1971 by replacing the "X" turret with extra accommodation and electronics, four twin 30 mm AK-230 guns, and a 4K33 "Osa-M" (SA-N-4 "Gecko") SAM system. Senyavin also had the "Y" turret removed to make room for a helicopter deck and hangar, and four additional AK-230 mounts installed atop the Osa-M missile system. Zhdanov and Senyavin were respectively designated Project 68U1 and Project 68U2.[5]
Oktyabrskaya Revolyutsia was refitted with an enlarged bridge in 1977, with Admiral Ushakov and Aleksandr Suvorov receiving the same modification in 1979, and later, Mikhail Kutusov. These ships had four of their 37 mm twin mounts removed, and eight 30 mm AK-230 mounts were added. These ships were designated Project 68A.[5]
| Name | Russian name | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Completed | Fate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Свердлов | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | 15 October 1949 | 5 July 1950 | 15 May 1952 | Stricken 1989 | Named after Yakov Sverdlov. On 14 February 1978, it was relegated to the reserve and stationed at Liepaya. On 30 May 1989, it was decommissioned and, in 1990, towed to Kronshtadt. In early 1991 it was sold to an Indian company for scrap, and in October 1993 towed to India and scrapped.[11] | |
| Жданов | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | 11 February 1950 | 27 December 1950 | 31 December 1952 | Stricken 1991 | Named after Andrei Zhdanov. It was converted into a command ship with the "X" turret removed, replaced by office space, and extra electronics added. It was then scrapped in 1991. | |
| Адмирал Ушаков | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | 31 August 1950 | 29 September 1951 | 8 September 1953 | Stricken 1987 | Named after Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov. Scrapped 1987 | |
| Александр Суворов | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | 26 February 1951 | 15 May 1952 | 31 December 1953 | Stricken 1990 | Named after Russian general Alexander Suvorov. Scrapped 1990. | |
| Адмирал Сенявин | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | 31 October 1951 | 22 December 1952 | 30 November 1954 | Stricken 1991 | Named after Dmitry Senyavin. Converted into a command ship with aft turrets removed and replaced by a helicopter hangar and office space, Scrapped in 1991 | |
| Дмитрий Пожарский | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | 31 March 1952 | 25 June 1953 | 31 December 1954 | To reserve 1979. | Named after patriot Dmitry Pozharsky. Stricken 1987. Sold for scrap 1990. | |
| Kronstadt | Кронштадт | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | October 1953 | 11 September 1954 | Broken up, 1961 | Named after the city of Kronstadt | |
| Tallinn | Таллинн | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | 1953 | 11 September 1954 | Broken up, 1961 | Named after the city of Tallinn | |
| Varyag | Варя́г | Baltic Shipyard, Leningrad | December 1952 | 5 June 1956 | Broken up, 1961 | Named after the Varangians, or Vikings | |
| Орджоникидзе | Admiralty Shipyard, Leningrad | 19 October 1949 | 17 September 1950 | 30 June 1952 | Broken up, 1972 | Named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze. Sold to Indonesia 1962, recommissioned KRI Irian in 1963. Sold for scrap to Taiwan in 1972. British frogman Lionel Crabb disappeared in 1956 when secretly inspecting this ship for MI6 when it was docked in Portsmouth Harbor. | |
| Александр Невский | Admiralty Shipyard, Leningrad | 30 May 1950 | 7 June 1951 | 31 December 1952 | Stricken 1989 | Named after Alexander Nevsky. Scrapped 1989 | |
| Адмирал Лазарев | Admiralty Shipyard, Leningrad | 6 February 1951 | 29 June 1952 | 30 December 1952 | Decommissioned 1986 | Named after Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. Sold for scrap 1991. | |
| Shcherbakov | Щербаков | Admiralty Shipyard, Leningrad | June 1951 | 17 March 1954 | Broken up, 1961 | Named after Soviet politician and writer Aleksandr Shcherbakov | |
| Дзержинский | 31 December 1948 | 31 August 1950 | 18 August 1952 | Stricken 1989 | Named after revolutionary and head of the first Soviet secret police Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. On 19 February 1980, she was relegated to the reserve and stationed in Sevastopol; Decommissioned on 12 October 1988; 1988-1989 scrapped at Inkerman. | ||
| Адмирал Нахимов | Nikolayev | 27 June 1950 | 29 June 1951 | 27 March 1953 | Stricken 1961 | Named after Admiral Pavel Nakhimov. Rearmed as guided missile trials ship in the late 1950s, target ship 1961 | |
| Михаил Кутузов | Nikolayev | 23 February 1951 | 29 November 1952 | 30 February 1954 | Museum ship | Named after Russian field marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. Museum ship at Novorossiysk | |
| Admiral Kornilov | Адмирал Корнилов | Nikolayev | 6 November 1951 | 17 March 1954 | Hulk PKZ 130, 1957 | Named after 19th century admiral Vladimir Kornilov | |
| (ex-Molotovsk) | Октябрьская Революция | Severodvinsk | 15 July 1952 | 25 May 1954 | 30 November 1954 | Stricken 1987 | Named after the October Revolution. Scrapped 1987 |
| Мурманск | Severodvinsk | 28 January 1953 | 24 April 1955 | 22 September 1955 | Stricken 1992 | Named after city of Murmansk. Decommissioned late 1980s. She ran aground in December 1994 at Hasvik, Norway, on her way to India to scrap | |
| Arkhangelsk | Архангельск | Severodvinsk | 1954 | Broken up, 1961 | Named after the city of Arkhangelsk | ||
| Vladivostok | Владивосток | Severodvinsk | 1955 | Broken up, 1961 | named after the city of Vladivostok | ||