As the destroyers of the navies of the world are getting bigger and bigger, the dividing line between cruisers and destroyers has gradually become blurred. However, in the navies of the second world war, the cruiser is an important ship type completely different from the destroyer. The cruisers of the navies of various countries are second only to battleships and aircraft carriers. The old Japanese navy set its heavy cruisers as flagships in many battles.
However, the Soviet Red Navy in World War II and the surface fleets of other maritime powers at that time still have a certain gap in comprehensive strength, because the shipbuilding plan before the war was suddenly interrupted. Therefore, throughout World War II, the Soviet Red Navy did not rebuild a cruiser, only relying on the Kirov-class light cruiser to survive until the end of the war.
After the end of the Second World War, various missile technologies were not yet mature and could not be put into practical use immediately. In this case, the navies of the world at that time still planned the design and construction of a number of traditional artillery warships in the early post-war shipbuilding plans, and the Soviet "Sverdlov" class cruiser was one of them. .
As the last artillery cruiser of the Soviet Red Navy, the "Sverdlov" class cruiser and its improved models have verified the design and construction technology of many cruisers for the Soviet Union. It can be said that the successful development and construction of the 14 "Sverdlov" class cruisers before and after made the subsequent development of the Soviet Red Navy guided-missile cruisers take many detours.
Therefore, this article will introduce readers to the birth and development of the "Sverdlov" class cruiser today, and let everyone know more about this last artillery cruiser in Soviet history. Clear knowledge and understanding.
The background of the birth of the "Sverdlov" class cruiser-the continuation of the feelings of the "Grand Fleet" and the realistic combat pressure
as early as 1937 , The Soviet Red Navy set the development goals of the ocean-going navy. According to the plan at the time, in addition to building the Type 23 "Soviet" class battleship, the Soviet Union would also build the Type 69 "Kronstadt" class heavy cruiser and the 68 class "Xia Boyang" class light cruiser, which was also the Soviet Red Navy. The original idea of the "Great Fleet".
In the latter part of the Second World War, after years of attrition, the Soviet Red Navy faced the few remaining heavy cruisers of the German Navy without a medium and large surface combat ship that could rival it. Can only sit and watch the German naval cruisers provide strong artillery support for the retreating German army.
After the end of the Second World War, with the disappearance of the common enemy of Germany, the relationship between the Soviet Union and its original Western allies became increasingly tense, in order to avoid encountering a situation on the Soviet land For the "Normandy" type of large-scale amphibious landing, the Soviet Union needed a powerful ocean-going naval fleet to block potential enemies from the Soviet Union.
Through the observation of the Pacific War, the Soviet Red Navy believed that the cruiser performed well in anti-ship and air defense, and could provide adequate cover for the Soviet post-war aircraft carrier under planning. After the war, the construction plan of the "large fleet" left a place for cruisers. The continuation of the feelings of the "big fleet" and the actual combat pressure formed the background of the birth of the "Sverdlov" class cruiser.
The birth of the artillery monster-the birth of the "Sverdlov" class cruiser
Considering the direct threat posed by the U.S. Navy at that time, The Soviet Red Navy did not redesign a brand-new cruiser, but directly modified it on the basis of the unfinished Type 68 cruiser before the war to design a new cruiser. Therefore, at the beginning of the project, the project code of the new cruiser was 68K.
is modified on the basis of the original Type 68 cruiser, so the standard displacement of the Type 68K cruiser is set to 11,300 tons, and the full displacement is14,100 tons, the maximum speed is 33.4 knots. However, the 17th Central Design Bureau responsible for the design work conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the cruiser performance of the naval cruisers of various countries in World War II, and believed that such performance indicators have fallen behind, so they quickly proposed the 68Bis cruiser design plan.
In order to ensure the development progress and design quality, Kusev, the chief designer of the 17th Central Design Bureau, was directly responsible for the design of the 68Bis cruiser. Kusev made major changes to the original 68K design, and additionally strengthened the air defense capabilities of the new cruiser, and decided to use the all-welded manufacturing process on the 68Bis cruiser. The length of the
68Bis cruiser was increased to 210 meters, the width of the ship was increased to 22 meters, and the standard displacement and full load displacement were increased to 16,000 tons and 17,200 tons respectively. From the appearance point of view, the overall size is larger than the 68K type. . In order to improve the seaworthiness in the ocean-going combat environment, the 68Bis cruiser adopts a long bow single-piece ship type, and the bow structure is extended to 3/4 of the length of the ship, which greatly increases the space for activities inside the ship, and a large number of equipment and personnel activities. They are all arranged inside the ship, which is conducive to normal operations in severe sea conditions.
High speed and long range is another major design feature of the 68Bis cruiser. 6 KV-68 oil-fired boilers and 2 TB-72 steam turbines provide 124,600 for the 68Bis cruiser. The surging power of horsepower, combined with the slender ship, allowed the 68Bis cruiser to reach a maximum speed of 32.7 knots. If sailing at a speed of 16 knots, the maximum range can reach 9,000 nautical miles, and when it is increased to 32 knots, it will be reduced to 2,700 nautical miles.
Because in the preset fleet battle, the 68Bis cruiser wants to occupy a favorable battle position for the main fleet of the Soviet Red Navy and needs to actively contain the enemy’s battleship firepower, so the armor is also strengthened Protection level. The 68Bis type cruiser is equipped with a 100 mm uniform steel armor belt at the waterline, and the thickness of the weather deck is 50 mm, and a wooden deck is laid on the surface of the weather deck. The protection of the command structure and the turret has been specially strengthened, with armor thicknesses of 130 mm and 175 mm, respectively.
In terms of armament, the main offensive weapons of the 68Bis cruiser are large-caliber naval guns and torpedoes. The bow and stern of the ship are equipped with two triple 152mm turrets in a backpack, and a total of 12 152mm guns provide it with powerful salvos. The B-38 type 152 mm artillery barrel length is 57 times the diameter, and it can deliver shells to a distance of up to 30 kilometers at a maximum rate of fire of 7.5 rounds. In the air defense state, this type of naval gun also has a maximum firing height of 8,900 meters, which can strike the mainstream horizontal bombers at that time.
torpedo weapons are arranged on both sides of the rear of the bridge, with a five-unit 533 mm heavy torpedo launcher on each side, which can launch PTA-53 heavy anti-ship torpedoes. However, as the Soviet Red Navy later discovered that the effects of torpedoes in the decisive battle of the fleet were limited, all torpedo launchers were subsequently dismantled.
As a gun cruiser specially enhanced for air defense firepower, the 68Bis cruiser, in addition to 12 152mm main guns that can perform air defense tasks, is also equipped with 3 double-mounted SM-5-1s on each side. Type double-mounted 100mm high-level dual-purpose naval gun. The gun has a 56-caliber caliber, a maximum range of 24.2 kilometers, a maximum firing height of 7000 meters, and a limit rate of fire of 18 rounds per minute. It can be used with a 152 mm naval gun to perform medium and long-range air defense missions.
was severely hit by the Luftwaffe dive bombers in World War II, the 68Bis cruiser deployed strong short-range air defense firepower. A total of 16 B-11M 37mm rapid-fire guns are deployed on the ship. The rapid-fire gun technology is derived from the Swedish "Bofors" anti-aircraft gun. The maximum rate of fire is 180 rounds per minute, the maximum height of fire is 3000 meters, and the farthest to the air. With a range of 6,700 meters, it is responsible for the last air defense combat mission of the warship.
Benefited from the recovery and development of the Soviet radar industry after the war, the 68Bis cruiser also installed a large number of radar and fire control equipment. A "high screen"/"low screen" sea search radar is installed on the front mast, and a "Seagull" air search radar and a "Don 2" navigation radar are installed on the rear mast. There are many types of air search radars. In addition to the "Seagull", the "top slot", "tool holder", and "fine mesh" air search radars have been used respectively.
But there are more types of fire control equipment used in various types of naval guns. A KDP-2-8 III shooting commander is installed above the bridge, which is used for 152 mm Naval guns provide accurate shooting data. A "dome" anti-air command instrument is installed on both sides of the hull, which can provide anti-air shooting data for all naval guns. As a backup, an "egg cup" gun sight radar is also installed on the right side of each SM-5-1 twin turret.
Of course, the fire control equipment of the 68Bis cruiser is not static. With the development of the Soviet Red Navy’s near-defense technology for ships, some 68Bis cruisers have been installed with the AK-230 in the future. 30mm rapid-fire gun and its matching "top bow" gun sighting radar.
More interestingly, the 68Bis cruiser is not named after the first ship. The first ship of the 68Bis cruiser was the "Dzerzhinsky" built at the Nikolaev Marti factory in the Black Sea on December 21, 1948. The 68Bis cruiser was named "Sverdlov" class because its No. 2 ship "Sverdlov" was completed faster than the first ship.
In June 1953, the "Sverdlov" participated in the international ship review held in the UK. However, at this time the missileization of battleships has begun to show its signs. The "Sverdlov" class cruisers, which use artillery and torpedoes as their main attack methods, are facing the risk of becoming obsolete soon after their birth.
The last glory of the traditional cruiser-the "Sverdlov" class cruiser behind the times
The Love-class cruiser quickly became the favorite ship of the Soviet leaders when they were visiting. However, under the impact of new and changing technologies, the "Sverdlov" class cruiser quickly exposed its shortcomings and became the most beautiful "old-era cruiser".
With the completion and commissioning of the last ship "Murmansk" of the "Sverdlov" class cruiser, 14 "Sverdlov" class cruisers began their own operations Different destiny. Thanks to its huge displacement and wide hull space, the Soviet Red Navy began to verify relevant anti-ship missile technology and ship-borne air defense missile technology on some "Sverdlov" class cruisers.
For example, "Admiral Nasimov" carried out SM-58 anti-ship missile loading test, "Dzerzhinsky" carried out anti-aircraft missile loading test, and other ships also started Replace with different radar equipment and fire control equipment to further enhance combat capabilities.
However, one of the "Sverdlov"-class cruisers had a miserable end, the "Ordzhonikidze". The ship was transferred to the Indonesian Navy in August 1962 as Soviet support to Indonesia. However, due to the poor quality of the Indonesian navy, the ship lost its combat capability in 1963. Although the Soviet Union later repaired the Indonesian Navy for free, it quickly lost its combat effectiveness and was finally demolished in 1972.
"Sverdlov" class cruiser, as the last artillery cruiser of the Soviet Union, can be said to be a masterpiece of traditional cruiser design. However, the success and failure of this class of ships is also traditional. Under the fast-coming trend of missileization, the "Sverdlov" class cruiser armed with heavy artillery and wearing cold armor is more like an outdated heavy armored knight.It is no longer suitable for the new naval battle situation after the war.
