One of the most impressive surface combatants of the First Cold War was the Soviet Project
1134B Berkut B-class cruiser. These ships, with the NATO reporting name Kara-class, were
the product of the Soviet Navy's policy of becoming high-sea power. The Project 1134B-class
never had the chance to prove itself in real combat. However, it managed to hold a unique
place in the hearts of naval enthusiasts. Now, we are investigating the Project 1134B-class,
the surface combatant that turns into a legend without a fight.
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The Project 1134B-class was a heavily even overly armed surface combatant. For naval
experts, it has always been a controversial issue of how much advantage such a high weapon
capacity can give it in combat. However, there is no doubt that it gave the ship an impressive
appearance. First, let's look at the process briefly,
which paved the way for the Project 1134B-class. After the Second World War, Stalin desired
to turn the Soviet Navy into a global blue-water power.
The first step of this plan was the building of the Project 68bis-class cruisers, whose
NATO reporting name is Sverdlov-class. However, having a navy that could compete
with the mighty surface fleet of the West was not economically feasible for Moskow.
So, the USSR shifted its naval investments to submarines.
The main tasks of the Soviet Navy's surface combatants remained to protect coastal and
near waters. In the same years, the USA was converting
many Second World War-vintage heavy cruisers into missile cruisers.
The USSR also followed this trend and started to equip some of the Project 68bis-class cruisers
with anti-ship and air defence missile systems. Yet, the result was far from satisfactory.
So, in the early 1960s, the Soviet Navy began to commission the Project 58-class cruisers,
whose NATO reporting name was Kynda-class. The Project 58-class was equipped with the
long-range P-5 Pyatyorka anti-ship missiles, whose NATO reporting name is SS-N-3C Shaddock.
These missiles needed over-horizon target acquisition.
But, the Project 58-class did not have suitable aviation facilities for helicopter.
So, In 1961, the USSR ceased the programme and began to work on the Project 1134-class,
whose NATO reporting name was the Kresta I-class. Its technical design was based on the hull
of the Project 58-class, which had high sea capability. But, the Project 1134-class was
heavier and longer than its predecessor. The ship had aviation facilities for organic
helicopter operations. The Project 1134-class had been designed for
the anti-surface warfare role. But, by the mid -the 1960s, NATO's ballistic
missile submarines became the main threat to the USSR.
So, the Soviet Navy began to commission the Project 1134A-class whose NATO reporting name
was Kresta II-class. However, the USSR was using a different classification for the Project
1134A-class. It was a large anti-submarine ship, not a
cruiser. The anti-surface warfare capacity of the Project 1134A-class was poor.
The Project 1134A had been designed for near water operations.
But, after a while, the new US ballistic missile nuclear submarines began to carry 16 long-range
Poseidon nuclear missiles. And, they were operating in the Philippine Sea.
In 1964, the USSR started to work on a new surface combatant whose task was to search,
detect and destroy the US nuclear ballistic missile submarines in remote areas of the
ocean. After the study phase completed, the design phase started in 1966.
This new ship, called the Project 1134B-class, was basically a modified version of the Project
1134A-class. It was bigger and heavier. Besides, this class surface combatant had many differences
from its predecessors. For example, the Project 1134B-class had additional
short-range air defence missile system. The ship was equipped with 76mm guns instead
of 57mm. The Project 1134B had gas turbines in combined
gas and gas configuration like the Project 61-class destroyers, whose NATO reporting
name is the Kashin-class. Previous Soviet cruisers had steam turbines.
The more compact combined gas and gas turbines had much more fuel efficiency. But, the complex
gas turbines of the Project 1134B could not bring the fuel economy to be expected level.
To keep cruising at high speed, the ship had to use all its gas turbines, not only the
main ones. Until those years, the Soviet Navy, which
had been operating in nearby waters, tended to ignore the comfort of its ships' living
spaces. However, the Project 1134B-class with long-endurance
changed this approach. For the first time, the Soviet Navy requested the ship to be extended
by 2 meters from its original design to provide relative comfort.
After the design finalised, the first ship of this class, Nikolayev, was laid down in
1968. She was launched one year later and commissioned in 1971. Until 1979, the Soviet
Navy commissioned additional six Project 1134B-class vessels.
The complement of the Project 1134B-class was 425-person. Its displacement was 8,530
tons. The ship has a length of 173.4 metres, a beam of 18.5 metres, and a draught of 5.74
metres. Its maximum speed was 33 knots. The ship could reach a range of 13,150 kilometres
at an economical speed of 18 knots. The Project 1134B-class had two twin B-192 launchers for
the M-11 Shtorm air defence missiles and two twin ZIF-122 launchers for the 4K33 Osa-M
air defence missile system. The ship was equipped with eight URPK-3 Metel anti-submarine warfare-missiles.
The Project 1134B-class also had two quintet-533mm torpedo tubes as well as two 12-barrel RBU-6000
and two six-barrel RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launchers. The ship was equipped with
two 76mm twin-barrel AK-726 guns and four 30mm six-barrel AK-630 close-in weapon systems.
The Project 1134B-class had good seakeeping capability. It could use its weapon systems
at the up to sea state 5. The Project 1134B-class carried a total of
80 M-11 Shtorm air defence missile, whose NATO reporting name is SA-N-3 Goblet. Its
M variant had an increased low altitude capability. The N version was effective against sea-skimming
anti-ship missiles at close range. The guidance was via UHF radio command.
The target acquisition was provided by the D-band MR-600 Voskhod 3D radar, whose NATO
reporting name is Top Sail. For tracking, the M-11 used the G/H-band Grom-M
radar, whose NATO reporting name is Head Light. The missile had 120 kilograms high-explosive
warhead. M-11's maximum effective range was 32 kilometres with a maximum speed of Mach
3.5. It was effective at an altitude of 25,000 metres.
In 1977, the aft B-192 launcher of the Azov of this class was changed vertical launching
system. Now, the ship could fire the S-300F air defence missiles, whose NATO reporting
name is SA-N-6 Grumble. Although the result was satisfactory, the S-300Fs were not deployed
on another the Project 1134B-class ships. The Soviet Navy preferred to build new cruisers
rather than modernize the existing fleet. The 4K33 Osa-M short-range air defence missiles
was also effective against surface targets. Its NATO reporting name is SA-N-4 Gecko. The
rate of fire was two missiles per minute. The reloading time of the system was about
5 minutes. Its reaction time was between 18 to 26 seconds. The 4K33 had a 19-kilogram
high-explosive fragmentation warhead. Its maximum effective range was 10 kilometres,
and its maximum effective altitude was 7,000 metres. The missile could reach a maximum
speed of Mach 2.35. The system was associated with the H-band
4R-33 fire control radar, whose NATO reporting name is Pop Group.
The Project 1134B-class carried a total of 40 4K33s.
The URPK-3 Metel, whose NATO reporting name was SS-N-14 Silex, was an anti-submarine warfare
missile that carried the AT-2U homing torpedo. It could also carry nuclear depth charges.
Its effective range was between 6 to 55 kilometres. The speed of the missile was Mach 0.95. The
URPK-3's missile flight control system was unified with the M-11 Shtorm's.
The AT-2U had a range of 8 kilometres. The torpedo's speed in search or attack mode was
25 and 40 knots, respectively. The URPK-3 Metel was not effective against
surface targets. Thanks to its 185-kilogram shaped charge warhead,
the later version of the Metel, the URPK-5 Rastrub, could be effective against surface
targets as well as submarines. The range of the ship's sonars was short.
So, the Project 1134B-class needed target acquisition data from its Ka-25 helicopter
to use its anti-submarine missiles within their maximum effective range.
The RBU-6000 anti-submarine warfare rocket launcher has an effective range of 5,230 metres
and an effective depth of 1,000 metres. The reaction time of the six-barrel RBU-1000
is 2 minutes. Its maximum effective depth is 450 metres, and its maximum effective range
is 1,000 metres. These ships used the 53-65 KE active homing
torpedoes or the SET-65 active-passive homing torpedoes.
The fire control system of the 76mm twin-barrel AK-726 gun was the MR-105 Turel, whose NATO
reporting name was Owl Screech. The gun had a five-person crew. The ammunition
feeding was provided via two round clips. Its effective range was about 13,000 metres
for air targets and 15,700 metres for surface targets. The gun had a theoretical rate of
fire of 90 round per minutes. But, after every 40 to 45-round burst, the gun had to wait
for cooling. The AK-726 was inadequate to respond to 127mm
guns of the Western warships. The AK-630 had a rate of fire of 5,000 rounds
per minute. Its effective range was about 5,000 metres.
This close-in weapon system was operated cooperating with H/I-band MR-123 Vympel fire control radar,
whose NATO reporting name is Bass Tilt. In the first production version, the feeding
belt was located in parallel with the barrels. This design could cause the jamming. Later,
the problem was solved by using a helical feeding belt with the AK-630M variant.
Within time, the Soviet Navy evaluated the modernization of the Project 1134B-class ships.
For example, it considered equipping them with the P-500 Basalt, P-120 Malachite, P-800
Onyx, or Kh-35 anti-ship missiles. Replacing the AK-726s with the 100mm AK-100s
and the 4K33s with the Kortik close-in weapon systems came to the fore. However, all these
changes were not accepted due to high costs. The Project 1134B-class cruisers served in
the Black Sea and Pacific fleets of the Soviet Navy.
Usually, they were tasked within hunter-killer anti-submarine task forces which in general,
consisted of two to four ships. These vessels also escorted the Soviet aircraft
carriers. The Soviet Navy's Black Sea Fleet operated
its Project 1134B-class ships in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean many times.
During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Nikolayev patrolled near the Egyptian coasts.
During the 1982 Lebanon War, Kerch demonstrated the military presence of the USSR in the eastern
Mediterranean. Many vessels of this class visited Cuba, France,
Greece, Italy, Syria, Turkey, and Yugoslavia for a goodwill mission.
In 1979, two cruisers of this class, Petropavlovsk and Tashkent, alongside aircraft carrier Minsk,
made the transition from Sevastopol around Africa to Vladivostok. They visited Angola,
Mozambique, and Mauritius. During Tallinn visited Mauritius, a coup d'état
attempt took place in Seychelles in 1981. The Soviet Navy send the ship to this country
to evacuate the Soviet embassy and to provide support to the government if necessary.
The world was lucky the Third World War never happened. And our luck prevented that the
Project 1134B-class proved itself in a real battle.
But, after the First Cold War ended, Ochakov of this class participated in the 2011 Russo-Ukrainian
War. However, this was a sad mission for a real warrior. She did not fight.
Ochakov was scuttled at the entrance to Donuzlav Bay to block Ukrainian Navy ships from gaining
access to the Black Sea. Although the Project 1134-class did not serve
in a real battle, it was a surface combatant of particular importance to navy enthusiasts
with its beautiful silhouette and impressive firepower. It was the symbolic name for the
Soviet Navy's opening to the high seas. These cruisers waved the red banner in many seas.
So, the Project 1134B-class deserves to be remembered as one of the naval legends.
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