The main headquarters of the USSR Navy was pierced with slippery tentacles of terror: the commander-in-chief saw the nuclear aircraft carrier "Enterprise" everywhere, officers threw themselves out of the windows in panic shouting "Aircraft carriers are coming!" A pistol shot clicked - the deputy chief of the General Staff shot himself in his office, information about the laying of new Nimitz-class aircraft carriers is coming from the United States …
If you believe the "journalistic investigations" of recent years, then the Soviet Navy was only engaged in chasing after American aircraft carrier groups, for which it built packs of "aircraft carrier killers" - special surface and submarine ships designed to destroy the Enterprise, " Nimitzs”,“Kitty Hawks”and other floating airfields of the“potential enemy”.
Needless to say, the strike aircraft carrier Enterprise is a noble goal. Large, with a huge combat potential. But it is very vulnerable - sometimes one unexploded missile of 127 mm caliber is enough for an aircraft carrier to "exit the game". But what will happen if a fiery barrage of fifty 100 and 152 mm rounds falls on the Enterprise's flight deck? - a Soviet cruiser in line of sight tirelessly keeps an aircraft carrier at gunpoint. Constant tracking of the "probable enemy" is an indispensable attribute of peacetime. And it no longer matters that the combat radius of the deck "Phantoms" is ten times greater than the firing range of the old cruiser cannons - in the event of a war, the first move will be for the gunners.
The cheerful cruiser pr. 68-bis is just a warm-up. Real trump cards are hidden in the sleeve of the Soviet commanders-in-chief - the nuclear submarines of projects 949 and 949A, Tu-22M missile carriers, space reconnaissance systems and ultra-long-range anti-ship missiles. There is a problem - there is a solution.
But the Soviet fleet also had Real Problems. After all, it is no coincidence that most of the surface forces of the USSR Navy were classified as "Large anti-submarine ships." The Soviet leadership understood perfectly well who was the main threat - one "George Washington" with SLBM "Polaris" could do more damage than a thousand aircraft carriers "Enterprise".
Quite right, dear reader, the USSR Navy was focused primarily on the search and fight against enemy nuclear submarines. Especially with the "city killers" carrying long-range ballistic missiles. The ocean surface was continuously scanned by the Il-38 and Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft, the underwater killers of projects 705 and 671 scoured the water column, and the legendary BODs - Soviet cruisers and destroyers focused on performing anti-submarine missions - were on duty at the anti-submarine lines.
Singing frigates
A series of twenty * Soviet patrol ships of the early 60s, later classified as BOD. The world's first combat ships with a gas turbine power plant designed for all modes of operation.
Project 61 became an important stage in the domestic shipbuilding - for the first time a ship with an aluminum hull and a gas turbine was created. Two anti-aircraft missile systems, universal artillery, rocket depth charges and deep-sea torpedoes - a small glorious ship could use its weapons even in a storm: the sharp "snub-nosed" hull contours allowed the BOD to easily go against any wave.
There were also disadvantages: the sailors complained about the high noise in the cockpits - the powerful roar of gas turbines penetrated into every room, making service on the BOD pr. 61 a rather unpleasant event. But the issue with the survivability of the ship was much more serious - the fears were confirmed in 1974, when the Otvazhny BPK died on the roadstead of Sevastopol - after the explosion of the missile cellar, fire quickly spread through the ship, destroying flimsy bulkheads made of aluminum-magnesium alloy AMG on its way.
However, some circumstances make it possible to disagree with the statement about the low survivability of the "singing frigates" - 480 kg of explosives and six tons of gunpowder detonated in the Otvazhny's aft cellar, but the small ship continued to fight the fire for 5 hours.
Until now, one ship of this type is listed in the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy.
Large anti-submarine ships of project 1134A (code "Berkut-A")
A series of ten BODs built between 1966 and 1977. for the USSR Navy. Just good ships, without any special frills. Provided the Soviet naval presence in the World Ocean, regularly served in the Atlantic, in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Provided military and political support to "friendly" regimes, patrolled in zones of military conflicts, deployed submarine strategic missile carriers of the USSR Navy to combat positions, provided combat training for the fleet, took part in firing and naval exercises. In a word, they did everything that a warship was supposed to do during the Cold War.
Anti-submarine cruisers of project 1123 (code "Condor")
The anti-submarine cruisers "Moscow" and "Leningrad" became the first aircraft carriers (helicopter carriers) of the USSR Navy. The reason for the appearance of these large ships was the appearance on alert of American strategic missile carriers of the "George Washington" type - 16 "Polaris A-1" ballistic missiles with a flight range of 2,200 km pretty much frightened the leadership of the USSR.
The result was a "hybrid" with powerful missile weapons, the entire stern of which was a runway with an extended under-deck hangar. To detect enemy submarines, in addition to 14 Ka-25 helicopters, there was an Orion sub-keel sonar and a towed Vega sonar station on board.
Project 1123 is not a BOD, but based on the purpose of the anti-submarine cruiser and its armament, it has the right to occupy a place among the same “large anti-submarine ships” - an extremely vague definition that encompasses ships of the USSR Navy of various sizes and characteristics.
The main drawback of "Moscow" and "Leningrad" became clear already during the first combat services on anti-submarine lines. Only 4 helipads (the space of the flight deck where takeoff and landing operations can be carried out) and 14 helicopters turned out to be too few to provide a round-the-clock anti-submarine patrol over a given area of the ocean. In addition, by the time the lead helicopter-carrying cruiser Moskva entered service, the US Navy received a new Polaris A-3 ballistic missile with a firing range of 4,600 km - the area of combat patrols of the Washington and Eten Allenov expanded, which made countering strategic missile carriers is an even more difficult task.
Anti-submarine cruisers served for almost thirty years as part of the USSR Navy, made numerous visits to ports of friendly states … Cuba, Angola, Yugoslavia, Yemen. The anti-submarine cruiser "Leningrad" was the flagship of a detachment of ships of the USSR Navy during the demining of the Suez Canal (1974).
Both cruisers were part of the Black Sea Fleet. "Leningrad" after two major overhauls ended service in 1991, and "Moscow" was withdrawn to the reserve in 1983, and decommissioned in 1997.
Patrol ships of project 1135 (code "Petrel")
A series of 32 patrol ships (until 1977 were classified as BODs of rank II) to solve a wide range of tasks to provide anti-submarine and air defense of ship formations in open sea areas and the littoral zone, escort convoys in areas of local armed conflicts and protect territorial waters.
Project 1135 differed from its predecessors not only in its elegant appearance, but also in its solid armament, the latest means of detecting enemy submarines, and a high level of automation - the Burevestniki brought anti-submarine defense to a qualitatively new level. The successful design provided them with a long active service in all fleets of the USSR Naval Forces, and two of them still remain in the Russian Navy.
Objectively, due to the weakness of the air defense and the lack of a helicopter, the Burevestnik lost in capabilities to its famous peers - the American frigates Knox and Oliver H. Perry. But the circumstances are such that the US Navy remembers "Petrel" much better than its "Knox" and "Perry" - in 1988 the patrol ship "Selfless" rudely forced the missile cruiser "Yorktown" out of Soviet territorial waters. The patrol boat broke the crew boat and the Harpoon anti-ship missile launcher for the American ship, tore the skin in the superstructure area, deformed the helipad and demolished all the railing on the port side.
Large anti-submarine ships of project 1134-B (code "Berkut-B")
Constellation of seven large anti-submarine ships of the USSR Navy. Large ocean-going BODs with tremendous combat potential - anti-submarine rocket torpedoes, four anti-aircraft missile systems, universal and rapid-fire artillery, depth charges and an anti-submarine helicopter. Outstanding seaworthiness, cruising range of 6,500 miles - enough for the passage from Murmansk to New York and back. "Bukari" (as 1134-B was affectionately called in the fleet) were indeed the best BODs in the Soviet navy, the most balanced in terms of characteristics and most fully consistent with the tasks of the Navy.
Most of the BOD pr. 1134-B served in the Pacific Ocean. Combined into several anti-submarine groups, "Boukari" continuously "combed" the Philippine Sea, where there was an area of combat patrols by American strategic submarines preparing to launch a missile strike on the Far East and Siberia.
There were big plans for the modernization of the BOD pr. 1134-B - the modernization potential of the ships made it possible to mount on board the new Rastrub-B anti-submarine missile system and even the S-300 long-range anti-aircraft system! As an experiment, one of the BODs of this type - "Azov" received instead of the aft SAM "Storm" two underdeck launchers and the fire control system of the S-300F air defense missile system - it turned out perfectly. In the long term, the shipyard of the USSR Navy could replenish unique BODs, whose foreign counterparts would appear only 10 years later. But alas …
Large anti-submarine ships of project 1155 (code "Udaloy")
"Udaloy" was a mistake of the leadership of the Soviet Navy.
No, at first glance, the Project 1155 BOD is a real masterpiece of shipbuilding, equipped with a 700-ton Polynom sonar system, a multi-channel Kinzhal air defense system to repel massive attacks by anti-ship missiles, two helicopters and a whole range of naval weapons - from universal artillery to homing torpedoes.
"Brave" would have become an undoubted masterpiece … if it had not been for its predecessor - 1134-B. Compared to the "Bukar", BOD pr. 1155 turned out to be a step backward.
Because of the 30-meter fairing of the GAS "Polynom", the driving performance and seaworthiness of the new ship were seriously affected - the complex turned out to be too heavy for a modest BOD. Of course, the Polynom gave great opportunities in terms of detecting enemy nuclear submarines, which it spotted at a distance of up to 25 miles, which to some extent compensated for the deterioration in the seaworthiness of the Udaliy. But a much more serious drawback was the complete absence of medium or long-range air defense systems - the "Dagger" had a firing range of only 6, 5 miles and could only fight anti-ship missiles, but not their carriers.
The rest of the BOD project 1155 was a remarkable ship with a noble forecastle line and powerful anti-submarine weapons. In total, before the collapse of the USSR, the fleet managed to receive 12 large anti-submarine ships of this type.
In the 90s, only one BOD was built according to the modified project 11551 - the only representative of this project, Admiral Chabanenko, retained all the advantages of pr.1155, but additionally received an AK-130 artillery system, Kortik anti-aircraft systems and Moskit anti-ship missiles.
Conclusion
The aforementioned 90 large anti-submarine ships and anti-submarine cruisers are just the "tip of the iceberg" of the anti-submarine defense system of the USSR Navy. There was a whole system of basic patrol aircraft with hundreds of anti-submarine aircraft and helicopters. Ordinary trawlers with unusual trawls plowed the ocean expanses - camouflaged anti-submarine patrols with a multi-kilometer low-frequency antenna stretching behind the stern (try to prove that this is not a trawl!) Frayed a lot of nerves to American sailors.
Fantastic projects have been developed, such as the Project 1199 Anchar nuclear power plant. Moreover, all four heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers of Project 1143 carried a squadron of anti-submarine helicopters on their decks and had on board a solid anti-submarine weapon system (the grandiose SJSC Polynom and anti-submarine missiles “Vikhr” with nuclear warheads). So, contrary to the well-known myth, during the passage through the Bosphorus, the Soviet sailors did not deceive the Turkish representatives at all, calling their aircraft-carrying cruisers anti-submarine ships.
By the way, the US Navy developed in exactly the same scenario - the Americans were afraid to death of Soviet submarines, which is why they planned the ship composition of their fleet at the rate of "one frigate for one Russian boat." Worldwide sonar system SOSUS for tracking submarines, FRAMM programs for converting hundreds of obsolete destroyers into anti-submarine ships, huge series of anti-submarine frigates "Knox" and "Oliver H. Perry", unique destroyers of the "Spruance" class with hypertrophied anti-submarine weapons, but no systems zonal air defense - just American "twins" BOD pr. 1155 "Udaloy".
It remains to add that the idea of a "large anti-submarine ship" died with the advent of sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles with a range of 10,000 km. From now on, strategic missile carriers could launch missiles from the territorial waters of their state.
