It has been repeatedly noted that there was an amazing dependence in the Soviet Navy: the smaller the warship was, the more benefit it was.
It is still not clear what the heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers of the USSR Navy were. Huge ships with a displacement of under 50 thousand tons left behind only a bitter annoyance: high complexity and high cost, lack of coastal infrastructure for their basing and, in general, unclear purpose made TAVKRs ineffective and, simply put, useless - none of the tasks initially assigned to them The TAVKRs could not solve, and those tasks that were within their power were solved in much cheaper and more effective ways.
Soviet cruisers and BODs acted much more confidently. The ships carried out combat service in all corners of the oceans, were regularly in combat zones and vigilantly watched the forces of the "potential enemy". Some even managed to "touch" the enemy live: in 1988, a modest rank 2 BOD (patrol) "Selfless" with a steel squall fell on the deck of the missile cruiser USS Yorktown, demolished half of its side, a crew boat and the Mk-141 launcher for launching the Harpoon anti-ship missile system … American sailors had to postpone cruises on the Black Sea until better times.
If ships of the main classes adequately represented the interests of the USSR in the vastness of the ocean, then Soviet-built missile boats, in Internet jargon, were simply burned. In the literal sense, destroyers, transport ships, boats burned … Any enemy was allowed to flow. Small ships were actively supplied to the navies of third world countries, which further increased the likelihood of their combat use.
Sometimes it seems to me that too much importance is attached to the sinking of the destroyer "Eilat" - the missile boats have other remarkable victories. For example, the daring raids on Karachi by Indian Navy missile boats (Soviet pr. 205) in December 1970. Several Pakistani warships and three transports were sunk. In conclusion, a magnificent firework was given - P-15 rockets blew up 12 huge tanks located on the shore of an oil storage.
The development of electronics and missile technology has made it possible to create an even more formidable weapon. The evolution of missile boats in the USSR led to the creation of a completely new class of warships - the project of a small missile ship with an easy-to-remember cipher 1234.
Gadfly
A clot of combat matter with a total displacement of 700 tons. Full speed 35 knots. The cruising range in an economic way allows you to cross the Atlantic Ocean (4000 miles at 12 knots). Crew - 60 people.
It is no coincidence that MRK pr.1234 was called "a pistol at the temple of imperialism." The main caliber is six launchers of the P-120 Malachite anti-ship missiles! The name of the complex directly indicates the estimated firing range - 120 km. The starting weight of the monstrous ammunition is 5.4 tons. Warhead weight - 500 kg, some missiles were equipped with a special warhead. The cruising speed of the rocket is 0.9M.
Also, the small missile ship's armament system included:
- SAM "Osa-M" for self-defense of the ship (20 anti-aircraft missiles, effective firing range - 10 km, launcher reload time - 20 seconds. PU weight without ammunition - 7 tons).
- twin artillery system AK-725 caliber 57 mm (later replaced by 76 mm single-barreled AK-176)
- the modernized MRK pr.1234.1 were additionally equipped with a 30-mm AK-630 assault rifle installed in the rear of the superstructure.
Even with the naked eye, it is noticeable how overloaded the ship is with weapons and combat systems. As for the sober assessment of the MRK pr. 1234, the sailors were ambivalent about these ships: on the one hand, the salvo is equal in power to several Hiroshimas, on the other hand, low survivability, poor seaworthiness and very little chance of reaching the missile attack distance. The command of the US Navy was skeptical about the "missile frigates": the AUG aircraft survey 100 thousand square kilometers of space in an hour - the Russians must be very optimistic in order to expect to approach unnoticed. The situation was aggravated by the standard problem in naval combat - target designation and guidance. The own radio-electronic means of the MRK allow detecting surface targets at a distance of the radio horizon (30-40 km). Full-range missile firing is possible if external target designation means are available (for example, Tu-95RTs aircraft). And, nevertheless, the enormous power of these small ships forced even the 6th US Fleet to reckon with them. Since 1975, small missile ships have been regularly included in the 5th operational squadron of the Black Sea Fleet: numerous and ubiquitous, they created many problems for American sailors.
Despite their direct purpose - to fight the ships of the "potential enemy" in the closed seas and the near ocean zone - MRK pr. 1234 successfully performed tasks to protect the state border, provided combat training for aviation and the fleet, and were even used as anti-submarine ships, while, not having on board specialized means to combat submarines.
In total, according to project 1234, 47 small missile ships of various modifications were built: 17 according to the basic design, 19 according to the improved project 1234.1, 10 MRK in the export version of project 1234E and the only ship of project 1234.7 "Nakat" (it had installed missiles "Onyx").
In addition to the emergence of new weapon systems and jamming stations, one of the imperceptible from the outside differences between the MRK pr.1234.1 and the base version was the presence of ovens on board - now the sailors were provided with freshly baked bread.
The dimensions of the hull of the export ships of Project 1234E remained the same. The power plant consisted of three diesel engines with a capacity of 8600 liters each. s, providing a full speed of 34 knots. (on the base project there were engines with a capacity of 10 thousand hp) The crew was reduced to 49 people. For the first time, air conditioners and an additional refrigerator were installed on export versions of RTOs to improve the living conditions of the crew.
The strike armament has changed: instead of the Malachite anti-ship missile system, the ships received the P-15 anti-ship missile system in two twin launchers located on the side. In addition, to increase combat stability, two PK-16 launchers were added for passive jamming. Instead of the "Titanit" radar, the old "Rangout" radar was installed, at the same time, the impressive cap from the "Titanit" radar was retained for solidity.
All small missile ships were assigned “weather” names, traditional for heroic patrol ships of the Great Patriotic War - “Breeze”, “Monsoon”, “Fog”, etc. For this, the RTOs were called the “bad weather division”.
Results in the shooting range: Ivanov → milk, Petrov → milk, Sidorov → Petrov
Many of the P-15 missiles that have served their time ended their careers in the form of air targets to provide combat training for anti-aircraft gunners. When the rocket was transformed into a RM-15M target, the homing head was turned off on it, and the warhead was replaced with ballast. On April 14, 1987, the Pacific Fleet conducted combat training exercises to practice repelling a missile attack. Everything happened in all seriousness: MRK "Monsoon", MRK "Whirlwind" and MPK No. 117 formed an order on which missile boats fired from a distance of 21 km.
It is still not clear how this could have happened. Means of self-defense could not repel the attack, and a target missile with an inert warhead hit the superstructure of the MRK "Monsoon". Some witnesses to the tragedy had the impression that the homing head of the target missile was not disabled. This was indicated by the trajectory of the rocket and its "behavior" on the final section. Hence the conclusion was drawn: at the base they committed criminal negligence, forgetting to turn off the missile seeker. The official version says that somehow accidentally, flying along a ballistic trajectory, the missile did not hit the Monsoon MRK without aiming. Invisible hand of providence, the ship was destined to die on this day.
The rocket's propellants caused a volumetric explosion and intense fire in the interior of the ship. In the first second, the commander and most of the officers were killed, as well as the first deputy commander of the Primorsky flotilla, Admiral R. Temirkhanov. According to many experts, the reason for such a violent fire and poisonous smoke was the material from which the structures of not only the "Monsoon" are made, but also of almost all modern warships. This is an aluminum-magnesium alloy - AMG. The killer material contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. The ship was de-energized, lost internal ship and radio communications. The fire pump has stopped. Almost all hatches and doors are jammed. The fire system and irrigation systems for the bow and stern ammunition storage were destroyed. To avoid a premature explosion, the sailors managed to open the lids of the cellar with anti-aircraft missiles to reduce internal pressure.
After checking the temperature of the bulkheads in the area of the 33rd frame, behind which there was a cellar with anti-aircraft missiles, and making sure that the bulkheads were hot, the sailors realized that there was nothing to help the ship.
At night MRK "Monsoon" sank 33 miles south of about. Askold, taking the burnt bodies of 39 people to a depth of 3 kilometers.
And it could be called an accident, but apparently it turned out to be not enough once. On April 19, 1990, combat training exercises were conducted in the Baltic to practice repelling a missile attack. Under similar circumstances, the target missile hit the Meteor MRK, knocking down several antennas on the ship's superstructure. Fly a little lower - and the tragedy could repeat itself.
"Missile corvettes" in battle
During the incident in the Gulf of Sidra (1986), the American cruiser USS Yorktown (the same Black Sea "hero") discovered a small target 20 miles from Benghazi. It was the Libyan MRC "Ein Zakuit", sneaking up to the Americans in radio silence, imitating a fishing vessel. Even a short (only two turns of the antenna) radar switch on unmasked the small missile ship and thwarted the attack. The launch of two missiles "Harpoon" MRK was set on fire and sank after 15 minutes. There is still no exact description of that battle: some sources attribute the death of the MRK to the successful actions of carrier-based aircraft. Also, the Americans call another small missile ship "Vokhod" destroyed by planes. It is reliably known that in this battle another MRK "Ein Mara" suffered - he had to undergo emergency repairs with the elimination of combat damage at the Primorsky plant in Leningrad, in 1991 he returned to the Libyan fleet under the name "Tariq ibn Ziyad ".
If dear readers, on the basis of these data, have concluded that the MRK pr.1234 is weak and useless, then I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the following story.
The naval battle off the coast of Abkhazia on August 10, 2008 was the first serious military clash of the Russian Navy in the 21st century. Here is a brief chronology of those events:
On the night of August 7-8, 2008, a detachment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet sailed out of the Sevastopol Bay and headed for Sukhumi. The detachment included a large landing ship "Caesar Kunikov" with a reinforced company of marines on board, and its escort - MRK "Mirage" and a small anti-submarine ship "Muromets". Already on the march, they were joined by the large landing ship "Saratov", set off from Novorossiysk.
On August 10, five high-speed Georgian boats left the port of Poti to meet them. Their task is to attack and sink our ships. The tactics of the attack are known: fast small boats equipped with powerful anti-ship missiles suddenly strike a large landing ship and leave. In a successful scenario, the result is "shock and awe." Hundreds of dead paratroopers, a burned-out ship and Saakashvili's victorious reports: "We prevented the intervention", "The Russians do not have a fleet, they are not capable of anything." But the opposite happened. Vesti managed to collect detailed information from the participants in this battle:
18 hours 39 minutes. Russian radar reconnaissance found several high-speed naval targets heading for the formation of our ships.
18.40. The enemy boats approached a critical distance. Then from the flagship Caesar Kunikov a salvo was fired from the MLRS A-215 Grad. This does not stop the Georgians, they increase speed and try to reach the so-called "dead zone", where rocket weapons are useless. Small missile ship "Mirage" is ordered to destroy the enemy. The distance to the target is 35 kilometers. Preparation for the strike, calculations - everything was done in just a few minutes. Sea battle is always fleeting.
18.41. The commander of the Mirage gives the command "Volley!" The first rocket went to the target. A few seconds later - the second. The flight time to the Georgian boat "Tbilisi" is only 1 minute 20 seconds. The distance between the opponents is about 25 kilometers.
The first missile hit the engine room of the "Tbilisi" boat. A second later - another report - hitting the second in the wheelhouse. There was a strong illumination on the radar of our ship for 30 seconds, which means the complete destruction of the target, accompanied by a large release of thermal energy.
18.50. The commander of the Mirage gives the command to change position. The ship leaves at high speed towards the coast, makes a U-turn and again lays down on a combat course. The radar only shows 4 targets. One of them - a Georgian boat, having increased its speed, again goes to approach our ship. "Mirage" opens fire from the "Osa" air defense system.
At this time, the distance was reduced to 15 kilometers. The rocket hits the side of the Georgian boat, which immediately started to smoke, slowed down and tried to get out of the line of fire. The rest of the Georgian ships leave the battle, sharply turning in the opposite direction. "Mirage" does not pursue the knocked out enemy, there is no order to finish off.
From the report of the commander of the Mirage MRC to the flagship: “Of the five targets, one is destroyed, one is damaged, and three are out of action. Missile consumption: two anti-ship missiles, one anti-aircraft missile, no casualties among personnel. There is no damage to the ship."
As of 2012, the Russian Navy includes 10 MRK pr.1234.1 and 1 MRK pr.1234.7. Taking into account the difficult state of the Russian Navy, these modest ships are good support - their operation does not require large expenses, at the same time, they fully retained their combat qualities, which was once again confirmed by the sea battle off the coast of Abkhazia.
The main thing is not to set impracticable tasks for small missile ships; other means should be used to counter aircraft carrier strike groups.
The traditions of creating highly effective naval weapons have not been forgotten - a series of 10 small missile ships of the project 21631 "Buyan" is planned for construction in Russia. The total displacement of the new type of MRK will increase to 950 tons. The jet propeller provides a speed of 25 knots. The strike armament of the new ship will increase due to the appearance of the Universal Shipborne Firing Complex (UKSK) - 8 launch cells for launching missiles of the Caliber family. The head MRK pr.21631 "Grad Sviyazhsk" has already been launched, in 2013 it will replenish the combat strength of the Caspian Flotilla.
