The process of creating aircraft-carrying ships in the USSR took place in difficult conditions of a struggle of opinions in the circles of the country's military and political leadership. Therefore, the first in the class of aircraft-carrying ships - the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser (TAKR) of the project 1143 "Kiev" had limited tasks and was created as an anti-submarine ship with giving it the functions of a missile cruiser in the development of anti-submarine cruisers of the project 1123 with group-based aviation of the "Moscow" type.
The lead anti-submarine cruiser with aircraft weapons "Kiev" was laid down at the Black Sea shipyard in Nikolaev on July 21, 1970, launched on December 26, 1972, and handed over to the fleet on December 28, 1975.
An event in the fleet was the first arrival in Sevastopol of the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Kiev" after its construction at the Black Sea plant in Nikolaev and the end of mooring tests there. The place in the area of Ugolnaya and fifth barrels was prepared in advance. But first, the cruiser settled in the outer roadstead. It was guarded by at least two ships of the 30th division, including the entire security and defense system of the 68th brigade of ships for the protection of the water area (OVR).
In September, the division headquarters was given the task of preparing and conducting a "Special tactical exercise with the aircraft carrier" Kiev "to identify the tactical properties of the ship." Vladimir Samoilov, then the first deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet), was appointed head, his deputy was the division commander, and the headquarters of the 30th division was the headquarters for the development of the plan of the exercise itself, its stages and episodes, assignments to the forces, and the writing of reports.
The division headquarters under my leadership moved to the ship, and we were cut off from the division's affairs for almost a month. In terms of the exercise, it was necessary to correctly build relations with the government testing commission, which was headed by Yevgeny Volobuev, first deputy commander of the Northern Fleet (SF).
Having planned individual episodes of the exercise and linking them to a single tactical background, we carried out the entire necessary cycle of preparation and managed to enter the preparatory exercise twice. We took some combat crews from the ships of the permanent readiness division (operators of the VO, air defense radar, acousticians, artillerymen, BIPovtsev). Of course, there were certain inconsistencies in this exercise: the factory ship sailed in a single formation with ships of constant readiness, and even carried out combat exercises at the level of tasks K-3 and S-1. A serious issue was that, simultaneously with the state tests of weapons, automated systems for controlling the formation, mutual information exchange, etc. were tested, for which warrant ships with the same systems were needed. “Totally” mobilized everyone who had this technique.
On October 13-14, a planned special tactical exercise was held at the exit to sea. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Nikolai Khovrin, also arrived on the ship. He had to listen to four sides: Yevgeny Volobuev, division commander Yuri Stadnichenko, commander of the 70th brigade, who commanded other ships and, of course, the plant. All combat crews from the ships of the division were allowed and tactically (who can and when to shoot), we were all well prepared. The exercise was held in accordance with the developed documents, all the "contours" of the ship were worked out. After the exercise, the cruiser departed again to Nikolaev at the plant. And the experience gained in this exercise was useful to the division headquarters later, because subsequently Kiev arrived in Sevastopol more than once and was immediately subordinated to the 30 division headquarters.
On December 28, 1975, an act of state acceptance of the anti-submarine, as it was then called, cruiser "Kiev" was signed into the Navy. Behind this was the enormous work of the entire Black Sea Fleet, and the headquarters of the 30th division declared its priority in the development of a new generation aircraft carrier.
SEE FOR THE CHIEF
One of the significant events in the first half of 1976 was the holding of an exhibition of ships, modern weapons and military equipment in Sevastopol under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The highlight of the show was the aircraft carrier "Kiev" with its technical equipment and aviation complex. The newest ships and auxiliary vessels of the Navy were concentrated on Minnaya and Kurinnaya, and the latest equipment, instruments, various kinds of devices of all directorates and departments of the Navy were placed in large inflatable rubberized tents. After a three-day familiarization of the participants with the coastal unit, it was planned to conduct a naval unit: going out to sea on the aircraft carrier "Kiev" with a demonstration of modern ships and aircraft when they perform combat exercises and specific tasks. Planned taking into account the closure of the area of action of forces of up to 55 ships and aircraft. The division was ready to conduct an exit to the sea under the leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy aboard an aircraft-carrying cruiser. There were 10 planes and 12 helicopters on "Kiev".
The deployment of forces began on the night of May 5-6. However, at dawn, when some of the ships were already at sea, the area of the exercise was covered with thick fog. Such a grandiose event was threatened with disruption. Everyone was concerned about the observance of security measures. The division was responsible for these issues, since it was she who organized the naval unit. Its commander, Yuriy Stadnichenko, was on the bridge next to the commander-in-chief, and I was downstairs at the Kiev center. By all means and methods, we obtained the situation. But, since the area of the exercise covered almost the entire western part of the Black Sea, obtaining the situation was extremely difficult. Although all shipping companies and other civilian departments confirmed the ban on sailing in the area on that day, the situation had to be checked and constantly ensured that the area was clean. The main thing is that no one was going to either postpone or cancel the planned teaching.
Looking ahead, I want to say that the teachings were still successful. All aviation flights from Kiev and rocket firing were carried out. And not because the fog cleared away after three hours, but because it was planned to show the participants of the training camp the Tu-142 strategic anti-submarine aircraft, which was based in the 33rd Naval Combat Use Center in Nikolaev. It was raised four hours earlier relative to the time of H and, being in the area, began to give us the maritime situation, which we immediately plotted on the tablets and instruments of the "Root" system. As it turned out later, the plane was piloted by the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Deineka.
I remember the last episode of the exercise at sea: a huge Tu-142 aircraft with rotating propellers of four engines at an altitude of 100 m, about 50 m from the cruiser "island" on the counter course passed next to us, which made all the participants in the launch to the sea indescribable delight. The final analysis, which was conducted by Sergei Gorshkov himself, passed in a calm manner, since the main thing in all these issues was, of course, the naval unit.
JOINT SAVING
A memorable event was the joint voyage of two Soviet aircraft carriers, "Kiev" and "Minsk", in the Mediterranean in 1978 and an exercise to combat enemy aircraft carrier groups. The helicopter carrier "Moskva" with escort ships acted as the enemy aircraft carrier multipurpose group (AMG). For the first time from "Kiev" a group of planes, consisting of eight Yak-38s, struck at the "enemy's AMG".
In January 1980, sailing under the flag of the Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy, Georgy Yegorov, took place in the Black Sea. Egorov, at the direction of Gorshkov, conducted an operational gathering in Sevastopol. The key event of this gathering was the exit to the sea of the aircraft carrier "Kiev" and the demonstration of the organization of the oncoming engagement of naval strike groups using aviation and cruise missiles. Despite the fact that the assembly was attended by all the commanders of the fleets, the situation was calm. The headquarters of the 30th division, located on the aircraft carrier, was the organizer of this battle and "played" against the Naval Academy, whose representatives were stationed on the anti-submarine cruiser (ASC) "Leningrad", headed by a talented sailor Rear Admiral Lev Vasyukov. In the development of this battle, an anti-aircraft battle of the formation of ships guarded by the aircraft carrier "Kiev" was shown. All targets were shot down by the ships of the division, and they had to shoot through the ships of the order. The withdrawal of combat readiness number 1 has not yet been sounded, Sergei Gorshkov himself called Kiev. When I was on the bridge, Georgy Yegorov reported the results of this battle to the commander-in-chief by telephone. He reported exceptionally competently according to the express analysis scheme, which I handed him right into his hands almost immediately after the shooting. The commander-in-chief was satisfied.
DEMONSTRATION OF THE POWER OF THE ARMY AND THE NAVY
In 1981, the Zapad-81 exercise was planned, where the Soviet Union "flapped its weapons" and once again showed NATO the power of its army and navy. The Black Sea Fleet also took part in a number of episodes. For the first time, "Kiev" was supposed to come to this exercise in the Baltic. The ship once again arrived in Sevastopol. The headquarters of the Northern Fleet brigade, where the ship entered, instantly disappeared (this was always the case, by the way), and we were ordered to prepare the aircraft carrier for the upcoming exercise. This meant unloading, taking it to Nikolaev, establishing control over its repair at the Black Sea plant, bringing it back, loading it, measuring the fields, checking it and sending it to the Baltic.
The commander of the Black Sea Fleet took all questions regarding the preparation of the cruiser for the exercise under personal control, because, as always, the deadlines were tight. Personally, he said to me: "You are responsible for the preparation of Kiev with your head!" It was not the first time that the headquarters of the 30th division had such a load, and most importantly, the Black Sea Fleet by that time had a well-developed rear. Everything that was tied to it was solved quickly and with a fairly high quality.
We prepared "Kiev" for training in the Baltic Fleet, and for the first time such a whopper went to the Baltic.
Our division was instructed to prepare for these exercises its detachment with the flagship of the RCC "Leningrad". We also carefully prepared it together with two large anti-submarine ships of project 61 and two patrol ships of project 1135. The load on the division was very high, because one of the brigades was already in combat service. Every week, arriving at the headquarters of the fleet with all the schedules and supporting documents, I reported to the fleet commander on the progress of preparations for the "Kiev" and the detachment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet.
After complete unloading, the aircraft carrier under my command left for Nikolaev at night. Passing the fourth barrels, where the cruiser "Admiral Ushakov" (Project 68-bis) was stationed, from the height of the aircraft carrier's bridge, we felt a big difference with the veteran of the fleet in everything, from size to missile armament and radar antennas.
Early in the morning, when entering the Bugsko-Dnestrovsky estuary canal, the weather was good, and by evening the aircraft carrier was moored to the wall of the plant, where the necessary repairs were carried out.
At the control exit of the ship under my direction, before leaving for the Baltic, the cruiser approached the complex supply vessel Berezina very nicely. This was done in the shortest possible time at a speed of the "Berezina" of 14 knots. All the "roads" were quickly provided for the acceptance of supplies to the cruiser by the traverse method. Two more ships approached from the starboard side of the Berezina and along its stern. Photographs of this order went around the entire fleet and the whole country.
August 1, 1981 TAKR "Kiev" anchored in the outer roadstead of Baltiysk. After a while, the cruiser "Leningrad" arrived there with security. As for the operational necessity, the arrival of such ships in the Baltic did not make sense, although from the point of view of display, the goal was achieved. All the defense ministers of the Warsaw Pact countries visited the "Kiev". Cuban Defense Minister Raul Castro was also there.
The West-81 exercise was successful. Its results, the actions of the forces, including during the naval unit, were replicated by the media. The ships of the 30th division solved their task, then returned safely to Sevastopol. In addition to showing combat exercises, Sergei Gorshkov, using the moment, presented the minister with further proposals for promising aircraft-carrying ships, and Dmitry Ustinov allowed the displacement of the fifth aircraft-carrying ship to be increased by 10 thousand tons in comparison with the fourth "Baku" under construction, which made it possible to take on board horizontal take-off aircraft … It was a real breakthrough.
On June 6, 1985, the crew of the first Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev was awarded the Red Banner Flag and the Order of the Red Banner.
Unfortunately, "Kiev" was decommissioned before the deadline, having served only a full 19 years and held out longer than other aircraft carriers. This happened in the Northern Fleet at the 35th shipyard on August 28, 1994, when the command was heard on the cruiser for the last time: "Flag, jack, top flags and color flags - lower!"
On May 25, 2000, the ship began to move to the Chinese coast, ostensibly for scrap. It is now located in Tianjin City, where it is used as an entertainment center.
