Kara class Cruiser

Kara class Cruiser
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Origin (Real World):
Soviet Union

Games Featured In:
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

Operators:
New Russian Federation

Overview:
The Kara-class was a further development of the the Kresta-II design, with gas-turbines replacing the steam plants of the previous classes, resulting in major modifications to the layout of the midships section. Although larger than the Kresta-II cruiser and with significant anti-air and anti-submarine capabilities, these ships are classified as destroyers rather than cruisers by the Russian Navy.There is considerable disagreement among various sources as to the construction chronology of the units of this class. The fourth unit was modified during construction as a test ship for the SA-N-6 SAM system, which replaced the aft SA-N-3 SAM system. Sources disagree as to the current status of this unit.

As of 2004, only one ship [the Kerch, which was the Russian Black Fleet flagship until 1997] remained in service. At that time the ship had just completed a four year refit, during which time there were questions as to whether it was deployable.

As of early 2001 work slowly continued at Sevastopol on the Ochakov, which had not operated since the early 1990s. In mid-2008 the official newspaper of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) reported that the large anti-submarine ship (BPK) "Ochakov", which has just finished repairs, could become the flagship of the BSF instead of the cruiser "Moskva". "This project 1134B BPK (Kara class), designed more than 40 years ago, had entered the 21st Century with a millennial overhaul with the aim of extending its service life 15-20 years. This is an unprecedented event for the fleet." Intermediate repairs began at the end of the 1980s, however, with the breakup of the Soviet Union, they were never finished. Additionally a serious fire in 1993 significantly complicated the technical condition of the "Ochakov".

Ochakov, a fortified town and port of Russia, in the government of Kherson, 41 m. E. of Odessa, on a cape of the Black Sea, at the entrance to the estuary of the Dnieper, and opposite to Kinburn. Pop. (1897), 10,784. Strong fortifications have been built at Ochakov and on the Kinburn promontory, to protect the entrance to the Dnieper. Ochakov stands close to the site of the old Miletan (Greek) colony of Olvia and the Greek colony of Alektor. The fortress of Kara-kerman or Ozu-kaleh was built on this spot by the khan of the Crimea, Mengli Girai, in 1492. At a later date it became the centre of a Turkish province which included Khaji-dereh (Ovidiopol), Khaji-bey (Odessa), and Dubossary, as well as some 150 villages. Russia, regarding it as the main obstacle to the possession of the Black Sea littoral, besieged it in 1737, when it was captured by Marshal Miinnich, but in the following year it was abandoned, and in 1739 restored to Turkey. The second siege by Russia was begun in 1788, and lasted six months, until the fortress was stormed and taken, after a terrible loss of life. By the peace of 1791 it became Russian. In 1855 it was bombarded by the Anglo-French fleet, and after that the Russians demolished the fortifications.

Seven vessels of this class were built. Both surviving Kara-class destroyers, having undergone extensive refits in the 2004 timeframe, might be expected to remain in service through the 2020 timeframe, but the are rather elderly designs, consigned to the low-threat Black Sea environment. One source reports that only the RFS Kerch remained in service as of 2006, having been largely eclipsed by the newer Udaloy class destroyer. The Ochakov remained nominally on the active list, but had not been to sea in many years, its repair budget diverted to maintain Kerch. The positive experience of the mastery of gas-turbine units aboard the ships of Project 61, and also the potential possibilities of their producer - Southern- turbine plant ([YUTZ]), officially available [NPO] "Zarya" - from one side, and at the same time the overloading of the main producer of steam turbines for the surface ships - Kirov plant in Leningrad - with another, almost unambiguously prompted or dictated the solution about one additional correction of project 1134 "Golden Eagles", now already under another power engineering - gas-turbine. The design of the gas-turbine version BPK, which received the number of project 1134- B (chief designer and main observing they remained before - [V].[F].[Anikiev] and the captain of 2 ranks Of [o].[T].[Safronov]) was conducted practically simultaneously with the works on [pr].1134- A. Tactical-technical task for the project "Golden eagle- B" was given out to northern PKB still in 1964. The correction of the design of ship with the boiler and turbine installation under the gas-turbine indicates its cardinal or complete processing, since the discussion deals with change in the articles of load and volumes, not to mention to architecture. The gas-turbine unit more easily OF [KTU], but volumes for the arrangement requires more, mainly because of the developed flues.