The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is the only aircraft carrier in service in Russia. This is the only Russian aircraft carrier that bears the proud name of the invincible Soviet Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy - Admiral Nikolai Gerasimovich Kuznetsov. The ship is unique, it is both a cruiser and an aircraft carrier, hence the name - the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov". If not for a number of reasons, then there would be a lot of aircraft-carrying ships, which would allow changing the balance of power on the planet.
The history of the Russian aircraft carrier - the pride of the Russian fleet
The project under the code 1143.5 ("Admiral of the Fleet Kuznetsov") began to be developed in 1981 and in 1982 was laid on the slipway. Since 1976, "Kyiv" (1143, laid down in 1970) has already sailed the sea, since 1978 "Minsk" (1143.2 - 1972). Novorossiysk (1143.3 - 1975) and Baku (1143.4 - 1978) began to be developed. These were platforms for vertical take-off aircraft developed by Yakovlev Design Bureau and helicopters from Kamov Design Bureau. Their capabilities were limited in terms of range and time to perform combat flights.
Aircraft Yak36 - radius 60 km. with a flight duration of 20 min. The Yak38, which replaced it, did not fundamentally change the situation. A vertical take-off takes 1 ton more kerosene than a conventional take-off aircraft, and this is the flight time and combat load. But the YAK141, which was already ready for the same excellent characteristics, had a tragic fate due to an accident, and the idea of \u200b\u200bvertical take-off was postponed and forgotten.
Project 1143.5 developed in a different direction, there were many supporters of having high-speed long-range well-armed fighters on board since the late 60s. The opponent of the project was Honored Marshal D.F. Ustinov, who considered Yak-type aircraft the only possible for Soviet aircraft carriers. But the project was destined to come true. In the late 1970s, the United States had new low-flying missiles that were not available to the air defense systems of that time, but were shot down by fighter aircraft. There was no time to wait. In 1981, the world's best fighter-bombers SU-27 or MiG-29 (subsequently Su-27K and MiG-29K) already appeared in the USSR.
The test pilot Pugachev, who became legendary, landed the SU-27K on 11/01/1989. The Mikoyanovites did not lag behind, after 1.5 hours the MiG-29K landed - this is the hero of the USSR, cosmonaut Toktar Aubakirov (future major general of Kazakhstan). Within three weeks, flight tests were carried out, 227 sorties and 35 landings were performed. A 11/23/1989. The commission signed the Act "On the implementation of the flight design test program."
Creation of a springboard
The creation of conditions for takeoff and landing had a negative impact on the implementation of the project 1143.5. Initially, the American experience of using steam catapults built into the deck was considered, which dispersed even a heavy radar aircraft on a stationary ship in calm weather. Ustinov partly rightly considered it unacceptable to use someone else's experience, it means always falling behind. And so a unique take-off method using a springboard appeared.
In the Crimea, a Scientific Testing Training Complex was built, which received the nickname "Thread" (recorded in the design documents of NITKA). According to preliminary calculations, Springboard-1 was built for the training takeoff of the Yak-38, Su-27 and MiG-29. The results showed the inaccuracy of the calculated characteristics. Then they built Springboard-2 with optimal curvature - which became a springboard for the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov.
Plane landing
More a complex system than takeoff. In order to land and stop you need to land the plane in a certain place. A system was used - an arrester, similar to the American one. This is a tensioned cable and a hydraulic system. The hook hold (hook) was worked out in training conditions. Then the skill of braking was honed. Without these skills, there will be no naval aviation pilots.
To help the pilots, the Luna optical system appeared - this is the supply of light signals to the pilot when landing. The landing path is called Glide path. Red light - this is the maximum level of danger, indicates a landing below the level of the runway. Green - indicates the accuracy of the run. Yellow - indicates an extra climb, you will have to repeat the landing.
Name
The first name was "Riga", given to the ship during its construction at the "Black Sea Shipyard". Here political instability begins, L.I. dies. Brezhnev and the ship has a new name "Leonid Brezhnev". In 1989, the ship goes to sea under the name "Tbilisi". The aircraft-carrying cruiser received its name "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" in 1990 on October 4.
On the wave of success and economic power, new generation aircraft carriers are being built one after another - with a conventional takeoff. The death of Ustinov in 1984 contributed to the rapid development of aircraft carriers with conventional aircraft. Project 1143.6 appeared, laid down in 1985 - called the Varyag (sold by Ukraine to China). And the nuclear "Ulyanovsk" - project 1143.7, laid down in 1988, dismantled in 1992 (Ukraine). "Kuznetsov" escaped the tragic fate by leaving Sevastopol for the Northern Fleet in 1992, fully corresponding to his nickname "Invincible".
Aircraft carrier hijacking
The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" in the early nineties has already become the flagship among the 7 aircraft carriers. In 1991, the main blow was dealt to the country in the lost Cold War, the division of property among the "Sovereign" "States" began. In September it is the Baltics, a month later Ukraine. The heads of all levels and all republics profit from the robbery of collective property. Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Vladimir Chernavin (1985-1993) sets the task of stealing the flagship to the Northern Fleet before declaring Ukraine's sovereignty.
In December 1991, the cruiser was to undergo another test in the Black Sea. The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy instructs the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet Khronopulo MN to pass the Dardanelles Strait in strict secrecy during the planned exercises. The ship had to get away from the armed capture and arrive at the destination Vidyaevo, which is in the Northern Fleet. This ship has been in service since 12/25/1990. From 01/20/1992. TAKR (heavy aircraft-carrying missile cruiser) is assigned to serve in Murmansk.
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Characteristics of the aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov"
The aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" is designed to perform various tasks, the main of which is to prevent an air or sea nuclear strike on the territory of the Russian Federation (USSR). To do this, the warship is armed with missiles for delivering and repelling strikes, aircraft and helicopter aircraft, radar and satellite systems, deep anti-submarine bombs and missiles and artillery. This is a mobile military base capable of changing the military and political situation anywhere in the world. 1960 people (200 officers) are serving on the ship: 626 - flight personnel, 40 - the headquarters of the formation of ships.
Specifications in numbers
- length - 305 m, max.
- width - 72 m, max.
- height - 65 m.
- Displacement:
- Max. 61 400 tons,
- standard 46 500 tons,
- normal - 53,000 tons.
- Draft 8 - 10 m.
- Reservation: duplicated rolled steel, three-layer protection 4.5 m wide withstands torpedo hits of 400 kg of TNT.
- The cruiser is driven by a power plant of 2 boiler rooms, where there are 4 main and 2 GTZA each.
- Endurance of navigation 45 days.
- Superstructure "Island" 32 m from 13 tiers.
- Planes and helicopters from the hangar are delivered to the deck by 2 lifts.
- The cruiser has 3857 rooms: 387 - cabins, 134 - cockpit, 6 - wardrooms, 120 - warehouses and 50 showers.
- The training of sailors begins with the study of the premises, which lead to corridors 6 km long.
Armament
- P-700 Granite - the destruction of enemy aircraft carrier strike groups (AUG). The main threat to NATO aircraft carriers (moving as a group, accompanied by 1-1.5 dozen ships) was the Granit anti-ship missile systems. This Soviet development has no analogues. On the deck bow there are 12 launchers with P-700 Granit missiles. There can be different warheads: high-explosive fragmentation 750 kg. or nuclear 500 kt. Russia and the United States have agreed not to arm themselves with a nuclear charge for these missiles for the time being. Its length is 10 m, launch weight is 7000 kg, diameter is 85 cm. The 3M45 anti-ship missile is 10 times heavier than the American Harpoon, therefore it carries 2.5 times the charge and hits the target 5 times further, up to 700 km.
- As targeting systems three means of guidance are used at once, excluding disorientation by its enemy: satellite, carrier-based aviation (helicopters and airplanes) and radar. The missile rises to a high altitude (up to 17 km) and detects a target, then drops down to an extremely low altitude (25 m) and heads towards the target. Which makes it difficult for enemy air defenses to intercept it. If the ship is destroyed, then the rest of the fired missiles hit other ships of the group. The missile is equipped with a device for radar interference, pointing anti-missiles at decoys.
- Protective missile weapons. And also 4x2 ZRAK "Kortik" (256 missiles and 48,000 shells) protect against high-precision anti-ship missiles. There are also 4x6 anti-aircraft missile system SAM "Dagger" (192 pieces), used in the event of a massive attack from the air and from low-flying missiles. Six-barreled anti-aircraft artillery AK-360 (30 mm shells), strikes at a distance of 4-5 km.
- Gaining air supremacy. Equally important in power heavy cruiser is aviation. The super-maneuverable Su-33s replaced the Su-27Ks, 36 units. Each of them is designed to destroy the F-15 and F-16 in the air. The aircraft are equipped with long-range and short-range radars, satellite communications, and carry up to 8 tons of bomb load. Armed with all types of air-to-air, air-to-surface missiles. They can deliver nuclear strikes, since 2016 they can destroy ships with one of the latest BrahMos missiles with the same efficiency as 3M45. Shoot down all missiles at an altitude of up to 27 km. Multi-purpose helicopters Ka-27, of which there are 16 on the ship, are designed to detect and destroy submarines. They mine mines. In the amount of 3 units. used for radar patrol and 2 more for search and rescue operations.
- Antisubmarine weapons. The RBU 12,000 Udav anti-submarine jet bomber has 60 missiles of various types: it destroys torpedoes, creating a drifting minefield; small submarines and submarine sabotage forces at a depth of up to 600 m.
- Electronic weapons. Unique weapons allow timely and accurate combat operations: CICS "Lesorub", multifunctional radar "Mars-Passat", three-coordinate radar "Fregat-MA", low-flying targets are detected by 2 radars "Podkat", 2 radars "Vaigach", navigation system "Buran" -2", radar for flight control "Resistor" and "Gazon", EW "Constellation-BR", GAS "Zvezda-M1".
Conclusion
TAKR - this is one combat unit, it will not solve all the problems, but it is a formidable weapon. It will be impossible to conduct an effective launch of nuclear missiles on our territory in the TAKR combat alert zone of this type. And the enemy’s 1st AUG is difficult to oppose to “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov”. It is desirable to have at the disposal of Russia about 10 aircraft carriers. It's even better to have allies to share such high costs with them.
Who is Kuznetsov, why was he given such an honor?
Of particular importance, inspiring selfless work and military successes, is history. It all depends on who we will honor, and this will be our future - great or not. Kuznetsov N.G. turned out to be a follower of the traditions of Russian naval officers, for whom Ushakov, Lazarev and Nakhimov were examples. He was awarded 4 orders of Lenin, 3 orders of the Red Banner, 2 orders of Ushakov 1st degree, the Order of the Red Star, as well as medals and foreign orders.
Despite his modest peasant origin, he was intelligent - he gave the impression of a Russian nobleman. Sailors loved him, officers trusted him. He was not part of the political groups fighting for power. The chiefs and first persons of the state relied on him, some were afraid of his authority among officers, sailors and the entire Soviet people. He did not serve and did not humiliate himself, he was an excellent performer and a talented organizer. Under Stalin, he managed to do a lot for the country, at the Yalta meeting of the winners he resolved the conflict issue about the division of the fascist fleet.
short biography
As a child, at the age of 15, attributing to himself two years (born 11 (24). 07.1904 in the Arkhangelsk province, according to documents - 1902), he becomes a sailor of the North Dvina military flotilla. There he passed civil war 1917 - 1922 After serving for another 1 year, since 1923 he has been studying at the Naval School. Frunze" and graduated with honors in 1926. Period 1926 - 1929. serves in the Black Sea as a watchman on the Chervona Ukraine, and 1932-1933. was assistant commander of the cruiser "Red Caucasus". From 1933 he became the commander of the light cruiser Chervona Ukraine, from that moment the ship became a model of combat readiness and training.
As a military attache and chief naval adviser to the Spanish Republic, Kuznetsov organizes the uninterrupted supply of military supplies to Spain to fight fascism. Having successfully completed the task in 1936 - 1939. he returns to Sevastopol. Aviation played a significant role, which was used off the coast for the safe passage of transport ships. From that moment on, the future people's commissar was personally convinced of the effectiveness of a bunch of ships and aircraft and became the initiator of aircraft carrier building and the diversified development of all types of weapons.
At the end of the political purge of supporters of the ideas of Trotsky-Uborevich. who were preparing a coup d'état in Russia, in 1939, a non-politicized young and talented specialist N.G. Kuznetsov. Which made a great contribution to the Victory of 1945 and the development of the country's defense capability. He was inconvenient for the Khrushchev-Zhukov team, did not speak fables about Stalin, met the WWII war without defeat. And the ideas of Kuznetsov approved by Stalin about the need to build aircraft carriers began to be implemented from January 1943 (in November 1944, the Nevsky Design Bureau created the 1st project, by the end of the war 4 types of aircraft carrier were developed, included in the post-war program). Having come to power, Khrushchev managed to temporarily destroy the program and cut the ships under construction.
The suspended Kuznetsov was isolated from publicity until the end of his life. He lived at his dacha until 1974, where he wrote books under the control of editors who created the myth of Stalin to please the new political clan. On the anti-Soviet wave in 1990, his well-deserved name accidentally appeared on an aircraft-carrying cruiser, because he was a creator, not a destroyer of the state, and respected Russian traditions that had developed under the emperors.
Special page in biography
There is one confusing story in 1948, when the "Court of Honor" took place over the admirals. Honored high-ranking military judged the same honored officers. They turned out to be N.G. Kuznetsov and his subordinates L.M. Galler, V.A. Alafuzov and G.A. Stepanov. The military collegium, which found everyone guilty, itself petitioned to reduce Kuznetsov's punishment. Departed for service Far East(1948 Deputy for Naval Affairs, and since 1950 - Commander of the Pacific Fleet). As a result, under the same authority, he again headed the country's Navy from 1951 to 1953.
Under Khrushchev, he continued to hold the position of commander of the fleet until 1955 in a new capacity - First Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. A 03/03/1955. Continuing to be in the Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, his position was renamed "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union." No political group could manage him, and the figure was too prominent and politically responsible. Therefore, 02/17/1956. once again demoted to vice admiral and dismissed with the note "Without the right to work in the Navy." Received the nickname "Disgraced Admiral".
class="eliadunit">The heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" - a ship of project 1143.5, the only one in the Russian Navy in its class, was launched in 1987. In 1990, it was named after Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union N. G. Kuznetsov.
Start. background
| 1945 | A strategy for the further development of the country's navy was agreed upon by the leadership of the USSR. The plans of the leadership of the Ministry of Defense did not include the construction of aircraft carriers. N.G. Kuznetsov (Commander-in-Chief of the Navy), who understood the importance and necessity of having aircraft carriers in service, weapons of the future, as he believed, was categorically against such a position. Thanks to the efforts of the admiral, these ships were included in the design plans. |
| 1953 | Kuznetsov was able to achieve understanding and his efforts approved the development plan light aircraft carrier(codenamed "project 85"). The main purpose of an aircraft carrier is to cover ships at sea from attacks by enemy aircraft The project involved the construction of 8 light aircraft carriers. The first two were to be put into service by the end of 1960. |
| 1955 | Commander-in-Chief of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov was dismissed. His place was taken by S.G. Gorshkov, who did not see the need for the development of aircraft carrying ships. After all, the leadership of the country called aircraft carriers "weapons of Western imperialism" |
| 60s of XX century | "Project 1123" - trial use of anti-submarine cruisers for the aircraft carrier fleet. One cruiser could accommodate up to 14 KA-25 helicopters on its deck. After conducting full-fledged tests of the project, it became clear that helicopters cannot fully protect ships in the event of an air attack |
| Second half of the 1960s | A plan was agreed and approved, which was based on the design of new ships with the ability to be placed on board aircraft with the ability to vertical takeoff.
As a result, ships developed according to project 1143 ("Kyiv") appeared, having completed with Yak-38 aircraft. But, unfortunately, the Yak-38 aircraft was not equipped with technical and flight characteristics that made it possible to fully patrol the area around the ships and, if necessary, provide cover from enemy air attacks. As a result, three warships of the "Kyiv" type, together with the TAKR (heavy aircraft carrier cruiser) of project 114342 "Baku", which, in fact, was an improved version of them, remained in the armed forces of the USSR as cruisers rather than aircraft carriers |
| 1977 | The beginning of the development of aircraft carrier ships of project 11435. One of the ships was eventually named TAKR "Admiral Kuznetsov" |
History and military campaigns of TAKR
| January 20, 1991 | Air cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" is assigned to serve in the staff of the Northern Fleet. On this day, the naval ensign of the USSR was hoisted on board the ship. |
| May 1991 | The nuclear aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" was enlisted in the 30th division of surface ships of the Black Sea Fleet |
| December 1991 | The cruiser "Kuznetsov" departed for the registration point in the village of Vidyaevo, Murmansk region. The route was made from the Black Sea, going around Europe |
| 1993 | It was marked by the entry into the aviation group of the SU-33 fighter ship |
| December 1994 - February 1995 | Holding repair work main boilers TAKR "Kuznetsov" |
| October 19, 1995 | In preparation for flights aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov, an Mi-8 helicopter crashed. During the raid, due to strong winds, the aircraft was overturned. No ship damage recorded |
| December 23, 1995 | At the head of a detachment of twelve ships TAKR (Heavy aircraft carrier cruiser) "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" went to military service to the Mediterranean. On board the cruiser was an air group consisting of 15 Su-33 aircraft, one Su-25UTG and 11 Ka-27 helicopters. During the campaign, the declared performance characteristics of the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" were checked. The Strait of Gibraltar was passed after 10 days of the campaign |
| January 7, 1996 | Cruiser TAVKR "Admiral Kuznetsov" anchored off the coast of Tunisia. During this stay - which lasted until January 17 - an exchange of visits was made with the US Navy, during which both Russian helicopters landed on an American aircraft carrier and American helicopters landed on the deck of the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov. In addition, Russian pilots were transported on two-seat carrier-based US aircraft. Among other foreign guests, on January 7, 1996, the commander of the US 6th Fleet, Admiral Donald Pilling, visited the cruiser. |
| August 2000 | The aircraft carrier "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" took an active part in major military exercises, subsequently joining the operation to rescue the crew of the sunken submarine K-141 "Kursk". As a result of this tragedy, the second campaign for military service in the Mediterranean was canceled, which was supposed to take place at the end of 2000. |
| 2001 to 2004 | The cruiser was on a scheduled average repair. During which the performance characteristics of "Admiral Kuznetsov" were finalized |
| September 27, 2004 | As part of a group of 9 ships of the Northern Fleet, which includes a heavy nuclear missile cruiser"Peter the Great", the missile cruiser "Marshal Ustinov", the destroyer "Admiral Ushakov", the BOD "Severomorsk" and "Admiral Levchenko", the nuclear submarine K-335 "Gepard" and support vessels, the aircraft carrier cruiser entered the North Atlantic. One of the main tasks of the exercises was to work out the interaction of ships when repelling attacks of a mock enemy and to train ship pilots when flying from the deck. During this trip, flight design tests of the Su-27KUB multi-purpose carrier-based aircraft were also carried out. |
| October 18, 2004 | During the campaign, an accident occurred with the Su-25UTG training aircraft. During landing, it was, the trajectory was calculated incorrectly and there was a strong impact of the landing gear with the landing deck. As a result, one of the landing gear of the aircraft broke, the aircraft was able to catch the landing hook on the arrester cable and stop the run. |
| September 5, 2005 | The cruiser-aircraft carrier "Nikolai Kuznetsov" during a campaign in the North Atlantic suffered two emergency landings of Su-33 fighters due to a break in the arrester cable. The first fighter fell into the ocean and sank at a depth of 1100 meters (the pilot - Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Korneev - managed to eject), the second plane stayed on the deck. It was planned to destroy the sunken plane with depth charges due to the presence of secret equipment (for example, the “friend or foe” identification system), but it turned out that this was impossible to do because of the great depth. The command of the Navy expects that the sunken Su-33 will collapse itself |
| From December 17, 2013 to May 17, 2014 | TAKR "Admiral Kuznetsov" made a new campaign for military service in the Mediterranean Sea with a call at the material and technical base of the Russian Navy in the port of Tartus (Syria). Rear Admiral Viktor Sokolov, deputy commander of the Northern Fleet, raised his flag on the cruiser. While in the Mediterranean, the Russian heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov operated in conjunction with the flagship Pyotr Veliky. During this trip, the pilots of the 279th Naval Aviation Regiment gained considerable practical experience in flying from the deck of an aircraft-carrying cruiser on the high seas, having made more than 350 sorties with a total stay in the air of about 300 hours. |
| November 15, 2016 | Air group TAKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" began sorties against ISIS in the Syrian Republic |
| January 6, 2017 | It was officially decided to reduce the number of Russian armed forces on the territory of the Syrian Republic. This also meant the return home of the TAKR "Admiral Kuznetsov". |
| February 8, 2017 | The Russian aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" stopped at his residence permit - Severomorsk, having completed a long-range military campaign. This military campaign lasted about 4 months, passing about 18 thousand nautical miles. Having finished the military campaign, the heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great" and the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" made a real sea salute of 15 artillery shots |
According to the Ministry of Defense Russian Federation during combat service, the aviation group assigned to the cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" made about 1,200 sorties, of which more than 400 were for a combat mission.
There were some difficulties with the delivery of combat supplies to the ship while on the high seas.
sorties were made by an aviation group assigned to the cruiser "Admiral Kuznetsov" during combat service
The reason is that the Berezina complex supply ship was engaged in providing ammunition, but it was decommissioned and there were no analogues in the Russian Navy. The supply task was assigned to the floating crane SPK-46150 - and the task was completed.
Design and construction
Design
The command of the Ministry of Defense approved a plan to start building aircraft carrier ships that could receive aircraft both with vertical takeoff and landing, and with a traditional one.
In 1977 task to complete design work was given to the Nevsky Design Bureau.
1980 Completed work on the preparation of sketches of the future ship. To present the work to the management, 10 projects were completed, including those with a nuclear engine.
Having passed all the stages, the project of the ship received the code "project 11435".
Project 11435 differed in many ways from the ships of earlier projects, but the main differences include:
- The main missile system, according to the new project, was located inside the ship;
- The turret corps was built on the right side with a strong protrusion beyond the ship's contours.
These design solutions made it possible to expand the deck area, thereby allowing aircraft to take off with the traditional take-off method.
May 1982 Project 11435 agreed and approved in the final version.
September 1982 The construction of the first aircraft carrier began at the Black Sea Shipyard No. 444 in the Ukrainian city of Nikolaev.
Construction and testing
September 1, 1982. On one of the slipways of the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant, the laying of the future aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which at that time was called Riga, took place.
"Admiral Kuznetsov" was the fifth among the ships under construction.
It was during the construction of this ship that the new technology, the essence of which was that the ship's hulls were made of large sheet blocks weighing from 1200 to 1380 tons.
November 26, 1982. On this day, the ship was renamed, having received the name "Leonid Brezhnev", as a tribute and respect after the death of the general secretary.
December 4, 1985. On this day, the ship "Nikolai Kuznetsov", in a solemn ceremony, was launched.
September 8, 1989. On the aircraft carrier, the crew began to be on duty around the clock, although not at full strength.
October 21, 1989. The aircraft carrier "Tbilisi" (the name at that time), ready for 85%, went to the open sea in order to determine the readiness for flight design tests: test flights of the ships assigned to the aircraft carrier were carried out, as well as testing of all cruiser systems.
November 1, 1989 On this day, the first landing of the aircraft on the deck of the cruiser took place. The SU-27K aircraft was piloted by pilot V. G. Pugachev. Also on November 1, the first takeoff of the Mig-29K aircraft took place, the pilot was T.O. Aubakirov. In connection with the completion of testing and monitoring the work of all ship systems in various conditions, he returned to the plant for completion.
August 1, 1990. The cruiser began state tests, which lasted about 5 months. As a result of state tests, the ship sailed more than 16 thousand nautical miles, the total number of aircraft takeoffs is about 450 times.
December 25, 1990. The aircraft carrier was declared ready for combat duty as part of the naval forces and was named "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" was transferred from the Ministry of Industry to the Ministry of Defense.
Drawing TAKR "Admiral Kuznetsov"
Design features
Frame
The ship's hull is constructed from solid sheets of welded steel for superior strength. The ship in its composition has 7 decks and 2 platforms. Along the entire perimeter of the case is equipped with a second bottom.
The room where the aircraft are stored is equipped with collapsible fireproof partitions. These partitions divide it into 4 compartments.
The room (the so-called hangar) is equipped with a complex that allows transporting aircraft by means of a chain transmission. Thanks to this design solution, it became possible to abandon the use of large traction tractors inside the ship.
When forming terms of reference to the "project 11435" the task was to increase the area on the aircraft carrier for use by them for takeoffs and landings, both in the traditional way and with vertical takeoff.
As a result, the area was increased to 14.8 thousand m 2, which is about 2.6 times more than that of the heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers of earlier projects. Storage room dimensions aircraft was increased (153.2 × 26.4 × 7.1 m versus 130.4 × 22.7 × 6.7 m on the Minsk aircraft carrier).
To provide support during the take-off of carrier-based aircraft in the traditional way, a springboard with an elevation angle of approximately 14.3 degrees is installed.
Hull protection
The decision to protect the ship's hull from enemy attacks is unique for its time. Compartments for storage and use and rooms with ammunition are protected in the form of box armor.
The protection of the ship from torpedoes of enemy ships consists of three longitudinal bulkheads, the middle one is equipped with several layers. The total width of the protection is 4.52 m.
Takeoff and landing areas
To assist pilots in landing aircraft, the following have been developed and installed:
- aerofinisher complex;
- unique system optical landing system "Moon".
Traditional take-off sites
The surface of the flight deck was treated with a special composition that prevents aircraft from sliding during takeoff and landing, and this coating is also heat-resistant, allowing it to withstand temperatures up to 500 degrees. This coating was named "Onega".
VTOL sites (vertical takeoff and landing aircraft)
Separately, on the flight deck, 3 sites for vertical take-off and landing aircraft are allocated. The area of each site is about 100 m2 (10×10). The surface is laid with special AK-9FM tiles, which allow to withstand heating up to 745 degrees.
To provide protection service personnel and technical composition from strong exhausts of aircraft engines, deflected shields - deflectors are mounted on the deck. In addition, the starting positions are equipped with hydraulic stops (delays) that hold the aircraft in place before launch and are sunk at the operator's command.
To ensure landing on the ship, arresters "Svetlana-2" were installed: four metal cables stretched across the landing deck with an interval of 12 meters.
"Hope"
emergency lift system installed on an air cruiser
The cables are connected to the brake hydraulic machines, providing a complete stop of the aircraft after 90 meters of run with an overload of not more than 4.5 g. The cable of the fourth arrester (fourth from the stern) is also connected to the Nadezhda emergency barrier raising system.
In the stowed position, the cables are recessed in special recesses in the deck, and are raised to the working position using hydraulics immediately before landing.
Power plant and driving performance
The power plant "Admiral Kuznetsov" with minor changes is fully copied from earlier projects. The big changes include the complete replacement of boilers of earlier modifications with new ones with improved characteristics.
After modernization, a 4-shaft steam turbine power plant can develop a capacity of 200 thousand hp. (for previous projects up to - 180 thousand hp).
The turbines are fed by eight KVG-4 boilers with a steam capacity of up to 115 tons of steam per hour (against 95 tons per hour for older boilers). Parameters of superheated steam in the collector: pressure 66 kg/cm 2 and temperature 470°C. Propellers - 4 bronze propellers with 5 blades.
Crew
Ships developed according to project 11435 according to the plan should be equipped with a composition :
- Total crew - 1980 people
Including:
- officers - 520;
- midshipmen - 322;
- sailors - 1138;
- Air group - 626 people.
As a result, it turns out that 2606 people are supposed to be on the ship. And if the cruiser is the flagship during the campaign, then 55 people (commanders and headquarters) will be additionally located on the ship.
Crew sleeping and resting areas are quite acceptable and comfortable for long sea trips.
Armament
Main strike complex
Anti-ship missile system (SCRK) "Granit" with 12 cruise missiles in mines. Heavy missiles are capable of delivering a 750-kg warhead to a distance of up to 550 km.
P-700 "Granit" (3M45) - anti-ship missile system on the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" Anti-aircraft weapons
- 4x2 anti-aircraft missile and artillery systems (ZRAK) "Kortik". Ammunition 256 missiles and 48,000 30-mm shells, range: missiles 1500-8000 m; guns 500-4000 m;
- 24 modules of the Kinzhal air defense system, the ammunition of each module is 8 missiles in a drum, so that in general the ammunition load is 192 missiles. Destruction range 1500-12000 m;
- 6 tower six-barreled 30-mm installations AK-630M (48,000 shells).
Anti-torpedo armament
- 2 RBU-12000 bombers of the Udav complex (60 reactive depth charges).
Aviation armament
In accordance with the assignment of the Ministry of Defense, the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" was created, the characteristics of which ensured the deployment of carrier-based aircraft, consisting of:
- 26 Yak-141, MiG-29K and Su-27K (Su-33) aircraft;
- 18 Ka-27 anti-submarine helicopters or Ka-29 transport and combat helicopters;
- 4 radar patrol helicopters Ka-27RLD (Ka-31);
- 2 Ka-27PS search and rescue helicopters.
In fact, due to lack of funds, the aircraft-carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, whose characteristics allow for the deployment of a larger number of aircraft, carries a reduced air group:
- 14 Su-33 fighters;
- 2 training aircraft Su-25UTG;
- 2 MiG-29K fighters;
- 2 combat training MiG-29KUB;
- 15 Ka-27 and Ka-27PS helicopters;
- 2 helicopters Ka-31 radar patrol.
Communications, detection, auxiliary equipment
- navigation complex "Beysur";
- 1 radar complex"Mars Passat";
- 1 radar station MP-750 "Fregat-MA";
- 2 radar stations MP-360 "Tackle";
- 3 radar stations "Vaigach";
- combat information and control system (CICS) "Lumberjack";
- communication complex "Buran-2";
- hydroacoustic complex "Polynom-T";
- hydroacoustic station "Zvezda-M1";
- complex electronic warfare "Sozvezdie-BR".
Aft section of the flight deck "Admiral Kuznetsov" during the military campaign 1995-1996 Technical characteristics of the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov"
Displacement, t:
Main dimensions, m:
Power, hp (kW):
Travel speed, knots:
Cruising range, miles:
Project crew, persons:
Armament
| Aviation, LA | 50…52 |
| Su-33 and MiG-29K fighters or Su-25UTG attack aircraft | 26…28 |
| Helicopters RLD Ka-34 | 4 |
| Helicopters Ka-27 and Ka-29 (including Ka-27PS) | 18 (2) |
| percussion | PKRP "Granit-NK" |
| Rocket P-700, pcs | 12 |
| Vertical launchers SM-233, pcs | 12 |
| anti-aircraft missile | SAM "Dagger" |
| Vertical launchers SM-9, pcs | 24x8 |
| SAM 9M330-2, pcs | 192 |
| Anti-aircraft missile and artillery | ZRAK "Dagger" |
| Number of installations, pcs | 8 |
| SAM 9M311-1, pcs | 256 |
| 30 mm shells, pcs | 48000 |
| Artillery | ZAK AK-630M |
| Number of installations, pcs | 6 |
| Anti-submarine / anti-torpedo | RBU-12000 "Udav-1" |
Electronic weapons
| BIUS | "Lumberjack" |
| General detection radar | PLC "Mars-Passat", 4 FAR |
| NLC detection radar | 2xMR-360 "Tackle" |
| NC detection radar | 3xMP-212 "Vaigach" |
| GAS | GAK MGK-355 "Polynom-T", GAS MGK-365 "Zvezda-M1", anti-sabotage GAS MG-717 "Amulet", GAS "Altyn", ZPS MG-35 "Shtil", GAS MG-355TA |
| EW facilities | "Constellation-RB" |
| Interference complexes fired | 2x2 launchers PK-2 (ZiF-121), 4x10 launchers PK-10 "Brave" |
| fire control radar | 2x Korall-BN, 4 control radars for the Kinzhal air defense system 3R95, 4 control sub-units for the Kortik air defense missile system 3R86 |
| Navigation complex | "Beysur" |
| Radio navigation aids | "Resistor K-4", "Lawn" |
| Means of communication | Buran-2 complex, Kristall-BK space communications complex |
commanders
From the moment of launching to the present day, the heavy aircraft carrier cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union has been under the command of the following officers:
| Photo | Full name and military rank | Years of command of the ship |
 |
Captain 1st Rank Viktor Stepanovich Yarygin | 1987-1992 |
 |
Captain 1st Rank (Rear Admiral) Ivan Fedorovich Sanko | 1992-1995 |
 |
Rear Admiral Alexander Vladimirovich Chelpanov | 1995-2000 |
 |
Captain 1st Rank Alexander Vasilyevich Turilin | 2000-2003 |
 |
Captain 1st Rank Alexander Petrovich Shevchenko | 2003-2008 |
 |
Captain 1st Rank Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Rodionov | 2008-2011 |
 |
Captain 1st Rank Sergei Grigorievich Artamonov | Since 2011 |
"Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" is a heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, the fifth in the USSR, the only one in its class in the Russian Navy, based in the Northern Fleet. Functionality - protection of naval formations from the aggression of a potential enemy and the defeat of large surface targets. It is one of the 1st rank ships and needs a commander in the person of a 1st rank captain. On board are Ka-29 and Ka-27 helicopters and Su-33 and Su-25UTG aircraft.
1. Photos
2. Video
3. Construction
Its construction dates back to 1982. The cruiser differed from its predecessors in the possibility of landing and taking off from it aircraft of the traditional scheme, updated versions, and the Su-25. For this, a take-off ramp and an enlarged flight deck were equipped.
The cruiser was launched at the end of 1985, after which it was completed afloat. At the same time, the premises were equipped, the loading and installation of aviation equipment, electrical equipment, air conditioning and ventilation systems were carried out.
In 1989, the cruiser in an understaffed and unfinished state was put to sea. There, flight design tests of aircraft were carried out, which were subsequently placed on board. After their completion in the same year, the cruiser was completed. The following year, he repeatedly went to sea for factory and state tests.
4. Tactical and technical characteristics
4.1 Dimensions
- Length - 305.0 m
- Waterline length - 270 meters
- Maximum width - 72 meters
- Width at the waterline - 35.0 m
- Draft - 10.0 m
- Standard displacement - 43 thousand tons
- Full displacement - 55 thousand tons
- Maximum displacement - 58.6 thousand tons
4.2 Power plant
- Steam turbines - 4 × 50 thousand horsepower
- Number of boilers - 8
- Number of screws - 4
- Turbogenerator power - 9 × 1500 kilowatts
- Maximum speed - 29 knots
- cruising range for top speed- 3850 miles at 29 knots
- Economic speed - 18 knots
- Maximum cruising range - 8000 miles at a speed of 18 knots
- Autonomy - 45 days
4.3 Armament
As of 2014, the air wing has 17 helicopters and 20 aircraft:
- 14 Su-33 carrier-based fighters (and 7 more Su-33s are in storage)
- 2 deck fighters K
- 2 KUB carrier-based combat training fighters
- 2 training aircraft Su-25UTG
- 15 Ka-27/Ka-27PS multipurpose shipborne helicopters
- 2 Ka-31 radar patrol helicopters
In addition, the cruiser is armed with:
- 12 × SCRC 4K80 "Granit"
- 24 × PU SAM "Dagger" (192 missiles)
- 8 × ZRAK 3M87 Kortik (256 missiles)
- 2 × RBU-12000 "Boa" (60 depth charges)
- 6 × AK-630
4.4 Crew
- Crew - 1960 people
- Air personnel - 626 people
- Command staff - 55 people
5. Service
In the fall of 1989, one plane landed on the cruiser for the first time and another took off the same day. In August of the following year, state tests began on the cruiser, during which it traveled 16,200 miles, and 454 aircraft flights were made from it.
In January 1991, the cruiser was accepted into the Northern Fleet. In December, he crossed the perimeter of Europe to arrive at his base in the Murmansk region. In 1992-1994 continued various tests of the vessel, as well as its air groups and weapons. Also, once every three to four months, the ship went to sea and participated in exercises.
At the end of 1995, he went to military service in the Mediterranean Sea, standing off the coast of Tunisia two weeks after leaving the port, where he stood for 10 days. An exchange of visits with the US Navy took place there. On March 2, the cruiser took part in an air defense exercise by a multipurpose air group, where the Su-33 worked out intercepts of cruise missiles and aircraft. At the end of the campaign, the ship participated in the command and staff exercises of the Northern Fleet. In March 1996, the cruiser arrived at the base. In total, during the campaign, he discovered two foreign submarines, intercepted 12 air targets, and fired artillery and missile weapons. But during this time there were many problems with the main power plant.
Therefore, over the next two years, it was renovated. Then he took part in the exercises and underwent combat training. In 2000, he participated in the rescue operation associated with the accident of the K-141 Kursk submarine.
Until 2004, the cruiser was regularly repaired. After that, as part of nine ships, he took part in a campaign in the North Atlantic, as part of which the Su-27KUB was tested. In 2005-2007 served in military service. In 2007, a campaign was made for military service in the Mediterranean Sea, which ended two months later. Thanks to this, the Russian Navy resumed its presence in the oceans.
At the end of 2008, during the repair, air conditioning systems, the main power plant, mechanisms for lifting aircraft to the flight deck were updated, and boiler equipment was repaired. Separate blocks of weapons systems were also restored, and cable routes were replaced. Three years later, the cruiser with a group of ships of the Northern Fleet headed for Syria.
6. Perspectives
According to the state armaments development program SAP-2020, aircraft carriers will not be built until 2020.
In 2014, the cruiser is on alert, and in 2013 took part in the exercises of the Federation Council. After the overhaul, the Granit head missile system and about 70% of anti-aircraft artillery were put into operation, the functionality of guidance and surveillance equipment was almost restored. The level of staffing with aviation allows for combat training.
In the first half of 2014, it is planned to replace the weapons system, radio-electronic equipment and, most likely, the power plant at the Sevmash enterprise.
Now the capabilities of the cruiser cannot be fully used due to the lack of AWACS aircraft and the lack of air group strength. And Su-33s cannot strike, but only intercept them.
Therefore, by 2015, these aircraft will be replaced by more functional K in the amount of twenty aircraft. Two such fighters are already serving with the Su-33 and Su-25UTG in the ship's carrier-based aviation regiment based on the Admiral Kuznetsov.
Since 2002, 19 fighters have been modernized and repaired in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
In February 2014, 8 Su-33s were on a cruise aboard an aircraft carrier, six were located at the regiment's airfield in Severomorsk, and seven were in storage in this city.
As of April 2014, an electromagnetic capsule was being developed.
7. Project evaluation
While the Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov is the first Soviet full-fledged aircraft carrier (which has the ability to take landings with high combat qualities and horizontal take-off aircraft), its developers could not completely remove the shortcomings of the first Soviet-class TAKR. Takeoffs and landings on it are difficult due to the only direction for the start. These problems appeared after the bet on the replacement of full-fledged steam catapults.
Also, the cruiser cannot control heavy aircraft similar to AWACS. Therefore, the cruiser could only carry out over-the-horizon detection using short-range AWACS helicopters.
8. Cruiser commanders
The cruiser commanders were:
- Captain 1st rank V.S. Yarygin (1987-1992);
- Rear Admiral I. F. Sanko (1992-1995);
- Rear Admiral A. V. Chelpanov (1995-2000);
- Captain 1st rank A.V. Turilin (2000-2003);
- Captain 1st rank A.P. Shevchenko (2003-2008);
- Captain 1st rank V. N. Rodionov (2008-2011);
- Captain 1st rank S. G. Artamonov (since 2011)
The editors received a letter from a serviceman who served for some time on the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov". We think this material will be of interest to the reader, since the process of reducing our fleet, sadly enough, is ongoing. And the more important is the competent, high-quality and full-fledged operation of those few modern ships that remain in our fleet.
With a guide to the Ark
First - a small description of the size and general location of the only Russian aircraft carrier.
The total displacement of the Kuznetsov has now probably already exceeded 60,000 tons. Its maximum length is more than 300 m, and its width is 72 m.
The main power plant of the ship, at the behest of various kinds of leaders from our recent past, was made boiler-turbine, and not nuclear (like the Americans) - four-shaft, with a total capacity of 200,000 hp, previously provided a speed of 29 knots (but this was back in 1990. ).
The ship has 8 superstructure tiers, 7 decks and 2 platforms, bow and stern MKOs (4 boilers and 2 GTZA each), 5 power compartments (with diesel and steam turbine generators); a hangar with a length of more than 150 and a width of 26 m, occupying the space between the 2nd and 5th decks in height and connected to the flight deck by two aircraft lifts approximately 14x16 m in size (if it were not for their onboard location, lift our Su -33 with a length of about 21 m would be simply impossible), as many as 6 galleys, a punishment cell and its own guardhouse.
Perhaps quite enough for a narrative, the purpose of which is not technical description ship, but an outline of his "social status".
For convenience, the entire ship is divided into "descent" - from the 1st to the 53rd. The same system was used on the ships of project 1143. For those who were not there, we explain: all ladders (except for the "island") are numbered; at the same time, the ladders, located one below the other, carry one number, even on the port side, and odd - on the starboard side.
Example. Suppose we need to send a messenger - "golden hooves" (I beg your pardon, the defender of the fatherland, that is, a sailor) to command post communications (CPS). And he, a sailor, although he served a year, still does not know where this KPS is located (a common occurrence). Then he should say: "Go to the 17th gathering, 4th deck, in the KPS."
Now let's walk around the ship. First, we will climb aboard the aircraft carrier along the gangway. It is located in the midship area on the starboard side (if the Kuznetsov is in the factory). On the platform of the right gangway (4th deck) we will be met by the watch officer on the gangway, with a dagger, and a marine with a bayonet-knife. If you make a "statutory face", it is quite possible to pass for your own (documents on the gangway are rarely checked) and enter the ship. Having risen to the 3rd tier of the superstructure (residential), we will start the inspection from here.
Here, assistant commanders and the commander of the EMBCH ("chief mechanic") live in single cabins. Going down, on the ladder we run into a "checkpoint". It is worth talking about this phenomenon separately, especially since there is no such type of watch on any other ship. A "block post" is a sailor on military service who acts as a watchman of a certain area (deck, gangway, etc.) under his control. He guards not secret objects at all, but electric bulbs, fire hoses, fire extinguishers, stands, loud ringing bells, etc. And since a sailor can fall asleep, leave, and finally, this wealth can be taken away from him at night, there is also a safety net. So, fire extinguishers and fire hoses can be omitted at all - and indeed, you will not find them anywhere on the ship. The only exception is the time of the "highest" reviews, when the ship is bypassed by the "E.I.V." with retinue (commander, first mate, etc.). Then everything that is is exposed, and "checkpoints" are necessarily doubled. An inquisitive reader may ask: "But what about the light bulbs? After all, you can't take them off, otherwise how can you walk in complete darkness?" I hasten to reassure you: this problem has long been solved at a high ideological and technical level. Light bulbs: a) glued with epoxy resin; b) they are wound with wire - preferably barbed; c) supply current to the wire or ceiling. All of these are usually used in combination. And still, those damn light bulbs steal.
Let's get back to our walk. A tier below lives the commander and flagships, here is a "checkpoint", which means light and carpets. Let's go down to the second, gallery deck, located between the hangar and the flight deck. There are "checkpoints" here, which means there is light. But do not flatter yourself, because the BC-5 is always ready to "help", so the flashlight (without it there is nowhere here) must be kept on "tovs". Having descended to the deck below, we will pass along the 3rd deck of the port side (it is walkable from bow to stern). Here, too, "checkpoints" and light.
Now let's turn on the flashlight and go down even lower... Here we will witness another aircraft carrier miracle that makes this ship unlike any other. You can walk along the light-filled clean 3rd deck, but as soon as you go down, you find yourself in the "catacombs" - with torn posts, abandoned cabins, all this - without light and very often flooded (sometimes with sewage, so the smell "high quality"). Below is the same. Of course, this is not everywhere (no more than 60% of exits below the 3rd deck). If you find yourself at a lighted gathering, it means that there are cockpits or warehouses of the supply service.
We go down even lower, into the hold. There everything is in fuel oil and water, here and there - heaps of garbage (it is far to carry it to the pier, and they are allowed there only at a certain time, and tidying up on the ship is always done, so they throw garbage into the hold). Do you know how much fuel oil and water we have in our holds? How much, how much? 50 tons, you say? Sorry, this is inappropriate. After all, we are an aircraft carrier, not some gunboat. Then 500. Well, impressive - read, 10 railway tanks. Still wrong - add another zero, and it will be just right. Dissatisfied exclamations from the outside are possible: they say, they swam, we know, and we had this, we lived only in the superstructure. May I know what ship this is? Ah, BOD "Udaloy"! This is the one that is already 10 years after the fire in the sludge, and the crew on it is 30 people. Sorry, the comparison is incorrect, because we are not telling you about a sludge ship, but about an entire aircraft carrier that goes to sea!
We declare with all responsibility that there is simply no second such ship. Now in the Northern Fleet all ships are divided into two groups: "running", i.e. clean, tidy and ready to go to sea, but stopped due to lack of fuel, and ships "slack" (they are now the majority). "Kuznetsov" is the only hybrid, "running-sucks."
Facilities in the yard
Please note: when they talk about some kind of miracle ship, they first give the number of guns, their caliber, armor thickness, etc., and only then, in between times, and even then rarely - about the living conditions of the crew. Meanwhile, this is not entirely true, because it is the crew that operates all this variety of weapons. Therefore, to avoid this error, we turn Special attention on the living conditions of the crew.
The first thing to note is the lack of heating on the ship, which, you see, is important for the North. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps the main one is the lack of a permanent auxiliary boiler. Therefore, steam for household needs is taken from the power plant, which is very expensive, because. requires not ordinary, but special boiler water, which is always scarce in the fleet. You can still apply steam from the ENS (energy-carrying vessel pr. 305), but the pressure from there - "the cat cried" (and in the winter of 1998/1999 nothing was supplied at all). As a result, steam is supplied for heating periodically, which is not provided for in the system, because. no condensate drain. The steam heating system runs along the BPTZ (on-board anti-torpedo protection) or, as it is called on the ship, pipe corridors, i.e. along the side. Therefore, when the steam supply stops, the pipes freeze very quickly. And then everything is like in a physics textbook: the condensate turns into ice, the ice expands, the pipe bursts. As a result, there is no heating, no heat, there is frost on the bulkheads in places, and ice on the deck. The crew, even in the hangar, is built in overcoats. If it's +5°C in the cockpit or cabin, then that's good, but if it's +12-15°, that's, excuse me, nobility!
In such an environment, only heating pads save. Since it is expensive to buy them, and it is difficult to get a ship's one, they are "molded" by whoever is into what. The authorities, on the other hand, seize "non-standard electrical equipment", while its owners receive "awards". But the cold is not an aunt, and the ranks of those who dream of an individual electric sun do not grow dim.
Most often, it is not the heating pads that burn, but the transformers of the lighting network. They are simply not designed for the loads that the heating pads hung on them give. As a result, the voltage in the network is always significantly lower than the TAKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" on the North Sea roadstead of the regular one (100 V instead of 127 - far from the limit). It adds fuel to the fire and the absence of a 220 V network in the cabins (there is only 127 V that no one needs), so everyone tries to use 220 V for themselves. B, the third one drags kilometer-long wires from rare 220 V shields. And this, in turn, contributes to numerous short circuits.
But the cold is terrible not only for this. They permeate the entire ship's life. After all, not only condensate freezes - the same thing happens with other pipes in which there is water. For this reason, all cabins on the 2nd deck (and this is almost 60% of all ship cabins) are not supplied with water either in winter or in summer. Not a single officer's shower works. Therefore, the slogan of equality and fraternity is especially applicable here, everyone - both sailors and officers - wash in the bow (stern does not work) personnel bath. Of course, this does not apply to the command - they have their own shower.
Water is not supplied to all galleys. The lack of runoff from the cabins has also become a common thing in winter. Accordingly, it is hard on the ship and with latrines. There are more than fifty of them in total, but a good half do not work, and a significant part of the rest are locked up: if you are not the happy owner of the "golden key", then you have less "good", especially since the RF Ministry of Defense is always ready to go in this regard towards.
Winter 1998/1999 even the pipes in one of the main boilers froze.
It's also bad with ventilation - 50% of the fan motors burned out long ago. And without ventilation, it is difficult, because, unlike other ships, there are few portholes here, and the vast majority of living quarters do not have them at all. So only forced ventilation is possible, and if it is not there, the cabin will smell like mold, condensation will drip from the ceiling, and stuffiness - "even hang an ax."
Finally, it is worth talking about our wardroom. As such, it does not exist, but there is a dining room for officers, where they, in the amount of more than 150 people, only eat - and nothing more. In terms of space, it looks more like a rural canteen for machine operators during the harvest. There are no tablecloths at all, knives are also an excess, dishes are not that completely dirty, but it is still better to wipe cutlery "before use". They cook, in principle, well, and the products are good by today's naval standards. However, all this may not be enough, because. stealing in the cafeteria. Therefore, it is better not to be late for the wardroom. Probably, it would have been wiser to make several wardrooms (for example, for each warhead).
All the king's men
What a nightmare, who will live in such conditions? I'm telling.
It was assumed that one and a half thousand people would serve on the Kuznetsov (without an air group and landing), but gradually the crew grew to 2000. The commander is a rear admiral (this is the only floating admiral!), He has a number of assistants: first mate (captain of the 1st rank) , assistant, educational assistant, combat control assistant, aviation assistant, survivability assistant and legal work. The ship has seven combat units, four services and three teams: navigational (BCh-1), rocket and artillery (BCh-2), mine and torpedo (BCh-3), communications (BCh-4), electromechanical (BCh-5) , aviation (BCh-6) and radio engineering (BCh-7); medical, chemical, survivability services (this is only on Kuznetsov); management teams ("KU"), boatswain ("BK") and commandant's. There is also "RO" - a security company that performs the functions of a ship's OMON.
A little more about our organization. We have an average of 10 builds per day, each lasting about 35 minutes (thus, we spend almost 65 days on builds per year). At the formations they always say: "The crew of the AIRLINE CARRIER ... is built." And in general, the command always emphasizes that we serve on the aircraft carrier. Let me remind you that no one has yet changed the classification of ships of the Russian Navy, and there is no aircraft carrier there, there is only a heavy aircraft carrier cruiser. Yes, and the planes on our ship are rare, and they visit it in rather pitiful numbers. And the commander likes to say at formations (he generally likes to talk at formations for at least half an hour): "We must work out an aircraft carrier organization." And this is on the fifth TAKR!
With officers, midshipmen and sailors going ashore contract service on "Kuznetsov" hard. Here is a "two-shift": one week is released on Monday and Wednesday, from 18.00 to 7.30, and also on Saturday, from 18.00 to 7.30 Monday; and next week - from 18.00 Tuesday to 7.30 and from 18.00 Thursday to 7.30 Saturday. It turns out that in one week you rest 64.5 hours, and in the second - 51 out of 168. Forget about the "status of a soldier" with all his days off - the laws of the Russian Federation do not apply here (as, indeed, on most other ships). True, some benefits are still being implemented: for example, you can get an apartment almost for free, but - in the village of Vidyaevo, and this is at the "hell on the horns", and it takes four hours to go there by bus. And you will see your family once a week. You understand that only special people can serve in such conditions.
Our bosses are amazing too. On April 12, the whole country celebrates Cosmonautics Day, and we celebrate the Day of our leadership, which soars in the clouds, while we, sinners, walk the earth. From this style of command you feel like a pygmy.
After all that has been said, it is not surprising that "Kuznetsov" is notorious. The authorities everywhere scare like that: "If you behave badly, we will send to Kuznetsov (nickname -" Kuzya ")". Well, those who are "lucky" to get to serve on the Kuznetsov do not really want to serve there. Hence the high staff turnover. Every 4-5 years (at the end of the contract) the junior officers - and this is the main backbone of the ship - changes by 80%. Experienced ones leave, and "green" ones come in their place. The same applies to midshipmen. All this clearly does not contribute to the improvement of the operation of equipment. In connection with such conditions, a contract after military service on an aircraft carrier is concluded only by those who are not at all suitable for a "citizen" - and this, you see, is far from the best "human material". It is no coincidence that not all officers consider it desirable to have "contract servicemen" on board.
As for the personnel, i.e. sailors, then looking at them, you believe that the USSR is alive, lives and will live. What nationalities are not here! Russians - no more than 60%, although they call, it seems, only residents of the Russian Federation. The point, probably, is that among us Russians, "to mow down a sacred duty" is considered an indicator of position in society and prestige. Therefore, all those who did not have the intelligence or money to evade are rowed. You read the addresses of conscripts and believe: Russia has not become impoverished by the land. A village, a settlement, a collective farm, but among the young sailors there are neither Muscovites nor Petersburgers (even Admiral N.O. Essen used to say: "We don't need farmers in the Navy"). Another thing is the North Caucasus. There it is considered that a real man must go through an army school, and they consider it lucky to get into the navy. Therefore, not the worst representatives of the North Caucasus come to the ship. Of course, they quickly get used to the situation, organizing small-town groups and seizing power in the sailors' environment. The situation is different with the Tuvans and Bashkirs: apparently, due to the lack of close acquaintance with civilizations, they simply do not know how to evade the honorable state duty. Now it is probably clear why every tenth conscript does not speak Russian.
Out of harm's way, this entire contingent is not even allowed to go on leave (so that they don't do anything in Murmansk). So they sit for 2 years on the "iron". The main educational measure in relation to the sailors has now become the "lash" ("carrot" is missing), i.e. punishment cell, where even midshipmen sometimes end up. From such a life, sailors like to "get lost", since the ship is large. This happens 3-4 times a month. Then all the officers and midshipmen are painted according to the gatherings, and we are looking for the hidden sailor. Searches usually last 1-2 days (if they do not find them on the first day, and this is a 50% probability, then the sailor, as a rule, goes out on his own in 2-3 days), but there were also record holders. So, one sailor in the Mediterranean was looking for a week. And the most famous was the case of an aircraft engineer who, in a state of extreme intoxication, went missing. He (or rather, his mummy) was found after FOUR YEARS in such a place that no one can still understand how he got there ...
"Prochindiada"
"If you want to live - know how to spin." This is the good old truth, which well characterizes the style of life on the Kuznetsovo. The commander likes to talk about fools - junior commanders who set impossible tasks to "get" something, pushing the sailors to steal, and immediately frightens that they will cover some warhead going ashore if it does not illuminate its corridors by morning. And where can I get these very light bulbs if they are not issued on the ship? Vestimo somewhere - at the neighbors, at night ...
They steal everything and everyone. Somehow they stole 200 pairs (everything is big here) of officer's boots, and then they were almost openly traded at 50 rubles per pair on the ship. And the commander kept shouting that he would imprison everyone.
The most fruitful field here, of course, are galleys. They are dragged from them by everyone who is not too lazy, and not too lazy here for everyone. What is not carried away is eaten, and at night all the galleys smell of fried potatoes. Specially punched canned food is issued to the galleys, but they are still sold at a reduced price to workers from the factory. And the first violin here is played, of course, by the supply service.
It has already been said that we are tight with showers. But this is not for everyone. Particularly "gifted" make themselves "self-made" showers with electric heating - fortunately, there are a huge number of abandoned showers and washbasins on the ship. No less interesting is the case with the cabins. There are many looted and abandoned cabins of landing officers, pilots and aircraft technicians on the ship. With a special desire, you can find a suitable one and repair it. Therefore, often even midshipmen or contract sailors live in single cabins. "If you want to live - know how to spin."
Main : "Eaglets learn to fly"
Unclear; what is the main weapon on an aircraft carrier cruiser - aircraft or attack missiles. "Kuznetsov" is still more aircraft carrier than missile, so aviation is considered the main weapon here. Theoretically, up to 40 Su-33s can be based on the ship. In fact, the country forked out only 24, and with great difficulty prepared only seven cars for permanent deployment.
Our aircraft, unlike the more "backward" American ones, are capable of solving only air defense tasks (although the Air Force has a Su-35 station wagon), so the aircraft carrier solves the strike task with the help of anti-ship missiles. Due to the springboard (instead of ejection) takeoff, the Su-33 is subject to takeoff weight restrictions. If we take into account that (partly due to the fault of the power plant) flights are carried out at 6-8 knots, it becomes clear why they happen only in windy weather and, as a rule, without outboard weapons and with a reduced fuel supply.
The ship is equipped with an automatic landing system, theoretically providing for the possibility of flying in any visibility, but in practice it has not been tested. Therefore, flights are made only in GOOD windy weather.
In general, the basing of aircraft on the Kuznetsov is of some strange nature. Aviation does not even appear in the hangar, and instead of aircraft, there are peacefully standing there: a 25-ton truck crane, four towing tractors, firefighters GAZ-66 and ZIL, a Gazelle, UAZ-452, a goat and a tractor with a jet engine installed on it (for cleaning the flight deck from snow and ice).
Our weapons
In the summer of 1998, on Navy Day, we received fuel oil. You ask: "And where does the weapon?" And here's the thing: we took him not only to the tanks, but also to one of the fire control posts. True, only 60 tons, and without malicious intent. The bilge, apparently, closed the wrong valve and continued to take fuel oil into a full tank, the loosely closed neck of which was located near the mentioned post. Through this neck, the post was flooded, in which for some reason the BC-2 watch was not found. Hermetic racks could not stand it, and the post failed.
Two of the four air defense systems were also at one time flooded with outboard water from the irrigation system. It was at night, there was a fistula in the pipe, and all the premises of both complexes were flooded "up to the roof." All eight Dirks require scheduled adjustment, for which there is no money. To top it all off, the "horizon-azimuth" system is acting up. Therefore, we can shoot, but hit ...
"And instead of a heart - a fiery engine"
When they talk about the warhead-5, as a rule, they mean the power plant. Let's talk about her.
Firstly, one of the eight boilers and one GTZA are temporarily out of operation - due to the explosion of the gas duct due to an error in operation (they forgot to ventilate the gas duct before the boiler was ignited). Thus, theoretically, the power of the power plant has decreased to 75%. But this is in theory, and in practice - even less.
All four daywoods are leaking, so the bearings of the shaft lines are periodically heated, which imposes a limit on the maximum number of revolutions. The automation of the power plant has long worked out its resource, from this "Kuznetsov" smokes like an armadillo from a photograph of the beginning of the century. In addition, the pipelines are already "barely breathing", and the sailors serving the power plant do not shine with professional skills and knowledge. As a result, instead of almost 29 knots that Kuznetsov gave during tests, or at least 24, on three machines he barely holds 16-18, and usually no more than 10-12 knots.
"Good" is the case with the electrical part. Either the turbogenerator will “sit down”, and the backup diesel generator will not be able to start, then something else will happen. And the whole ship is plunged into darkness. It looks especially piquant on the move: the locators do not emit, there is no connection, the boilers go out - not an aircraft carrier, but a "flying Dutchman". It was under such circumstances that in the summer of 1998 the EM "Fearless" almost died, and even earlier - "Kyiv". In both cases, the ships were carried ashore in a storm, and only miraculously managed to put the power plant into operation. On the "Kyiv" it happened in 3-4 cables from the rocks ...
It should also be said about the base of the aircraft carrier. The official place for it is the shipyard No. 35 (SRZ-35). I don’t know how things are in other fleets, but in the North not a single ship is permanently based in the plant. For Kuznetsov, this is perhaps the ideal option, because. otherwise, he would have to be based in the village of Vidyaevo, (where his regular place was earlier). There is nothing there, except for the hills and a dozen houses. Now the decommissioned "Kyiv" is living its life in Vidyaevo.
Next to us is "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov." Once he came to SRZ-35 for repairs and his stern machine burned down. Now he is officially on conservation, but for real he just dies. After all, money is also needed for conservation, but here they simply "hung a lock on the ship." The working day there is strictly until 17.00, the crew is only 75 people, and the sailors go on leave every day - not a service, but a fairy tale. So they stand half a cable from each other, two antipodes - the "hard labor" and the "resort" of the Northern Fleet. Wonderful are thy works, Lord!
SRZ-35 is not so hot as it is adapted to basing an aircraft carrier. Steam is supplied badly or not supplied at all. With water, the same thing, because. there is not enough pressure to supply it to the tiers of the superstructure. Electricity is also short - the "shore" is rather weak, and in winter, when the load in the network increases due to heaters, the coastal power board periodically "cuts down".
But the story of the SRZ-35 would not be complete without a story about the VOKhR. It is staffed with women of "Balzac age", which, however, does not in the least affect combat effectiveness - God forbid that it falls into their female hands (it is no coincidence that the Winter Battalion was defended by the women's shock battalion). At the checkpoint of the plant, you will be searched, sniffed (for the slightest smell of alcohol) and, of course, checked for a pass. This is not "Kuznetsov" for you. All this is brought to the point of absurdity. For example, carrying large bags, backpacks and "diplomats" (even empty ones) through the checkpoint without a special pass is prohibited. But if you stuff them into a plastic bag (even if it's two meters), then you can carry it without any passes.
The reader probably left a bad aftertaste from everything that was said - this is understandable. Some will say that this cannot be, while others will be indignant: what the fleet has come to and how the current military has sunk. We had to hear such insulting speeches quite often - and certainly from civilians. Such judgments always evoked a feeling of bewilderment rather than resentment. Our country, even with all its extravagance, is not a "banana republic" where the army is the state. In our country, the Ministry of Defense is only a part of the state mechanism. And in general, over the past 100 years, the army in Russia has been far from being the leading political force. Unlike the civilian sector, we, the military, depend on the government not indirectly (through laws), but directly (through orders). So we are an exact cast from our state-government. And since every nation is worthy of its own government, we should not dissociate ourselves from our, or rather, common problems.
If we continue to develop this topic, it is worth dispelling another misunderstanding, extremely persistent in "civilian circles" - about the supposedly natural totalitarianism of the military. We are the flesh of the flesh of our people, and there are no more supporters of the RNE or the Liberal Democratic Party among the military than among the rest of the people. And the supporters of the Communist Party, perhaps even less.
From some of the military I heard the following: they say, since we do not know how to operate aircraft carriers, then we do not need them, just EM and BOD are enough. But then why do we need these very EM and BOD? Indeed, far from the coast, without the support of aviation, they will be destroyed, and under the coast, their tasks are calmly solved by RTOs and the IPC. And the command of the Navy, thank God, understands this and lately, to the best of its ability, is trying to save this unique ship, and indeed the "aircraft carrier direction." There are even rumors that the Kuznetsov will no longer spend the winter in the north. But can all this be done without support from the very top? For its operation, and especially for the commissioning of at least two dozen Su-33s, a lot of money is needed ...
Terribly shameful for our unique and beloved ship.
Source: AVL, Military Technical Almanac "Typhoon" No. 6/1999 (18)
Tactical and technical data:
Displacement, t:
full 70500
standard 55000
Dimensions, m:
length 304.5
width according to design waterline 38.0
draft 10.5
Flight deck width, m 75.0
PTU power, h.p. 4х50000
Travel speed, knots:
maximum 32.0
economic 18.0
Cruising range at economic speed, miles 8000
Number of aircraft, pcs. 26
Number of helicopters, pcs. 24
Stock of aviation fuel, t 2500
Crew, pers. 1980
including officers 520
And next to the sunken submarine! Intesno: maybe someone knows what's wrong with her?
Now a little inside
And quite a bit of an inner hangar. Empty. And fire engines :-)))
Here's what I caught on the Internet:
The editors received a letter from a serviceman who served for some time on the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov". We think this material will be of interest to the reader, since the process of reducing our fleet, sadly enough, is ongoing. And the more important is the competent, high-quality and full-fledged operation of those few modern ships that remain in our fleet.
With a guide to the Ark
First - a small description of the size and general location of the only Russian aircraft carrier.
The total displacement of the Kuznetsov has now probably already exceeded 60,000 tons. Its maximum length is more than 300 m, and its width is 72 m.
The main power plant of the ship, at the behest of various kinds of leaders from our recent past, was made boiler-turbine, and not nuclear (like the Americans) - four-shaft, with a total capacity of 200,000 hp, previously provided a speed of 29 knots (but this was back in 1990. ).
The ship has 8 superstructure tiers, 7 decks and 2 platforms, bow and stern MKOs (4 boilers and 2 GTZA each), 5 power compartments (with diesel and steam turbine generators); a hangar with a length of more than 150 and a width of 26 m, occupying the space between the 2nd and 5th decks in height and connected to the flight deck by two aircraft lifts approximately 14x16 m in size (if it were not for their onboard location, lift our Su -33 with a length of about 21 m would be simply impossible), as many as 6 galleys, a punishment cell and its own guardhouse.
Perhaps it is quite enough for a narrative, the purpose of which is not a technical description of the ship, but an outline of its "social position".
For convenience, the entire ship is divided into "descent" - from the 1st to the 53rd. The same system was used on the ships of project 1143. For those who were not there, we explain: all ladders (except for the "island") are numbered; at the same time, the ladders, located one below the other, carry one number, even on the port side, and odd - on the starboard side.
Example. Suppose you need to send a messenger - "golden hooves" (I beg your pardon, the defender of the fatherland, that is, a sailor) to the command communications post (CPC). And he, a sailor, although he served a year, still does not know where this KPS is located (a common occurrence). Then he should say: "Go to the 17th gathering, 4th deck, in the KPS."
Now let's walk around the ship. First, we will climb aboard the aircraft carrier along the gangway. It is located in the midship area on the starboard side (if the Kuznetsov is in the factory). On the platform of the right gangway (4th deck) we will be met by the watch officer on the gangway, with a dagger, and a marine with a bayonet-knife. If you make a "statutory face", it is quite possible to pass for your own (documents on the gangway are rarely checked) and enter the ship. Having risen to the 3rd tier of the superstructure (residential), we will start the inspection from here.
Here, assistant commanders and the commander of the EMBCH ("chief mechanic") live in single cabins. Going down, on the ladder we run into a "checkpoint". It is worth talking about this phenomenon separately, especially since there is no such type of watch on any other ship. A "block post" is a sailor on military service who acts as a watchman of a certain area (deck, gangway, etc.) under his control. He guards not secret objects at all, but electric bulbs, fire hoses, fire extinguishers, stands, loud ringing bells, etc. And since a sailor can fall asleep, leave, and finally, this wealth can be taken away from him at night, there is also a safety net. So, fire extinguishers and fire hoses can be omitted at all - and indeed, you will not find them anywhere on the ship. The only exception is the time of the "highest" reviews, when the ship is bypassed by the "E.I.V." with retinue (commander, first mate, etc.). Then everything that is is exposed, and "checkpoints" are necessarily doubled. An inquisitive reader may ask: "But what about the light bulbs? After all, you can't take them off, otherwise how can you walk in complete darkness?" I hasten to reassure you: this problem has long been solved at a high ideological and technical level. Light bulbs: a) glued with epoxy resin; b) they are wound with wire - preferably barbed; c) supply current to the wire or ceiling. All of these are usually used in combination. And still, those damn light bulbs steal.
Let's get back to our walk. A tier below lives the commander and flagships, here is a "checkpoint", which means light and carpets. Let's go down to the second, gallery deck, located between the hangar and the flight deck. There are "checkpoints" here, which means there is light. But do not flatter yourself, because the BC-5 is always ready to "help", so the flashlight (without it there is nowhere here) must be kept on "tovs". Having descended to the deck below, we will pass along the 3rd deck of the port side (it is walkable from bow to stern). Here, too, "checkpoints" and light.
Now let's turn on the flashlight and go down even lower... Here we will witness another aircraft carrier miracle that makes this ship unlike any other. You can walk along the light-filled clean 3rd deck, but as soon as you go down, you find yourself in the "catacombs" - with torn posts, abandoned cabins, all this - without light and very often flooded (sometimes with sewage, so the smell "high quality"). Below is the same. Of course, this is not everywhere (no more than 60% of exits below the 3rd deck). If you find yourself at a lighted gathering, it means that there are cockpits or warehouses of the supply service.
We go down even lower, into the hold. There everything is in fuel oil and water, here and there - heaps of garbage (it is far to carry it to the pier, and they are allowed there only at a certain time, and tidying up on the ship is always done, so they throw garbage into the hold). Do you know how much fuel oil and water we have in our holds? How much, how much? 50 tons, you say? Sorry, this is inappropriate. After all, we are an aircraft carrier, not some gunboat. Then 500. Well, impressive - read, 10 railway tanks. Still wrong - add another zero, and it will be just right. Dissatisfied exclamations from the outside are possible: they say, they swam, we know, and we had this, we lived only in the superstructure. May I know what ship this is? Ah, BOD "Udaloy"! This is the one that is already 10 years after the fire in the sludge, and the crew on it is 30 people. Sorry, the comparison is incorrect, because we are not telling you about a sludge ship, but about an entire aircraft carrier that goes to sea!
We declare with all responsibility that there is simply no second such ship. Now in the Northern Fleet all ships are divided into two groups: "running", i.e. clean, tidy and ready to go to sea, but stopped due to lack of fuel, and ships "slack" (they are now the majority). "Kuznetsov" is the only hybrid, "running-sucks."
Facilities in the yard
Please note: when they talk about some kind of miracle ship, they first give the number of guns, their caliber, armor thickness, etc., and only then, in between times, and even then rarely - about the living conditions of the crew. Meanwhile, this is not entirely true, because it is the crew that operates all this variety of weapons. Therefore, in order to avoid this error, we will pay special attention to the crew habitation conditions.
The first thing to note is the lack of heating on the ship, which, you see, is important for the North. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps the main one is the lack of a permanent auxiliary boiler. Therefore, steam for household needs is taken from the power plant, which is very expensive, because. requires not ordinary, but special boiler water, which is always scarce in the fleet. You can still apply steam from the ENS (energy-carrying vessel pr. 305), but the pressure from there - "the cat cried" (and in the winter of 1998/1999 nothing was supplied at all). As a result, steam is supplied for heating periodically, which is not provided for in the system, because. no condensate drain. The steam heating system runs along the BPTZ (on-board anti-torpedo protection) or, as it is called on the ship, pipe corridors, i.e. along the side. Therefore, when the steam supply stops, the pipes freeze very quickly. And then everything is like in a physics textbook: the condensate turns into ice, the ice expands, the pipe bursts. As a result, there is no heating, no heat, there is frost on the bulkheads in places, and ice on the deck. The crew, even in the hangar, is built in overcoats. If it's +5°C in the cockpit or cabin, then that's good, but if it's +12-15°, that's, excuse me, nobility!
In such an environment, only heating pads save. Since it is expensive to buy them, and it is difficult to get a ship's one, they are "molded" by whoever is into what. The authorities, on the other hand, seize "non-standard electrical equipment", while its owners receive "awards". But the cold is not an aunt, and the ranks of those who dream of an individual electric sun do not grow dim.
Most often, it is not the heating pads that burn, but the transformers of the lighting network. They are simply not designed for the loads that the heating pads hung on them give. As a result, the voltage in the network is always significantly lower than the TAKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" on the North Sea roadstead of the regular one (100 V instead of 127 - far from the limit). It adds fuel to the fire and the absence of a 220 V network in the cabins (there is only 127 V that no one needs), so everyone tries to use 220 V for themselves. B, the third one drags kilometer-long wires from rare 220 V shields. And this, in turn, contributes to numerous short circuits.
But the cold is terrible not only for this. They permeate the entire ship's life. After all, not only condensate freezes - the same thing happens with other pipes in which there is water. For this reason, all cabins on the 2nd deck (and this is almost 60% of all ship cabins) are not supplied with water either in winter or in summer. Not a single officer's shower works. Therefore, the slogan of equality and fraternity is especially applicable here, everyone - both sailors and officers - wash in the bow (stern does not work) personnel bath. Of course, this does not apply to the command - they have their own shower.
Water is not supplied to all galleys. The lack of runoff from the cabins has also become a common thing in winter. Accordingly, it is hard on the ship and with latrines. There are more than fifty of them in total, but a good half do not work, and a significant part of the rest are locked up: if you are not the happy owner of the "golden key", then you have less "good", especially since the RF Ministry of Defense is always ready to go in this regard towards.
Winter 1998/1999 even the pipes in one of the main boilers froze.
It's also bad with ventilation - 50% of the fan motors burned out long ago. And without ventilation, it is difficult, because, unlike other ships, there are few portholes here, and the vast majority of living quarters do not have them at all. So only forced ventilation is possible, and if it is not there, the cabin will smell like mold, condensation will drip from the ceiling, and stuffiness - "even hang an ax."
Finally, it is worth talking about our wardroom. As such, it does not exist, but there is a dining room for officers, where they, in the amount of more than 150 people, only eat - and nothing more. In terms of space, it looks more like a rural canteen for machine operators during the harvest. There are no tablecloths at all, knives are also an excess, dishes are not that completely dirty, but it is still better to wipe cutlery "before use". They cook, in principle, well, and the products are good by today's naval standards. However, all this may not be enough, because. stealing in the cafeteria. Therefore, it is better not to be late for the wardroom. Probably, it would have been wiser to make several wardrooms (for example, for each warhead).
All the king's men
What a nightmare, who will live in such conditions? I'm telling.
It was assumed that one and a half thousand people would serve on the Kuznetsov (without an air group and landing), but gradually the crew grew to 2000. The commander is a rear admiral (this is the only floating admiral!), He has a number of assistants: first mate (captain of the 1st rank) , assistant, education assistant, combat control assistant, aviation assistant, survivability assistant, and legal work assistant. The ship has seven combat units, four services and three teams: navigational (BCh-1), rocket and artillery (BCh-2), mine and torpedo (BCh-3), communications (BCh-4), electromechanical (BCh-5) , aviation (BCh-6) and radio engineering (BCh-7); medical, chemical, survivability services (this is only on Kuznetsov); management teams ("KU"), boatswain ("BK") and commandant's. There is also "RO" - a security company that performs the functions of a ship's OMON.
A little more about our organization. We have an average of 10 builds per day, each lasting about 35 minutes (thus, we spend almost 65 days on builds per year). At the formations they always say: "The crew of the AIRLINE CARRIER ... is built." And in general, the command always emphasizes that we serve on the aircraft carrier. Let me remind you that no one has yet changed the classification of ships of the Russian Navy, and there is no aircraft carrier there, there is only a heavy aircraft carrier cruiser. Yes, and the planes on our ship are rare, and they visit it in rather pitiful numbers. And the commander likes to say at formations (he generally likes to talk at formations for at least half an hour): "We must work out an aircraft carrier organization." And this is on the fifth TAKR!
With officers, midshipmen and contract service sailors going ashore on the Kuznetsov, it’s tough. Here is a "two-shift": one week is released on Monday and Wednesday, from 18.00 to 7.30, and also on Saturday, from 18.00 to 7.30 Monday; and next week - from 18.00 Tuesday to 7.30 and from 18.00 Thursday to 7.30 Saturday. It turns out that in one week you rest 64.5 hours, and in the second - 51 out of 168. Forget about the "status of a soldier" with all his days off - the laws of the Russian Federation do not apply here (as, indeed, on most other ships). True, some benefits are still being implemented: for example, you can get an apartment almost for free, but - in the village of Vidyaevo, and this is at the "hell on the horns", and it takes four hours to go there by bus. And you will see your family once a week. You understand that only special people can serve in such conditions.
Our bosses are amazing too. On April 12, the whole country celebrates Cosmonautics Day, and we celebrate the Day of our leadership, which soars in the clouds, while we, sinners, walk the earth. From this style of command you feel like a pygmy.
After all that has been said, it is not surprising that "Kuznetsov" is notorious. The authorities everywhere scare like that: "If you behave badly, we will send to Kuznetsov (nickname -" Kuzya ")". Well, those who are "lucky" to get to serve on the Kuznetsov do not really want to serve there. Hence the high staff turnover. Every 4-5 years (at the end of the contract) the junior officers - and this is the main backbone of the ship - changes by 80%. Experienced ones leave, and "green" ones come in their place. The same applies to midshipmen. All this clearly does not contribute to the improvement of the operation of equipment. In connection with such conditions, a contract after military service on an aircraft carrier is concluded only by those who are not at all suitable for a "citizen" - and this, you see, is far from the best "human material". It is no coincidence that not all officers consider it desirable to have "contract servicemen" on board.
As for the personnel, i.e. sailors, then looking at them, you believe that the USSR is alive, lives and will live. What nationalities are not here! Russians - no more than 60%, although they call, it seems, only residents of the Russian Federation. The point, probably, is that among us Russians, "to mow down a sacred duty" is considered an indicator of position in society and prestige. Therefore, all those who did not have the intelligence or money to evade are rowed. You read the addresses of conscripts and believe: Russia has not become impoverished by the land. A village, a settlement, a collective farm, but among the young sailors there are neither Muscovites nor Petersburgers (even Admiral N.O. Essen used to say: "We don't need farmers in the Navy"). Another thing is the North Caucasus. There it is believed that a real man must go through an army school, and they consider it lucky to get into the navy. Therefore, not the worst representatives of the North Caucasus come to the ship. Of course, they quickly get used to the situation, organizing small-town groups and seizing power in the sailors' environment. The situation is different with the Tuvans and Bashkirs: apparently, due to the lack of close acquaintance with civilizations, they simply do not know how to evade the honorable state duty. Now it is probably clear why every tenth conscript does not speak Russian.
Out of harm's way, this entire contingent is not even allowed to go on leave (so that they don't do anything in Murmansk). So they sit for 2 years on the "iron". The main educational measure in relation to the sailors has now become the "lash" ("carrot" is missing), i.e. punishment cell, where even midshipmen sometimes end up. From such a life, sailors like to "get lost", since the ship is large. This happens 3-4 times a month. Then all the officers and midshipmen are painted according to the gatherings, and we are looking for the hidden sailor. Searches usually last 1-2 days (if they do not find them on the first day, and this is a 50% probability, then the sailor, as a rule, goes out on his own in 2-3 days), but there were also record holders. So, one sailor in the Mediterranean was looking for a week. And the most famous was the case of an aircraft engineer who, in a state of extreme intoxication, went missing. He (or rather, his mummy) was found after FOUR YEARS in such a place that no one can still understand how he got there ...
"Prochindiada"
"If you want to live - know how to spin." This is the good old truth, which well characterizes the style of life on the Kuznetsovo. The commander likes to talk about fools - junior commanders who set impossible tasks to "get" something, pushing the sailors to steal, and immediately frightens that they will cover some warhead going ashore if it does not illuminate its corridors by morning. And where can I get these very light bulbs if they are not issued on the ship? Vestimo somewhere - at the neighbors, at night ...
They steal everything and everyone. Somehow they stole 200 pairs (everything is big here) of officer's boots, and then they were almost openly traded at 50 rubles per pair on the ship. And the commander kept shouting that he would imprison everyone.
The most fruitful field here, of course, are galleys. They are dragged from them by everyone who is not too lazy, and not too lazy here for everyone. What is not carried away is eaten, and at night all the galleys smell of fried potatoes. Specially punched canned food is issued to the galleys, but they are still sold at a reduced price to workers from the factory. And the first violin here is played, of course, by the supply service.
It has already been said that we are tight with showers. But this is not for everyone. Particularly "gifted" make themselves "self-made" showers with electric heating - fortunately, there are a huge number of abandoned showers and washbasins on the ship. No less interesting is the case with the cabins. There are many looted and abandoned cabins of landing officers, pilots and aircraft technicians on the ship. With a special desire, you can find a suitable one and repair it. Therefore, often even midshipmen or contract sailors live in single cabins. "If you want to live - know how to spin."
Main weapon: "Eaglets learn to fly"
Unclear; what is the main weapon on an aircraft carrier cruiser - aircraft or attack missiles. "Kuznetsov" is still more aircraft carrier than missile, so aviation is considered the main weapon here. Theoretically, up to 40 Su-33s can be based on the ship. In fact, the country forked out only 24, and with great difficulty prepared only seven cars for permanent deployment.
Our aircraft, unlike the more "backward" American ones, are capable of solving only air defense tasks (although the Air Force has a Su-35 station wagon), so the aircraft carrier solves the strike task with the help of anti-ship missiles. Due to the springboard (instead of ejection) takeoff, the Su-33 is subject to takeoff weight restrictions. If we take into account that (partly due to the fault of the power plant) flights are carried out at 6-8 knots, it becomes clear why they happen only in windy weather and, as a rule, without outboard weapons and with a reduced fuel supply.
The ship is equipped with an automatic landing system, theoretically providing for the possibility of flying in any visibility, but in practice it has not been tested. Therefore, flights are made only in GOOD windy weather.
In general, the basing of aircraft on the Kuznetsov is of some strange nature. Aviation does not even appear in the hangar, and instead of aircraft, there are peacefully standing there: a 25-ton truck crane, four towing tractors, firefighters GAZ-66 and ZIL, a Gazelle, UAZ-452, a goat and a tractor with a jet engine installed on it (for cleaning the flight deck from snow and ice).
Our weapons
In the summer of 1998, on Navy Day, we received fuel oil. You ask: "And where does the weapon?" And here's the thing: we took him not only to the tanks, but also to one of the fire control posts. True, only 60 tons, and without malicious intent. The bilge, apparently, closed the wrong valve and continued to take fuel oil into a full tank, the loosely closed neck of which was located near the mentioned post. Through this neck, the post was flooded, in which for some reason the BC-2 watch was not found. Hermetic racks could not stand it, and the post failed.
Two of the four air defense systems were also at one time flooded with outboard water from the irrigation system. It was at night, there was a fistula in the pipe, and all the premises of both complexes were flooded "up to the roof." All eight Dirks require scheduled adjustment, for which there is no money. To top it all off, the "horizon-azimuth" system is acting up. Therefore, we can shoot, but hit ...
"And instead of a heart - a fiery engine"
When they talk about the warhead-5, as a rule, they mean the power plant. Let's talk about her.
Firstly, one of the eight boilers and one GTZA are temporarily out of operation - due to the explosion of the gas duct due to an error in operation (they forgot to ventilate the gas duct before the boiler was ignited). Thus, theoretically, the power of the power plant has decreased to 75%. But this is in theory, and in practice - even less.
All four daywoods are leaking, so the bearings of the shaft lines are periodically heated, which imposes a limit on the maximum number of revolutions. The automation of the power plant has long worked out its resource, from this "Kuznetsov" smokes like an armadillo from a photograph of the beginning of the century. In addition, the pipelines are already "barely breathing", and the sailors serving the power plant do not shine with professional skills and knowledge. As a result, instead of almost 29 knots that Kuznetsov gave during tests, or at least 24, on three machines he barely holds 16-18, and usually no more than 10-12 knots.
"Good" is the case with the electrical part. Either the turbogenerator will “sit down”, and the backup diesel generator will not be able to start, then something else will happen. And the whole ship is plunged into darkness. It looks especially piquant on the move: the locators do not emit, there is no connection, the boilers go out - not an aircraft carrier, but a "flying Dutchman". It was under such circumstances that in the summer of 1998 the EM "Fearless" almost died, and even earlier - "Kyiv". In both cases, the ships were carried ashore in a storm, and only miraculously managed to put the power plant into operation. On the "Kyiv" it happened in 3-4 cables from the rocks ...
It should also be said about the base of the aircraft carrier. The official place for it is the shipyard No. 35 (SRZ-35). I don’t know how things are in other fleets, but in the North not a single ship is permanently based in the plant. For Kuznetsov, this is perhaps the ideal option, because. otherwise, he would have to be based in the village of Vidyaevo, (where his regular place was earlier). There is nothing there, except for the hills and a dozen houses. Now the decommissioned "Kyiv" is living its life in Vidyaevo.
Next to us is "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov." Once he came to SRZ-35 for repairs and his stern machine burned down. Now he is officially on conservation, but for real he just dies. After all, money is also needed for conservation, but here they simply "hung a lock on the ship." The working day there is strictly until 17.00, the crew is only 75 people, and the sailors go on leave every day - not a service, but a fairy tale. So they stand half a cable from each other, two antipodes - the "hard labor" and the "resort" of the Northern Fleet. Wonderful are thy works, Lord!
SRZ-35 is not so hot as it is adapted to basing an aircraft carrier. Steam is supplied badly or not supplied at all. With water, the same thing, because. there is not enough pressure to supply it to the tiers of the superstructure. Electricity is also short - the "shore" is rather weak, and in winter, when the load in the network increases due to heaters, the coastal power board periodically "cuts down".
But the story of the SRZ-35 would not be complete without a story about the VOKhR. It is staffed with women of "Balzac age", which, however, does not in the least affect combat effectiveness - God forbid that it falls into their female hands (it is no coincidence that the Winter Battalion was defended by the women's shock battalion). At the checkpoint of the plant, you will be searched, sniffed (for the slightest smell of alcohol) and, of course, checked for a pass. This is not "Kuznetsov" for you. All this is brought to the point of absurdity. For example, carrying large bags, backpacks and "diplomats" (even empty ones) through the checkpoint without a special pass is prohibited. But if you stuff them into a plastic bag (even if it's two meters), then you can carry it without any passes.
The reader probably left a bad aftertaste from everything that was said - this is understandable. Some will say that this cannot be, while others will be indignant: what the fleet has come to and how the current military has sunk. We had to hear such insulting speeches quite often - and certainly from civilians. Such judgments always evoked a feeling of bewilderment rather than resentment. Our country, even with all its extravagance, is not a "banana republic" where the army is the state. In our country, the Ministry of Defense is only a part of the state mechanism. And in general, over the past 100 years, the army in Russia has been far from being the leading political force. Unlike the civilian sector, we, the military, depend on the government not indirectly (through laws), but directly (through orders). So we are an exact cast from our state-government. And since every nation is worthy of its own government, we should not dissociate ourselves from our, or rather, common problems.
If we continue to develop this topic, it is worth dispelling another misunderstanding, extremely persistent in "civilian circles" - about the supposedly natural totalitarianism of the military. We are the flesh of the flesh of our people, and there are no more supporters of the RNE or the Liberal Democratic Party among the military than among the rest of the people. And the supporters of the Communist Party, perhaps even less.
From some of the military I heard the following: they say, since we do not know how to operate aircraft carriers, then we do not need them, just EM and BOD are enough. But then why do we need these very EM and BOD? Indeed, far from the coast, without the support of aviation, they will be destroyed, and under the coast, their tasks are calmly solved by RTOs and the IPC. And the command of the Navy, thank God, understands this and lately, to the best of its ability, is trying to save this unique ship, and indeed the "aircraft carrier direction." There are even rumors that the Kuznetsov will no longer spend the winter in the north. But can all this be done without support from the very top? For its operation, and especially for the commissioning of at least two dozen Su-33s, a lot of money is needed ...
Terribly shameful for our unique and beloved ship.
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