Ilya Muromets (1965 icebreaker)

Ilya Muromets (Илья Муромец) was a Soviet Navy icebreaker in service from 1965 until 1993. It had a 1966-built sister ship Buran.

Description
In the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union began developing a new diesel-electric icebreaker design based on the 1942-built steam-powered icebreaker Eisbär to meet the needs of both civilian and naval operators. Built in various configurations until the early 1980s, the Project 97 icebreakers and their derivatives became the largest and longest-running class of icebreakers and icebreaking vessels built in the world. Two unarmed Project 97A icebreakers built for the Soviet Navy are sometimes considered as a separate subclass, Project 97K.

Project 97K icebreakers were 67.7 m long overall and had a beam of 18 m. Fully laden, the vessels drew 5.35 m of water and had a displacement of 2935 t. Their three 1800 hp 10-cylinder 13D100 two-stroke opposed-piston diesel engines were coupled to generators that powered electric propulsion motors driving two propellers in the stern and a third one in the bow. Project 97K icebreakers were capable of breaking 70 to 75 cm thick snow-covered ice at very slow but continuous speed.

Unlike the three Project 97 icebreakers built for the Soviet Navy in 1960–1962, the later Project 97K variants were unarmed.

History
The first of two Project 97K icebreakers was laid down at Admiralty Shipyard in Leningrad on 10 March 1965, launched on 30 June 1965, and delivered on 28 December 1965. The ship was named Ilya Muromets after the Russian folk hero and joined the Soviet Navy Red Banner Pacific Fleet.

Ilya Muromets was decommissioned in on 30 June 1993 and broken up afterwards.