Moskva-class helicopter carrier

The Moskva class, Soviet designation Project 1123 Kondor (condor) and S-703 Project 1123M Kiev, was the first class of operational aircraft carriers (helicopter cruisers in the Soviet classification) built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy.

These ships were laid down at Nikolayev South (Shipyard No.444). The lead vessel was launched in 1965 and named SOVIET HELICOPTER CARRIER Moskva (Москва); she entered service two years later. Moskva was followed by SOVIET HELICOPTER CARRIER Leningrad (Ленинград, which was commissioned in late 1968; there were no further vessels built, reportedly due to the poor handling of the ships in rough seas. Both were conventionally powered.

The Moskvas were not true "aircraft carriers" in that they did not carry any fixed-wing aircraft; the air wing was composed entirely of helicopters. They were designed primarily as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels, and her weapons and sensor suite was optimized against the nuclear submarine threat. Their strategic role was to defend the Soviet ballistic missile submarine bastions against incursions by Western attack submarines, forming the flagships of an ASW task force.

Design
The operational requirement was issued by Admiral Sergey Gorshkov in 1959. The aim of the ships was to counter NATO Polaris submarines and act as a flagship for anti-submarine warfare. Initially it was hoped to operate ten helicopters from an 8000-ton ship. The design evolved into a larger vessel capable of operating up to 14 helicopters with self defence armament.

Armament
Shipboard ASW armament included a twin SUW-N-1 launcher capable of delivering a FRAS-1 projectile carrying a 450 mm torpedo (or a 5 kiloton nuclear warhead); a pair of RBU-6000 ASW mortars; and a set of torpedo tubes. For self-defence, the Moskvas had two twin SA-N-3 surface-to-air missile (SAM) launchers with reloads for a total of 48 surface-to-air missiles, along with two twin 57 mm /80 guns.

Propulsion
Gas turbines were considered but were as yet untried in such a large vessel. Instead a high pressure steam plant similar to that used by the Kynda-class cruisers was used. The machinery of Moskva had severe problems and had to be rebuilt in 1973 following a fire. Operational performance was disappointing with a practical maximum speed of 30 kn and 24 kn maximum sustainable speed. Sea keeping was also disappointing.

Ships


Both vessels were part of the Black Sea Fleet. Leningrad was retired in 1991 and Moskva in 1996. Leningrad was scrapped in 1995 and Moskva in 1997. A third ship to be named Kiev was cancelled in 1969, which was to have been an anti-surface warfare vessel. The Moskva class was succeeded by the larger Kiev-class aircraft carrier.