Talk:Soviet Navy

Wrong information about VMF bases
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Soviet_Navy_Bases_1984.png this pic shows vishakhapatnam, India as a soviet base. This is totally erroneous and based on an unsubstantiated rumor floated during the 1971 war by (who else !) USN.

The plausible reason was that vishakhapatnam was the home base of the eastern fleet of the Indian navy and was mostly armed with eastern bloc origin warships, including all the submarines(all soviet origin) since Vishakhapatnam was also the HQ of the submarine arm of IN. While the other fleet, the western fleet based at bombay was armed with western origin ships. This lead to the eastern fleet being dubbed the 'red fleet' of the Indian Navy even among IN circles !

I request someone who has the expertise to edit the picture file and rectify this error. thanks !

-- mitran —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.194.224.168 (talk) 04:29, 13 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Entire 1984 Soviet naval base graphic lacks any citation of sources. As noted above, the map contains significant errors of fact.  This graphic should be either removed or corrected with substantiating citations.Федоров (talk) 02:59, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

old comments
Created the stub. There is a lot of information in the external links that could be incorporated into the history section of the article. Jacoplane 11:12, 20 Jul 2004 (UTC)
 * I have some ideas about where to take this. I'll explore them over the next couple of days. -Joseph 11:44, 2004 Jul 21 (UTC)
 * OK, first stage implemented. I'll add more. Feel free to add your own stuff. -Joseph 20:43, 2004 Aug 2 (UTC)

Wow, there's so much stuff to translate into English! I have info on the Soviet Navy, now I need patience and will. It'll take me a loooong time to submit this material. Maybe I'll abandon it halfway and then get down to it again... But I really want this article to be finished.

KNewman 17:25, Aug 12, 2004 (UTC)


 * Well, a lot of the stuff that I need to fill in is general historical information that doesn't necessarily require translation. I'll get around to it, but people who want to add more themselves shouldn't hold back. -Joseph 17:26, 2004 Aug 12 (UTC)

Hmm, Sergey Gorshkov is regarded as the most responsible for naval reform, yet has no article, and there is no expansion on that idea? That's a pretty big hole in the article. I've done research on him in the past, I'll write an article when I get around to it. (I.E. probably over the weekend.) Suntiger 22:28, 15 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Featured article status
Can we try to fill in some of the red links? I think if we did that we could try to give this article Featured Article status.

Clarification
The term "organic air arm" should be clarified. Crocodilicus 03:19, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

Soviet Nuclear Submarine Fleet
The discussion of Soviet submarines as being the world's "best" in terms of speed and reactor technology is completely false, I have edited it to say "some of the best". Soviet submarine nuclear reactors were years behind those of the American nuclear fleet, were rushed into service without proper technology, and had serious radioactive leak issues that affected the submerged submarine's atmosphere and of course the entire crew. The number of accidents involving nuclear submarines in the Soviet fleet is not due to inept crews, but to the Soviet political system and how officers and crews were often hastily assembled for patrols. One infamous policy in an emergency situation was to phyiscally enter the reactor room and manually remove control rods, insuring a lethal dose of radiation for the crewmen undertaking this task. The Soviets had good weapons systems, but their submarine technology and tactics would have seriously reduced their ability to survive the shadowing U.S. hunter killers and P-3 planes long enough to actually fire their warheads. I have sources and citations from naval publications and will work on a Soviet submarine article. Wiking06 14:58, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Not sure how that made it in there. I would have deleted it if I had seen it, as I think most military analysts would disagree with the assertion that Soviet subs were "the world's best." &mdash;Joseph/N328KF (Talk) 15:19, 6 April 2006 (UTC)
 * That Tom Clancy garbage shouldn't be taken seriously you know.

-G

History is very strange
Most of facts in the history section is doubtful. For example, core of the nothern fleet was formed by soviet project-7 and old russian noviks destroyers, and not a ex-U.S. Navy Lend-Lease destroyers.


 * http://uboat.net/allies/warships/class.html?ID=249 - list of project-7 destroyers
 * http://uboat.net/allies/warships/listing.html?navy=USSR - all ships.

From http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWredN.htm :

The Royal Navy and the US Navy also provided the Red Navy with a battleship, a cruiser and several smaller craft. Moreover, land-leased was only "several smaller craft", old battleship and cruiser was given as a Soviet part of Italian navy and after war they were exchanged back to better ships, built in Italy.

Look in the comments, my english is not so good and I have no time now to find good sources for my thesises (They are mostly based on books in russian language)

Ok, well done.

http://wf.weltkrieg.ru/color/sovforce/foto/041b.jpg

Unshown text imported
!-- Russians have not had a strong maritime tradition, at least in the same sense that other European powers such as the British and French enjoyed. Largely due to geography, Russia simply did not have the same amount of access to the high seas, and what access the nation did have was often constrained by seasonal ice. In addition, Russia's vast size and central placement on Eurasia allowed overland trade routes to many neighbors, thus negating the necessity of a navy to protect seaborne trade. -- !-- better to delete entire paragraph above

Reason: In normannic times fleet of Kiev Russia(with the help of hired normann army man, known as varyags (варяги)) was one of the most poverful fleets and took part in diege and taking many of the cities on Black and Baltic sea (most famous was taking of Byzantium Constantinople (Your shield on Tsargrad doors/Твой щит на вратах Цареграда from Song about wise Oleg)), and the story AFAIK about doors of Sopha cathedral of Great novgorod) from one of the Baltic towns. Then, many actions by cossacks on Black sea (It was a kind of Carribean with turks as Spain and cossacs as English/French pirates) with they galley fleet (tschaiki/чайки/seagulls --- kind of galley-like small ships, with free oarsman) are not widely known. The only known famous action in Nothern Ocean was discovery of Bering straits by cossack-coast-dweller(помор) Sem'en Dezhn'ev (Семён Дежнёв) in 1648. And actions after official creation of russian fleet by Peter the Great, but they are better known even in wikipedia :) --- This text above was 'hiding' in the article, but will need to be cleaned up and reconsidered before being inserted, if at all. Cheers Buckshot06 07:21, 18 November 2006 (UTC)
 * The text above was reason, why some information must be deleted. It is not 100% academic, more like point of view, and it's not suitable for this page, so it was placed in the comment.


 * I take issue with anyone questioning Russian maritime tradition. Just the Russian regular Navy is 313 years old as of October 2009.  Also, "maritime tradition" encompasses more than just the navy.  In includes all seafaring.  The nature and extent of Russia's riverine navigational experience is huge.Федоров (talk) 03:04, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

Brown Water Navy
I think some mention of the fact the Soviet Navy was a brown water navy, and not a blue water navy, aside from some subs, and the reason why this was the case, should be included. - MSTCrow 08:02, 22 February 2007 (UTC)
 * wikipedia is not the place to show the results of american education system. During cold war one can find soviet ships in any part of world ocean.
 * That comment is rude. It also indicates that you do not understand the definition of a 'blue water navy.' It does not imply simply that a navy can send ships or fleets to conduct blue water operations for brief periods. For much of its history, most of the Soviet Navy was oriented toward coastal operations. 66.92.132.155 07:07, 5 July 2007 (UTC)
 * And you also suppose, that there are a lot of targets in Norway for this "brown water navy", because largest fleet afterwar was Nothern? Or maybe there are a lot of sea-poachers near USSR northern coast to be attacked by russian coastal nuclear-powered missile cruisers?

The Soviet Navy had both blue, green and brown water elements. --MoRsE 11:39, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Succes of Soviet submarines on Baltic until 1945
I would be most interested in knowing the source for the supposed succes of Soviet submarines against German ships in Baltic Sea before 1945. The Baltic Fleet's surface units were bottled in Leningrad area, and the situation was very similiar for the submarines because of wide minefields and submarine nets. I seriously doubt that the Soviet submarines achieved any considerable succes until 1945. Regards, --Kurt Leyman 14:27, 1 April 2007 (UTC)
 * http://uboat.net/allies/ships/soviet.htm
 * As for antisubmarine actions of Axis, russian sources states that it was effective in 1943-Sep. 1944. Look for С-13 or Lembit actions and see dates of successfull attacks.
 * Maybe sinking of Wilhelm_Gustloff_(ship) was the most known result of ineffectiveness of soviet submarines?

Dn2010 (talk) 21:07, 21 December 2008 (UTC)


 * Why is the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff viewed as ineffective? It was evacuating an entire Kriegsmarine submarine school from Koenigsberg, the future of the submarine force of Nazi Germany - both teaching staff and future submarine officers.Федоров (talk) 03:09, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

The Great Patriotic War
Shouldn't this section be called World War II instead of The Great Patriotic War? It is generally known as World War II outside the former Soviet Union and, even though this is a USSR-related article, this is English, not Russian, Wikipedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.43.24.203 (talk) 23:43, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

As long as i remember World War II was second The Great Patriotic War. First The Great Patriotic War was during Napoleon war in Russia in 18 century. Please check this.

Fisher1st —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.29.169.72 (talk) 18:29, 8 October 2007 (UTC)
 * 1812 is Patriotic War of year 1812 (Отечественная война 1812 года) in Russia.
 * Patriotic War (1812), Great Patriotic War (1941).

-G —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.24.152.144 (talk) 22:36, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

The Great Patriotic War is the name given to the armed conflict defined by Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union's struggle to expel the invader and reclaim territory lost to the Nazi advance. The name uses the word "great" to memorialize the tremendous suffering and losses endured in the struggle - at least 12-15 million dead. The previous Russian "Patriotic War" was that waged against the Napoleonic invasion in 1812. In both cases the word "patriotic" denotes that the war was waged to defend the homeland - the "patria" - and to expel the invader.

It is incorrect to equate the Great Patriotic War with World War II. The Great Patriotic War was only the Soviet-German part of WW-II.Федоров (talk) 03:17, 16 January 2010 (UTC)

International designation
Just out of interest, what was the international code for Soviet vessels? Like the US is 'USS X' and the Royal Navy is 'HMS X' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.11.250.84 (talk) 18:15, 29 January 2008 (UTC)


 * There is no such thing as an 'international code', HMS for example is shared by more than one navy. It is just part of the name of the ship. You could call your ship USS whatever if you really wanted.
 * For the record, not all US war ships have the code USS and not all UK ships use HMS either. FFMG (talk) 08:53, 30 January 2008 (UTC)

new structure proposal
I would like to propose that the article be restructured as follows:


 * 1 Red Navy legacy and history
 * 1.1 Russian Civil War
 * 1.2 Stalin's Navy
 * 1.3 Purges
 * 1.4 Great Patriotic War (include conflicts with the Japanese, and Finland) (separate article)

Red Navy during the Great Patriotic War
 * 1.1 The Scope of the War
 * 1.2 The Polish Campaign
 * 1.3 The Finnish Campaigns
 * 1.4 1st period of GPW
 * 1.5 2nd Period of GPW
 * 1.6 3rd Period of GPW
 * 1.7 The Manchurian Campaign
 * 1.4 The Soviet Navy (separate article for Cold War)
 * 1.5 The Korean War
 * 1.6 The Vietnam War
 * 1.7 Foreign military assistance
 * 1.9 Transition from Soviet Navy to Armed forces of the Russian Federation and former Soviet republics in a separate article


 * 2 Military doctrine (as a process of learning from history)
 * 2.1 Deep Operations
 * 2.2 Operational Manoeuvre Groups
 * 2.3 Gorshkov's Navy
 * 2.4 Choke points and strategic bases
 * 2.5 Carrier aviation development


 * 3 Organization (organising for the doctrines)
 * 3.1 Higher command structure
 * 3.2 Administrative structure and Rear Services
 * 3.3 Arms of Service, Service Corps and command establishments
 * 3.4 Peace and Wartime structures (links to articles on organisation of formations and units)
 * 3.5 Post-GPW changes
 * 3.6 Post-Stalin changes
 * 3.7 "Nuclear oceans" impact


 * 4 Personnel (developing the personnel to execute the doctrines)
 * 4.1 Ranks and titles
 * 4.2 General Staff
 * 4.3 Military education
 * 4.4 Manpower and enlisted men
 * 4.5 Army culture


 * 5 Weapons and equipment (developing the equipment for the personnel)
 * (Links to equipment articles by Arm of Service)
 * 5.1 Missile troops
 * 5.2 SpetzNaz troops
 * 5.3 Capital vessels
 * 5.4 Minor vessels
 * 5.5 Submarine forces
 * 5.6 Coastal defence troops
 * 5.7 Amphibious forces
 * 5.8 Naval Aviation
 * 5.9 Base support


 * 6 Notes
 * 7 References
 * 8 Sources

Comments?--mrg3105 (comms) ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 00:51, 30 March 2008 (UTC)

Cold War Engagements
The leader asserts, "...the Soviet Navy still saw considerable action during the Cold War". The body of the text does not seem to provide any evidence. What was this action? Thom2002 (talk) 14:40, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

Made up of 75 % conscripts in the mid-1980s ?
Eg., Military Balance (IISS) claims that in 1985 the then some 480,000 strong Soviet Navy, second largest navy in the world, has 3/4 conscripts in its ranks. Is that believable, regarding the huge warship and armaments pool and the technical requirements to maintain an organization so strong ? --129.187.244.28 (talk) 08:19, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Highest Level Organizational Information Missing
The article currently says the navy was formed in 1918 as the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet and later says it was renamed in 1946 as the Soviet Navy. There is no mention that at some point after 1918 the navy was subordinated as a main directorate under the Red Army and thus was not an indepedent military service any more. Further, as some time in the 1930s, the navy became independent again as the Voyenno-Morskoy Flot. I came here for specific dates for this information and am surprised it is missing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.76.140.15 (talk) 17:16, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 02:05, 1 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Victor III class submarine 2.jpg

Critique of marine section
A History SE answer to Why was the Soviet Marine Infantry disbanded in 1947? has some critiques for a portion of this page:

> The mistake is repeated in this English language Wikipedia article (which, curiously, cites no sources for this mistaken information).

See the link for a description, sources, and a link to a Global Security page said to be more accurate.

I have no knowledge of the topic at hand, but perhaps someone more knowledgeable can chime in and provide corrections or clarifications as needed. 72.43.37.66 (talk) 20:18, 20 July 2023 (UTC)