ORP Warszawa (modified Kashin class)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

ORP Warszawa in 2004, on her way to the reserve hangar
Career (Soviet Union)
Name:	Smelyi (Russian: Смелый, Valiant)
Builder:	61st Communard's Shipyard Mykolaiv, Soviet Union
Laid down:	November 15, 1966
Launched:	February 6, 1968
Commissioned:	December 27, 1969
Decommissioned:	January 9, 1988
Fate:	Sold to Poland
Career (Poland)
Name:	ORP Warszawa
Namesake:	Warsaw
Commissioned:	January 9, 1988
Decommissioned:	December 5, 2003
Fate:	Reserve in the Polish Navy hangar in Gdynia
General characteristics
Displacement:	3850 to 4950
Length:	146.20 m (479 ft 8 in)
Beam:	15.80 m (51 ft 10 in)
Draft:	4.80-6.80 m (22 ft 4 in)
Speed:	35 knots (65 km/h/40 mph)
Complement:	320
Armament:	2 × SA-N-1 SSM launcher 4 × 76 mm (3.0 in) (2x2) 5 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine-weapon rocket launcher 2 × RBU-1000 rocket launchers

ORP Warszawa (Polish for Warsaw, Pendant 271), formerly Smelyi - Valiant) was a large rocket destroyer of the Polish Navy, one of the last ships of the modified Kashin class. She was built in the 61st Communard's Shipyard in Mykolaiv, Soviet Union, for the Soviet Navy. Commissioned in 1969, she was one of the ships of the CKB-53 class, dubbed Kashin class destroyers in NATO code.

The ship was among the largest destroyers of the time; with 4950 tonnes of displacement she had similar displacement to many of the World War II cruisers. The flexible design allowed the ships of her class to serve as a multi-purpose vessel rather than a standard rocket destroyer. Among the capabilities of the class were anti-surface and anti-submarine missions, convoy escort, long-range bombardment and a variety of other roles. Ship's armament was almost fully automated and was one of the first such ships in the Eastern Bloc.

Between 1972 and 1974 the ship was modernized to the new 61MP standard, dubbed the modified Kashin class by NATO countries. The modernization included a complete refurbishment, change of armament and mounting of detection and fire control systems. In 1987 the ship was leased by Poland as a replacement for the obsoleted ORP Warszawa (Kotlin SAM class). Renamed to ORP Warszawa in 1988, between 1992 and 1993 it was permanently transferred to Poland (along with ORP Dzik and ORP Wilk submarines) in exchange for Soviet debts at the Polish Navy Shipyard in Gdynia. After 16 years of service in the Polish Navy, she was designated to be sold abroad. In the end, no country was interested in purchasing the ship, and finally she was sent to the Navy's reserve.