Russian Northern Fleet

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Northern Fleet sleeve ensign
Northern Fleet sleeve ensign

The Russian Northern Fleet (Russian: Северный флот, Severny Flot) is the part of the Russian Navy that defends Russian territory beyond the Arctic Circle. It was originally founded in 1933 as the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet, but changed its name after the fall of the Soviet Union.[citation needed] The fleet's headquarters are located in Murmansk and the main base and administrative centre is the Severomorsk naval base. During Soviet Era it was the base of more than 200 submarines between SLBM and SSN.

During the 1980s Soviet naval strategy shifted to an emphasis on bastion defense, fortifying the southern reaches of the Barents Sea for that purpose, and Russia has continued to employ that strategy.

The Oscar class submarine Kursk was destroyed in a torpedo accident during Fleet exercises in 2000. The submarine was previously based at Ara Bay. The Northern Fleet staged another series of major exercises in January 2004 involving thirteen ships and seven submarines in the Barents Sea. The involvement of Admiral Kuznetsov and Pyotr Velikiy was overshadowed however by two ballistic missile launch failures, made more embarrassing because President Vladimir Putin was afloat aboard the Typhoon class ballistic missile submarine Arkhangelsk to witness the tests. Neither Novomoskovsk nor Karelia were able to successfully launch what were apparently RSM-54 SLBMs.[1]

The flagship of the Northern Fleet, the nuclear-powered large guided missile cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, is named after Peter I of Russia (or Peter the Great). The Northern Fleet is perhaps best known for its many nuclear-powered vessels. In fact, about two thirds of all the Russian Navy's nuclear force is based there.

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[edit] Sites

Map of naval bases, shipyards and spent fuel storage sites operated by the Northern Fleet
Map of naval bases, shipyards and spent fuel storage sites operated by the Northern Fleet

In addition to the main base at Severomorsk, the Northern Fleet has six more naval bases and several shipyards and spent fuel storage sites, according to the Bellona Foundation. The spent fuel storage sites include Murmansk, which is also a shipyard and base for Arktika nuclear-powered icebreakers, Andreeva Bay, and Severodvinsk, also a shipyard.

[edit] Bases

[edit] Shipyards

  • Roslyakovo
  • Polyarny
  • Nerpa
  • Malaya Lopatka

[edit] Order of Battle

This is a partial list of Northern Fleet vessels and air units currently in service.

[edit] List of former vessels

This is a list of former Northern Fleet vessels that have Wikipedia articles (not including those who only served in the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet).

[edit] Commanders

Name Period of command
Vyacheslav Alekseyevich Popov 1999-2001
Gennady Aleksandrovich Suchkov 2001-2004
Mikhail Leopoldovich Abramov 2004-2005
Vladimir Vysotskiy 2005.09-2007.09
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Maksimov 2007.11-

[edit] References and external links

  1. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004-05, p.29
  2. ^ Ввс Вмф
  3. ^ Air Forces Monthly, August 2007 issue.