Soviet cruiser Kirov
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| Career (Soviet Union) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Kirov |
| Builder: | Ordzhonikidze Yard, Leningrad |
| Laid down: | 22 October 1935 |
| Launched: | 30 November 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 23 September 1938 |
| Struck: | December 1974 |
| Honours and awards: |
Order of the Red Banner |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Displacement: | 7,756 tons (standard) 9,287 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 191.40 metres (overall) |
| Beam: | 17.72m |
| Draught: | 7.23m |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft geared turbines; 6 Yarrow-Normand boilers; 113,000shp |
| Speed: | 36 knots (kts) |
| Range: | 3,750 nm at 18kts |
| Complement: | 872 |
| Armament: | 9 181mm (7.1in) (3x3) 6 3.9in (6x1) 6 45mm anti-aircraft (6x1) 6 21in torpedo tubes (2x3) 4 0.5in machine-guns 90 mines |
| Armour: | main belt 50mm deck 50mm turrets 75mm (max) tower 100mm |
| Aircraft carried: | 2 |
| Aviation facilities: | 1 catapult |
Kirov was a Soviet Red Banner light cruiser of the Kirov class, named after Sergei Kirov.
Contents |
[edit] Service
Kirov served 1937–1974 in the Baltic Sea, and was one of the few large Soviet ships to survive World War II. Her role was mainly in support of army units.
She was part of the Light Battle Group together with the cruiser Maxim Gorky and nine destroyers. On December 1, 1939, Kirov attacked the Finnish batteries at Russarö and Hanko at the start of the Russo-Finnish War.
[edit] Great Patriotic War
Based near Riga at the time of the German attack on the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) in June 1941, she was trapped in the Gulf of Riga by the rapid German advance. Employing radical weight reductions, she passed through the shallow Moon Sound (between Muhu island and the Estonian mainland) with great difficulty, and managed to reach Tallinn. In August, the Kirov supported the defence of Tallinn with her guns and she was the flagship of the evacuation convoys from Tallinn to Leningrad. She was undamaged, but fifty other Soviet ships in the convoys were lost.
At the end of August, 1941 the Kirov was assigned to support army units defending Kronstadt, remaining there for as long as the Germans were in range. In April, 1942, she received several bomb hits requiring repairs that kept the vessel out of service until early 1943. In January 1944 she supported the Red Army's offensive against the Germans besieging Leningrad.
During June 1944, the Kirov provided fire support for the Soviet Army's attack on Vyborg.
After hostilities had moved out of the Leningrad area, the Kirov remained there, and took no further active part in the war.
[edit] Post-war
During the 1960s, Kirov served as a training ship, regularly visiting Poland and East Germany.
She was scrapped in 1974. When Kirov was decommissioned, two gun turrets were installed at Leningrad as a monument.
[edit] References
Whitley, M J (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press, 209-211. ISBN 1-85409-225-1.
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