Misplaced Pages

#585414

103-420: The first full-range test was reportedly conducted on October 11, 2008; the reported range was 11,547 kilometres (7,175 mi). The R-29RMU2 entered service in 2007 and is expected to remain in service until at least 2030. Current plans call for the construction of approximately 100 such missiles. The Sineva missile has reportedly been modified into R-29RMU2 Layner missile as of 2012. At its height in 1984,

206-621: A Soviet fleet was a national priority, but many senior officers were killed in the Great Purge in the late 1930s. The naval share of the national armaments budget fell from 11.5% in 1941 to 6.6% in 1944. When the Soviet Union entered the Second World War, during Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, initially millions of soldiers were captured, many sailors and naval guns were detached to reinforce

309-505: A fleet-defense operational concept, in distinction to the Western emphasis on shore-strike missions from distant deployment. A second carrier (pre-commissioning name Varyag ) was under construction when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. Construction stopped and the ship was sold later, incomplete, to the People's Republic of China by Ukraine , which inherited part of the old Soviet fleet after

412-451: A level to avoid block obsolescence before 2030. The Northern Fleet has also received attention with respect to technological upgrades. The Fleet has received new combat aircraft (deployed within the 45th Air and Air Defence Army), enhanced shore-based missile assets (both surface-to-surface and surface-to-air) as well as new systems such as the Samarkand electronic warfare systems in 2017 and

515-489: A military satellite blocking the launch signal; this incident did not lead to any serious consequences for the K-407 Novomoskovsk strategic nuclear submarine. March 1, 2004 saw then Russian president Vladimir Putin instructing the acting defence minister to carry out an investigation in order to determine the reason of the launch failures of the three RSM-54 missiles in mid-February. On 17 March 2004 Novomoskovsk of

618-543: A naval strategy designed to disrupt sea lines of communication . Nonetheless, the Soviet navy pursued an aircraft carrier program as a way of matching stoking competition with the U.S. Navy . The Soviet Navy still had the mission of confronting Western submarines, creating a need for large surface vessels to carry anti-submarine helicopters. During 1968 and 1969 the Moskva -class helicopter carriers were first deployed, succeeded by

721-798: A squadron created in 1733 to protect the territories of the Russian Empire , sea trade routes and fisheries in the White Sea near the coast of the Kola Peninsula . The order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy of 25 May 2014 determined 1733 as the year of foundation of the Northern Fleet, and June 1 as its annual holiday". In its modern iteration, the Arctic Ocean Flotilla of

824-506: A total of 118 transport, military, and auxiliary ships. Soviet submarine K-21 , under the command of Captain Nikolai Lunin , attacked the German battleship Tirpitz at 71° 22' 2"N, 24° 34' 3"E. The К-21 logbook reports observation of two torpedo explosions, but no damage is reported by German sources. Ships were lost fighting against unequal odds. Patrol boat Tuman , a former trawler,

927-533: Is procuring a new "lightened" class of Project 21180M icebreakers (which are two-thirds the displacement of the existing Project 21180 ship) with the first vessel being deployed with the Pacific Fleet in early 2023. These plans were formalized under the terms of a presidential executive order and Arctic strategy unveiled in October 2020. The icebreakers are designed to ensure the capacity of year-round navigation along

1030-564: The 279th Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment . On 12 August 2000, the Kursk submarine disaster gained international attention when the Oscar -class submarine Kursk of the Northern Fleet perished in a torpedo accident during exercises in the Barents Sea near Murmansk Oblast, resulting in the deaths of 118 sailors. Beginning in the early 2000s, however, a renewed emphasis was placed on modernizing

1133-645: The 7th Operational Squadron  [ ru ] was the main Atlantic operational force of the fleet. The Museum of the Air Forces of the Northern Fleet was opened on 20 August 1976, in the closed settlement of Safonovo, Murmansk Oblast . Aircraft carriers began entering service with the Fleet in the 1970s. The lead unit of the Kiev class of heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers, Kiev , became operational in 1977, and Admiral Gorshkov

SECTION 10

#1732851973586

1236-611: The Baltic Sea there remained only three much-neglected battleships, two cruisers, some ten destroyers, and a few submarines. Despite this state of affairs, the Baltic Fleet remained a significant naval formation, and the Black Sea Fleet also provided a basis for expansion. There also existed some thirty minor-waterways combat flotillas. During the 1930s, as the industrialization of the Soviet Union proceeded, plans were made to expand

1339-642: The Barents Sea and Kara Sea , as well as the northwestern maritime approaches to Russia including the Norwegian Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The Northern Fleet's headquarters and main base are located in Severomorsk , Murmansk Oblast , with secondary bases elsewhere in the greater Kola Bay area. The current commander is Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev , who has held the position since May 2019. In June 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an executive order making

1442-975: The Barents Sea from the Kaiserliche Marine of the German Empire . After the October Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, the Soviet Navy replaced the Imperial Russian Navy and formed the White Sea Flotilla ( Беломорская флотилия , Belomorskaya flotiliya ) in March 1920, based in Arkhangelsk . The White Sea Flotilla replaced the Arctic Sea Flotilla and was renamed as

1545-811: The Battle of the Kerch Peninsula , one during the Caucasus Campaign and one as part of the Landing at Moonsund , in the Baltic . During the war, five brigades and two battalions of naval infantry were awarded Guards status. Nine brigades and six battalions were awarded decorations, and many were given honorary titles. The title Hero of the Soviet Union was bestowed on 122 members of naval infantry units. The Soviet experience in amphibious warfare in World War II contributed to

1648-658: The Buyan/M and Karakurt classes) have temporarily been able to deploy into Northern Fleet waters utilizing Russian internal waterways. In 2020, the Buyan-M class corvette Zelenyy Dol and the Karakurt-class corvette Odintsovo trained and conducted trials in Arctic waters having deployed to northern waters via the internal waterways. The deployment illustrated the Russian capacity to reinforce

1751-762: The Coastal Artillery . The Soviet Navy was formed from the remnants of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russian Civil War . After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation inherited the largest part of the Soviet Navy and reformed it into the Russian Navy , with smaller parts becoming the basis for navies of the newly independent post-Soviet states . The Soviet Navy

1854-483: The Czar . Some imperial vessels continued to serve after the revolution, albeit with different names. The Soviet Navy, established as the " Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet " by a 1918 decree of the new Council of People's Commissars , installed as a temporary Russian revolutionary government, was less than service-ready during the interwar years of 1918 to 1941. As the country's attentions were largely directed internally,

1957-606: The Kura Test Range firing from the Barents Sea . The 27th underwater launch occurred on 12 December 2015; the Russian Ministry of Defence shared video on official YouTube site, and major Russian news channels. Another successful launch was conducted on 12 October 2016 and one more on 24 August 2019. Six more launches took place on 17 October 2019, 9 December 2020, 19 February 2022, 26 October 2022, 25 October 2023 and 29 October 2024. Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy

2060-671: The Mediterranean Sea . The squadron's main function was to prevent largescale naval ingress into the Black Sea , which could bypass the need for any invasion to be over the Eurasian land mass. The flagship of the squadron was for a long period the Sverdlov -class cruiser Zhdanov . In the strategic planning laid by the Soviet strategists, the aircraft carriers were seen as relatively unimportant and received little attention, as Moscow focused on

2163-596: The Mike-class submarine Komsomolets , both lost to fire, and the far more menacing nuclear reactor leak on the Hotel-class submarine K-19 , narrowly averted by her captain . Inadequate nuclear safety , poor damage control, and quality-control issues during construction (particularly on the earlier submarines) were typical causes of accidents. On several occasions there were alleged collisions with American submarines. None of these, however, has been confirmed officially by

SECTION 20

#1732851973586

2266-515: The Red Army ; these reassigned naval forces had especially significant roles on land in the battles for Odessa , Sevastopol , Stalingrad , Novorossiysk , Tuapse , and Leningrad . The Baltic fleet was blockaded in Leningrad and Kronstadt by minefields, but the submarines escaped. The surface fleet fought with the anti-aircraft defence of the city and bombarded German positions. The composition of

2369-454: The Red Terror , some joined the " White " (anti-communist) opposing armies, and others simply resigned) and most of the sailors walked off and left their ships. Work stopped in the shipyards, where uncompleted ships deteriorated rapidly. The Black Sea Fleet fared no better than the Baltic . The Bolshevik (Communist) revolution entirely disrupted its personnel, with mass murders of officers;

2472-827: The Russian Armed Forces . In September of that year, the band as well as a band from Tromsø , Norway , where they performed "Norwegian March" and " Farewell of Slavianka " at the Murmansk Regional Philharmonic. From January 1, 2021 the Northern Fleet command was made a separate command within the Russian Armed Forces having equal status to the other Russian military districts. As such, it consists of naval forces (the Northern Fleet itself), land forces (14th Army Corps, plus naval infantry and coastal defence troops), as well as aviation and air defence assets (45th Air Force and Air Defence Army). That status

2575-556: The Russian Civil War , cooperating with the ships and the army during the combats at Petrograd , on the Baltic Sea , the Black Sea , the Volga , the Kama River , Northern Dvina and on the Lake Onega . The newborn Soviet Naval Air Force consisted of only 76 obsolete hydroplanes. Scanty and technically imperfect, it was mostly used for resupplying the ships and the army. In the second half of

2678-599: The Russian Northern Fleet performed a successful launch of the RSM-54 Sineva. The missile's two warheads reportedly hit their targets. President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov observed a successful test launch of the Sineva missile from K-84 Yekaterinburg . Further successful launches were conducted by Yekaterinburg on 8 September 2006. The missile was launched from an ice-covered polar region toward

2781-399: The Soviet Navy conducted over 100 SSBN patrols. The Russian Navy declined during the 1990s, with no SSBN patrols carried out in 2001–2002. The development of the Sineva is part of a program tasked with "preventing the weakening of Russia's nuclear deterrent." The R-29RMU2 Sineva is seen as a rival to the solid propellant Bulava SLBM . Originally, the Russian Navy was slated to receive

2884-517: The maritime flank of the 14th Army . Naval Infantry and up to 10,000 Northern Fleet personnel participated in land warfare including the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation of 1944. Northern Fleet Naval Infantry units caused tens of thousands of German casualties fighting during the Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, and North Caucasus campaigns. Among the air units of the Northern Fleet was

2987-514: The sea lines of communication across the North Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America, the primary role of these aircraft was to protect the Soviet mainland from attacks by U.S. carrier task forces. Due to the Soviet Union's geographic position, submarines were considered the capital ships of the Navy. Submarines could penetrate attempts at blockade, either in the constrained waters of

3090-487: The 10th Anti-Submarine Warfare Brigade (10 Project 42 and 50 ASW vessels). On 1 April 1961, the division was renamed the 2nd Anti-Submarine Warfare Division. On 1 July 1958, the Northern Fleet raised the Soviet Navy ensign over the first Soviet nuclear submarine , K-3 Leninskiy Komsomol . Following the 1958 voyage of USS Nautilus , the Leninskiy Komsomol (named for Vladimir Lenin 's Komsomol ) traveled under

3193-859: The 121st Fighter Aviation Regiment. The Northern Fleet was reinforced with naval aircraft and ships from the Pacific Ocean and Caspian Sea . Great Britain and the United States temporarily provided HMS Royal Sovereign and USS  Milwaukee to the USSR in exchange for the Italian ships captured during the war and destined to be divided among the allies. During the war, the Northern Fleet secured safe passage for 1,463 ships in external convoys and 2,568 ships in internal convoys. Its submarines, torpedo boats, and aviation sank 192 enemy transport ships and 70 other hostile military ships. The Northern Fleet also damaged

R-29RMU Sineva - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-732: The 1920s, the Naval Aviation order of battle began to grow. It received new reconnaissance hydroplanes, bombers, and fighters. In the mid-1930s, the Soviets created the Naval Air Force in the Baltic Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet and the Soviet Pacific Fleet. The importance of naval aviation had grown significantly by 1938–1940, to become one of the main components of the Soviet Navy. By this time, the Soviets had created formations and units of

3399-452: The 2000s, focused on reinvesting in a region that had previously been abandoned for more than 15 years". Units were disbanded in the 1990s including the 6th and 3rd Submarine divisions in addition to aviation units. Previous units also included the 1st Submarine Flotilla, and the 7th Submarine Division of nuclear attack submarines. In 1989 the Soviet Navy had nearly 200 nuclear submarines in operation of which two-thirds were said to belong to

3502-545: The 279th Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment from Severomorsk-3 in Murmansk Oblast until disbanded on 1 May 1998. The 5th Naval Missile Aviation Division commanding the 524th and 574th Naval Missile Aviation Regiments. The 574th Regiment was based at Lakhta air base (Katunino), until disbanded in 2002. The 100th Independent Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment (in February 1993) and its personnel and equipment absorbed by

3605-536: The 45th Air Force and Air Defence Army, as well as the 14th Army Corps, fall under the Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command , which was established in 2014 and is a military-administered district of equal status to the other four military districts of the Russian Armed Forces. Its jurisdiction is primarily within the northern region of European Russia and the Arctic Ocean. The formal status of

3708-485: The Arctic Ocean, Soviet Northern Fleet destroyers ( Novik class, Type 7, and Type 7U) and smaller craft participated with the anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defence of Allied convoys conducting Lend-Lease cargo shipping. In the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan before 1945, so some destroyers were transferred to the Northern Fleet. From the beginning of hostilities, Soviet Naval Aviation provided air support to naval and land operations involving

3811-412: The Arctic ice and surfaced at the North Pole on 17 July 1962. Russian submarines have visited the North Pole region more than 300 times since then. Two nuclear submarines of the Northern Fleet made a journey under the Arctic ice cap and reached the Pacific Fleet for the first time in history in September 1963. More than 25 Soviet submarines did the same in the following years. The Northern Fleet

3914-749: The Arctic". The Northern and Pacific fleets would continue to focus on "combat missions". If established, it was envisaged that the Arctic Fleet would maintain infrastructure separate from the Northern and Pacific fleets. The Northern Fleet's main base is Severomorsk . There are six more naval bases at Polyarnyy , Olenya Bay , Gadzhiyevo (Yagelnaya/Sayda), Vidyayevo (Ura Bay and Ara Bay), Bolshaya Lopatka (Litsa Guba), and Gremikha . Civilian Arktika nuclear-powered icebreakers are based at Murmansk . Shipyards are located in Murmansk, Severodvinsk , Roslyakovo , Polyarnyy, Nerpa , and Malaya Lopatka . Spent fuel storage sites include Murmansk, Gremikha, Severodvinsk and Andreyeva Bay . The Military Band of

4017-420: The Baltic and Black Seas or in the remote reaches of the USSR's western Arctic, while surface ships were clearly much easier to find and attack. The USSR had entered the Second World War with more submarines than Germany, but geography and the speed of the German attack precluded it from effectively using its more numerous fleet to its advantage. Because of its opinion that "quantity had a quality of its own" and at

4120-440: The Barnaul-T air reconnaissance system in December 2021. Samarkand is designed to assess electromagnetic situation, search, detect and analyze radio emissions and Barnaul-T helps conduct reconnaissance round-the-clock. Russia's Northern Fleet in 2018 resumed regular air patrols of the Arctic by long-range anti-submarine aircraft and its share of modern samples of weapons and equipment exceeded 56 percent. An air defense regiment of

4223-456: The Chizha test site at the Kanin Peninsula. The three warheads were reported to have successfully reached their targets. Another successful launch was performed on 4 March 2010 from the Barents Sea . This was followed by more launches on 6 August 2010, when K-114 Tula fired two missiles towards the Kura Test Range . Two more launches were carried out on 20 May 2011 and 27 July 2011, both successful. On 5 November 2014, Tula hit targets at

R-29RMU Sineva - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-535: The Eurasian landmass, it did not need a navy to protect a large commercial fleet, as the western navies were configured to do. Later, countering seaborne nuclear delivery systems became another significant objective of the navy, and an impetus for expansion. The Soviet Navy was structured around submarines and small, maneuverable, tactical vessels. The Soviet shipbuilding program kept yards busy constructing submarines based upon World War II German Kriegsmarine designs , which were launched with great frequency during

4429-428: The Germans and then, after the later Armistice of 11 November 1918 on the Western Front which ended the War, additional Russian ships were confiscated by the British. On 1 April 1919, during the ensuing Russian Civil War when Red Army forces captured Crimea , the British Royal Navy squadron had to withdraw, but before leaving they damaged all the remaining battleships and sank thirteen new submarines. When

4532-497: The Naval Forces of the North Sea, but was later disbanded in January 1923. The Northern Flotilla was formed on August 5, 1933, by transferring patrol boats Smerch and Uragan , D-class submarines Dekabrist (D-1) and Narodovolyets (D-2) and two destroyers from the Baltic Fleet to Northern Russia . These ships departed from Kronstadt on 18 May 1933 and arrived at Murmansk on 5 August. Another destroyer, another patrol boat, another submarine, and two minesweepers joined

4635-415: The Navy did not have much funding or training. An indicator of its reputation was that the Soviets were not invited to participate in negotiations for the Washington Naval Treaty of 1921–1922, which limited the size and capabilities of the most powerful navies – British, American, Japanese, French, Italian. The greater part of the old fleet was sold by the Soviet government to post-war Germany for scrap. In

4738-466: The Navy. Each Fleet was assigned a Marine unit of regiment (and later brigade) size. The Naval Infantry received amphibious versions of standard Armoured fighting vehicle , including tanks used by the Soviet Army . Soviet Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet ( Russian : Северный флот , Severnyy flot ) is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic . According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to

4841-447: The Northern Fleet ( Russian : Военный оркестр Северного флота ) is a military band unit of the Russian Armed Forces that is a branch of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia . It is based at the fleet HQ in Severomorsk . The band also takes part in national events and holidays in Russia such as the Victory Day and Defender of the Fatherland Day holidays as well as the Navy Day fleet parade. It has taken part in

4944-451: The Northern Fleet ( Северный флот , Severnyy flot ). The Northern Fleet blocked the Finnish military base at Petsamo through the Winter War of 1939 and 1940. By June 1941, the fleet included 8 destroyers, 15 submarines, 2 torpedo boats, 7 patrol boats, 2 minesweepers, and 116 airplanes. In August 1940, the Soviets created the White Sea Military Base to defend the coastline, bases, ports, and other installations. The White Sea Flotilla

5047-522: The Northern Fleet an independent military-administrative entity, effective January 1, 2021. That status was abolished on February 26, 2024 by a new presidential decree (effective since March 1, 2024) and fleet became part of the recreated Leningrad Military District . On June 19, 1916, the Imperial Russian Navy formed the Arctic Ocean Flotilla ( Флотилия Северного Ледовитого океана , or Flotiliya Severnogo Ledovitogo okeana ) during World War I to safeguard transportation routes of Allied ships through

5150-510: The Northern Fleet as a command equal to that of other Russian military districts took effect on January 1, 2021. The Northern Fleet includes about two-thirds of all the Russian Navy's nuclear-powered ships. The flagship Kirov -class battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy is named after Peter the Great . The Fleet staged a series of major Barents Sea exercises in January 2004 involving thirteen ships and seven submarines including Pyotr Velikiy , Admiral Kuznetsov , with President Vladimir Putin

5253-428: The Northern Fleet is illustrated by the fact that it constitutes its own district command within the Russian Armed Forces equal to the Armed Forces' other military districts. In January 2016, Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu announced that the 45th Air Force and Air Defence Army had been formed under control of the Northern Fleet in December 2015. Its territorial control center assumed combat duty in July 2018. Today both

SECTION 50

#1732851973586

5356-495: The Northern Fleet with cruise missile-armed light units, potentially drawn from the Russian Navy's two other western fleets or from the Caspian Flotilla. In 2021, the Karakurt-class corvette Sovetsk also made the transit from the Baltic to the White Sea for missile exercises. In late 2021 it was reported that the Russian Navy was considering the possible creation of a new fleet, termed the Arctic Fleet , which would be oriented to employing "ships and special equipment suitable for

5459-464: The Northern Fleet, which was not subject to the provisions of the treaty. In May 1990 the aircraft and personnel were moved to Olen'ya Airbase , near Olenegorsk, Murmansk Oblast where they operated in support of the Soviet Navy . In May 1994, after the Russian Ministry of Defence had ordered the retirement of the MiG-23/27 family, the unit was re-equipped with the Sukhoi Su-25 and its aircraft were allowed to deteriorate, being stripped for scrap by

5562-419: The Northern Fleet. By 1996, only half were still in service. The 57th Naval Missile Aviation Division of Tu-22s and electronic warfare Tu-16s from the Baltic Fleet at Bykhov , Mogilev Oblast , in the Byelorussian SSR transferred to the Northern Fleet in December 1991 as the 57th Combined Ship Aviation Division. The division commanded the 830th and 38th Shipborne Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiments and

5665-727: The Northern Sea Route. The Russian Coast Guard provides additional armed patrol vessels in Arctic waters with a further expansion of its capabilities anticipated in the 2020s. As of early 2023, the Northern Fleet itself comprises about 32 surface warships (including major surface combatants, light corvettes, mine counter-measures vessels and amphibious units), though some units are under repair or otherwise not operational. Additional lighter patrol units, support ships and auxiliaries are also deployed. The Fleet also comprises around 33+ submarines (including ballistic missile submarines, cruise missile submarines, special purpose submarines as well as nuclear and conventional attack submarines). As with

5768-404: The Northern fleet armed with S-400 SAM launchers went on combat duty in Novaya Zemlya in the September 2019. Ground force modernization has also been a priority focus through the creation of the 14th Army Corps within the fleet and broader equipment modernization. A tank battalion of a Northern Fleet's separate motorized infantry brigade received the final batch of 26 T-80BVM tanks and completed

5871-403: The Russian Navy, including the Northern Fleet. As argued in the Chatham House analysis: "Moscow's intentions for the Arctic are not Arctic-specific, but are related to the Kremlin's global ambitions for reviving Russia as a great power. Russia's force posture in the Arctic is informed by the changing geopolitical environment around its strained relations with the West". The importance attached to

5974-497: The Sineva missile in 2002, but the first test was conducted only in 2004. The missile was eventually commissioned in 2007. The missile was reported to carry new nuclear warheads. Failed Sineva test launches took place during the strategic command exercise “Security-2004” (held 10–18 February 2004), which also included the launch of a Molniya communication satellite and an R-36 missile. The launch failures involving nuclear submarines Novomoskovsk and Karelia may have been caused by

6077-404: The Soviet Navy ( Russian : Советский Военно-Морской Флот , romanized :  Sovyetsky Voyenno-Morskoy Flot , lit.   'Soviet Military Maritime Fleet'). After the war, the Soviets concluded that they needed a navy that could disrupt supply lines , and display a small naval presence to the developing world. As the natural resources the Soviet Union needed were available on

6180-412: The Soviet Navy into one of the most powerful in the world. Approved by the Labour and Defence Council in 1926, the Naval Shipbuilding Program included plans to construct twelve submarines; the first six were to become known as the Dekabrist class . Beginning 4 November 1926, Technical Bureau Nº 4 (formerly the Submarine Department, and still secret), under the leadership of B.M. Malinin , managed

6283-427: The Soviet Navy. This service was responsible for the operation of shore-based floatplanes , long-range flying boats , catapult-launched and vessel-based planes, and land-based aircraft designated for naval use. As post-war spoils, the Soviets received several Italian and Japanese warships and much German naval engineering and architectural documentation. In February 1946, the Red Fleet was renamed and became known as

SECTION 60

#1732851973586

6386-422: The Soviet fleets in 1941 included: In various stages of completion were another 219 vessels including 3 battleships, 2 heavy and 7 light cruisers, 45 destroyers, and 91 submarines. Included in the totals above are some pre-World War I ships ( Novik -class destroyers, some of the cruisers, and all the battleships), some modern ships built in the USSR and Europe (like the Italian-built destroyer Tashkent and

6489-450: The Soviet part of the captured Italian navy. In the Baltic Sea, after Tallinn 's capture, surface ships were blockaded in Leningrad and Kronstadt by minefields, where they participated with the anti-aircraft defence of the city and bombarded German positions. One example of Soviet resourcefulness was the battleship Marat , an ageing pre-World War I ship sunk at anchor in Kronstadt's harbour by German Junkers Ju 87 aircraft in 1941. For

6592-503: The U.S. Navy. On 28 August 1976, K-22 ( Echo II) collided with frigate USS  Voge in the Mediterranean Sea. After the dissolution of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Navy, like other branches of Armed Forces, eventually lost some of its units to former Soviet Republics, and was left without funding. Some ships were transferred to former Soviet states: In 1990, the Soviet Navy had: The regular Soviet naval aviation units were created in 1918. They participated in

6695-504: The West such an approach would never have been considered tactically feasible. The Soviet Navy did also possess several very large and well-armed guided-missile cruisers , like those of the Kirov and Slava classes. By the 1970s, Soviet submarine technology was in some respects more advanced than in the West, and several of their submarine types were considered superior to their American rivals. The 5th Operational Squadron ( ru:5-я Средиземноморская эскадра кораблей ВМФ ) operated in

6798-435: The break-up of the USSR. It was commissioned into the People's Liberation Army Navy in 2012 as the Liaoning . Soon after the launch of this second Kuznetsov -class ship, the Soviet Navy began the construction of an improved aircraft carrier design, Ulyanovsk , which was to have been slightly larger than the Kuznetsov class and nuclear-powered. The project was terminated, and what little structure had been initiated in

6901-470: The building ways was scrapped. In part to perform the functions usual to carrier-borne aircraft, the Soviet Navy deployed large numbers of strategic bombers in a maritime role, with the Aviatsiya Voenno-Morskogo Flota (AV-MF, or Naval Aviation service). Strategic bombers like the Tupolev Tu-16 'Badger' and Tu-22M 'Backfire' were deployed with high-speed anti-shipping missiles . Previously believed to be interceptors of NATO supply convoys traveling

7004-421: The ceremonial arrival of ships to the Northern Fleet Headquarters including the Vice-Admiral Kulakov and the USS Nicholas . It had taken part in the funerals of many of the victims of the Kursk submarine disaster in the fall of 2000. In mid-March 2018, it took part in a competition at the Murmansk Nakhimov Naval School , which was presided by Colonel Timofey Mayakin , the Senior Director of Music of

7107-414: The development of Soviet combined arms operations. Many members of the Naval Infantry were parachute trained, conducting more drops and successful parachute operations than the Soviet Airborne Troops (VDV) . The Naval Infantry was disbanded in 1947, with some units being transferred to the Coastal Defence Forces . In 1961, the Naval Infantry was re-formed and became one of the active combat services of

7210-413: The existing nuclear-powered submarines of the Northern Fleet are also aging rapidly. It is currently unclear whether the new Yasen-class, and other potential follow-on models, can be produced in sufficient numbers, and on a timely basis, to replace aging older nuclear submarines on a one-for-one basis. In this regard, reports suggest that Russian third-generation nuclear submarines have not been modernized to

7313-421: The first of four aircraft-carrying cruisers of the Kiev class , in 1973. Both types were capable of operating ASW helicopters, and the Kiev class also operated V/STOL aircraft ( e.g. , the Yak-38 'Forger' ); they were designed to operate for fleet defense, primarily within range of land-based Soviet Naval Aviation aircraft. During the 1970s the Soviets began Project 1153 Orel (Eagle), whose stated purpose

7416-451: The first to carry ballistic missiles. The 2nd Cruiser Division was formed on 31 May 1956 at Severomorsk , Murmansk Oblast. Its ships included the Sverdlov -class cruisers (Project 68) Murmansk , Aleksandr Nevskiy , and Molotovsk , and the 121st Destroyer Brigade, with 11 Gnevny , Ognevoy , and Skory -class destroyers. On 5 June 1969, the division was reorganised with the 170th Destroyer Brigade (8 Project 56 destroyers) and

7519-478: The fleet became the core element of the newly established Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command , including all Russian armed forces located in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Oblasts and on Russia's offshore islands along its Arctic coast. It is co-equal in status with Russia's Military Districts. The Northern Fleet is tasked with responsibility for operations and defense in the Arctic seas along Northern Russia , including

7622-699: The fleet in December 1945 and the White Sea Naval Base in December 1956. The Northern Fleet was considered secondary to the Baltic and Black sea fleets until operational responsibility for the Atlantic Ocean was shifted in the 1950s because of more direct access. In September 1955, the Soviet navy became the first to launch a ballistic missile from a submarine. In June 1956, Northern Fleet Zulu-class submarine , (NATO designation Zulu IV 1/2) “Б-67” (B-67) became

7725-451: The flotilla at Soroka in September 1933. Polyarny became the flotilla's main base , and a flight of MBR-2 flying boats joined the unit at Murmansk in September 1935. The Northern Flotilla was quickly expanded in the years after it was formed, receiving new ships, airfields , coastal and air defence artillery. On May 11, 1937, the fleet entered its current form when it was renamed to

7828-681: The former Imperial Navy evolved into a full fleet of the Soviet Navy in 1933 as the Northern Flotilla. After being awarded the Order of the Red Banner in 1965, it was officially known as the Red Banner Northern Fleet . During the Soviet era the Northern Fleet operated more than 200 submarines , ranging from diesel-electric to nuclear-powered ballistic missile classes. On 1 December 2014

7931-445: The immediate post-war years. Afterwards, through a combination of indigenous research and technology obtained through espionage from Nazi Germany and the Western nations, the Soviets gradually improved their submarine designs. The Soviets were quick to equip their surface fleet with missiles of various sorts. Indeed, it became a feature of Soviet design to place large missiles onto relatively small, but fast, missile boats , while in

8034-892: The insistence of Admiral of the Fleet Sergey Gorshkov , the Soviet Navy continued to operate many first-generation missile submarines, built in the early 1960s, until the end of the Cold War in 1991. In some respects, including speed and reactor technology, Soviet submarines achieved unique successes, but for most of the era lagged their Western counterparts in overall capability. In addition to their relatively high speeds and great operating depths they were difficult anti-submarine warfare (ASW) targets to destroy because of their multiple compartments, their large reserve buoyancy, and especially their double-hulled design. Their principal shortcomings were insufficient noise-damping (American boats were quieter) and primitive sonar technology. Acoustics

8137-571: The locals. It was then renamed the 88th Independent Shipboard Attack Air Regiment . An analysis of the Northern Fleet produced by Chatham House in the UK notes that: "After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin paid little attention to the Arctic. During the 1990s, the Russian Arctic was at best considered a burden fraught with socio-economic problems. Little was done there until an ‘Arctic revival’ began in

8240-636: The opposing Czarist White Army captured Crimea in 1919, it rescued and reconditioned a few units. At the end of the civil war, Wrangel's fleet , a White flotilla, moved south through the Black Sea, Dardanelles straits and the Aegean Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to Bizerta in French Tunisia on the North Africa coast, where it was interned. The first ship of the revolutionary navy could be considered

8343-586: The partially completed German cruiser Lützow ). During the war, many of the vessels on the slips in Leningrad and Nikolayev were destroyed (mainly by aircraft and mines ), but the Soviet Navy received captured Romanian destroyers and Lend-Lease small craft from the U.S., as well as the old Royal Navy battleship HMS  Royal Sovereign (renamed Arkhangelsk ) and the United States Navy cruiser USS  Milwaukee (renamed Murmansk ) in exchange for

8446-515: The rearmament procedure in November 2019. The 76th Guards Air Assault Division and the 98th Guards Airborne Division , strategic reserve formations from the Russian Airborne Forces , might be deployed to help protect the Kola Peninsula , in certain circumstances. While the Northern Fleet has traditionally emphasized the deployment of larger warships and submarines, new missile boats (of

8549-465: The rebellious Imperial Russian cruiser Aurora , built 1900, whose crew joined the communist Bolsheviks. Sailors of the Baltic fleet supplied the fighting force of the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky during the October Revolution of November 1917 against the democratic provisional government of Alexander Kerensky established after the earlier first revolution of February against

8652-604: The rest of the war, the non-submerged part of the ship remained in use as a grounded battery. Submarines, although suffering great losses due to German and Finnish anti-submarine actions, had a major role in the war at sea by disrupting Axis navigation in the Baltic Sea. In the Black Sea, many ships were damaged by minefields and Axis aviation , but they helped defend naval bases and supply them while besieged, as well as later evacuating them. Heavy naval guns and sailors helped defend port cities during long sieges by Axis armies . In

8755-534: The ships were allowed to decay to unserviceability. At the end of April 1918, Imperial German troops moved along the Black Sea coast and entered Crimea and started to advance towards the Sevastopol naval base. The more effective ships were moved from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk where, after an ultimatum from Germany, they were scuttled by Vladimir Lenin 's order. The ships remaining in Sevastopol were captured by

8858-588: The shores of Kola Bay and Polyarny was made up of three destroyers and three patrol ships, while the Pacific Fleet had two destroyers, transferred east in 1936, and six patrol ships assembled in the Far East. The Soviet Navy had some minor action in the Winter War against Finland in 1939–1940, on the Baltic Sea. It was limited mainly to cruisers and battleships fighting artillery duels with Finnish forts. Building

8961-472: The submarine construction works at the Baltic Shipyard . In subsequent years, 133 submarines were built to designs developed during Malinin's management. Additional developments included the formation of the Pacific Fleet in 1932 and the Northern Fleet in 1933. The forces were to be built around a core of powerful Sovetsky Soyuz -class battleships . This building program was only in its initial stages by

9064-504: The surface fleet, some submarines are not operational; others are in reserve and inactive. Nevertheless, programs to modernize the Russian Navy are continuing with the Northern Fleet traditionally having a priority focus with respect to major combatants. As of early 2024, the Northern Fleet has formed several new units. Attribution: This article includes content derived from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia , 1969–1978, which

9167-600: The time the German invasion forced its suspension in 1941. By the end of 1937, the biggest fleet was the Baltic Fleet based at Leningrad, with two battleships, one training cruiser, eight destroyers including one destroyer leader, five patrol ships, two minesweepers , and some more old minesweepers. The Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol included one battleship, three cruisers, one training cruiser, five destroyers, two patrol ships, and four minesweepers. The Northern Fleet operating from

9270-807: The torpedo and bomb aviation. During World War II , about 350,000 Soviet sailors fought on land. At the beginning of the war, the navy had only one naval brigade in the Baltic fleet , but began forming and training other battalions. These eventually were: The military situation demanded the deployment of large numbers of marines on land fronts, so the Naval Infantry contributed to the defense of Moscow , Leningrad , Odessa , Sevastopol , Stalingrad , Novorossiysk , and Kerch . The Naval Infantry conducted over 114 landings, most of which were carried out by platoons and companies. In general, however, Naval Infantry served as regular infantry, without any amphibious training. They conducted four major operations: two during

9373-458: The world's largest submarines. While Western navies assumed that the Soviet attack submarine force was designed for interception of NATO convoys, the Soviet leadership never prepared their submarines for such a mission. Over the years Soviet submarines suffered a number of accidents, most notably on several nuclear boats. The most famous incidents include the Yankee-class submarine K-219 , and

9476-540: Was a particularly interesting type of information that the Soviets sought about the West's submarine-production methods, and the long-active John Anthony Walker spy ring may have made a major contribution to their knowledge of such. The Soviet Navy possessed numerous purpose-built guided missile submarines , such as the Oscar-class submarine , as well as many ballistic missile and attack submarines; their Typhoon class are

9579-537: Was aboard the Typhoon class ballistic missile submarine Arkhangelsk . The exercise was marred by two RSM-54 SLBM launch failures aboard Novomoskovsk and Kareliya . Submarines have traditionally been the strongest component of the Northern Fleet. Several new classes of submarines are in production to replace older models including: Borei/Dolgorukiy-class SSBNs , Yasen-class SSGNs , Khabarovsk-class SSGNs and Lada-class conventionally-powered submarines . However,

9682-884: Was abolished on February 26, 2024 by a new presidential decree (effective since March 1, 2024) which transferred the Northern Fleet to the re-formed Leningrad Military District. Additional capability in Arctic waters is provided by civilian icebreakers operated by the state-owned Rosatom company as well as other companies (Rosmorport, Gazprom Neft ) and a Project 21180 vessel built for the Russian Navy . This icebreaker fleet, which includes seven nuclear-powered vessels operated by Rosatom, has been described as "crucial to military access and operations". Additional nuclear-powered Project 22220 (three in service, two more building and two additional ships planned as of early 2023) and Project 10510 (one vessel building) icebreakers have entered service, or are under construction/planned, to augment and replace those in service. The Navy, in turn,

9785-468: Was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 7 May 1965. Two Northern Fleet submarines made a 25,000- nautical-mile (46,000 km; 29,000 mi) journey "around the world" (actually only between the Kola Gulf and the base at Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy around South America) without surfacing in 1966. The Northern Fleet had almost 50% of the Soviet Navy's submarines by 1986. From 1968 to 30 November 2005,

9888-536: Was based on a republican naval force formed from the remnants of the Imperial Russian Navy , which had been almost completely destroyed in the two Revolutions of 1917 (February and October/November) during World War I (1914–1918), the following Russian Civil War (1917–1922), and the Kronstadt rebellion in 1921. During the revolutionary period, Russian sailors deserted their ships at will and generally neglected their duties. The officers were dispersed (some were killed by

9991-464: Was commissioned in 1987. Large nuclear-powered missile-carrying cruisers, the Kirov -class battlecruiser and Kalinin , also entered service from 1980. Fortification of the southern reaches of the Barents Sea during the 1980s marked a Soviet naval strategy shift to an emphasis on bastion defense. Russia has continued to employ that strategy. In 1982, the 175th independent Naval Infantry Brigade

10094-632: Was divided into four major fleets: the Northern , Pacific , Black Sea , and Baltic Fleets, in addition to the Leningrad Naval Base , which was commanded separately. It also had a smaller force, the Caspian Flotilla , which operated in the Caspian Sea and was followed by a larger fleet, the 5th Squadron , in the Mediterranean Sea . The Soviet Navy included Naval Aviation , Naval Infantry , and

10197-642: Was established in August 1941 under the command of Rear-Admiral M. Dolinin. Subsequent commanders were Vice Admiral Georgy Stepanov (in October), Rear-Admiral Stepan Kucherov , and Vice-Admiral Yuriy Panteleyev . During the German-Soviet War of 1941 to 1945, the Northern Fleet defended the coastlines of the Rybachy and Sredny peninsulas , secured internal and external transportation routes, and provided support to

10300-580: Was formed at Tumannyy, in Murmansk Oblast . In 1990, the 88th Separate Fighter Bomber Regiment, along with the rest of the 36th Air Army , was pulled out of Hungary along with the rest of the Southern Group of Forces . In order to save the unit, which had a distinguished history, from being disbanded under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe , defence minister Marshal Dmitry Yazov transferred it to

10403-412: Was sunk by three Kriegsmarine destroyers at the entrance to Kola Bay on August 4, 1941. The icebreaker Sibiryakov was sunk on August 25, 1942 by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer while defending two convoys. The patrol ship Brilliant (formerly trawler Murmany ) was sunk by a submarine. The Northern Fleet received the following awards: The White Sea Flotilla was reestablished under

10506-844: Was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces . Often referred to as the Red Fleet , the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union 's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with the opposing superpower , the United States , during the Cold War (1945–1991). The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War, either confronting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in western Europe or power projection to maintain its sphere of influence in eastern Europe . The Soviet Navy

10609-697: Was to create an aircraft carrier capable of basing fixed-wing fighter aircraft in defense of the deployed fleet. The project was canceled during the planning stages when strategic priorities shifted once more. In 1981, the Soviet Navy ordered its first true aircraft carrier, Tbilisi , subsequently renamed Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov , which carries Sukhoi Su-33 'Flanker-D' and MiG-29 fighters, as well as Ka-27 helicopters. A distinctive feature of Soviet aircraft carriers has been their offensive missile armament (as well as long-range anti-aircraft warfare armament), again representing

#585414