Difference between revisions of "Kirov"
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| − | {{Specs-Card|code=ussr_cruiser_kirov}} | + | {{Specs-Card |
| + | |code=ussr_cruiser_kirov | ||
| + | |images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}} | ||
| + | }} | ||
== Description == | == Description == | ||
| − | ''In the first part of the description, cover the history of the | + | <!-- ''In the first part of the description, cover the history of the ship's creation and military application. In the second part, tell the reader about using this ship in the game. Add a screenshot: if a beginner player has a hard time remembering vehicles by name, a picture will help them identify the ship in question.'' --> |
| + | The '''{{Specs|name}}''' was the lead ship of the [[Kirov (Family)|Kirov-class]] light cruisers built in the 1930s. The Kirovs were derived from the Italian Condottieri-class cruiser [[RN Raimondo Montecuccoli|Raimondo Montecuccoli]], as well as being designed in cooperation with Ansaldo and also bought plans for machinery and hull. Kirov was laid down on 22nd October 1935 and commissioned on 23rd September 1938. During the Winter War, she tried to bombard Finnish coastal batteries, but near misses from them damaged her. In August 1941, she was flagship of the naval force evacuating Tallinn. After the blockade of Leningrad, she conducted fire support and shore bombardment for the defenders of Leningrad from Kronshtadt. In an air raid on 4th April 1942, she was hit by three bombs that killed 86 sailors. After two months of repair, she returned to service, now with her catapult removed and her anti-air weaponry strengthened. She saw no further action in WWII after the blockade of Leningrad was lifted. On 2nd August 1961, she was reclassified as a training cruiser and sold for scrap on 22nd February 1974. Two of her main gun turrets are installed in Saint Petersburg as a memorial. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kirov was introduced in [[Update 1.87 "Locked On"]]. Her armour protection makes her vulnerable even to destroyer weapons at ranges closer than 10 km, the forward magazine is located on the waterline being protected by only 50 mm of belt armour which can lead to fatal explosion when hit. Kirov also does not possess torpedo bulges, making any torpedo hits fatal. | ||
== General info == | == General info == | ||
=== Survivability and armour === | === Survivability and armour === | ||
| − | ''Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary | + | {{Specs-Fleet-Armour}} |
| + | <!-- ''Talk about the vehicle's armour. Note the most well-defended and most vulnerable zones, e.g. the ammo magazine. Evaluate the composition of components and assemblies responsible for movement and manoeuvrability. Evaluate the survivability of the primary and secondary armaments separately. Don't forget to mention the size of the crew, which plays an important role in fleet mechanics. Save tips on preserving survivability for the "Usage in battles" section. If necessary, use a graphical template to show the most well-protected or most vulnerable points in the armour.'' --> | ||
| + | The Kirov is a rather odd ship, while she only has 50 mm of citadel armour with no anti-fragmentation armour, the placement of her critical modules such as her engines, transmissions, and main ammo racks were all located inside her citadel and sitting below the waterline. This leaves most of her upper hull empty and can therefore take a good amount of damage from AP or SAP shells. However, due to the lack of armour elsewhere, the Kirov is very vulnerable against HE shells, as they can quickly deplete her relatively low crew size. | ||
| − | '' | + | === Mobility === |
| + | {{Specs-Fleet-Mobility}} | ||
| + | <!-- ''Write about the ship's mobility. Evaluate its power and manoeuvrability, rudder rerouting speed, stopping speed at full tilt, with its maximum forward and reverse speed.'' --> | ||
| + | Being such a large ship with relatively low displacement, the Kirov's top speed is quite good. Although her excessive hull length will worsen her traverse speed. | ||
| − | === | + | {{NavalMobility}} |
| − | + | ||
| + | === Modifications and economy === | ||
| + | {{Specs-Economy}} | ||
== Armament == | == Armament == | ||
| + | {{Specs-Fleet-Armaments}} | ||
=== Primary armament === | === Primary armament === | ||
| − | ''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>.'' | + | {{Specs-Fleet-Primary}} |
| + | <!-- ''Provide information about the characteristics of the primary armament. Evaluate their efficacy in battle based on their reload speed, ballistics and the capacity of their shells. Add a link to the main article about the weapon: <code><nowiki>{{main|Weapon name (calibre)}}</nowiki></code>. Broadly describe the ammunition available for the primary armament, and provide recommendations on how to use it and which ammunition to choose.'' --> | ||
| + | {{main|180 mm/57 B-1-P (180 mm)}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kirov has 9 x 180 mm/57 (7.1") B-1-P Pattern 1932 naval cannons for her main armament, arranged in triple turrets mounted A-Bs-X. This gives Kirov a heavy punch, but her overall firepower is lacking compared to other cruisers at her BR. With a fire rate of 5 rounds/minute, she has the slowest reload among the BR 5.7 cruisers (not counting Furutaka's 20.3 cm guns). | ||
| + | |||
| + | Kirov uses the OF-32 HE shell as default, with the ability to unlock the B-32 AP shell, the PB-32 SAPCBC shell as well as the ZS-32 HE-DF shell. A major advantage that Kirov has is the astounding 920 m/s muzzle velocity of all her shells, meaning that leading targets will not be as difficult. The SAPCBC shell sacrifices some of the armour penetrative abilities of the AP shell, but it is loaded with 7 kg of TNT explosive filler. | ||
| − | + | {{:180 mm/57 B-1-P (180 mm)/Ammunition|180 mm OF-32, 180 mm B-32, 180 mm PB-32, 180 mm ZS-32}} | |
=== Secondary armament === | === Secondary armament === | ||
| − | ''Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary | + | {{Specs-Fleet-Secondary}} |
| + | <!-- ''Some ships are fitted with weapons of various calibres. Secondary armaments are defined as weapons chosen with the control <code>Select secondary weapon</code>. Evaluate the secondary armaments and give advice on how to use them. Describe the ammunition available for the secondary armament. Provide recommendations on how to use them and which ammunition to choose. Remember that any anti-air armament, even heavy calibre weapons, belong in the next section. If there is no secondary armament, remove this section.'' --> | ||
| + | {{main|100 mm/56 B-34 (100 mm)}} | ||
| − | + | The Kirov has a secondary armament of 6 x 100 mm/56 (3.9") B-34 Pattern 1940 cannons arranged evenly on either side of the after smoke funnel. This is a rather light secondary battery, but they are versatile due to their clear angles of fire and ammunition selection. | |
| + | |||
| + | These guns have access to the ZS-56 HE-DF shell as default and the ZS-56R HE-VT shell is able to be researched. | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{:100 mm/56 B-34 (100 mm)/Ammunition|100 mm F-56 HE, 100 mm ZS-56 HE, 100 mm ZS-56R HE-VT}} | ||
=== Anti-aircraft armament === | === Anti-aircraft armament === | ||
| − | ''An important part of the | + | {{Specs-Fleet-AA}} |
| + | <!-- ''An important part of the ship's armament responsible for air defence. Anti-aircraft armament is defined by the weapon chosen with the control <code>Select anti-aircraft weapons</code>. Talk about the ship's anti-air cannons and machine guns, the number of guns and their positions, their effective range, and about their overall effectiveness – including against surface targets. If there are no anti-aircraft armaments, remove this section.'' --> | ||
| + | {{main|45 mm/46 21-K (45 mm)|DShK (12.7 mm)}} | ||
| − | + | For anti-aircraft armament, Kirov has 7 x 45 mm/46 21-K cannons as well as 3 x DShK machine guns. The 45 mm cannons are not very effective against aircraft as they only have a standard HE shell with no special fuze, requiring a direct hit on an aircraft to deal damage. They serve better as anti-torpedo boat guns due to their rapid-fire ability and centralized arrangement. The DShK machine guns will be mostly for harassment purposes and to catch unaware planes. | |
| − | === | + | === Additional armament === |
| − | '' | + | {{Specs-Fleet-Additional}} |
| + | <!-- ''Describe the available additional armaments of the ship: depth charges, mines, torpedoes. Talk about their positions, available ammunition and launch features such as dead zones of torpedoes. If there is no additional armament, remove this section.'' --> | ||
| + | {{main|53-39 (533 mm)}} | ||
| − | + | Kirov is equipped with 2 x triple torpedo launchers firing the 53-39 torpedo. The base setting for these is a range of 4,000 m with a high speed of 51 knots. Using the torpedo mode upgrade, they can be adjusted to 10,000 m range at a reduced speed of 34 knots. Due to the location of the launchers being low and behind raised structure, the ship is not able to launch torpedoes towards the front, and must turn to release weapons. | |
| − | === | + | === Scout plane === |
| − | + | {{Specs-Fleet-Plane}} | |
| − | + | Located amidships is a catapult with one Beriev Be-2 (aka KOR-1) scout plane which provides unique offensive and defensive abilities, expanding tactical options. Ship-launched scout planes fly just like regular tree units but lack munition choices and cockpit views. Alongside the typical abilities of strafing with its two light machine guns, dropping 2 x 50 kg bombs, and capping zones, the KOR-1 and other scout planes have the added ability to lay down smoke cover (up to 3 times). Captains will be wise to remember to utilise the aircraft and consider when best to use it, for example to cap a point early or late in the match, to create a smoke screen to stymie enemy bombardment and repair, to attack enemy units directly, or perhaps something completely new! | |
| − | |||
| − | === | + | == Usage in battles == |
| − | + | ''Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).'' | |
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| − | ===Pros and cons=== | + | === Pros and cons === |
| − | '' | + | <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' --> |
'''Pros:''' | '''Pros:''' | ||
| − | * | + | |
| + | * Exceptional damage output, besting almost all of the comparable foreign light cruisers and most of the heavy cruisers | ||
| + | * Access to various types of shells, including {{Annotation|SAP|Semi armour-piercing}}, {{Annotation|APCBC|Armor-piercing capped ballistic capped}} and even {{Annotation|HE-VT|High-explosive variable time fuse}} shells for secondaries | ||
| + | * Decent medium and long-range anti-air defense | ||
| + | * Above average mobility | ||
| + | * Relatively good torpedoes | ||
| + | * Access to the [[Shipboard reconnaissance aircraft|hydroplane]] | ||
'''Cons:''' | '''Cons:''' | ||
| − | * | + | |
| + | * Low crew count and a minimal armor protection | ||
| + | * Numerous exposed stations make it prone to HE damage. Relatively thin armor makes it possible to destroy turrets even with a 200 mm / 8-inch {{Annotation|HE|High-explosive fragmentation}} rounds. | ||
| + | * Very large, can be easily targeted | ||
| + | * [[Ammo racks|Auxiliary ammunition storage]] located above the water line | ||
| + | * Poor short-range anti-air defence | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
| − | ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too | + | <!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the ship and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Ship-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the ship's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' --> |
| + | Following the devastation of the Russian Civil War, the remaining industry available to the newly formed Soviet Union was everything but capable of designing large, new warships. Aware of this, the Soviet Union sought help from abroad, in order to be able to commit to the planned expansion of its navy. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In the end, help came from the Italian shipbuilders, which sold the blueprints for the Condottieri C light cruiser as well as the necessary machinery to the Soviets. Engineers further modified the design to suit Soviet needs, which included the fitting of new triple turrets, among other constructional changes. The project was approved in November 1934 as the Project 26. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Plans were made to construct a total of six Project 26 cruisers, which would be built in pairs and would receive various improvements over the respective previous pair. The Kirov, as the lead and prototype ship of the class, was laid down for construction in October 1935, after a minor delay. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Kirov was launched in late 1936 and joined the Baltic Fleet in September 1938. After briefly taking part in the Winter War, Kirov quickly became trapped in the waters between Kronstadt and Leningrad by German minefields, following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The warship would remain stationed in those waters for the better part of the war, providing gunfire support for the besieged defenders of Leningrad. Shortly after the end of WW2, Kirov was severely damaged by a German seamine. Following repairs, the ship was completely overhauled in the late 1940s and was later reclassified as a training ship in the early 1960s. In February 1974 however, Kirov was eventually sold for scrap, marking the end of its close to four decade long service. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ''- From [[wt:en/news/6055-development-kirov-light-cruiser-baltic-fleet-warrior-en|Devblog]]'' | ||
== Media == | == Media == | ||
| − | '' | + | <!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' --> |
| + | |||
| + | ;Skins | ||
| + | |||
| + | * [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=ussr_cruiser_kirov Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.] | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
| − | ''Links to | + | <!-- ''Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:'' |
* ''reference to the series of the ship;'' | * ''reference to the series of the ship;'' | ||
| − | * ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' | + | * ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' --> |
| + | |||
| + | ;Related development | ||
| + | |||
| + | * [[Kirov (Family)]] | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
| − | ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:'' | + | <!-- ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:'' |
* ''topic on the official game forum;'' | * ''topic on the official game forum;'' | ||
| − | + | * ''other literature.'' --> | |
| − | * ''other literature.'' | + | |
| + | * [[wt:en/news/6055-development-kirov-light-cruiser-baltic-fleet-warrior-en|[Development] Kirov light cruiser: Baltic Fleet Warrior]] | ||
| + | {{ShipManufacturer Baltic Shipyard}} | ||
{{USSR light cruisers}} | {{USSR light cruisers}} | ||
Latest revision as of 10:07, 7 November 2023
Contents
Description
The Pr.26, Kirov, 1941 was the lead ship of the Kirov-class light cruisers built in the 1930s. The Kirovs were derived from the Italian Condottieri-class cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli, as well as being designed in cooperation with Ansaldo and also bought plans for machinery and hull. Kirov was laid down on 22nd October 1935 and commissioned on 23rd September 1938. During the Winter War, she tried to bombard Finnish coastal batteries, but near misses from them damaged her. In August 1941, she was flagship of the naval force evacuating Tallinn. After the blockade of Leningrad, she conducted fire support and shore bombardment for the defenders of Leningrad from Kronshtadt. In an air raid on 4th April 1942, she was hit by three bombs that killed 86 sailors. After two months of repair, she returned to service, now with her catapult removed and her anti-air weaponry strengthened. She saw no further action in WWII after the blockade of Leningrad was lifted. On 2nd August 1961, she was reclassified as a training cruiser and sold for scrap on 22nd February 1974. Two of her main gun turrets are installed in Saint Petersburg as a memorial.
Kirov was introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On". Her armour protection makes her vulnerable even to destroyer weapons at ranges closer than 10 km, the forward magazine is located on the waterline being protected by only 50 mm of belt armour which can lead to fatal explosion when hit. Kirov also does not possess torpedo bulges, making any torpedo hits fatal.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Kirov is a rather odd ship, while she only has 50 mm of citadel armour with no anti-fragmentation armour, the placement of her critical modules such as her engines, transmissions, and main ammo racks were all located inside her citadel and sitting below the waterline. This leaves most of her upper hull empty and can therefore take a good amount of damage from AP or SAP shells. However, due to the lack of armour elsewhere, the Kirov is very vulnerable against HE shells, as they can quickly deplete her relatively low crew size.
Mobility
Being such a large ship with relatively low displacement, the Kirov's top speed is quite good. Although her excessive hull length will worsen her traverse speed.
| Mobility Characteristics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
| Forward | Reverse | ||
| AB | |||
| Upgraded | 78 | 23 | |
| RB/SB | |||
| Upgraded | 67 | 19 | |
Modifications and economy
| Seakeeping | Unsinkability | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armament
Primary armament
Kirov has 9 x 180 mm/57 (7.1") B-1-P Pattern 1932 naval cannons for her main armament, arranged in triple turrets mounted A-Bs-X. This gives Kirov a heavy punch, but her overall firepower is lacking compared to other cruisers at her BR. With a fire rate of 5 rounds/minute, she has the slowest reload among the BR 5.7 cruisers (not counting Furutaka's 20.3 cm guns).
Kirov uses the OF-32 HE shell as default, with the ability to unlock the B-32 AP shell, the PB-32 SAPCBC shell as well as the ZS-32 HE-DF shell. A major advantage that Kirov has is the astounding 920 m/s muzzle velocity of all her shells, meaning that leading targets will not be as difficult. The SAPCBC shell sacrifices some of the armour penetrative abilities of the AP shell, but it is loaded with 7 kg of TNT explosive filler.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 1,000 m | 2,500 m | 5,000 m | 7,500 m | 10,000 m | 15,000 m | ||
| OF-32 | HE | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
| B-32 | APCBC | 424 | 386 | 331 | 285 | 246 | 191 |
| PB-32 | SAPCBC | 206 | 188 | 161 | 138 | 120 | 93 |
| ZS-32 | HE-TF | 58 | 58 | 58 | 58 | 58 | 58 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (s) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| OF-32 | HE | 920 | 97.5 | 0 | 0.1 | 7.9 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| B-32 | APCBC | 920 | 97.5 | 0.01 | 9 | 2.49 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| PB-32 | SAPCBC | 920 | 97.5 | 0.01 | 9 | 7 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| ZS-32 | HE-TF | 920 | 97.5 | 0 | 0.1 | 7.52 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
Secondary armament
The Kirov has a secondary armament of 6 x 100 mm/56 (3.9") B-34 Pattern 1940 cannons arranged evenly on either side of the after smoke funnel. This is a rather light secondary battery, but they are versatile due to their clear angles of fire and ammunition selection.
These guns have access to the ZS-56 HE-DF shell as default and the ZS-56R HE-VT shell is able to be researched.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 100 m | 1,000 m | 2,000 m | 3,000 m | 4,000 m | 5,000 m | ||
| F-56 HE | HE | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| ZS-56 HE | HE-TF | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| ZS-56R HE-VT | HE-VT | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| F-56 HE | HE | 900 | 15.8 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.93 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| ZS-56 HE | HE-TF | 900 | 15.6 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.93 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Proximity-fused shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| ZS-56R HE-VT | HE-VT | 900 | 15.9 | 0 | 0.1 | 270 | 15 | 1.23 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |
Anti-aircraft armament
For anti-aircraft armament, Kirov has 7 x 45 mm/46 21-K cannons as well as 3 x DShK machine guns. The 45 mm cannons are not very effective against aircraft as they only have a standard HE shell with no special fuze, requiring a direct hit on an aircraft to deal damage. They serve better as anti-torpedo boat guns due to their rapid-fire ability and centralized arrangement. The DShK machine guns will be mostly for harassment purposes and to catch unaware planes.
Additional armament
Kirov is equipped with 2 x triple torpedo launchers firing the 53-39 torpedo. The base setting for these is a range of 4,000 m with a high speed of 51 knots. Using the torpedo mode upgrade, they can be adjusted to 10,000 m range at a reduced speed of 34 knots. Due to the location of the launchers being low and behind raised structure, the ship is not able to launch torpedoes towards the front, and must turn to release weapons.
Scout plane
Located amidships is a catapult with one Beriev Be-2 (aka KOR-1) scout plane which provides unique offensive and defensive abilities, expanding tactical options. Ship-launched scout planes fly just like regular tree units but lack munition choices and cockpit views. Alongside the typical abilities of strafing with its two light machine guns, dropping 2 x 50 kg bombs, and capping zones, the KOR-1 and other scout planes have the added ability to lay down smoke cover (up to 3 times). Captains will be wise to remember to utilise the aircraft and consider when best to use it, for example to cap a point early or late in the match, to create a smoke screen to stymie enemy bombardment and repair, to attack enemy units directly, or perhaps something completely new!
Usage in battles
Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Exceptional damage output, besting almost all of the comparable foreign light cruisers and most of the heavy cruisers
- Access to various types of shells, including SAP, APCBC and even HE-VT shells for secondaries
- Decent medium and long-range anti-air defense
- Above average mobility
- Relatively good torpedoes
- Access to the hydroplane
Cons:
- Low crew count and a minimal armor protection
- Numerous exposed stations make it prone to HE damage. Relatively thin armor makes it possible to destroy turrets even with a 200 mm / 8-inch HE rounds.
- Very large, can be easily targeted
- Auxiliary ammunition storage located above the water line
- Poor short-range anti-air defence
History
Following the devastation of the Russian Civil War, the remaining industry available to the newly formed Soviet Union was everything but capable of designing large, new warships. Aware of this, the Soviet Union sought help from abroad, in order to be able to commit to the planned expansion of its navy.
In the end, help came from the Italian shipbuilders, which sold the blueprints for the Condottieri C light cruiser as well as the necessary machinery to the Soviets. Engineers further modified the design to suit Soviet needs, which included the fitting of new triple turrets, among other constructional changes. The project was approved in November 1934 as the Project 26.
Plans were made to construct a total of six Project 26 cruisers, which would be built in pairs and would receive various improvements over the respective previous pair. The Kirov, as the lead and prototype ship of the class, was laid down for construction in October 1935, after a minor delay.
The Kirov was launched in late 1936 and joined the Baltic Fleet in September 1938. After briefly taking part in the Winter War, Kirov quickly became trapped in the waters between Kronstadt and Leningrad by German minefields, following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
The warship would remain stationed in those waters for the better part of the war, providing gunfire support for the besieged defenders of Leningrad. Shortly after the end of WW2, Kirov was severely damaged by a German seamine. Following repairs, the ship was completely overhauled in the late 1940s and was later reclassified as a training ship in the early 1960s. In February 1974 however, Kirov was eventually sold for scrap, marking the end of its close to four decade long service.
- From Devblog
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
| Baltic Shipyard (Балтийский завод) | |
|---|---|
| Light Cruisers | |
| Svetlana-class | Krasny Krym* |
| Project 26/26bis | Kirov · Maxim Gorky |
| Project 68 | Chapayev |
| Project 68bis | Sverdlov |
| Battlecruisers | |
| Izmail-class | Izmail |
| Battleships | |
| Sevastopol-class | Marat · Parizhskaya Kommuna |
| *Laid down at the Russian-Baltic shipyard in Tallinn | |
| USSR light cruisers | |
|---|---|
| Imperial Russia | |
| Svetlana-class | Krasny Krym* · Krasny Kavkaz* |
| * Laid down by Imperial Russian Navy; Finished and renamed by the USSR | |
| Project | Soviet Union |
| Pr.26 | Kirov · Voroshilov · Maxim Gorky |
| Pr.68 | Chapayev · Zheleznyakov |
| Pr.68-bis | Sverdlov · Mikhail Kutuzov |
| Pr.68-bis-ZiF | Shcherbakov |
| Lend-Lease | USA |
| Omaha-class | Murmansk |
| Trophies | Italy |
| Condottieri-class | Kerch |
