Kirov class cruiser

Built for the Soviet navy, the Kirov-class warship is the largest non-carrier surface combat vessel to be laid down and completed by any nation since World War II. Its official designation is “missile cruiser”, although its size and speed qualifies it as a battlecruiser. It was also the first Russian surface ship to use a nuclear powerplant. Five ships were planned, but only four were built. The first, the Kirov (later re-named the Admiral Ushakov), was laid down in 1973 and commissioned in 1980. It was followed by the Admiral Lazarev in 1984, the Admiral Nakhimkov in 1988, and the Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great) in 1998. Only the last two are still in service, due mainly to Russia's lack of funds.

The cruiser’s main armament consists of 20 vertical launch tubes for SS-N-19 Shipwreck missiles. It also carries 2 twin 5-inch guns, 2 quintuple torpedo tubes, and various short- and long-range SAMs and 30 mm guns for air defence. Each ship also carries three Kamov Ka-27 Helix helicopters for anti-submarine work.

The Kirov in Fiction

In Tom Clancy’s novel Red Storm Rising, the Kirov is part of a Soviet task force in support of an amphibious landing in northern Norway. While on route, the cruiser is sunk by a Norwegian submarine.