Soviet cruiser Kalinin

	Petropavlovsk in 1958
History
Soviet Union
Name	Kalinin (Калинин)
Namesake	Mikhail Kalinin
Builder	Shipyard 199, Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Yard number	7
Laid down	12 August 1938
Launched	8 May 1942
Completed	31 December 1942
In service	31 January 1953
Out of service	1 May 1956
Renamed	PKZ-21, 14 March 1960
Reclassified	6 February 1960 as floating barracks
Stricken	12 April 1963
Reinstated	1 December 1957
Fate	Transferred for scrapping, 10 August 1963
General characteristics (Project 26bis2)
Class and type	Kirov-class cruiser
Displacement	8,400 t (8,267 long tons) (standard); 10,040 t (9,881 long tons) ( full load);
Length	191.2 m (627 ft 4 in)
Beam	17.66 m (57 ft 11 in)
Draught	6.3 m (20 ft 8 in) (full load)
Installed power	6 Yarrow-Normand boilers; 126,900 kW);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Endurance	5,590 nmi (10,350 km; 6,430 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement	812
Sensors and ; processing systems	ASDIC-132 and Mars-72 sonars
Armament	3 × triple 180 mm (7.1 in) guns; 8 × single AA guns; 6 × single 45 mm (1.8 in) AA guns; 10 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns; 6 × single 12.7 mm (0.5 in) AA machine guns; 2 × triple 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes; 100–164 mines; 50 depth charges;
Armor	Waterline belt: 70 mm (2.8 in); Deck: 50 mm (2 in) each; Turrets: 70 mm (2.8 in); Barbettes: 70 mm (2.8 in); Conning tower: 150 mm (5.9 in);

Kalinin (Калинин) was one of six Kirov-class cruisers (officially known as Project 26) built for the Soviet Navy in the Russian Far East from components shipped from European Russia during World War II. The ship was one of the last pair constructed, known as the Project 26bis2 subclass. Completed at the end of 1942 and assigned to the Pacific Fleet, she saw no action during the Soviet–Japanese War in 1945 and served into the Cold War. Sometimes serving as a flagship, her post-war career was uneventful until she was disarmed and converted into a floating barracks in 1960. She was scrapped in the early 1960s.

Description

The design of the Kirovs was derived from the

full load. Her crew numbered 812 officers and men during wartime.^[2]

The Kirov-class ships were powered by two sets of TV-7 geared

kW) which was intended to give the ships a speed of 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph).^[3] On her sea trials, Kalinin only reached 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) from 126,900 shp (94,629 kW). Without overload power, she was only capable of 32.5 knots (60.2 km/h; 37.4 mph) in 1945. The Kirovs carried enough fuel oil to give them an endurance of 5,590 nautical miles (10,350 km; 6,430 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).^[4]

Armament, protection and sensors

The

100-millimeter (3.9 in) B-34 guns originally intended to be used had run into production problems. The 34-K guns were a stop-gap until the Army 85-millimeter (3.3 in) 52-K AA gun could be mated with the mount of the 34-K and put into production as the 90-K. They replaced the 34-K guns in May 1943. Light AA guns initially consisted of six semi-automatic 45-millimeter (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns, ten fully automatic 37-millimeter (1.5 in) 70-K AA guns, and six 12.7-millimeter (0.5 in) machine guns, but were significantly increased during the war. By 1945 Kalinin had exchanged her 21-K guns for nine additional 70-K guns, of which four were mounted on turret roofs and the others in the superstructure. By 1957 her light anti-aircraft armament consisted of only nine powered twin-gun 37 mm V-11 mounts.^[5] Six 533-millimeter (21 in) 39-Yu torpedo tubes were fitted in two triple mountings, one on each broadside. The cruiser could mount rails to carry between 100 and 164 mines and racks for fifty depth charges,^[6] but by 1945, she could carry 100–106 mines and she had been fitted with two or four throwers for her 66 depth charges.^[7]

The Project 26bis and the Project 26bis2 cruisers shared the same armor configuration: the waterline belt, turret, and barbette armor were all 70 millimeters (2.8 in) thick. The deck was protected by 50-millimeter (2 in) armor plates, while those of the conning tower were 150 millimeters (5.9 in) thick.^[8]

Initially built without a

Leningrad in time. In place of the catapult, six 70-K guns were added.^[10] The catapult was later installed, with Kalinin conducting sea trials with the catapult and the KOR-2 in 1945. The catapult was removed in October 1947 as radar had superseded the use of aircraft to correct the ship's gunfire.^[11]

Service

Kalinin was one of two Project 26bis2 cruisers, the third pair of the Kirov-class cruisers. She was assembled at the newly constructed

subchasers, and torpedo boats, in addition to air cover provided by anti-submarine aircraft.^[14]

She was ordered to prepare for transfer to the

Soviet Northern Fleet together with the destroyer Revnostny via the Northern Sea Route on 24 April 1943 due to the Soviet belief that the Northern Fleet was weaker than its German opponents. She was scheduled for departure on 25 June. During May, extensive preparations were made for the voyage at Shipyard No. 202, which included the installation of special propellers with removable blades and the strengthening of her hull to withstand ice pressure. After the transfer was canceled without explanation on 1 June, Kalinin was removed from drydock, although the alterations remained in place until May 1944. She was under repair during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, not having been slated for inclusion in the operation.^[14]

Kalinin was declared the best ship in the Pacific Fleet for her training performance during 1946, winning four prizes. The cruiser became part of the 5th Fleet between 17 January 1947 and 23 May 1953 when the Pacific Fleet was temporarily split. She went to sea in 1951 for gunnery testing under the flag of the 5th Fleet commander,

mothballed at Vladivostok on 7 May 1956. Kalinin was reactivated on 1 December 1957 before being disarmed and converted into a floating barracks on 6 February 1960, being renamed PKZ-21 on 14 March of that year. She was struck from the fleet on 12 April 1963,^[14]^[15] before being transferred to Sovetskaya Gavan for scrapping on 10 August.^[13]

Notes

^ Wright 2010, p. 127
^ Yakubov & Worth, p. 84
^ Wright 2010, p. 146
^ Yakubov & Worth, p. 90
^ Wright 2010, p. 131; Yakubov & Worth, pp. 86–87
^ Chernyshev & Kulagin, pp. 31, 34
^ Wright 2010, p. 138
^ Chernyshev & Kulagin, p. 15
^ ^a ^b Yakubov & Worth, p. 88
^ ^a ^b Chernyshev and Kulagin, p. 49
^ Chernyshev & Kulagin, pp. 38–39; Wright 2010, p. 143
^ Wright 2008, p. 311
^ ^a ^b Berezhnoy, pp. 144–145
^ ^a ^b ^c Chernyshev and Kulagin, pp. 116–117, 119
^ Yakubov and Worth, p. 95

References

Berezhnoy, Sergey (2002). Крейсера и миноносцы. Справочник [Guide to Cruisers and Destroyers] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat.
ISBN 5-203-01780-8
.

Chernyshev, Alexander & Kulagin, Konstantin (2007). От «Кирова» до «Кагановича». Советские крейсера Великой Отечественной [From Kirov to Kaganovich: Soviet Cruisers of the Great Patriotic War] (in Russian). Moscow: Yauza/Eksmo.
ISBN 978-5-699-19623-4
.

Wright, Christopher C. (2008). "Cruisers of the Soviet Navy, Part II: Project 26 and Project 26bis—the Kirov Class". Warship International. XLV (4). International Naval Research Organization: 299–316.
ISSN 0043-0374
.

Wright, Christopher C. (2010). "Cruisers of the Soviet Navy, Part III: The Kirov Class Ships' Characteristics, Section I". Warship International. XLVII (2): 127–152.
ISSN 0043-0374
.

Yakubov, Vladimir & Worth, Richard (2009). "The Soviet Light Cruisers of the Kirov Class". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2009. London: Conway. pp. 82–95.
ISBN 978-1-84486-089-0
.

External links

(in Russian) Kalinin photographs on navsource.narod.ru

[1] Wright 2010, p. 127

[y4-2] Yakubov & Worth, p. 84

[3] Wright 2010, p. 146

[4] Yakubov & Worth, p. 90

[5] Wright 2010, p. 131; Yakubov & Worth, pp. 86–87

[6] Chernyshev & Kulagin, pp. 31, 34

[7] Wright 2010, p. 138

[8] Chernyshev & Kulagin, p. 15

[y8-9] Yakubov & Worth, p. 88

[:2-10] Chernyshev and Kulagin, p. 49

[11] Chernyshev & Kulagin, pp. 38–39; Wright 2010, p. 143

[12] Wright 2008, p. 311

[:0-13] Berezhnoy, pp. 144–145

[:1-14] Chernyshev and Kulagin, pp. 116–117, 119

[15] Yakubov and Worth, p. 95

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[10]

[11]

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[15]

[13]

v t e Kirov-class cruisers
Project 26	Kirov Voroshilov
Project 26bis	Maxim Gorky Molotov / Slava
Project 26bis2	Kaganovich / Lazar Kaganovich / Petropavlovsk Kalinin
Preceded by: Admiral Nakhimov class Followed by: Chapayev class
List of cruisers of the Soviet Navy