Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev

Kiev (Russian: Киев) is an aircraft carrier (heavy aircraft cruiser in Russian classification)[2] that served the Soviet Navy and the Russian Navy from 1975 to 1993. She was built between 1970 and 1975 at Chernomorski factory in Mykolaiv and was the first Kiev-class vessel to be built. She is currently part of a theme park in China.

This article is about the lead ship of the Soviet Kiev-class aircraft carrier. For other Kiev-class aircraft carriers, see Kiev-class aircraft carrier. For the cancelled helicopter carrier, see Soviet helicopter carrier Kiev. For other ships, see Kiev (ship).
Ex-Kiev at the Tianjin Binhai theme park on 1 May 2004.
History
Russia
NameKiev
NamesakeKiev (Kyiv)
BuilderChernomorskiy yard, Nikolayev
Laid down21 July 1970
Launched26 December 1972
Commissioned28 December 1975
Decommissioned30 June 1993
FateSold to a Chinese company in 1996. Theme park in Tianjin since 1 May 2004.
General characteristics
Class and typeKiev-class aircraft cruiser
Displacement
  • 30,530 tons (standard) [1]
  • 41,370 tons (loaded) [1]
Length273.1 m (896 ft) o/a[1]
Beam
  • 49.2 m (161 ft) overall
  • 31 m (102 ft) at the waterline[1]
Draught8.95 m (29.4 ft)[1]
PropulsionFour shaft geared steam turbines, 140,000 shp (100 MW)
Speed32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range13,500 nmi (25,000 km; 15,500 mi) at 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement
  • 1,612 ship's crew
  • 430 air group
Armament
  • 4 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (8 missiles)
  • 2 × twin SA-N-3 Shtorm SAM launchers (72 missiles)
  • 2 × twin SA-N-4 Gecko SAM launchers (40 missiles)
  • 2 × twin 76 mm guns
  • 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS
  • 10 × 533 mm torpedo tubes
  • 1 × twin SUW-N-1 ASW rocket launcher (16 nuclear-tipped rockets)
  • 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers
Aircraft carried

Service life
Ka-27 Helix and Ka-25 Hormone helicopters and Yak-38 Forger VTOL aircraft are parked on the flight deck. 6 Jan 1988
Aircraft carrier Kiev, USSR, 1985

Kiev was laid down on 21 July 1970 and launched on 26 December 1972. She was completed and commissioned on 28 December 1975, but officially entered service only in February 1977, after completing all trials.

On 16 July 1976 she sailed from Sevastopol in the Black Sea, and on 20 July began testing her Yakovlev Yak-36M aircraft (four Yak-36M and one Yak-36MU onboard) under sea conditions in the Mediterranean off Crete. On 10 August 1976 she arrived in Severomorsk, Murmansk Oblast, and was attached to the Northern Fleet's 170th Anti-Submarine Warfare Brigade, and conducted extensive tests up to December. Between 12 and 19 April 1977 she took part in the Sever-77 exercise, and on 26 June 1977 was reclassified from Protivolodochnyye Kreysery (PKR) "ASW cruiser" to Tyazhelyye Avianesushchiye Kreysery (TAVKR) "Heavy aircraft carrying cruiser". Between 20 December 1977 and 21 April 1978 she participated in operations in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. On 3 November 1978 she hit a sand bar, but suffered no damage. She took part in a local exercise on 4 August 1978, and on 11 October in final tests of the main missiles in the White Sea.[3]

From 1977 to 1987, Kiev undertook 10 practice voyages to the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. In March 1979 she undertook manoeuvres with her sister ship Minsk on the Mediterranean. In October 1981 she was a flagship in the massive fleet exercise Zapad-81 on the Baltic Sea. From December 1982 to November 1984 she underwent an overhaul and modernization in Mykolaiv. From 1985, the practice of operating Yakovlev Yak-38s in STOL mode instead of VTOL was introduced, allowing an increase in aircraft payload and range, and a replacement of Kamov Ka-25 helicopters with Kamov Ka-27 started. In 1985 Kiev went back to the Northern Fleet. From 1987 she mainly stayed in Severomorsk. In December 1989 she was moved to reserve. After the disintegration of the USSR, the ship was taken by Russia. Due to a low military budget and worsening ship's condition, she was retired on 30 June 1993.[3]

Post-service life

In 1996 Kiev was sold to Binhai Aircraft Park, a theme park in Tianjin, China. The concept was developed by world tourism and attraction consultant Leisure Quest International.[4]

In August 2011, ex-Kiev was developed into a luxury hotel after renovations costing £9.6 million.[5]

See also

Notes and references
  1. "Heavy Aircraft-Carrying Cruisers - Project 1143". russian-ships.info. 2013. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  2. Due to restrictions imposed by the Montreux Convention limiting the tonnage of aircraft carriers traveling through the Bosporus, all Soviet and Russian aircraft carriers are named as aircraft carrying cruisers. In the case of Kiev, this accurately reflects the ship's mission and weapons fit.
  3. Holm, Michael (2013). "Kiev class". ww2.dk. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  4. Leisure Quest International - About
  5. Branigan, Tania (10 August 2011). "China launches second aircraft carrier – as luxury hotel". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  • Заблоцкий, В.П. (V.P. Zablotskiy) (July 2003). "Тяжелый авианесущий крейсер "Киев"" [Heavy aircraft carrying cruiser "Kiev"]. Morskaya Kollektsiya ("Naval Collection").
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