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NAVY CRUISERS
The
masses of cruisers left over from the war sufficed the great majority
of navies well into the 1960s, except for the USSR, the first of whose
14 Sverdlov class cruisers (17,200 tons full load displacement) was
commissioned in 1951. The Sverdlovs, the last all-gun cruisers to be
built, were in effect the end of the traditional line, being followed
in the Soviet Navy in the 1960s by the Kynda class, which combined a
gun armament with eight SS-N-3 anti - ship missiles in tile 1970s by
the
Kresta and Kara classes. and in the 1960s by the Slava class.
Each
class carried the latest guns and missiles and an everincreasing array
of sensors, and their size has steadily increased in consequence: the
Kynda displaces 5,550 tons, the Kresta I 7 ,600 tons, the Kara 9,700
tons and the Slava 12,500 tons, while length has grown from the Kynda's
465.8ft (142m) to the Slava's 613.4ft (187m). In 1986 there were 39
cruisers in service with the Soviet Navy, of which 12 were the
remaining ships of the Sverdlov class.
The
US Navy had vast numberi of cruisers left over from the war and there
was little new construction until the late 1950s when the USS Long
Beach (CGN 9), of 17 ,525 tons, was completed. The world's first
nuclear powered surface warship, she was also the first to have a
guided-missile main battery, and from then on there was a steady stream
of nuclear powered guided-missile cruisers: Bainbridge (8,592 tons),
commissioned in 1962, Truxtun (9.127 tons), commissioned in 1967, two
Californias (9,561 tons), commissioned in 1974 and 1975, and four
Virginias (10,000 tons) commissioned 1976-80. The US Navy has also
produced a series of non-nuclear powered cruisers, the Leahy class
(5,670 tons) commissioned 1962-64 and the Belknap class (8,200 tons)
commissioned 1964-67.
By
the early 1970s the benefits of nuclear powered ships primarily their
long range and the reduction they allowed in fleet trains-were starting
to be offset by their enormous capital costs, and when faced with a bid
for a numerically large class of cruisers to take the Aegis system the
US Congress insisted that the oil-fired Spruance design rather than the
nuclear powered Virginia be used as the starling point. The result. the
Ticonderoga (CG 47) class, is a series of extremely effective ships
with outstanding air defence and air direction capabilities, and at
least 27 are to be built, making it one of the most significant of all
contemporary warship designs.
Intended
essentially for the anti-air mission, but with some surface and ASW
capabilities as well, these cruisers will act as screens for carrier
task groups. The US Navy currently possesses nine nuclear powered and
23 conventionally powered cruisers, with another 23 Ticonderogas due to
join the fleet between 1987 and the mid-1990s.
Other
navies have tended to allow their cruiser fleets to waste away,
especially the Royal Navy, which had no fewer than 60 cruisers at the
end of World War II
but only 23 by 1953 and just five in 1963. Today the Royal Navy
officially has no cruisers at all, although the sole Type 82 destroyer,
HMS Bristol, is, at 7.100 tons, every bit as large as the Soviet Kynda
and US Navy Leahy class cruisers. France has one modern cruiser and
Italy two, while Peru and Chile each have two of World War II vintage.
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Ticonderoga (9,530
tons). This class is designed around the Aegis system.
AA
armament is two Mk 26 launchers for Standard SM-2 (MA) SAM, plus two
30mm Mk 15 CIWs; surface weapons are eight Harpoon SSM and two 5in Mk
45 DP guns; ASW armament is Asroc (Mk 26 launcher), six torpedo tubes
and two LAMPS III helicopters.
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Virginia (11,500
tons). These CGNs are designed as CVNescorts. Primary M weapon
is Standard SM-2 (MA) (Mk 26 launchers), with two Mk 15 CIWS to be
fitted later. Surface weapons J are two 127mm DP guns and eight Harpoon
SSM. ASW systems are Asroc (Mk 26 launcher), six torpedo tubes and one
LAMPS I helicopter.
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Suffren (6,090 tons). Designated
destroyers, these are cruiser-sized
warships. AA system is French Masurca SAM plus two 20mm M guns; there
are four MM.38 Exocet SSMs and two 100mm DP guns, but ASW weapons are
limited to two torpedo launchers; there are no on-board helicopter
facilities, a major weakness.
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Bristol (7,100 tons).
Designed as escort for CVA-01, the Type 82 has not been a great
success. M systems are Sea Dart, four 30mm AA and four 20mm AA guns,
but the only surface weapon is a 4.5in DP gun and the only ASW weapon
is an lkara missile system; there are no torpedo tubes nor is there an
on-board helicopter.
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Andrea Doria (7,300
tons). Aircapable escort cruisers with strong ASW capability. M
armament is Standard SM-1 (EA) SAM (Mk 10 launcher) and six/eight 76mm
M Guns in Dardo system. ASW weapons are six torpedo tubes and four AB
212 ASW helicopters. There are no dedicated surface warfare weapon
systems.
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Slava ( 12,500 tons).
Built as a safeguard against failure of the Kirov class. M armament
comprises eight SA-N-s and two SA-N-4 SAM launchers and six 30mm CIWs;
surface j weapons are 16 SS-N-12 (with Helix-B for OTH targetting) and
two 130mm DP guns; ASW systems are ten torpedo tubes and two ABU-6000.
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Kara (9,700 tons). Designed
for ASW, these were the first large cruisers since the Sverdlov class.
M armament is two SA-N-3 and four SA-N-4 SAM launchers, plus four 30mm
CIWS. There are four 76mm guns J mounted amidships, and ASW
systems are ten torpedo tubes, two ABU-sooo and one Hormone-A ASW
helicopter.
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Kirov (12,800 tons).
Kirov and Frunze are much bigger than Western cruisers and are best
described as battlecruisers. Weapon and sensor fits
differ. but the
latest, Frunze, has an M armament of 12 SA-N-s and 16 SA-N-9 SAM
launchers, and eight 30mm CIWS. Her surface weapons are 20 SS-N-19 and
two 130mm DP guns; ASW weapons are one ABU-sooo, two ABU-1000, eight
torpedo tubes and three Hormone/Helix-B helicopters.
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