Project 61 "Komsomolets Ukrainy" / Kashin class
Project 61 Kashin Mod class
Guided Missile Destroyer

The use of destroyers in the sea control mission centered around the Soviet’s Kashin and Krivak vessels. In the late sixties, the gas-turbine, guided-missile destroyers, the Kashins, were launched. With antiaircraft missiles, antisubmarine rockets, torpedoes, and mines, pound for pound these ships were considered some of the most heavily armed vessels afloat. With gas-turbine engines the Kashins were capable of moving through the seas at 35 knots. The Kashin class was followed by the Krivak class, which was launched in the early 1970s. Unlike the Kashins, this ship does not have the bow-mounted antiship missile launchers. Instead it is configured for an antisubmarine mission carrying various antisubmarine missiles, rockets, mines, and torpedoes.

The Kashin class ship was designed to fulfill a variety of roles including anti-air and antisubmarine operations to defend task forces from submarines, low-flying aircraft, and cruise missiles. Primarily designed for ASW, their main weapons were SET-65 533 mm homing anti submarine torpedoes and ASW mortars. Five ships were modified during the 1970s with four SSN-2 Styx SSMs, four 30 mm Gatling CIWS gun system and variable depth sonar.

The ship's hull is divided into separate compartments by 13 main watertight bulkheads, that extent to the upper deck. These bulkheads ensure that buoyancy remains stable if any three adjacent compartments are flooded. The Kashin class was commissioned in 1962, and was the first class of warship to be equipped with gas turbines. The Kashin's four gas-outlet pipes allow the gas turbines to be replaced through their access holes. The installation of air coolers in the funnels has reduced the thermal signature of the ship by 50%. It has a top speed of 37 knots.

Standard displacement ships of this type amounted to 3500-3700 tons, the maximum displacement is 4500-4750 tonnes. At modernized vessels-3950/4900 tons respectively. Case dimensions: length-144 m (modernized-147 m), beam-15.8 m, draught-4.8 m (up to 6 m). 4 gas turbines with a total capacity of 94000 HP worked on the 2 screws, ensuring that the maximum speed of the ship at the level of 36-38 knots. The cruising range at a speed 20 knots was 4000 nautical miles. On the ship could accommodate anti-submarine helicopter Kamov Ka-25. The BOD provided storage 5 tons of aviation kerosene, as well as ammunition for helicopter (depth bombs, torpedoes, anti-submarine sonar buoys). Due to the absence on the ship the helicopter hangar on it could reside only temporarily.

The complex armament of the new ship could be called groundbreaking. For the first time in the history of the Soviet shipbuilding BOD got 2 LRK m-1 volna. Each anti-aircraft missile system represented the mill-PU dvuhbalocnuû 101, shop with 2-?? rotating drums on 8-600 missiles each and Yatagan. Artillery armament consisted of 2-(e) 76-mm paired tower installation artillery AK-726 (rate of fire of 90 rounds/min, maximum range 13 km, reach height-9 km, ammunition of each installation consisted of 2400 unitary shots). In addition, the ship was attended by 2-(e) fire control system sentry, a ship equipped with torpedo apparatus PTA-pâtitrubnym 53-61 to 57-53 torpedoes or SET-53 and had the Jet bombometa 2 RBU-1000 and RBU-6000 (ammunition 48 RSL-10 and 192 RSL-60 respectively). All ships of this project had developed radar equipment and hydroacoustics and excellent seaworthiness and manuverability.

Six ships were modified with the addition of improved electronics and four rear-firing SS-N-2c Styx missiles. Its armament includes 10 torpedoes, 32-36 SA-N-3 missiles and 4 SS-N-2C missiles. The hull was lengthened by approximately two meters, and a stern-mounted Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) installation and an improved hull-mounted sonar were also fitted.

Five units of a variant on the Modified Kashin class design were built in USSR for export to India in the 1980s. Construction began after an interval of nearly a decade following the conclusion of building this class for the Soviet navy, and significant delays were experienced in the delivery of this ships. The Smely was transferred to Poland. Provorny was used to test the SSN-7 Gadfly SAM.

The Project 61 Kashing class destroyer Otvazhnyy suffered a fire and explosion in her aft SA-N-1 SAM magazine while in the Black Sea on 30 August 1974. Damage to the ship caused her loss, and the deaths of some 200 crew members.

It was the type of large antisubmarine ships, which were in service with the Soviet Navy from 1964 to 1991 year, and thereafter were in service with the fleet. On 2012 year consisting of the Black Sea fleet of Russia survived only 1 ship of this type-TFR "Clever". He remained the sole ship of 20 craft project that managed to join the fleet of the USSR from 1962 to 1973 years. The remaining 18 ships were decommissioned and disassembled to metal.

Almost all units of this class have been stricken, and many have been scrapped. The status of the remaining units is obscure. At least one MOD Kashin [Sderzhanny] remains in active service, though it is rapidly approaching retirement age. The Krasnyy Kavkaz is may remain in reserve, though not expected to return to service. Some sources suggest that Krashy-Krym and Skoryy remain in reserve, while other sources suggest that these units have already been discarded.

These ships were redesignated many times. They were originally designed as guard ships (storozhevoy korabl` - SKR). But on 19 May 1966 they were reclassified as large anti-submarine ships (bol`shoy protivolodochny korabl`- BPK). On Jan 1992 the remaining unmodified ships that were still in service at this time, were redesignated guard ship (SKR).