Vladivostok Naval Base
43°04'39"N 131°55'20"E
The Russian Pacific Fleet, which uses Vladivostok as its principal base. During the Soviet era, Vladivostok's military role eclipsed its trading function. It has maintained its naval importance as the headquarters of the Russian Pacific Fleet. Home-port of the Russian Pacific Fleet, Vladivostok at one time had a complement of at least 65 major surface combat ships, 50 nuclear and 25 non-nuclear submarines. The base itself is located in Ulysses Bay (Buhkta Uliss - Russian) directly south of the Golden Horn Bay (Buhkta Zolotoy Rog - Russian) where the main port of Vladivostok is located. Some naval vessels have been known to berth in Golden Horn Bay but most activity is observed in Ulysses Bay.
Vladivostok is the most important city and port of the entire Soviet Far East as well as having been and perhaps still being the chief naval base and shipbuilding yard. Vladivostok has a fine natural harbor, and although this area is covered by ice for about 2 months a year, a channel is kept open at least as far as the commercial harbor by port ice breakers. The inner part of Golden Horn Bay is frozen on an average of 86 days a year, starting toward the end of December. The maximum tidal range at Vladivostok is 2-1/2 feet, and the bottom is mud, giving good holding ground. The harbor is completely protected in bad weather, but during the summer months, the approach is complicated by fogs which are particularly prevalent during June, July, and August, and which average 51% foggy days. During the 9 months of open navigation, this average figure is 21%.
Vladivostok is a highly developed shipbuilding and ship repair yard as well as being a naval operating base and strongly fortified zone. The shipbuilding and ship repair facilities are mostly located in Vladivostok Harbor itselfj in the eastern reaches of Golden Horn Bay; naval operating bases are scattered throughout the various bays and inlets in the vicinity.
In 1921, the Soviet government closed the city to foreigners. The city was only reopened in 1992. Since then a number of foreign naval ships have visited Vladivostok from such countries as Canada, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Thailand, and Mexico.
This naval base and shipyard was accurately described in detail in the ONI Vladivostok Port Intelligence Study. During Soviet times, Vladivostok existed mainly to serve the Russian Pacific Fleet, with ship repair and other defense industries. Primorskiy Kray industry provided nonferrous metals, timber, and seafood to other parts of the soviet union. With the demise of the Soviet Union and the coming of capitalism, Vladivostok is facing a major economic transition. Many of its older, now privatized, industries have yet to find consistent markets and customers for their products and services, and most new companies are still small. Vladivostok workers often wait months for meager paychecks, and many supplement their incomes with second jobs as drivers, guides, or traders.
Beyond the city is heavily forested Primorskiy Kray, which stretches along the Sea of Japan on the southeastern coast of the Russian Far East. Primorskiy Kray's 165,900 sq. Kilometers has a population of only 2,260,000. Primorskiy Kray is bordered by Khabarovsk Kray to the north, and China and North Korea to the west and southwest, with Japan a few hours by air to the east. Winters are short and cold, with January temperatures averaging -4 degrees fahrenheit (-20 c) and biting winds and dense fogs coming in from the sea. When it is not raining, summer days are magnificent, with bright blue skies lingering until 9 or 10 at night; July temperatures average 68 fahrenheit (20 C).
Vladivostok, on the Sea of Japan, is virtually land-locked. To reach the Pacific Ocean, the fleet must pass through one or more straits which could be controlled in wartime by Japan. These are the Straits of Tsushima (between Japan and South Korea), Tsugaru (between Honshu and Hokkaido Islands), and La Perouse (between Hokkaido and Sakhalin Islands). Soviet forces could mount a credible challenge for control of the Sea of Japan with a combination of submarine, surface, and airborne firepower based around Vladivostok. A Soviet campaign to seize some of the exits from the Sea of Japan could be mounted in order to release Pacific fleet elements based at Vladivostok.
The first headquarters of the fleet was located in a building of pre-revolutionary construction. There was clearly not enough office space. The first electronic computers appeared, bulky in size, with a large staff of programmers. At first, there was little sense in these computers in managing fleet operations, but they occupied a lot of space. The construction of a new fleet headquarters building with its modern equipment had become an urgent need.
The area of ??the existing headquarters was close to the shore of the Golden Horn Bay. This place has been built up since the Russo-Japanese War with all kinds of warehouses. After their demolition, there would be free territory between the headquarters and the ships of the fleet, and the headquarters would be visible from all over the bay, and vice versa, any ship in the bay would be visible from the headquarters.
A new fleet headquarters building was constructed. Its area and layout made it possible to comfortably accommodate personnel and were sufficient for constantly developing means of automation of naval forces control. This building adorned the main embankment of the Golden Horn and became a kind of symbol of the city. Over time, this photograph could be found in magazines and on postcards.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
