Soviet aircraft carrier Novorossiysk

Novorossiysk in 1986
History
Russia
Name	Novorossiysk
Namesake	City of Novorossiysk
Builder	Chernomorskiy yard, Nikolayev
Laid down	30 September 1975[1]
Launched	26 December 1978[1]
Commissioned	14 September 1982[1]
Decommissioned	30 June 1993
Fate	Scrapped 1997
General characteristics
Class and type	Kiev-class aircraft cruiser
Displacement	31,900 tons (standard)[1] 43,220 tons (loaded)[1]
Length	273.1 m (896 ft) overall[1]
Beam	51.3 m (168 ft) o/a 31 m (102 ft) w/l[1]
Draught	9.3 m (31 ft)[1]
Propulsion	4 shaft geared steam turbines, 140,000 shp
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h)
Endurance	13,500 nautical miles (25,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h)
Armament	4 × twin SS-N-12 Sandbox SSM launchers (8 missiles), 2 × twin SA-N-3 Goblet SAM launchers (72 missiles), 2 × twin 76.2 mm AA guns, 8 × AK-630 30 mm CIWS, 1 × twin SUW-N-1 FRAS Anti-Submarine Rocket launcher
Aircraft carried	12 Yak-38M fighter aircraft 20 Kamov Ka-25 or Kamov Ka-27 helicopters

Novorossiysk (Russian: Новороссийск) was a conventionally powered aircraft carrier (heavy aircraft cruiser in Russian classification)^[2] that served the Soviet Navy and the Russian Navy from 1982 to 1993. She was the third Kiev-class vessel to be built. She was designed to engage in offensive actions as a guided missile cruiser mostly using her deck mounted missiles as well as support anti-submarine and surface actions with her embarked air group.

Novorossiysk was laid down at the former Soviet Black Sea Shipyard in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on 30 September 1975, launched on 24 December 1978, commissioned on 12 September 1982, and decommissioned in June 1993. The third ship in her class, she served in the Soviet Pacific Fleet.

In March 1985, Novorossiysk and escorting battle group departed the Sea of Japan, sailed to the south of Okinawa and then east across the Pacific. After approximately eight days, the ships turned and headed northwest toward the Kuril Islands, simulating an enemy carrier strike against the Soviet Union. As the Novorossiysk approached the islands, about 700 miles (1,100 km) east of Japan, Soviet Bear bombers flew reconnaissance missions near the battle group and helped vector some 20 Backfire bombers to their targets, practising the Soviet strategy of bomber launched anti-ship missile warfare. A U.S. Navy description of the Novorossisysk exercise notes that "The force was hit by simulated air strikes and probably by submarines firing torpedoes and cruise missiles from 1,120 km east of Japan, on 14 April. They came at it with submarines and aircraft--everything they had."^[3] The Novorossiysk made its last voyage in mid-1991 just before the break-up of the Soviet Union.^[4]

In 1995 the Novorossiysk hulk, which had suffered a serious engine room fire two years back,^[4][5] was sold for scrapping, and was broken up in 1997 at Pohang, South Korea.^[6]

• Soviet battleship Novorossiysk (1949–1955), former Italian battleship Giulio Cesare
• List of aircraft carriers of Russia and the Soviet Union

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Novorossiysk (ship, 1978).

• Kiev Class Aircraft Carriers