USSR Light Cruiser The KIROV

Kirov was a Project 26 Kirov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy that served during the Winter War, World War II and into the Cold War. She attempted to bombard Finnish coast defence guns during action in the Winter War, but was driven off by a number of near misses that damaged her. She led the Evacuation of Tallinn at the end of August 1941, before being blockaded in Leningrad where she could only provide gunfire support during the Siege of Leningrad. She bombarded Finnish positions during the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive in mid-1944, but played no further part in the war. Kirov was reclassified as a training cruiser on 2 August 1961 and sold for scrap on 22 February 1974.

Kirov was 191.3 metres (627 ft 7 in) long, had a beam of 17.66 metres (57 ft 11 in) and had a draft between 5.75 to 6.15 metres (18 ft 10 in to 20 ft 2 in). She displaced 7,890 tonnes (7,765 long tons) at standard load and 9,436 tonnes (9,287 long tons) at full load. Her steam turbines produced a total of 113,500 shaft horsepower (84,637 kW) and she reached 35.94 knots (66.56 km/h; 41.36 mph) on trials.

Kirov carried nine 180-millimeter (7.1 in) 57-caliber B-1-P guns in three electrically powered MK-3-180 triple turrets. Her secondary armament consisted of six single 100-millimeter (3.9 in) 56-caliber B-34 anti-aircraft guns fitted on each side of the rear funnel. Her light AA guns consisted of six semi-automatic 45-millimeter (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns and four DK 12.7-millimeter (0.50 in) machine guns. Six 533-millimeter (21.0 in) 39-Yu torpedo tubes were fitted in two triple mountings.

Kirov was damaged by a German magnetic mine while leaving Kronstadt on 17 October 1945 and was under repair until 20 December 1946. She was refitted from November 1949 to April 1953, during which her machinery was completely overhauled and her radars, fire control systems and anti-aircraft guns were replaced by the latest Soviet systems. She participated in fleet manoeuvres in the North Sea during January 1956. She was reclassified as a training cruiser, regularly visiting Poland and East Germany, on 2 August 1961 and sold for scrap on 22 February 1974. When Kirov was decommissioned, two gun turrets were installed in Saint Petersburg as a monument.
Thank you Merja for this wonderful card.