Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev

Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev
source
Ship image	300px
Ship caption	*Kiev* underway in the Mediterranean Sea, 1985
Ship country	Soviet Union
Ship name	*Kiev*
Ship namesake	Kiev
Ship builder	Black Sea Shipyard, Mykolaiv
Ship laid down	21 July 1970
Ship launched	26 December 1972
Ship commissioned	28 December 1975
Ship decommissioned	30 June 1993
Ship fate	Sold to China, became a theme park and hotel
Ship class	Kiev-class aircraft carrier
Ship displacement	42,000 tons full load
Ship length	273 m overall
Ship beam	49.2 m overall
Ship draught	8.95 m
Ship propulsion	4 × TV-12-3 geared steam turbines, 8 × KVN-98/64 boilers, 4 shafts, 200,000 shp
Ship speed	32 knots
Ship range	13,500 nautical miles at 18 knots
Ship complement	1,200–1,600
Ship sensors	Radar: MR-600 Voskhod, MR-710 Fregat-M, MR-320M Topaz; Sonar: MG-342 Orion
Ship armament	4 × twin P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missile launchers, 2 × twin M-11 Shtorm surface-to-air missile launchers, 2 × twin 9K33 Osa SAM launchers, 2 × twin 76 mm gun mounts, 8 × AK-630 CIWS, 10 × 533 mm torpedo tubes, 1 × twin SUW-N-1 ASW rocket launcher
Ship aircraft	Up to 33 fixed-wing and helicopters
Ship aircraft facilities	Angled flight deck with 7° ski-jump, 13 × aircraft elevators

Soviet aircraft carrier Kiev was the lead ship of the *Kiev*-class of Soviet Navy aircraft carriers and heavy aircraft-carrying cruisers. Commissioned in 1975, she represented a unique hybrid design, combining significant offensive missile armament with a limited air wing for anti-submarine warfare and fleet defense. Her service life was spent primarily with the Northern Fleet, projecting Soviet power in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea during the Cold War.

Design and development

The design of *Kiev* emerged from the protracted debates within the Soviet Navy and Ministry of Defence over the role of aircraft carriers, constrained by the strategic views of Nikita Khrushchev and the limitations of the Montreux Convention. Designed by the Nevskoye Design Bureau under A. B. Morin, the ship was classified as a *tyazholyy avianesushchiy kreyser* (heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser) to bypass restrictions on aircraft carriers transiting the Turkish Straits. Her forward section was dominated by a formidable battery of P-500 Bazalt anti-ship missiles, while the aft featured an angled flight deck with a distinctive 7-degree ski-jump, a design influenced by testing at the Saky airfield in Crimea. The propulsion plant, comprising four TV-12-3 steam turbines, was similar to that used on the earlier *Kresta II*-class cruisers.

Operational history

Following commissioning into the Northern Fleet in 1975, *Kiev* conducted extensive sea trials and training in the Barents Sea before embarking on her first major deployment to the Mediterranean Sea in 1976, where she operated near Syria and Egypt. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, she participated in numerous major fleet exercises, including operations in the North Atlantic shadowing NATO task forces centered on carriers like the USS *Nimitz*. A notable incident occurred in 1985 when a Kamov Ka-27 helicopter from *Kiev* crashed during operations, though the crew was rescued. Her final operational deployment was in 1991, after which she was laid up at Severomorsk following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Aircraft and air wing

*Kiev*'s air wing was tailored for defensive and anti-submarine roles, lacking the long-range strike aircraft of Western carriers. The primary fixed-wing component consisted of up to 22 Yakovlev Yak-38 VTOL fighters, an aircraft plagued by limited range and payload. The rotary wing complement included up to 16 Kamov Ka-25 and later Kamov Ka-27 helicopters configured for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and over-the-horizon targeting for the ship's missile systems. This mix allowed *Kiev* to provide a localized combat air patrol and defend the Soviet battle group from underwater threats, but she lacked sustained power projection capability.

Specifications

*Kiev* displaced 42,000 tons at full load, with an overall length of 273 meters and a beam of 49.2 meters over the flight deck. Her eight KVN-98/64 boilers powered four geared steam turbines, generating 200,000 shaft horsepower for a top speed of 32 knots. Defensive electronics included the MR-600 Voskhod air search radar, MR-710 Fregat-M air/surface search radar, and the MG-342 Orion hull-mounted sonar. Her heavy armament suite, besides aircraft, featured 8 P-500 Bazalt missiles, 96 M-11 Shtorm surface-to-air missiles, 40 9K33 Osa missiles, and an array of guns, CIWS, and torpedo tubes. She typically carried a crew of 1,200 to 1,600 sailors and aviators.

Fate and preservation

Decommissioned in 1993, *Kiev* was sold in 1996 to a Chinese company, initially under the pretext of being scrapped. After a lengthy tow via the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean, she arrived in Tianjin in 2000. Instead of being dismantled, she was converted into a tourist attraction, opening in 2004 as part of the Binhai Aircraft Park theme park, featuring exhibits on Cold War naval history. In 2011, she was further transformed into a luxury hotel, the Tianjin Binhai Aircraft Carrier Theme Park Hotel, with guest rooms and facilities installed across her hangar deck and island superstructure, ensuring her preservation as a unique relic of Cold War naval architecture.

Category:Aircraft carriers of the Soviet Union Category:Kiev-class aircraft carriers Category:Museum ships in China Category:Ships built in Mykolaiv Category:1975 ships