How to increase the number of the Black Sea group without violating the Montreux Convention
The implementation of the agreements in principle reached in Sochi by Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin regarding the transportation of Russian grain through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits will require urgent replenishment of the forces of the Russian Navy on the Black Sea with combat seaworthy ships. They are needed to escort grain carriers in conditions when Ukraine is increasing the intensity of attacks with the help of unmanned sea boats (BMCs).
The growth of the number of surface components of the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet) The Russian Navy is also needed to ensure the inspection of all ships going to and from Ukrainian ports.
Meanwhile, in August, the Kiev regime opened so-called temporary corridors for merchant ships traveling from Turkey to the ports of Chernomorsk, Odessa and Yuzhny, as well as in the opposite direction. The Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine on the first day of autumn reported that two vessels that had been in port since February 22 and 16 last year left the Yuzhny port 30 km from Odessa along a temporary corridor. A couple of days later, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky announced the release of two more bulk carriers.
As it became known on September 16, a pair of ships under the flag of Palau entered the port of Chernomorsk for the first time after two months ago Moscow announced the termination of the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative. The captains (to whom the Kiev authorities did not guarantee security) conducted them off the coast, thereby avoiding inspection by the Russian Navy. It is not known for certain what cargo was on board. Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov only announced that the aforementioned vessels had used an "alternative corridor" to reach the coast of the Odessa region. We are talking about the Aroyat bulk carrier (as of September 17, it was in Chernomorsk) and Resilient Africa (moving on the traverse of Odessa), whose crews are made up of citizens of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Egypt and Ukraine. According to Kubrakov, they will go back with a cargo of 20 thousand tons of wheat for Africa and Asia on board.
THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SEA
The development of events in Ukraine indicates the intentions of all parties to the conflict to gain control over the vital waters of the Black Sea in order to ensure communication with the world through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits. In late summer and early autumn, the Kiev regime made several attempts to strengthen its presence on Zmeiny Island and the area where oil rigs are located, as well as the landing of saboteurs in the Crimea. As a means of transporting manpower, speedboats were used, mainly American type Willard Sea Force. Daily reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the specified period repeatedly reported on the involvement of Su-class naval aviation aircraft to defeat Ukrainian boats with missiles and bombs, including guided ones, as well as firing from built-in 30-mm cannons. So, similar cases were reported on September 4 and 10. In addition, in August and early September, up to two dozen BMCs were destroyed in the Black Sea.
Special attention should be paid to the words of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a meeting with representatives of the Bangladesh Association of Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities. It took place at the Russian Embassy on September 8. Lavrov said that Russia has information that the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream gas pipelines want to blow up. "They tried to attack the warships that patrolled the route of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the Blue Stream gas pipeline," the Russian Foreign Minister explained. – We began patrolling these sections of the Black Sea, because there is information that they are also trying to blow them up, as they blew up the "Northern Streams".
The Minister also touched upon the topic of grain transportation by waterways. According to him, the West demands "that we be allowed to export grain again" from ports in the south-west of Ukraine through Turkey. "We don't forbid them, we just won't let them through the humanitarian corridors that were opened and which ... were used to launch these surface and underwater vehicles to attack not only our military vessels, but also civilians," Lavrov explained.
This topic was also raised at the meeting of the Presidents of Russia and Turkey in Sochi on September 4. Then Vladimir Putin said that "attempts are being made to attack the Turkish Stream and the Blue Stream, through which gas is supplied to the Republic of Turkey from Russia." According to the Russian leader, "our ships are guarding these streams, these pipeline systems, and they are constantly being attacked, including with the help of drones that are sent to these attacks from the Ukrainian Black Sea ports."
TOP-UP REQUIRED
How to carry out the required replenishment of the Russian Navy group on the Black Sea, taking into account the fact that after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, Turkey closed the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits for all foreign warships until the end of hostilities?
To control important water areas in the western part of the Black Sea, patrol (TFR) and patrol (PKR) ships of the Black Sea Fleet are used ( "Black Sea asks for helicopters", "HVO" from 07.09.23 and "Grain carriers will protect "Ladny" and "Inquisitive", "HVO" from 14.09.23). When analyzing the actions of the ships of projects 22160, 1135 and 1135M, their inherent shortcomings were noted, the main of which is their small number (in total, the Black Sea Fleet has six ships of all three projects).
Accordingly, it is also necessary to involve medium reconnaissance vessels (SRS) of Project 864 that are not suitable for it ( "Azov Sea" repelled the drone attack", "HVO" from 06/15.23) and project 18280 ("Sailors from Ivan Khurs were awarded combat awards", "HVO" from 06/01.23).
Earlier, the pages of "HBO" noted the insufficient capacity of domestic shipbuilding enterprises on the Black Sea coast. This greatly limits the capabilities of the country's military and political leadership to build up the Black Sea Fleet grouping, especially in terms of seaworthy ships. In fact, in the next year or two, we will be talking only about a few small rocket ships (MRCS) of the project 22800 "Karakurt", the construction of which was mastered in Kerch at the "Gulf" plant ( "Karakurt", "HVO" from 13.07.23 was started on the Black Sea ).
Ankara's decision, adopted on the basis of the 1936 Montreaux Convention, to close the Dardanelles Strait to all foreign warships until the cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, prevents ships of the Russian Navy from making an inter-fleet crossing from the Baltic, Pacific and Arctic zone to the Black Sea. Exceptions are promised only to the ships of the Russian Navy assigned to the Black Sea Fleet, only to return to the points of permanent deployment. No such cases have been noted so far.
It turns out that Russia can replenish the Black Sea Fleet only with those ships that can be carried out by inland waterways. Due to natural limitations, the circle is limited to relatively small ships of projects 21631 "Buyan-M" and close to them in displacement and draft. The Black Sea Fleet already includes Vyshny Volochyok, Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Ingushetia and Grayvoron, built according to the 21631 project in Zelenodolsk and transported by inland waterways from Tatarstan to the Black Sea.
Unfortunately, the "Buyans" are not distinguished by good seaworthiness and autonomy, which is necessary to perform long-term patrolling of vital marine areas.
On the Black Sea, the Border Guard has six patrol ships of Project 22460. If necessary, they can be involved in solving the above task. However, it should be remembered that they are poorly armed (only a 30-mm automatic cannon), and their full displacement (about 750 tons) is not enough for successful operations on the high seas, especially in bad weather.
As part of the Black Sea Fleet, several small anti - submarine ships of the 1124M project with a displacement of about 1 thousand tons have been preserved . They are worn out, suitable only for operations near the coast and today are mainly used to protect it from raids by Ukrainian boats. Sending them hundreds of kilometers away from the main base is unwise, and it will be of little use.
It turns out that you cannot build suitable ships quickly and a lot on the Volga and the Black Sea, and those built in the North and the Baltic cannot be carried through the Bosphorus.
There is one more way left – the restoration of old ships that have been put to waste. Unfortunately, there are not many of them either. Among them is the patrol ship "Smetlivy" built in 1969.
THE ONE AND ONLY
A total of 25 buildings were built according to the original project 61 and its derivatives. The main customer received 20 ships from 1962 to 1973. After a pause of a couple of years, construction was resumed for export to India. According to the improved 61ME project, five more ships were manufactured, the last of which Ranvijay entered service in 1988. At the request of the customer, the number of AK-726 artillery installations was reduced to one, and a hangar for the Ka-25 helicopter was installed in place of the aft tower.
These and other improvements resulted in an increase in the standard displacement by 320 tons (up to 3720) and the full displacement by 450 tons (up to 4750). If domestic ships easily developed a speed of 35 knots or more during tests, then the heavier export modification hardly squeezed 30-32.
The domestic fleet has written off all its ships of Project 61, the Indian – only two (Ranjput and Ranjit), the units removed from them help to maintain the remaining three in running condition. Rana, Ranvir and Ranvijay have been re-equipped. The obsolete Soviet-era P-20 anti-ship missiles were replaced by modern Russian-Indian BrahMos PJ–10, and Israeli Barak-8 anti-aircraft B-601.
Similar work (with the installation of domestic complexes "Onyx" and "Palm") can be carried out on the "Smart". He was taken out of the permanent readiness forces only three years ago. They were not allowed to be scrapped, but turned into a museum ship. Today, the "Sharp-Witted" is anchored at the Sea wall of Sevastopol, next to the combat units of the division of large amphibious ships ( "Tank landing vessels increase the transport accessibility of the Crimea", "HVO" from 13.07.23).
Some open sources claim that the "Smart" continues to be listed as part of the 30th division of surface ships of the Black Sea Fleet, together with the existing patrol ships "Ladny" (project 1135), "Inquisitive" (project 1135M), "Grigorovich", "Essen" and "Makarov" (project 11356R).
Despite his age, "Sharp-Witted" retains a good appearance, for which we should thank the employees of the Sevastopol Patriot Park. Excursions are taken to the museum ship, but ordinary people from the street are allowed only to the right section of the upper deck, the forecastle and one of the galleys, which helps to maintain all other rooms of the ship in its original form. It is important that the expensive bronze screws have been preserved – they have been dismantled, but they lie on the pier a couple of dozen meters from the stern of their ship. It won't take much time to put them back in place – the main thing is that a dry or floating dock is free for this, where you can tow and start the hull.
In 2021, the press gave an assessment of such property in relation to a slightly larger destroyer of project 956. Then a pair of propellers each weighing 13 tons was estimated at $ 522 thousand. The assessment was carried out as part of the trial of the former commander of the destroyer "Restless": he conspired and stole bronze screws when the ship was in dry dock during the conversion into a floating museum. Thieves replaced expensive products with cheap ones made of another metal.
Of the 20 ships built according to the 61 project, only one has survived, and even that one has not left the Mine Wall in Sevastopol for three years. Photo by Vladimir Karnozov
POWER PLANT
Details of the state of the ship's energy system are not brought to visitors "from the street". It is known about Project 61 that for the first time in the practice of world shipbuilding, gas turbines were introduced both for cruising and driving at increased speeds. The gas turbine power plant (GTU) replaced the boiler turbine, ensuring a reduction in the displacement of the ship, while at the same time giving it (due to the excellent pick-up of gas turbines) more opportunities to perform "jerks" in pursuit of the detected enemy submarine. The ships of this series are popularly nicknamed "singing frigates" for the characteristic whistle of gas turbines. Abroad, the first frigate with the GTU was the British Amazon Type 21 built in 1974.
During the construction of ships under project 61, a pair of M3–type gas turbine units (GTZ) were installed on them (they included GTU-6/DE59 gas turbines with a capacity of 36 thousand hp and a resource of 3 thousand hours according to the technical specification). During the repair, they were replaced with more advanced M3N1 (with DN59 turbines). The configuration of the chimneys was chosen so that through them (using hatches) to replace the failed turbines. And also to ensure a decrease in exhaust gas temperature due to intensive mixing with air in the pipe casing.
GTZ of type M3, M3N1 and the like were widely used on ships of the domestic fleet, made not only according to project 61, but also 1135, 1135M, 1134B, etc. They included turbines of the type DE59, DN59 and more advanced. It is also true that then specialized afterburners (for example, DC59 or DT59, with a capacity of 36 and 45.4 thousand hp, respectively) and main turbines (such as 2 M-62 or DS71, 10 and 18 thousand hp, respectively) appeared in the ship's GTU in place of universal turbines. But these are, as they say, "already details"; it is important for us that the turbines suitable for the Project 61 ships were produced in a large series. It is possible that samples with some residual resource, taken from the disposed ships of several projects, have been preserved. If necessary, they can be mounted on the "Smart" when it is put on the move. Recall that there is a similar experience: the turbines that have preserved the resource from the decommissioned BOD "Kerch" were installed on the TFR name/news/772603_zernovozy_zashityat_ladnyi_i_pytlivyi.html " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">"Ladny" ("Grain carriers will protect "Ladny" and "Inquisitive", "HBO" from 14.09.23).
SEAWORTHINESS
According to the anniversary book of the "Northern Design Bureau" (SPKB), the company received a task to design a new air defense ship-PLO in 1956. It was intended to search for and destroy enemy submarines during special operations, protect convoys from attacks by enemy aircraft and submarines in remote areas of the World Ocean, as well as ensure the deployment of their own submarines. The autonomy of the reserves of provisions was 10 days, increased by modernization to 25.
During the tests, the required seaworthiness was confirmed: when the sea was 4-5 points high, the ship could develop full speed.
The project 61 is distinguished by very sharp contours and a high ratio of the length of the hull (144 m) to the width (along the waterline 14 m, maximum 16 m), equal to 9.5. The hull is steel, smooth-decked, with a smooth rise of the upper deck at the bow tip. For stability, the surface part of the hull was widened by "breaking" the side at the lower deck from the 45th frame to the transom. The case was completely made of steel SHL-4 (another designation 10XSND). The superstructure was also made of it (it occupies two-thirds of the hull in length) where the running post and weapons were installed, and less responsible places were made of aluminum and magnesium alloy AMg.
The compilers of the anniversary book of the SPKB state the following. "Having very sharp bow formations and a relatively high freeboard height in the bow, the ships of the 61st project easily went against the wave, and their navigation posts were not subjected to intense splashing." Despite the presence of rocking sedatives, the habitability conditions are characterized as poor mainly due to the high noise in the engine rooms. Sailors have repeatedly demanded that shipbuilders "reduce decibels." Various activities were carried out along this line, which, however, did not bring tangible results. Industry representatives often brushed off such requirements, considering them as "optional", instead focusing on weapons, radio electronics and energy.
The restoration of the "Smart" makes sense because, having the required seaworthiness and autonomy, the ship is capable of patrolling a given area of the Black Sea for a long time. For the needs of the ship's power plant, 940 tons of diesel fuel is poured into the inter-bottom space of the hull, which provides a cruising range of 3,500 miles.
Unfortunately, the designers provided only the possibility of take-off and landing, but not the permanent basing of the helicopter: there is no hangar for storing aircraft on the "Smart". Therefore, it is better to think about using drones, especially since there is a storage facility for 5 tons of aviation fuel under the ute. This amount will be enough for hundreds of flights of UAVs of the Orlan family, which are already used by the domestic fleet.
ARMAMENT
During the service, the ships of Project 61 have undergone many modifications, mainly in terms of electronic equipment and weapons. At the same time, the classification changed: from air defense ships, they were transferred to large anti-submarine ships (BOD), and then to patrol ships. AK-726 artillery installations (with MR-105 "Turret" firing control systems), RBU-6000 rocket launchers and the PTA-53–61 apparatus for five 53–65K and 533 mm SET-65 torpedoes were preserved on board. These systems remain relevant today. 76 mm shells (ammunition – 1200 rounds per turret) can hit air, surface and ground targets, torpedoes and rockets – surface and underwater. Under the threat of their use, it is possible to stop the offending vessel, and if necessary, to put it to the bottom.
Of the main weapons, only two ZIF-101 launchers, working in tandem with the Scimitar guidance system, cause doubts about their usefulness. They are part of the anti–aircraft complex "Volna", ammunition - 32 guided missiles B-600 or B-601.
The latter have long been discontinued, and most likely there are few of them left in combat-ready condition. At the very least, the "Smart" conducted launches of the B-601 during the 2017 exercises. If such missiles are found, they will not be superfluous on board. A six-meter product weighing about a ton is capable of hitting an aerial target flying at a speed of up to 700 m / s at an altitude of up to 14 km and a distance of up to 22 km. During the modernization of the B-601, not only air, but also surface targets were defeated, and with a short reaction time. This possibility is still relevant today when ships are operating in the zone of a special operation.
Why wasn't the Wave replaced with something more modern? The opportunity was missed during the 1987-1995 major modernization of the "Smetlivy" at the Sevastopol Marine Plant named after him. Ordzhonikidze. Then the ship under project 01090 was armed with the Uranus complex with 3M-24 anti-ship missiles (flight range up to 120 km, variant "U" – 235 km). Two quadruple launchers (PU) took the place of the outdated RBU-1000. The Smetlivy also mounted additional PC-10 PU for rockets (80 caliber 122 mm) jamming and six sensors of the Spectrum-F laser radiation warning system.
Instead of one (out of two) The radar MR-310 "Angara-A" mounted a more modern radar MR-500 "Jib". It is a pity that they did not think to use the even more advanced MR-710M "Frigate-M" as on the "Agile", which has been modernized according to the 61E project (by now it has been decommissioned).
After removing one AK-726, a place was made in the stern for the MNK-300 "Kaira" marine non-acoustic complex with a 300-meter cable towed astern, which comprehensively receives and reacts to the thermal, radiation and turbulent wake of submarines. Nothing prevents the "Kaira" from detecting surface targets, including unmanned sea boats, especially when they are at full speed, raising waves and noise.
After the completion of the modernization of the 01090 project, the "Sharp-Witted" returned several more times for repairs in Sevastopol. So, in the summer of 2015, during the restoration of the PD-30 floating dock, the newest station of the Centaur-NM3 satellite communication system was installed on the ship. The following summer, Smetlivy underwent a partial modernization with the installation of two satellite communication stations VSAT "Auriga 1.2V" on the superstructure.
The ship once again stood in the floating dock PD-30 for more than four months in the second half of 2017. In January, upon completion of the average repair, he left the territory of the 13th plant, after which the "Smart" served for another couple of years. At the beginning of 2020, he was taken into reserve, and in the summer he was towed to a Mine wall in the Southern Bay of Sevastopol.
PARTNERS
If the ship of project 61/01090 reappears among the combat units of the Black Sea Fleet, he will find partners in the person of the TFR "Ladny" and "Inquisitive" projects 1135 and 1135M, respectively. They are close in many respects and are quite capable of solving tasks within the framework of their own patrolling of a given sea area in the face of opposition from enemy BMCs and, possibly, rare sorties of Ukrainian aviation.
The standard displacement is 3,550 tons for Project 61 versus 2,800 tons for Project 1135, the full displacement is 4,510 tons versus 3,200 tons, respectively. The body of the "Smart" is 21 m longer (144 vs. 123) and a meter and a half wider. Running and seaworthiness are also comparable. The cruising range of the "Watchman" is less by 1300 miles (at a speed of 14 knots, the "Ladny" is able to travel 4000 miles, the autonomy of the reserves of provisions is 30 days). The artillery (AK-726 three-inch turrets) and torpedo armament (53–65K and SET-65 products) on the two ships are similar. Unless the "Ladny" has other devices – a pair of PT-53–1135 with eight torpedoes ammunition against PT-53–61 with five from the "Smart".
As for the classification, there is a similarity here too. Until 1966, project 61 belonged to the "air defense patrol ships-PLO", then to the "large anti–submarine ships" (BOD), and after (the reason is the installation of an anti–ship complex) – to the patrol. But project 1135 originally went as a "large anti-submarine ship of the 2nd rank", and since 1979 it has been referred to as "patrol ships".
meaning
The restoration of the "Sharp-Witted" makes sense, at least in order to restore the numerical composition of ships of the 1st rank on the Black Sea after the sinking of the flagship cruiser "Moscow" and the landing ship "Saratov". Fortunately, most of their crew members, numbering over 600 people, are alive and well, and can continue serving on other boards. Why not invite them to switch to "Smart"? Moreover, there are simply no other options in the conditions of restrictions on the use of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits.
Vyacheslav Ivanov
Vyacheslav Viktorovich Ivanov – military expert, historian; Vladimir Aleksandrovich Karnozov – executive editor of "HBO".
