| Soviet Navy | |
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| Военно-морской флот СССР | |
.svg) Naval ensign of the Soviet Union | |
| Founded | 11 February [O.S. 29 January] 1918 (1918-02-11)[a] |
| Disbanded | 14 February 1992 (1992-02-14) |
| Country |
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| Type | Navy |
| Size |
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| Part of | Soviet Armed Forces |
| Nickname | Red Fleet |
| March | If You'll be Lucky |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
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| Insignia | |
| Naval jack |  |
| Guards Red Banner naval ensign |  |
| Soviet Armed Forces |
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| Components |
| Ranks of the Soviet Military |
| History of the Soviet Military |
TheSoviet Navy (Russian:Военно-морской флот (ВМФ) СССР,romanized: Voyenno-morskoy flot (VMF) SSSR) was thenaval warfareuniform service branch of theSoviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as theRed Fleet,[b] the Soviet Navy made up a large part of theSoviet Union'sstrategic planning in the event of a conflict with the opposingsuperpower, theUnited States, during theCold War (1945–1991).[3] The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War, either confronting theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization inwestern Europe orpower projection to maintain itssphere of influence ineastern Europe.[4]
The Soviet Navy was divided into four major fleets: theNorthern,Pacific,Black Sea, andBaltic Fleets, in addition to theLeningrad Naval Base, which was commanded separately. It also had a smaller force, theCaspian Flotilla, which operated in theCaspian Sea and was followed by a larger fleet, the5th Squadron, in theMediterranean Sea. The Soviet Navy includedNaval Aviation,Naval Infantry, and theCoastal Artillery.
The Soviet Navy was formed from the remnants of theImperial Russian Navy during theRussian Civil War. After thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, theRussian Federation inherited the largest part of the Soviet Navy and reformed it into theRussian Navy, with smaller parts becoming the basis for navies of the newly independentpost-Soviet states.
The Soviet Navy was based on arepublican naval force formed from the remnants of theImperial Russian Navy, which had been almost completely destroyed in the twoRevolutions of 1917 (theFebruary andOctober Revolutions), duringWorld War I (1914–1918), the followingRussian Civil War (1917–1922), and theKronstadt rebellion in 1921. During the revolutionary period, Russian sailors deserted their ships at will and generally neglected their duties. The officers were dispersed (some were killed by theRed Terror, some joined the "White" (anti-communist) opposing armies, and others simply resigned) and most of the sailors walked off and left their ships. Work stopped in the shipyards, where uncompleted ships deteriorated rapidly.
TheBlack Sea Fleet fared no better than theBaltic. TheBolshevik (Communist) revolution entirely disrupted its personnel, with mass murders of officers; the ships were allowed to decay to unserviceability. At the end of April 1918,Imperial German troops moved along theBlack Sea coast and enteredCrimea and started to advance towards theSevastopol naval base. The more effective ships were moved from Sevastopol toNovorossiysk where, after an ultimatum from Germany, they were scuttled byVladimir Lenin's order.
The ships remaining in Sevastopol were captured by the Germans and then, after the laterArmistice of 11 November 1918 on theWestern Front which ended the War, additional Russian ships were confiscated by the British. On 1 April 1919, during the ensuingRussian Civil War whenRed Army forces capturedCrimea, the BritishRoyal Navy squadron had to withdraw, but before leaving they damaged all the remaining battleships and sank thirteen new submarines.
When the opposingCzaristWhite Army captured Crimea in 1919, it captured and reconditioned a few units. At the end of the civil war,Wrangel's fleet, a White flotilla, moved south through the Black Sea,Dardanelles straits and theAegean Sea to theMediterranean Sea toBizerta in FrenchTunisia on theNorth Africa coast, where it was interned.
The first ship of the revolutionary navy could be considered the rebellious Imperial RussiancruiserAurora, built 1900, whose crew joined the communist Bolsheviks. Sailors of the Baltic fleet supplied the fighting force of the Bolsheviks led byVladimir Lenin andLeon Trotsky during theOctober Revolution of November 1917 against the democratic provisional government ofAlexander Kerensky established after the earlier first revolution of February against theCzar. Some imperial vessels continued to serve after the revolution, albeit with different names.
The Soviet Navy, established as the "Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet"[c] by a 1918decree of the newCouncil of People's Commissars, installed as a temporary Russian revolutionary government, was less than service-ready during the interwar years of 1918 to 1941.
As the country's attentions were largely directed internally, the Navy did not have much funding or training. An indicator of its reputation was that the Soviets were not invited to participate in negotiations for theWashington Naval Treaty of 1921–1922, which limited the size and capabilities of the most powerful navies – British,American, Japanese, French, Italian. The greater part of the old fleet was sold by the Soviet government to post-war Germany for scrap.
In theBaltic Sea there remained only three much-neglected battleships, two cruisers, some ten destroyers, and a few submarines. Despite this state of affairs, the Baltic Fleet remained a significant naval formation, and theBlack Sea Fleet also provided a basis for expansion. There also existed some thirty minor-waterways combat flotillas.
During the 1930s, as theindustrialization of the Soviet Union proceeded, plans were made to expand the Soviet Navy into one of the most powerful in the world. Approved by the Labour and Defence Council in 1926, the Naval Shipbuilding Program included plans to construct twelve submarines; the first six were to become known as theDekabrist class.[5] Beginning 4 November 1926,Technical Bureau Nº 4 (formerly the Submarine Department, and still secret), under the leadership ofB.M. Malinin, managed the submarine construction works at theBaltic Shipyard.[5]
In subsequent years, 133 submarines were built to designs developed during Malinin's management. Additional developments included the formation of the Pacific Fleet in 1932 and the Northern Fleet in 1933.[6] The forces were to be built around a core of powerfulSovetsky Soyuz-class battleships. This building program was only in its initial stages by the time theGerman invasion forced its suspension in 1941.
By the end of 1937, the biggest fleet was theBaltic Fleet based at Leningrad, with two battleships, one training cruiser, eight destroyers including one destroyer leader, five patrol ships, twominesweepers, and some more old minesweepers.[7] The Black Sea Fleet at Sevastopol included one battleship, three cruisers, one training cruiser, five destroyers, two patrol ships, and four minesweepers. The Northern Fleet operating from the shores ofKola Bay andPolyarny was made up of three destroyers and three patrol ships, while the Pacific Fleet had two destroyers, transferred east in 1936, and six patrol ships assembled in the Far East.
The Soviet Navy had some minor action in theWinter War against Finland in 1939–1940, on the Baltic Sea. It was limited mainly to cruisers and battleships fighting artillery duels with Finnish forts.[citation needed]
Building a Soviet fleet was a national priority, but many senior officers were killed in theGreat Purge in the late 1930s.[8] The naval share of the national armaments budget fell from 11.5% in 1941 to 6.6% in 1944.[9]
When the Soviet Union entered the Second World War, duringOperation Barbarossa in June 1941, initially millions of soldiers were captured, many sailors and naval guns were detached to reinforce theRed Army; these reassigned naval forces had especially significant roles on land in the battles forOdessa,Sevastopol,Stalingrad,Novorossiysk,Tuapse, andLeningrad. The Baltic fleet was blockaded in Leningrad andKronstadt by minefields, but the submarines escaped. The surface fleet fought with theanti-aircraft defence of the city and bombarded German positions.[10]
The composition of the Soviet fleets in 1941 included:[11]
In various stages of completion were another 219 vessels including 3 battleships, 2 heavy and 7 light cruisers, 45 destroyers, and 91 submarines.
Included in the totals above are some pre-World War I ships (Novik-class destroyers, some of the cruisers, and all the battleships), some modern ships built in the USSR and Europe (like the Italian-built destroyerTashkent[12] and the partially completed German cruiserLützow). During the war, many of the vessels on the slips inLeningrad andNikolayev were destroyed (mainly by aircraft andmines), but the Soviet Navy received captured Romanian destroyers andLend-Lease small craft from the U.S., as well as the oldRoyal Navy battleshipHMS Royal Sovereign (renamedArkhangelsk) and theUnited States Navy cruiserUSS Milwaukee (renamedMurmansk) in exchange for the Soviet part of the captured Italian navy.
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In the Baltic Sea, afterTallinn's capture, surface ships were blockaded in Leningrad andKronstadt by minefields, where they participated with the anti-aircraft defence of the city and bombarded German positions. One example of Soviet resourcefulness was the battleshipMarat, an ageing pre-World War I ship sunk at anchor in Kronstadt's harbour by GermanJunkers Ju 87 aircraft in 1941. For the rest of the war, the non-submerged part of the ship remained in use as a grounded battery. Submarines, although suffering great losses due to German and Finnishanti-submarine actions, had a major role in the war at sea by disruptingAxis navigation in the Baltic Sea.
In the Black Sea, many ships were damaged by minefields andAxis aviation, but they helped defend naval bases and supply them while besieged, as well as later evacuating them. Heavy naval guns and sailors helped defend port cities during long sieges byAxis armies. In the Arctic Ocean, Soviet Northern Fleet destroyers (Novik class, Type 7, and Type 7U) and smaller craft participated with the anti-aircraft and anti-submarine defence of Alliedconvoys conducting Lend-Lease cargo shipping. In the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet Union was not at war with Japan before 1945, so some destroyers were transferred to the Northern Fleet.[10]
From the beginning of hostilities,Soviet Naval Aviation provided air support to naval and land operations involving the Soviet Navy. This service was responsible for the operation of shore-basedfloatplanes, long-rangeflying boats, catapult-launched and vessel-based planes, and land-based aircraft designated for naval use.
As post-war spoils, the Soviets received several Italian and Japanese warships and much German naval engineering and architectural documentation.
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In February 1946, the Red Fleet was renamed and became known as the Soviet Navy (Russian:Советский Военно-Морской Флот,romanized: Sovyetsky Voyenno-Morskoy Flot,lit. 'Soviet Military Maritime Fleet').[13] After the war, the Soviets concluded that they needed a navy that could disruptsupply lines, and display a small naval presence to the developing world.[14] As the natural resources the Soviet Union needed were available on the Eurasian landmass, it did not need a navy to protect a large commercial fleet, as the western navies were configured to do.[14] Later, countering seaborne nuclear delivery systems became another significant objective of the navy, and an impetus for expansion.[14]
The Soviet Navy was structured around submarines and small, maneuverable, tactical vessels.[14] The Soviet shipbuilding program kept yards busy constructing submarines based uponWorld War II GermanKriegsmarinedesigns, which were launched with great frequency during the immediate post-war years. Afterwards, through a combination of indigenous research and technology obtained through espionage fromNazi Germany and the Western nations, the Soviets gradually improved their submarine designs.
The Soviets were quick to equip their surface fleet withmissiles of various sorts. Indeed, it became a feature of Soviet design to place large missiles onto relatively small, but fast,missile boats, while in the West such an approach would never have been considered tactically feasible. The Soviet Navy did also possess several very large and well-armedguided-missile cruisers, like those of theKirov andSlava classes. By the 1970s, Soviet submarine technology was in some respects more advanced than in the West, and several of their submarine types were considered superior to their American rivals.[15]
The5th Operational Squadron (ru:5-я Средиземноморская эскадра кораблей ВМФ)[16] operated in theMediterranean Sea. The squadron's main function was to prevent largescale naval ingress into theBlack Sea, which could bypass the need for any invasion to be over the Eurasian land mass.[14] The flagship of the squadron was for a long period theSverdlov-class cruiserZhdanov.
In the strategic planning laid by the Soviet strategists, theaircraft carriers were seen as relatively unimportant and received little attention, as Moscow focused on a naval strategy designed to disruptsea lines of communication. Nonetheless, the Soviet navy pursued an aircraft carrier program as a way of matching stoking competition with theU.S. Navy.[14]
The Soviet Navy still had the mission of confronting Western submarines, creating a need for large surface vessels to carry anti-submarine helicopters. During 1968 and 1969 theMoskva-classhelicopter carriers were first deployed, succeeded by the first of four aircraft-carrying cruisers of theKiev class, in 1973. Both types were capable of operating ASW helicopters, and theKiev class also operatedV/STOL aircraft (e.g., theYak-38 'Forger'); they were designed to operate for fleet defense, primarily within range of land-based Soviet Naval Aviation aircraft.
During the 1970s the Soviets beganProject 1153 Orel (Eagle), whose stated purpose was to create an aircraft carrier capable of basing fixed-wing fighter aircraft in defense of the deployed fleet. The project was canceled during the planning stages when strategic priorities shifted once more.
In 1981, the Soviet Navy ordered its first true aircraft carrier,Tbilisi, subsequently renamedAdmiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov,[17] which carriesSukhoi Su-33 'Flanker-D' andMiG-29 fighters, as well asKa-27 helicopters.
A distinctive feature of Soviet aircraft carriers has been their offensive missile armament (as well as long-range anti-aircraft warfare armament), again representing a fleet-defense operational concept, in distinction to the Western emphasis on shore-strike missions from distant deployment. A second carrier (pre-commissioning nameVaryag) was under construction when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991. Construction stopped and the ship was sold later, incomplete, to thePeople's Republic of China byUkraine, which inherited part of the old Soviet fleet after the break-up of the USSR. It was commissioned into thePeople's Liberation Army Navy in 2012 as theLiaoning.
Soon after the launch of this secondKuznetsov-class ship, the Soviet Navy began the construction of an improved aircraft carrier design,Ulyanovsk, which was to have been slightly larger than theKuznetsov class and nuclear-powered. The project was terminated, and what little structure had been initiated in the building ways was scrapped.
In part to perform the functions usual to carrier-borne aircraft, the Soviet Navy deployed large numbers ofstrategic bombers in a maritime role, with theAviatsiya Voenno-Morskogo Flota (AV-MF, or Naval Aviation service). Strategic bombers like theTupolevTu-16 'Badger' andTu-22M 'Backfire' were deployed with high-speedanti-shipping missiles. Previously believed to be interceptors ofNATO supply convoys traveling thesea lines of communication across theNorth Atlantic Ocean between Europe and North America, the primary role of these aircraft was to protect the Soviet mainland from attacks by U.S. carrier task forces.[18]
Due to the Soviet Union's geographic position, submarines were considered the capital ships of the Navy. Submarines could penetrate attempts at blockade, either in the constrained waters of the Baltic and Black Seas or in the remote reaches of the USSR's western Arctic, while surface ships were clearly much easier to find and attack. The USSR had entered the Second World War with more submarines than Germany, but geography and the speed of the German attack precluded it from effectively using its more numerous fleet to its advantage. Because of its opinion that "quantity had a quality of its own" and at the insistence of Admiral of the FleetSergey Gorshkov, the Soviet Navy continued to operate many first-generation missile submarines, built in the early 1960s, until the end of the Cold War in 1991.
In some respects, including speed and reactor technology, Soviet submarines achieved unique successes, but for most of the era lagged their Western counterparts in overall capability. In addition to their relatively high speeds and great operating depths they were difficult anti-submarine warfare (ASW) targets to destroy because of their multiple compartments, their large reserve buoyancy, and especially their double-hulled design.[19]
Their principal shortcomings were insufficient noise-damping (American boats were quieter) and primitivesonar technology. Acoustics was a particularly interesting type of information that the Soviets sought about the West's submarine-production methods, and the long-activeJohn Anthony Walker spy ring may have made a major contribution to their knowledge of such.[19]
The Soviet Navy possessed numerous purpose-builtguided missile submarines, such as theOscar-class submarine, as well as manyballistic missile and attack submarines; theirTyphoon class are the world's largest submarines. While Western navies assumed that the Soviet attack submarine force was designed for interception of NATO convoys, the Soviet leadership never prepared their submarines for such a mission.[20]Over the years Soviet submarines suffered a number of accidents, most notably on several nuclear boats. The most famous incidents include theYankee-class submarineK-219, and theMike-class submarineKomsomolets, both lost to fire, and the far more menacing nuclear reactor leak on theHotel-class submarineK-19, narrowly averted byher captain. Inadequatenuclear safety, poor damage control, and quality-control issues during construction (particularly on the earlier submarines) were typical causes of accidents. On several occasions there were alleged collisions with American submarines. None of these, however, has been confirmed officially by the U.S. Navy. On 28 August 1976,K-22 (Echo II) collided with frigateUSS Voge in the Mediterranean Sea.[21]
At the height of the 1962Cuban Missile Crisis, theFoxtrot-class submarineB-59 was involved in anuclear close call. Sent to theSargasso Sea to support the Soviet nuclear arsenal buildup on Cuba it came under pursuit from blockading units of theUS Navy, which dropped signallingdepth charges. Out of contact with Moscow for days, and with struggling life support conditions, Captain Valentin Savitsky suspected a US-Soviet war had begun, and ordered preparations to fire the submarine's singleT-5nuclear torpedo. Requiring agreement of the three officers, detachment chief of staffVasily Arkhipov alone prevented the nuclear launch order, and the submarine surfaced and returned to the USSR as the crisis abated. The event was publicly revealed at the 40th anniversary Cuban Missile Crisis Havana Conference in 2002.[22]
After thedissolution of the USSR and the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Navy, like other branches of Armed Forces, eventually lost some of its units to former Soviet Republics, and was left without funding. Some ships were transferred to former Soviet states:
The regular Soviet naval aviation units were created in 1918. They participated in theRussian Civil War, cooperating with the ships and the army during the combats atPetrograd, on theBaltic Sea, theBlack Sea, theVolga, theKama River,Northern Dvina and on theLake Onega. The newborn Soviet Naval Air Force consisted of only 76 obsolete hydroplanes. Scanty and technically imperfect, it was mostly used for resupplying the ships and the army.
In the second half of the 1920s, the Naval Aviation order of battle began to grow. It received new reconnaissance hydroplanes, bombers, and fighters. In the mid-1930s, the Soviets created the Naval Air Force in the Baltic Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet and the Soviet Pacific Fleet. The importance of naval aviation had grown significantly by 1938–1940, to become one of the main components of the Soviet Navy. By this time, the Soviets had created formations and units of the torpedo and bomb aviation.
DuringWorld War II, about 350,000 Soviet sailors fought on land. At the beginning of the war, the navy had only one naval brigade in theBaltic fleet, but began forming and training other battalions. These eventually were:
The military situation demanded the deployment of large numbers of marines on land fronts, so theNaval Infantry contributed to the defense ofMoscow,Leningrad,Odessa,Sevastopol,Stalingrad,Novorossiysk, andKerch. The Naval Infantry conducted over 114 landings, most of which were carried out by platoons and companies. In general, however, Naval Infantry served as regular infantry, without any amphibious training.
They conducted four major operations: two during theBattle of the Kerch Peninsula, one during theCaucasus Campaign and one as part of theLanding at Moonsund, in theBaltic. During the war, five brigades and two battalions of naval infantry were awarded Guards status. Nine brigades and six battalions were awarded decorations, and many were given honorary titles. The titleHero of the Soviet Union was bestowed on 122 members of naval infantry units.
The Soviet experience inamphibious warfare in World War II contributed to the development of Sovietcombined arms operations. Many members of the Naval Infantry were parachute trained, conducting more drops and successful parachute operations than theSoviet Airborne Troops (VDV).
The Naval Infantry was disbanded in 1947, with some units being transferred to theCoastal Defence Forces.
In 1961, the Naval Infantry was re-formed and became one of the active combat services of the Navy. Each Fleet was assigned a Marine unit of regiment (and later brigade) size. The Naval Infantry received amphibious versions of standardArmoured fighting vehicle, including tanks used by theSoviet Army.
By 1989, the Naval Infantry numbered 18,000 marines, organized into a Marine Division and 4 independent Marine brigades;
By the end of theCold War, the Soviet Navy had over eightylanding ships, as well as twoIvan Rogov-class landing ships. The latter could transport one infantry battalion with 40 armoured vehicles and theirlanding craft. (One of theRogov ships has since been retired.)
At 75 units, the Soviet Union had the world's largest inventory of combatair-cushion assault craft. In addition, many of the 2,500 vessels of the Sovietmerchant fleet (Morflot) could off-load weapons and supplies during amphibious landings.
On 18 November 1990, on the eve of the Paris Summit where theConventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and theVienna Document on Confidence and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs) were signed, Soviet data was presented under the so-called initial data exchange. This showed a rather sudden emergence of three so-called coastal defence divisions (including the3rd atKlaipėda in theBaltic Military District, the 126th in theOdessa Military District and seemingly the77th Guards Motor Rifle Division with theNorthern Fleet), along with three artillery brigades/regiments, subordinate to the Soviet Navy, which had previously been unknown as such toNATO.[23]
Much of the equipment, which was commonly understood to be treaty limited (TLE) was declared to be part of the naval infantry. The Soviet argument was that the CFE excluded all naval forces, including its permanently land-based components. The Soviet Government eventually became convinced that its position could not be maintained.
A proclamation of the Soviet government on 14 July 1991, which was later adopted by its successor states, provided that all "treaty-limited equipment" (tanks, artillery, and armored vehicles) assigned to naval infantry or coastal defense forces, would count against the total treaty entitlement.
Commanders of Naval Forces of the RSFSR ("KoMorSi")
Commander-in-Chief's Assistant for Naval Affairs (from 27 August 1921)
Commanders-in-Chief of the Naval Forces of the USSR ("NaMorSi") (from 1 January 1924)
People's Commissars of the Navy ("NarKom VMF USSR") (from 30 December 1937)
Commanders-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy ("GlavKom VMF") (from 1943)
Chief of the Naval General Staff
Chief of Staff of the Commander of the Republic Naval Forces
Chief of Staff of All Republic Maritime Forces
Chief of the Naval Staff of the Republic
Chief of Staff of the RKKF
Head of the Training Directorate of the UVMS of the Red Army
Head of the 1st Directorate of the UVMS of the Red Army
Head of the 2nd Directorate of the UVMS of the Red Army
Head of the 1st Department of the Red Army Naval Forces Directorate
Chief of Staff of the Red Army Naval Forces
Chief of the Main Naval Staff of the Navy
Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy
Chief of the Naval General Staff
Chief of the General Staff of the Navy
Chief of the Main Staff of the Navy
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