View source for Soviet cruiser Krasny Kavkaz

{{Short description|Soviet Navy's Admiral Nakhimov-class cruiser}}
{{distinguish|Soviet destroyer Krasny Kavkaz}}

{{good article}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=KrasnyyKavkaz1930s1.jpg
|Ship caption=''Krasny Kavkaz'' in the 1930s
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Soviet Union]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Soviet Union|naval}}
|Ship name=''Krasny Kavkaz''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Shipyard named after 61 Communards|Russud Dockyard]], [[Mykolaiv|Nikolayev]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=31 October 1913
|Ship launched=21 June 1916
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=
|Ship acquired=November 1917
|Ship commissioned=25 January 1932
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=14 December 1926 from ''Admiral Lazarev''
|Ship reclassified=12 May 1947 as a [[training ship]]
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship honours=Awarded the [[Guards unit|Guards]] title, 3 April 1942
|Ship fate=Sunk as target, 21 November 1952
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= (in 1940)
|Ship class={{sclass|Admiral Nakhimov|cruiser}}
|Ship displacement=*{{cvt|7560|t|LT|lk=on|0}}  ([[Displacement (ship)#Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{cvt|9030|t|LT|0}} ([[full load]])
|Ship length={{convert|170|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|15.7|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|6.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*4 shafts, 4 geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed= {{convert|29|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|3500|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=878
|Ship crew=
|Ship power=*10 [[Yarrow boiler]]s
*{{cvt|55000|shp|kW|lk=on}}
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*4 × 1 – [[180mm Pattern 1931-1933|{{convert|180|mm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}} guns]]
*4 × 2 – [[Škoda 10 cm K10#OTO 100.2F47 History|{{convert|100|mm|in|sp=us|abbr=on}}]] [[AA gun]]s
*2 × 1 – 76&nbsp;mm AA guns
*4 × 1 – [[45 mm anti-aircraft gun (21-K)|{{convert|45|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] AA guns
*4 × 1 – [[DShK|{{convert|12.7|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] AA machine guns
*4 × 3 – {{convert|533|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} [[torpedo tube]]s
*60–120 [[Naval mine|mines]]
|Ship armour=*[[Deck (ship)|Upper and lower armoured decks]]: {{convert|20|mm|in|abbr=on}} each
*[[Gun turret|Turrets]]: {{convert|76|mm|in|abbr=on}}
*Lower armour belt: {{convert|76|mm|in|abbr=on}}
*[[Belt armor|Upper armour belt]]: {{convert|25|mm|in|abbr=on}}
*[[Conning tower]]: {{convert|76|mm|in|abbr=on}}
|Ship aircraft=2 × [[Beriev Be-2|KOR-1]] seaplanes
|Ship aircraft facilities= 1 [[Aircraft catapult#Interwar and World War II|catapult]]
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''''Krasny Kavkaz''''' (from [[Russian language|Russian]]: "Красный Кавказ" – "Red [[Caucasus]]") was a [[cruiser]] of the [[Soviet Navy]] that began construction during World War I, but was still incomplete during the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]]. Her design was heavily modified by the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]], and she was completed in 1932. During World War II she supported Soviet troops during the [[Siege of Odessa (1941)|siege of Odessa]], [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)|siege of Sevastopol]], and the [[Battle of the Kerch Peninsula|Kerch–Feodosiya operation]] in the winter of 1941–42. She was awarded the [[Guards unit|Guards]] title on 3 April 1942. She was reclassified as a training ship in May 1947 before being expended as a target in 1952.

==Service history==

{{other ships|Russian ship Admiral Lazarev}}

Laid down on 18 October 1913 at the Rossud Dockyard as ''Admiral Lazarev'' for the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] as a cruiser of the {{sclass|Svetlana|cruiser|4}}, she was launched on 8 June 1916. Construction was abandoned in 1917 during the [[October Revolution]] when the ship was 63% complete. In the second half of 1918, the Marine Department of Hetman [[Pavlo Skoropadskyi]] was engaged in completion of ship. On 25 January 1919, the ship was formally renamed in "Hetman [[Petro Doroshenko]]", but [[Mykolaiv]] was captured shortly afterward by the Entente.<ref>Шрамченко Святослав. Українська воєнна Фльота 1919–1920 рр.//Історія українського війська (від княжих часів до 20х років ХХ ст.) / Крип'якевич І., Гнатевич Б., Стефанів З. Та ін. 4те вид. Змін. І доп. Львів: Світ, 1992, C. 433–446</ref> The hull was relatively undamaged and the Soviets decided to finish the ship to a modified design. She was renamed ''Krasny Kavkaz'' on 14 December 1926, and completed to a modernized design, being commissioned on 25 January 1932.<ref>Breyer, p. 168</ref>
 
''Krasny Kavkaz'' was initially intended to accommodate eight {{convert|8|in|adj=on|0}} guns in four twin [[gun turret|turret]]s, but this was impossible given her small and lightly constructed hull. Three twin turrets mounting the new 57-[[Caliber#Caliber as measurement of length|caliber]] {{convert|180|mm|abbr=on}} ''B-1-K'' gun under development also proved impracticable and the Soviets had to settle for four [[180mm Pattern 1931-1933|''MK-1-180'' single 180&nbsp;mm]] gun turrets, two at each end. Her superstructure was massively revised to accommodate these turrets and all of the original [[Casemate#Single casemates (1889 onwards)|casemated]] {{convert|130|mm|adj=on|sp=us}} [[130 mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913|B7 Pattern 1913]] guns were removed. As completed her secondary armament was only four 30-caliber 76.2&nbsp;mm [[76 mm air-defense gun M1914/15|''Lender'' AA gun]]s mounted between her funnels. Her original internal torpedo tubes were replaced by four triple {{convert|533|mm|in|adj=on|0}} torpedo mounts mounted on each side of the main deck abaft the forecastle break.<ref>Whitley, pp. 204–205</ref> She was given an aircraft-handling crane, but a [[aircraft catapult|catapult]] wasn't installed aft of her rear funnel until 1935 when a [[Heinkel]] catapult was imported from Germany. She was also fitted for mine rails with a capacity of up to 120 [[Naval mines|mines]].<ref>Breyer, pp. 168, 171</ref>

The light cruiser {{ship|Soviet cruiser|Komintern||2}} collided with her in May 1932, shortly after her commissioning, and badly damaged her bow. It was extensively rebuilt and increased her overall length by over {{convert|11|m}}. In 1933 she made port visits in [[Turkey]], [[Greece]] and [[Italy]].<ref name=bsf>{{cite web|url=http://flot.sevastopol.info/ship/cruiser/krasniy_kavkaz.htm|title=Cruiser Krasny Kavkaz|language=ru|access-date=30 July 2009}}</ref>

She was refitted before [[Operation Barbarossa]], probably about 1940, her catapult was removed, and her anti-aircraft armament was greatly increased. Her four 76.2&nbsp;mm [[76 mm air-defense gun M1914/15|Lender AA gun]]s were exchanged for four Italian ''Minizini'' twin gun [[Škoda 10 cm K10#OTO 100.2F47 History|{{convert|100|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} 47&nbsp;caliber guns]] and she received four single mounts for the semi-automatic [[76.2 mm anti-aircraft gun Model 1935 (34-K)|{{convert|76.2|mm|abbr=on}} 34-K]] guns as well as six [[DShK|{{convert|12.7|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] AA machine guns. Two single mounts for 34-K guns were also fitted, one on each side of the quarterdeck just aft of the rearmost main gun turret. Some of these guns may have been received earlier, the sources are unclear. While under repair at [[Poti]] in late 1942 she landed her aft pair of torpedo tubes and received two more ''Minizini'' mounts salvaged from the sunken cruiser {{ship|Soviet cruiser|Chervona Ukraina||2}}. Ten single mounts for the naval version of the [[37 mm automatic air defense gun M1939 (61-K)|37&nbsp;mm AA gun]] was also fitted. By 1944 she was also carrying one quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun]] MK III mount on top of each of her [[Superfire|superfiring]] main gun turrets and she may have been using [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]].<ref>Whitley, p. 205</ref>

===World War II===
''Krasny Kavkaz'', in company with the cruisers ''Chervona Ukraina'', ''Komintern'' and a number of [[destroyer]]s, laid down a defensive mine barrage protecting the [[Black Sea Fleet]] base at [[Sevastopol]] on 22 June.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 80–1</ref> She provided gunfire support to Soviet forces defending [[Odessa]]<ref>[https://odessa-future.com.ua/uk/eternal-chervonyj-kavkaz-legendarnyj-krejser-zahysnyk-odesy-v-roky-vijny-proty-fashyzmu Орлов Віталій. «Червоний Кавказ» – легендарний крейсер, захисник Одеси в роки війни проти фашизму]</ref> and escorted convoys bringing the [[157th Rifle Division]] into Odessa during the month of September 1941. She also transported one battalion of the 3rd Marine Regiment from [[Sevastopol]] in a successful amphibious assault behind Romanian lines to destroy Romanian coastal batteries near Fontanka and Dofinovka.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 94, 99, 102</ref> She escorted convoys from 3–6 October that evacuated the 157th Rifle Division from Odessa to Sevastopol and escorted the final evacuation convoy during the night of 15–16 October.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 105, 108</ref> During the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)|siege of Sevastopol]] she provided gunfire support and evacuated cut-off troops from elsewhere in the Crimea into Sevastopol and brought in reinforcements from Caucasian ports.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 111–2, 115, 119–20</ref> She helped to transport the [[388th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|388th Rifle Division]] from [[Novorossiysk]] and [[Tuapse]] to Sevastopol between 7 and 13 December and the [[354th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)|354th Rifle Division]] between 21 and 22 December, bombarding German positions in the interim.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 122, 128</ref>
[[File:1973. Гвардейский крейсер Красный Кавказ.jpg|thumb|right|''Krasny Kavkaz'' as depicted on a 1973 postage stamp]]
During the [[Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)#The Soviet landing at Kerch|Kerch–Feodosiya operation]], ''Krasny Kavkaz'' sailed into the harbor of [[Feodosiya]] on 29 December 1941 and disembarked reinforcements and provided gunfire support for Soviet troops already ashore. She was hit seventeen times by Axis artillery and mortar fire in retaliation. On 1 and 3 January she ferried supplies and reinforcements for the Soviet bridgehead on the [[Kerch Peninsula]]. On the return voyage she was severely damaged by German [[Junkers Ju 87]] Stuka [[dive-bomber]]s from II./StG 77.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 129, 131</ref> Four near-misses close to her stern damaged her steering, her left propeller shaft, blew off one propeller and put enough holes in her stern that flooding caused her draft to increase by {{convert|5|m}}.<ref name=bsf/> She made it to [[Novorossiysk]], escorted by the destroyer ''{{ship|Soviet destroyer|Sposobny|1940|2}}'', where she was patched up enough to make to [[Poti]] where more permanent repairs could be made. These took until October 1942 and the opportunity was taken to reinforce her anti-aircraft armament.<ref>Rohwer, p. 131</ref>

She was awarded the [[Guards unit|Guards]] title on 3 April in recognition of her performance.<ref name=bsf/> Between 20 and 23 October, ''Krasny Kavkaz'', her half-sister {{ship|Soviet cruiser|Krasny Krym||2}}, and three destroyers ferried 12,600 men of the 8th, 9th and 10th Guards Rifle Brigades from Poti to Tuapse to reinforce the defenses there. On the night of 4 February 1943 the Soviets made a series of amphibious landings to the west of Novorossiysk, behind German lines. ''Krasny Krym'', ''Krasny Kavkaz'', and three destroyers provided fire support for the main landing, but the Soviet troops there were wiped out by 6 February, although one secondary landing was successful.<ref>Rohwer, p. 229</ref> The loss of three destroyers attempting to interdict the German evacuation of the Taman Bridgehead on 6 October 1943 caused [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] to forbid the deployment of large naval units without his express permission and this meant the end of ''Krasny Kavkaz''{{'}}s active participation in the war.<ref>Rohwer, p. 280</ref>

===Post-war history===
Little is known about her activities after the end of the war other than she was redesignated as a training ship on 12 May 1947. Krasny Kavkaz was assigned as a target ship for testing of [[KS-1 Komet]] (AS-1 Kennel) anti-shipping missile in 1951. 

Since [[Spring (season)|spring]] 1952, Krasny Kavkaz was tested against Komet missiles with an inert charge, resulting in three neat little holes, one on the [[aft]] and two on the weights on the marine fenders, however, there was also a massive 10 [[metre|m]]² exit hole. During these tests, Krasny Kavkaz managed to stay afloat, continuing on course.<ref name="otorvali">{{cite book |last1=А. В. |first1=Скворцов |title=Гвардейский крейсер «Красный Кавказ» (1926-1945) |date=2005 |publisher=Галея Принт |location=Санкт-Петербург |isbn=5-8172-0098-8 |page=105}}</ref> On 21 November 1952, she was put out to sea at 18 knots (33.3 km/h) and without crew<ref name="no2">{{cite web|url=http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=102181|title=Krasny Kavkaz|language=ru|access-date=31 July 2009|archive-date=16 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916190503/http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=102181|url-status=dead}}</ref> to allow for the testing of a Komet anti-ship missile with a proper warhead. During testing, she sank almost instantaneously, splitting into two and sinking within three minutes.<ref name="otorvali"/><ref name="no2"/> Her estimated wreck location is roughly 15 miles (24.14 km) south of Cape {{ill|Chauda|ru|Чауда (мыс)}}, on the southern tip of [[Feodosia Gulf]].

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
*{{cite book|last=Breyer|first=Siegfried|title=Soviet Warship Development: Volume 1: 1917–1937|publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London|year=1992|isbn=0-85177-604-3}}
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor-last=Chesneau |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7 |last=Budzbon|first=Przemysław|pages=318–346|chapter=Soviet Union|editor-first=Roger}}
*{{cite book |last1=Budzbon |first1=Przemysław |last2=Radziemski |first2=Jan |last3=Twardowski |first3=Marek |title=Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939–1945 |date=2022 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-68247-877-6|volume=I: Major Combatants|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Hill|first=Alexander|year=2024 |title= Soviet Cruisers 1917-1945: From the October Revolution to World War II |place= Oxford, UK|publisher= Osprey Publishing|isbn= 9781472859334|series=New Vanguard |volume=326}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2 |author-link=Jürgen Rohwer}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia |publisher=Cassell|location=London |year=1995|isbn=1-86019-874-0|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Krasnyy Kavkaz (ship, 1916)}}
*[http://shipandship.chat.ru/military/c002.htm Ship's history (in Russian)]
*[http://flot.sevastopol.info/ship/cruiser/krasniy_kavkaz.htm Cruiser "Krasny Kavkaz" from Black Sea fleet (in Russian, with photos)]
*[http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=102181 – article in Russian from Encyclopedia of Ships] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916190503/http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=102181 |date=16 September 2008 }}

{{Admiral Nakhimov class cruisers}}
{{January 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{1952 shipwrecks}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasny Kavkaz}}
[[Category:Admiral Nakhimov-class cruisers]]
[[Category:Ships built at the Black Sea Shipyard]]
[[Category:1916 ships]]
[[Category:World War II cruisers of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1942]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1952]]
[[Category:Ships built in the Russian Empire]]