Chapter 536 Soviet Class Aircraft Carrier

The Black Sea Shipyard, the largest shipyard in the Soviet Union and the only aircraft carrier manufacturing base!

With the commissioning of the two Kiev-class ships, the Soviet Navy ushered in a glorious new era. Apart from the US Navy, no other country's navy has such strength. The British Invincible-class? That's simply a joke! The United States preached that large aircraft carriers are useless while advocating the benefits of vertical short take-off and landing fighters, which made the British fall for it and produced the useless Invincible-class.

The Soviets will not be fooled. The Yak-38 has been abandoned. The Soviet aircraft carrier needs to be a super-large aircraft carrier like the United States!

Andrei's visit first visited the third Kiev-class aircraft carrier that had been built at the dock. The layout of the bow leap deck and the side angled deck made the deck of the aircraft carrier look very neat.

"The layout of the first leap deck and the angled deck allows our carrier-based aircraft to take off and land without interfering with each other," Gorshkov said. "This will greatly improve our combat effectiveness. The deck operations are more efficient than the first two Kiev-class ships, so much so that many people in our navy want to call this third ship a new type of aircraft carrier."

Judging from the appearance, it is indeed a new model. Without those densely packed weapons on the deck, it looks more orderly, but...

"How many carrier-based aircraft can our warship accommodate?" Andre asked. The deployment efficiency of an aircraft carrier depends on its carrier-based aircraft.

"If we only count the internal hangar, we can carry sixteen MiG-23Ks, two early warning aircraft and four helicopters." said Makarov, the director of the Black Sea Shipyard who came along.

Andre frowned. In this case, the aircraft carrying capacity is almost the same as the first two warships, or even less! As for the reason, Andre certainly knew it.

The Soviet Red Navy has not given up its pursuit of shipborne weapons. The deck now looks flat, but that’s because the huge anti-ship missiles have been moved under the deck!

Like the later Kuznetsov, anti-ship missiles are stored in the lower part in front of the flight deck, which has a great impact on the hangar area below. Because the hull has not changed, the storage capacity of fighter jets is even less than that of the other two ships!

Andrei shook his head: "Marshal Ustinov, Marshal Gorshkov, now, among our top leaders, do you still think that our aircraft carrier should have its own characteristics and install huge anti-ship missiles on it to occupy precious hangar space?" Andrei asked.

What is an aircraft carrier used for? It is used to carry carrier-based aircraft, which is the most powerful weapon! The last conflict has clearly illustrated this problem!

Andre is a staunch supporter of Western aircraft carriers. This kind of useless existence is totally inappropriate!

Ustinov said to Andrei, "Andrei, the Ministry of Defense has made a serious assessment and concluded that your proposal is correct. However, our No. 3 ship can no longer be modified, so our No. 3 ship will still be built according to the original design. However, the new class of aircraft carriers has been completely changed."

The third ship can be said to be more useless! This is Andre's impression. For the Northern Fleet, which is eager to receive a new aircraft carrier, it is an absolute treasure.

Due to the deteriorating situation in the Far East, the first two aircraft carriers were assigned to the Pacific Fleet. As the leader of the Soviet fleet, the Northern Fleet is still eagerly waiting for the third aircraft carrier. Now, during the sea trial, it is operated by the naval officers and soldiers of the Northern Fleet, and they also have to adapt to the operation of the aircraft carrier in advance.

"The operation of an aircraft carrier is of great importance. We can draw some experienced officers and soldiers from the Pacific Fleet to help the Northern Fleet control this aircraft carrier," said Andre.

The officers and soldiers of the Northern Fleet expressed their gratitude for Andre's proposal and invited Andre to continue to visit the warship, but Andre declined the kindness. Andre's heart had already flown to the aircraft carrier in the port, whose main construction was almost completed on the slipway.

From here, you can see the flat deck of the aircraft carrier! It's a brand new aircraft carrier!

So, without staying on ship No. 3 for too long, the group came to the new aircraft carrier that was under construction.

"According to the original plan, we should have built four Kiev-class warships of the same type. However, after the navy department responded, our original design was far from meeting the needs. Therefore, we made major changes to the second and third ships. At the same time, the construction of the fourth ship was cancelled. Our newly built 1143.5-class is a new type of warship that meets the future needs of our navy. This type of warship also became the Soviet-class, and the first aircraft carrier is called the Soviet Union." Makarov said.

Soviet-class aircraft carrier! In history, this is actually a number given to the Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier. However, this number has experienced countless changes during the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. At the same time, this warship is very different from the Kuznetsov-class aircraft carrier.

"Our aircraft carrier has a standard displacement of 60,000 tons and a full load displacement of 80,000 to 85,000 tons," Gorshkov said proudly. "We are preparing to deploy four catapults to launch carrier-based aircraft. The combat effectiveness of this aircraft carrier is comparable to that of the US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier."

Standing on the completed deck and looking at the empty decks around it, one can feel the enormity of this aircraft carrier. The last time I came here, it was only said that the new aircraft carrier had a displacement of 60,000 tons. The standard displacement and full load displacement have different meanings. It can be said that this largest warship on board the Soviet Union represents the power of the Soviet Union!

The island has not been hoisted yet. Andrei stood on the deck, his heart surging. The leaping deck in front is gone. It is all flat, with four catapults. The combat power is almost the same as that of the American aircraft carrier! The Soviet Union finally has the capital to dominate the ocean! In terms of size, it is the same as the Ulyanovsk aircraft carrier, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Soviet history that has not even completed the hull. This aircraft carrier was only built in 1988.

"How many carrier-based aircraft is our aircraft carrier designed to carry?" Andre asked.

"It is expected to carry 48 MiG-23K or other types of carrier-based fighters, 10 Su-25 attack aircraft, 4 early warning aircraft, and 16 helicopters," Gorshkov said.

Andrei's face lit up with joy. This was the real Soviet super aircraft carrier, the force it should have! This aircraft carrier was enough to wipe out a medium-sized country!