When the name "Ural" sounds in relation to Soviet technology, the first thing most people remember is the legendary army truck. However, today not everyone remembers that once with exactly the same name on the waves walked a huge Soviet ship, the largest unit of the surface nuclear fleet of the Soviet Navy Union.
It was the 1970s outside. At the end of the decade, another escalation of international relations between military-political blocs took place. The world once again began to prepare with renewed vigor for a new big war. The US threatened the USSR with new-generation nuclear missiles, a space-based missile defense system, and some other "interesting" gizmos. Soviet designers were given the task of creating a new "all-seeing eye" that could track American missile launches.
When exactly the development of the SSV-33 "Ural" began is unknown. However, it is known for certain that the ship was laid down at the shipyard in June 1981. They created a radar ship at the facilities of shipyard No. S-810. And already in May 1983, the SSV-33 was launched, and the final stage of construction began. A long period of testing and testing lay ahead. The ship entered combat duty on January 7, 1989. The abbreviation "SV" stands for only "Communication Vessel". Interestingly, the ship was based on a rather old project of a giant ore carrier, created in the USSR back in 1941. Then the Second World War prevented the implementation of the project.
The vessel with a displacement of 32,780 tons was set in motion using a nuclear reactor, which worked together with two KVG-2 boilers that consumed fuel oil as fuel. The total output of the Ural power plant was 66,500 hp. Long-term autonomous navigation of the communication ship - 180 days at a speed of 21.6 knots (about 40 km / h). The crew of the ship was 950 people. Moreover, 400 of them were officers and midshipmen. There were also some weapons for the ship: four 30-mm AK-630 cannons, four 12.7-mm Utes machine guns, two 76-mm AU cannons, Igla MANPADS, and Rain anti-submarine weapons. The Ka-27 helicopter was also based on the vessel.
The main task of the nuclear communications ship was radar reconnaissance. "Ural" was supposed to be engaged in the interception and wiretapping of radio communications between ships and military installations of NATO in the Pacific Ocean. The ship carried combat duty until 1989, until all of its personnel were transferred to the reserve by decision of the authorities. Officially, the ship was in service until 2001, and already in 2008, the unique communication ship was sent for disposal.
In continuation of the topic, read about how much can you earnif you launch a huge tanker on metal.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/261021/61029/