Russian cruiser Kerch

This article is about Kara-class missile cruiser. For the ex-Italian light cruiser of the same name, see Italian cruiser Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta.

Kerch (Керчь) was a Kara-class missile cruiser of the Soviet and later Russian Navy. She served as part of the Black Sea Fleet. The ship was scrapped in 2020 following a large fire which broke out on 4 November 2014.^[1]

Kerch in Sevastopol Bay, 2009
History
Russia
Name	Kerch
Namesake	Hero City Kerch
Builder	61 Communards Shipyard
Laid down	30 April 1971
Launched	21 July 1972
Commissioned	25 December 1974
Decommissioned	15 February 2020
Out of service	4 November 2014
Identification	713
Fate	Scrapped 14 April 2020
General characteristics
Class & type	Kara-class cruiser
Displacement	8,900 tons
Length	173.4 m (568.9 ft)
Beam	18.5 m (60.7 ft)
Draft	5.4 m (17.7 ft)
Propulsion	4 turbine-type generators GTG-12,5A x1250 kW 1 turbine-type generator GTG-6M 600 kW
Speed	32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range	9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi)
Complement	425
Armament	2 quad SS-N-14 Silex anti-submarine missiles 2 twin SA-N-3 Goblet surface-to-air missile launchers (80 missiles) SA-N-4 Gecko surface-to-air missile launchers (40 missiles) 2 twin 76mm AK-726 dual purpose guns 4 30mm AK-630 CIWS 2 × 5 533 mm PTA-53-1134B torpedo tubes 2 RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers 2 RBU-1000 anti-submarine rocket launchers
Aircraft carried	1 Kamov Ka-25

History

Kerch was laid down in the Soviet Union on 30 April 1971, launched on 21 July 1972 and was commissioned in the Soviet Black Sea Fleet on 25 December 1974. The ship was constructed in the 61 Kommunar Shipyard at Nikolayev (Mykolaiv) on the Black Sea. She was in service with the Soviet Fleet until 1991, and then joined its successor, Russian Navy.

Kerch in 1986 as part of the Soviet navy.

On 4 November 2014 a fire broke out aboard the ship during a routine servicing in Sevastopol. According to officials nobody was injured and the fire was contained to the ship's aft.^[2] On April 24, 2020, the ship was towed away from her dock for the scrapyard.^[3][4] Satellite images published in Google Earth show several stages of the ship's demolition in Inkerman (44.608°N 33.599°E / 44.608; 33.599) between May and the end of 2020.

In Popular culture

In a naval sea battle game (Modern Warships) it is featured as an Epic Class Cruiser.