Russian nuclear powered battlecruiser: Peter the Great

Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy
Laid down: 1986
Launched: 1996
Commissioned: 18 April 1998
Status: in active service, as of 2010
Class and type: Kirov-class battlecruiser

The heavy nuclear-powered cruiser  Pyotr Velikiy is the fourth Kirov class battlecruiser of the Russian Navy, originally named Yuriy Andropov. It is the flagship of the Northern Fleet.

Because of economic problems both before and after the fall of the Soviet Union, work on her was severely postponed. It was not commissioned until 1996, ten years after the construction started. She had now been renamed Pyotr Velikiy, Russian for Peter the Great.

After completing her acceptance trials in November 1996, she was transferred to the Northern Fleet at Severomorsk becoming the flagship of the Northern Fleet.

In August 2000 Pyotr Velikiy was involved in the large naval training exercise in the Barents Sea . She was to be the designated target of the Oscar-II class submarine K-141 Kursk, and was conducting evasive maneuvers when communication with Kursk was lost. 

The submarine apparently had suffered a catastrophic torpedo detonation with all hands lost. Pyotr Velikiy guarded the area where the submarine sank during the subsequent salvage operation in 2001.

In March, 2004, Russian Navy chief Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov declared the Pyotr Velikiy unfit for service due to problems with the ship's engineering maintenance.

On April 19, 2004, she was docked in the floating drydock PD-50 for painting of the underside of the hull, repairs and examination of the steering system. The repairs were completed later that year, and she was carrying out missions again by August. Pyotr Velikiy has been known to carry two pennant numbers during her service; "183" and currently "099".

On September 22, 2008, the Pyotr Velikiy and Admiral Chabanenko left their homeport of Severomorsk.

On October 22, 2008 the Pyotr Velikiy made a port visit to Aksaz Karagac, Turkey and on November 6-9, 2008 the nuclear cruiser and the Admiral Chabanenko made a port visit to Toulon, France before departing the Mediterranean on November 10, 2008 passing through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Pyotr Velikiy sailed to the Caribbean to participate in naval exercises with the Venezuelan Navy, along with the destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and other support ships. This was the first major Russian show of force in that sea since the end of the Cold War.

The Pyotr Velikiy arrived in La Guaira, Venezuela on November 25, 2000 during a visit by Russian President Medvedev and a combined exercise VENRUS-200 with the Venezuelan Navy took place on December 1-2, 2008. After finishing the exercises, the Admiral Chabanenko made a short visit to Panama December 5-10, 2008 then to Bluefields, Nicaragua December 13 to 15 and Havana, Cuba from December 19 to 23.

The Pyotr Velikiy continued alone to Cape Town, South Africa. On January 11, 2009, the chief of the Russian General Staff announced that the Pyotr Velikiy and six other Russian warships would participate in a joint naval exercise with the Indian navy later the same month.

On the way to India, the Kirov-class cruiser made a three-day visit to Cape Town, South Africa.

On January 31, the Pyotr Veliky left the port of Mormugao in the Indian state of Goa. After a two-day visit that included a naval exercise with the Indian guided-missile destroyer INS Delhi the cruiser left for African waters where it will join other warships from the Russian navy and conduct the INDRA-2009 exercise.[13][1]

On February 12, 2009, the ship captured 10 pirates in three boats off the coast of Somalia.

On March 10, 2009 the Pyotr Velikiy returned to its homeport of Severomorsk, ending a six-month deployment.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/ken-mckay-resigns-rnc-chi_n_526104.html

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