Soviet Navy | |
---|---|
Военно-морской флот СССР | |
Founded | 1918 |
Disbanded | 14 February 1992 |
Country | Russian SFSR (1918–1922) Soviet Union (1922–1991) CIS (1991–1992) |
Allegiance | Communist Party of the Soviet Union (until 1990) President of the Soviet Union (1990–1991) Commonwealth of Independent States (1991–1992) |
Type | Navy |
Size | 467,000 personnel (1984)[1] 1,057 ships (1990) 1,172 aircraft (1990) 5 aircraft carriers (1990) 2 helicopter carriers (1990) 3 battlecruisers 30 cruisers 45 destroyers 113 frigates 124 corvettes 63 ballistic missile submarines 72 cruise missile submarine 68 nuclear attack submarine 63 conventional attack submarine 9 auxiliary submarines 35 amphibious warfare ships 425 patrol boats |
Part of | Soviet Armed Forces |
Nickname(s) | Red Fleet |
Engagements | Russian Revolution Russian Civil War Polish–Soviet War Soviet–Japanese border conflicts Invasion of Poland Winter War (Finland) World War II (Great Patriotic War) Soviet invasion of Manchuria Vietnam War 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation Cold War |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Fleet Admiral Sergey Gorshkov Fleet Admiral Nikolay Kuznetsov Vice Admiral Aleksandr Nemits Vice Admiral Yevgeny Berens Fleet Admiral Vasili Altfater Admiral Ivan Yumashev |
Insignia | |
Naval jack | |
Guards Red Banner naval ensign |
The Soviet Navy (Russian: Военно-морской флот СССР (ВМФ), tr. Voyenno-morskoy flot SSSR (VMF), lit. Military Maritime Fleet of the USSR) was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was usually called the Red Fleet (Russian: Красный флот, tr. Krasnyy flot).
The Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning if a war were to every start with the opposing superpower, the United States, during the Cold War period between the two countries.[2] The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War (1945-1991). It confronted the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in Western Europe and helped to keep the Soviet sphere of influence in eastern Europe.[3]
The Soviet Navy was divided into four major fleets: the Northern, Pacific, Black Sea, and Baltic Fleets. It also had a smaller force, the Caspian Flotilla, which worked in the Caspian Sea and was followed by a larger fleet, the 5th Squadron, in the Middle East. The Soviet Navy included Naval Aviation, Naval Infantry, and the Coastal Artillery.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation took the largest part of the Soviet Navy and turned it into the Russian Navy. The rest of the Soviet Navy were given to the other post-Soviet states.
In 1990, the Soviet Navy had:[4]
International | |
---|---|
National | |
Other |