The Kresta I class, Soviet designation Project 1134 Berkut (golden eagle), was a class of guided missile cruiser built in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. The ships were designed for a surface warfare role, but Soviet priorities were changed to an anti-submarine role and only four ships were built in the original anti-ship configuration. They were followed by the , an anti-submarine warfare variant.

Design Though considerably larger, more effective and reliable than the previous Soviet cruiser class, the , the Kresta I surface warfare cruisers carried only half as many Shaddock launch tubes and one-fourth the total number of missiles. Initially it was planned to fit the SS-N-12 Sandbox (P-500 Bazalt) missile but the protracted development of this missile led to the older SS-N-3 being shipped. The self-defence armament was considerably increased as were command and communications facilities.

The Kresta Is could launch four SS-N-3b SLCMs and 44 SA-N-1 surface-to-air missiles with two twin launchers fore and aft, and had ten torpedo tubes. A single Ka-25 Hormone B helicopter was carried for antisubmarine warfare and perform mid-course corrections for the cruise missile.

Ships

The initial plan was for a single squadron of seven ships armed with long range missiles and two squadrons of fourteen ships armed with shorter range missiles. Only four ships were built before production switched to the anti-submarine variant the Kresta II class.

All the ships were built by the Zhdanov Shipyard in Leningrad.

Name Russian Laid down Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Адмирал Зозуля 26 July 1964 17 October 1965 8 October 1967 15 December 1994 Владивосток 24 December 1964 1 August 1966 1 August 1969 1 January 1991 Вице-Адмирал Дрозд 26 October 1965 18 November 1966 27 December 1968 1 July 1990 Севастополь 8 June 1966 28 April 1967 25 September 1969 15 December 1989

See also List of ships of the Soviet Navy List of ships of Russia by project number

References Also published as

External links - Article in Russian - page from FAS in English All Russian Kresta I Class Cruisers - Complete Ship List