Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya

[proditor]

In the immortal words of Shang Tsung; "It has begun!"

So this is where we started.



And then we had a bit of clean-up.



And then we entered sanding hell.



Now along the way, whenever I'd get overly tired or bored, I'd fiddle with the superstructure from the Varyag and see what we'd get. And it just wasn't working for me. The bridge was slim and angular, very similar to that plan Thorvic posted for the Vladivostok (And thanks again for that, those were a huge help in when transpired here) and I just didn't like the look. It didn't scream "Beast from the East" which is really what I'm going for.

And then I spied the Kirov in my stash that I'm turning into a radar ship anyway....

The wheels turned like a ferocious hamster on speed at a rave, and eventually, we started putting bits together. Some of the Kirov, some of the Varyag, and then we mocked it up like this:



And now we're in business.

More later.

[proditor]

And here's where we are mid-way through season 5 of Breaking Bad.

Everything is just set in place to get a rough idea of where we're going here. The bridge is part Kirov, and part Varyag. The central and rear super structure is Varyag on top of Kirov, and the missile mounts are in place as location holders, since the middle bit still has to be built. Basically, it connects to the superstructure, and in between the missiles, is an elevated dual 130mm as a secondary. Helo pad at the back leads to the elevator/internal hanger. Pri-fly will be on the back starboard side, near the old catapult locators, which in turn, will support 23mm CIWS mounts. I still need homes for 4 more CIWS, and we're definitely doing ASW rockets in the bow, cuz it just screams Soviet.

[Thorvic]

Looking good, yes a Kirov superstructure is more fitting, with a Slava class whilst it fits the Soviet Battleship concept its designed for multiple tiers of AA guns, directors and secondary armament, The Kirov structure gives it a broader Command and control function.

Looking at it perhaps you might consider loosing the aft gun turret and replace that the Kirov rear structure, mount 130 twins there and fit SS-N-19 and maybe SAN-6 on the former flight deck. Might give you space for the SAN-4 bins from the Kirov too and room for more sensors and directors. You could then move the Helicopter pad back up a deck and use the stern for a VDS and ships boats ala Moscow and have a vertical lift into the hanger as per the Kirov and Moscow class helicopter cruisers. Thus the big guns are forward and their side-effects and the more sensitive systems aft where they can be stabilised (might be an idea to put a fold down blast deflector ahead on the fwd SS-N-12 to deflect the concussion waves when the main guns are fired ! )

[proditor]

I like the idea, it's very P24 Variant III. I think I'm going to keep the rear turret though, and probably just go with ak-630 around the "corners". I'm definitely going for SA-N-9 and/or SA-N-4 for self defense since they're either buried in the hull, or pop-up, so theoretically, shielded from the blast when not in use. I also have a mount for the twin 130, and that should be in the next update. I'm following my own internal logic that says if you're keeping the ship for the guns, you keep as many as possible. Now that doesn't rule out me taking a swing at a redesigned P24, maybe off that extra Varyag hull I now have sitting around. Hmmm....

For those not up on bizarre unbuilt Soviet BB's, here's P24 Variant III, a $%^^& sexy beast if ya ask me.

[proditor]

I didn't forget this sucker, I just forgot to update the thread. I also admittedly got massively distracted by another project, but more on that later. 

So this is what i did next.

I built this thing, which is similar to the way the Soviets were combining weapon stations on other capital ships at the time. Western critics would compare the two and say "Look at these Soviet ships, they are covered with weapons and sensors, and ours hardly have any!" The truth was a lot less clear, more along the lines of the old "Quantity has a quality all it's own." bit.



So the purpose of this part was a superstructure mount for a new dual 130mm naval gun as a secondary, 2xAK630 CIWS Close in Weapon Systems, and then the missile mounts proceeding fore and aft.

I test mounted that on the ship and got this:





In the first picture of these two, at the far aft, just forward of the helicopter pad on the starboard side, you can see the pri-fly station to handle helicopter operations. I realized very quickly that I would absolutely have to do something I never do: Pre-paint. There were going to be too many nooks and crannies covered by overlapping superstructure to not break this thing down into sub-assemblies, and then fit the whole thing together. So I did, and I got this:

[proditor]

And then I finished the painting, inking, decaling and overcoat, and got this:



I am super-pleased with the final result. From the odd boat carriage, to the multitude of redundant systems and sensors, this thing just screams super-soviet battlewagon to me. Final pics and wrap-up story in the next post.

[jalles]

WOW!  That's excellent!  I really like the SS-N-12 placement with the cannons in between. Can't wait to see more pictures.

[proditor]

When the Cold War turned glacial at the start of the 1980's, both sides began an aggressive naval build-up. The 70's had allowed both fleets to fall fallow as the nation states concentrated on strategic options like ICBM's, Boomers, and Bombers. But with the ground swell in nationalism in the US, the Soviets watched as the US Military pivoted to the conventional. Now it looked as if they had conceded that the Nuclear war might be unwinnable, but the didn't have to be conceded to the Eastern Bloc.

Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya had served the Soviets well as an operational warship, and as the flagship of the Pacific Fleet for years, but as the news began to filter out of the US about the insane rebuilds being conducted on the Iowas, and the updates to the Montanas, the Soviets became determined not to be left behind. First of her class of 4, the Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya entered drydock on August 5th 1980, and after a grueling 3 years rebuild, she sailed out to resume her place at the head of the Pacific Fleet on October 25th. The Soviets insisted that the date was merely coincidental.

The appearance of the heavily converted Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya cause more worry and consternation that the previous reveal of the Soviet Kirov, which had started the rebuilds on the Iowas in the first place. Now, as western observers got their first real look at the ship, they were able to make some comparison. The Secondary armament of 20 5" guns been removed completely, and instead, a new superstruture had been built to house 16 SS-N-12 Sandbox Anti-ship missiles, 4 AK 630 CIWS weapon turrets, and a pair of AK-130 dual 130mm naval cannons. Additionally, another 2 AK630's were installed aft, near the helicopter facilities. Flanking the rear 20" turret were two pop-up OSA-M SAM Launchers fitted with SA-N-4 Gecko Missiles. Ahead of the 20" turret "Alpha" at the fore of the ship, there were 2 SA-N-9 VLS launchers for the Gauntlet surface to air missile, as well as a 10 RBU-1000, 305mm Anti-submarine Mortar. All of this was considered secondary to the main armament of the three turret holding twin 20" cannons.

Much like the US, the Soviets had invested heavily in artillery research after the US Montanas started to routinely hit targets out to 100km with their new rocket assisted SABOT 11" shells. The Soviets upped the ante as usual, and the Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya routinely carried 14" rocket assisted SABOT shells that could reach out to 125km. They weren't as accurate as the American shells, but the logic was that with a round that big, you could afford a bit more latitude.

The Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya continued to serve until the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1995, and with the financial and manning retention issues that plagued the new Russian Navy, she has been in mothballed status ever since.

[proditor]

WOW!  That's excellent!  I really like the SS-N-12 placement with the cannons in between. Can't wait to see more pictures.

Thanks! It took a while to dope out, but after I got it slapped together, it seemed very natural. I hope you enjoyed the minor deluge of pics that accompanied the completion. 

[jalles]

Yeah, the pics are great.  The Varyag superstructure works so well, it looks like it was meant to be.  Love the little details like the observation position overlooking the helicopter landing pad.  Well done! 

[Mossie]

That's great, I like the idea of a modernised Soviet counterpart to the Iowa class. Fantastic stuff!!!

PS, someone has to do that P24 VIII some day.

[Thorvic]

Excellent work Comrade you appear to have blended both rather well to create a Soviet Navy Super Battle Ship 

Looking at it completed now that rear third of the ship is just begging to loose the Aft turret and get a Moskva style flight deck or go real FACESII and do a Kiev Style one with the Yak-36, although you would probably have to double up the fwd SS-12 to four abreast to point them fwd rather than aft. 

I must see if I can pick up a Trumpeter Roma class, the Russians really wanted one of these war prizes and the chances are they would have utilised it unlike the rest of the allies that had the Italians' scrap them, then if the Russians did get one it might have justified the retention and refitting of the Western Battleships as a result. We had enough fun with Svedlov's cruisers in the 50s when we mistook them for the Stalingrad battlecruisers before we discovered they were standard gun cruisers on par with our own WW2 cruisers

[zenrat]

Awesome.
I wish I had your eyes and fingers.

[Old Wombat]

Great job!

Awesome.
I wish I had your eyes and fingers.

You a bit peckish, Fred?

[Dizzyfugu]

Beautiful - I like it a lot! Great piece of work/art/whiffery!