Kirov

Kirov

Krasny Krym

Chapayev

Kirov

Krasny Krym

Chapayev

USSR

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.7	5.7	5.7

Class:

Light cruiser

Research:75 000

Purchase:250 000

Show in game

Description

The Pr.26, Kirov, 1941 is a rank IV Soviet light cruiser with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On".

Still recovering from the Russian Civil War during the early 1930s. the Soviet Union is not capable of designing their own larger ship yet. The Soviet contacted the Italian company Ansaldo to help them design a new cruiser derived from the Italian light cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli. The new ship came with some new domestic innovations, namely the heavily simplified citadel armour and placement of the internal modules that give the ship a considerably better module protection and weight saving as well as a powerful 180 mm naval cannons for long-range engagements.

The Kirov-class cruisers is unusual for various reasons. Due to her relatively low displacement for her size (9,436 tons with 191.3 m length) and lack of armour plating, she was usually classified as a light cruiser. Yet due to her large 180 mm guns and her huge size, she is also classified as a heavy cruiser by some sources.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Citadel50 / 50 / 50 mm

Main fire tower50 / 50 / 50 mm

Hull25 mm (steel)

Superstructure8 mm (steel)

Number of section8

Displacement9 436 t

Crew692 people

The Kirov is a rather odd ship, while she only has 50 mm of citadel armour with no anti-fragmentation armour, the placement of her critical modules such as her engines, transmissions, and main ammo racks were all located inside her citadel and sitting below the waterline. This leaves most of her upper hull empty and can therefore take a good amount of damage from AP or SAP shells. However, due to the lack of armour elsewhere, the Kirov is very vulnerable against HE shells, as they can quickly deplete her relatively low crew size.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB78 / 23 km/h

RB67 / 19 km/h

Being such a large ship with relatively low displacement, the Kirov's top speed is quite good. Although her excessive hull length will worsen her traverse speed.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	78	23
RB/SB	Stock	___	___
	Upgraded	67	19

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB9 723 → 13 174

RB9 436 → 12 785

Total cost of modifications66 800

129 300

Talisman cost1 500

Crew training72 000

Experts250 000

Aces940

Research Aces480 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

430 / 600 / 100 %

166 / 166 / 166 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 2 700 Cost: 5 200 210 Rudder Replacement Research: 2 500 Cost: 4 900 195 Propeller Replacement Research: 2 800 Cost: 5 400 220 Engine Maintenance Research: 4 300 Cost: 8 300 330	Damage Control Division Research: 2 700 Cost: 5 200 210 Fire Division Research: 2 500 Cost: 4 900 195 Smokescreen Research: 2 500 Cost: 4 900 195 Shrapnel Protection Research: 2 800 Cost: 5 400 220 Ventilation Research: 2 800 Cost: 5 400 220 New Pumps Research: 4 300 Cost: 8 300 330 Ammo Wetting Research: 4 300 Cost: 8 300 330	Anti-Air Armament Targeting Research: 2 700 Cost: 5 200 210 100mm_ussr_b34_navy_dist_he_ammo_pack Research: 2 700 Cost: 5 200 210 180mm_ussr_b1k_navy_ap_ammo_pack Research: 2 700 Cost: 5 200 210 Auxiliary Armament Targeting Research: 2 500 Cost: 4 900 195 100mm_ussr_b34_navy_radio_aa_ammo_pack Research: 2 500 Cost: 4 900 195 180mm_ussr_b1k_navy_sap_ammo_pack Research: 2 500 Cost: 4 900 195 Primary Armament Targeting Research: 2 800 Cost: 5 400 220 Improved Rangefinder Research: 2 800 Cost: 5 400 220 180mm_ussr_b1k_navy_zs_ammo_pack Research: 2 800 Cost: 5 400 220 Torpedo Mode Research: 4 300 Cost: 8 300 330 Hydroplane Research: 4 300 Cost: 8 300 330

Armament

Primary armament

3 х Turret3 x 180 mm/57 B-1-P naval gun

Ammunition300 rounds

Vertical guidance-4° / 50°

Kirov has 9 x 180 mm/57 (7.1") B-1-P Pattern 1932 naval cannons for her main armament, arranged in triple turrets mounted A-Bs-X. This gives Kirov a heavy punch, but her overall firepower is lacking compared to other cruisers at her BR. With a fire rate of 5 rounds/minute, she has the slowest reload among the BR 5.7 cruisers (not counting Furutaka's 20.3 cm guns).

Kirov uses the OF-32 HE shell as default, with the ability to unlock the B-32 AP shell, the PB-32 SAPCBC shell as well as the ZS-32 HE-DF shell. A major advantage that Kirov has is the astounding 920 m/s muzzle velocity of all her shells, meaning that leading targets will not be as difficult. The SAPCBC shell sacrifices some of the armour penetrative abilities of the AP shell, but it is loaded with 7 kg of TNT explosive filler.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		1,000 m	2,500 m	5,000 m	7,500 m	10,000 m	15,000 m
180 mm OF-32	HE	60	60	60	60	60	60
180 mm B-32	APCBC	424	386	331	285	246	191
180 mm PB-32	SAPBC	206	188	161	138	120	93
180 mm ZS-32	HE-TF	58	58	58	58	58	58

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
180 mm OF-32	HE	920	97.5	0	0.1	7.9	79°	80°	81°
180 mm B-32	APCBC	920	97.5	0.01	9	2.49	48°	63°	71°
180 mm PB-32	SAPBC	920	97.5	0.01	9	7	48°	63°	71°
180 mm ZS-32	HE-TF	920	97.5	0	0.1	7.52	79°	80°	81°

Secondary armament

6 х Turret100 mm/56 B-34 universal naval cannon, pattern 1940

Ammunition300 rounds

The Kirov has a secondary armament of 6 x 100 mm/56 (3.9") B-34 Pattern 1940 cannons arranged evenly on either side of the after smoke funnel. This is a rather light secondary battery, but they are versatile due to their clear angles of fire and ammunition selection.

These guns have access to the ZS-56 HE-DF shell as default and the ZS-56R HE-VT shell is able to be researched.

Anti-aircraft armament

7 х Turret45 mm/46 21-K cannon

Ammunition500 rounds

3 х Turret12.7 mm DShK machine gun

Ammunition2000 rounds

Belt capacity50 rounds

Fire rate600 shots/min

For anti-aircraft armament, Kirov has 7 x 45 mm/46 21-K cannons as well as 3 x DShK machine guns. The 45 mm cannons are not very effective against aircraft as they only have a standard HE shell with no special fuze, requiring a direct hit on an aircraft to deal damage. They serve better as anti-torpedo boat guns due to their rapid-fire ability and centralized arrangement. The DShK machine guns will be mostly for harassment purposes and to catch unaware planes.

Additional armament

Setup 16 x 533 mm 53-39 torpedo

Kirov is equipped with 2 x triple torpedo launchers firing the 53-39 torpedo. The base setting for these is a range of 4,000 m with a high speed of 51 knots. Using the torpedo mode upgrade, they can be adjusted to 10,000 m range at a reduced speed of 34 knots. Due to the location of the launchers being low and behind raised structure, the ship is not able to launch torpedoes towards the front, and must turn to release weapons.

Scout plane

Located amidships is a catapult with one Beriev Be-2 (aka KOR-1) scout plane which provides unique offensive and defensive abilities, expanding tactical options. Ship-launched scout planes fly just like regular tree units but lack munition choices and cockpit views. Alongside the typical abilities of strafing with its two light machine guns, dropping 2 x 50 kg bombs, and capping zones, the KOR-1 and other scout planes have the added ability to lay down smoke cover (up to 3 times). Captains will be wise to remember to utilise the aircraft and consider when best to use it, for example to cap a point early or late in the match, to create a smoke screen to stymie enemy bombardment and repair, to attack enemy units directly, or perhaps something completely new!

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don't try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 180 mm cannons with good firing angle
• Fairly survivable against AP and SAP shells
• Good top speed and mobility
• One scout seaplane

Cons:

• Prone to damage from HE shells due to lack of armour
• Very large, can be easily targeted
• Poor anti-air defense
• Sluggish traverse speed

History

Following the devastation of the Russian Civil War, the remaining industry available to the newly formed Soviet Union was everything but capable of designing large, new warships. Aware of this, the Soviet Union sought help from abroad, in order to be able to commit to the planned expansion of its navy.

In the end, help came from the Italian shipbuilders, which sold the blueprints for the Condottieri C light cruiser as well as the necessary machinery to the Soviets. Engineers further modified the design to suit Soviet needs, which included the fitting of new triple turrets, among other constructional changes. The project was approved in November 1934 as the Project 26.

Plans were made to construct a total of six Project 26 cruisers, which would be built in pairs and would receive various improvements over the respective previous pair. The Kirov, as the lead and prototype ship of the class, was laid down for construction in October 1935, after a minor delay.

The Kirov was launched in late 1936 and joined the Baltic Fleet in September 1938. After briefly taking part in the Winter War, Kirov quickly became trapped in the waters between Kronstadt and Leningrad by German minefields, following the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

The warship would remain stationed in those waters for the better part of the war, providing gunfire support for the besieged defenders of Leningrad. Shortly after the end of WW2, Kirov was severely damaged by a German seamine. Following repairs, the ship was completely overhauled in the late 1940s and was later reclassified as a training ship in the early 1960s. In February 1974 however, Kirov was eventually sold for scrap, marking the end of its close to four decade long service.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Kirov from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related development

• Kirov (Family)

External links

• [Development] Kirov light cruiser: Baltic Fleet Warrior

Baltic Shipyard (Балтийский завод)
Light Cruisers
Svetlana-class	Krasny Krym*
Project 26/26bis	Kirov · Maxim Gorky
Project 68	Chapayev
Project 68bis	Sverdlov
Battlecruisers
Izmail-class	Izmail
Battleships
Sevastopol-class	Marat · Parizhskaya Kommuna
	*Laid down at the Russian-Baltic shipyard in Tallinn

USSR light cruisers
	Imperial Russia
Svetlana-class	Krasny Krym* · Krasny Kavkaz*
	* Laid down by Imperial Russian Navy; Finished and renamed by the USSR
Project	Soviet Union
Pr.26	Kirov · Voroshilov · Maxim Gorky
Pr.68	Chapayev · Zheleznyakov
Pr.68-bis	Sverdlov · Mikhail Kutuzov
Pr.68-bis-ZiF	Shcherbakov
Lend-Lease	USA
Omaha-class	Murmansk
Trophies	Italy
Condottieri-class	Kerch