Koni-class frigate
{{Short description|Class of Soviet anti-submarine frigates}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
| sclass = 2 }} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Del'fin1982-2.jpg | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Koni class (Project 1159) |Builders= |Operators=*{{navy|Soviet Union}}
|Class before={{sclass2|Mirka|frigate|4}} |Class after={{sclass2|Gepard|frigate|4}} |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range=1975–1988 |In service range= |In commission range= |Total ships building= |Total ships planned= |Total ships completed=14 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active=5 |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost=1 |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption= | Ship type = Light ASW Frigate | Ship displacement = *1,140 tons (standard) | Ship length = {{cvt|95|m|ftin}} | Ship beam = {{cvt|12.8|m|ftin}} | Ship height = | Ship draft = {{cvt|5|m|ftin}}Couhat Jean. Combat Fleets of the world 1982/1983 Their Ships, Aircraft, and Armament Paris: Editions Maritimes et d'Outre-Mer, 1981 {{ISBN|0-87021-125-0}} Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 78-50192 Pg.2 | Ship power = | Ship propulsion = * CODAG 1 gas turbine M8V DN59L4 unit 13.4 MW + 2 diesels | Ship speed = {{convert|27|kn|lk=in}} | Ship range ={{cvt|3,300|km|nmi mi}} at {{cvt|26|km/h|kn mph}} | Ship endurance = | Ship test depth = | Ship boats = | Ship capacity = | Ship troops = | Ship complement = 110{{cite web |url=http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/1159.htm |title=Koni class - Project 1159 |date=2000-09-07 |work=FAS.org |access-date=2007-01-04 |archive-date=2016-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428194736/https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/1159.htm |url-status=dead }} | Ship crew = | Ship time to activate = | Ship sensors = * Radar barret-2, Slim Net, Strut curve, pop group, Hawk Screech, Drum Tilt
| Ship EW = | Ship armament = * 1 × 4K33 "Osa-M" launcher (20 missiles)
| Ship armour = | Ship armor = | Ship aircraft = | Ship aircraft facilities = | Ship notes = }} |
The Koni class is the NATO reporting name for an anti-submarine warfare frigate built by the Soviet Union. They were known in the Soviet Union as Project 1159 Del'fin. 14 were built in Zelenodolsk shipyard between 1975 and 1988. They were originally intended to replace the older {{sclass2|Riga|frigate|1}}s, but were instead chosen as a design for export to various friendly navies. The Koni I sub class were designed for European waters and the Koni II were made for warmer waters.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/1159.htm |title=Koni Class - Project 1159 |work=globalsecurity.org |date=11 July 2011 |access-date=6 October 2014}} One ship was retained by the Soviets in the Black Sea for training foreign crews. Only a few of these vessels remain in service today.
The Romanian Admiral Petre Bărbuneanu-class corvettes were similar.
Design
=Armament=
The armament consisted of two AK-726 twin {{cvt|76|mm|in}} gun mountings and two AK-230 twin {{cvt|30|mm|in}} anti-aircraft guns, 4 P-15M Termit anti-ship missile launchers were fitted in some ships, depth charge and naval mine racks were fitted at the stern. The Libyan vessels had a redesigned layout with the P-15M missiles forward of the bridge. The ships had contemporary Soviet radar and sonar.
=Propulsion=
The ships had 3-shaft CODAG machinery suite, identical to that used in the {{sclass2|Grisha|corvette}}s (Project 1124). The middle shaft had an {{cvt|18000|hp|lk=on|adj=on}} gas turbine while the outer two shafts had diesel engines with {{cvt|9000|hp}} in total for economical cruising.
Ships in class
| border="1" class="wikitable"
! colspan="5"| Project 1159 - Koni I | ||||
| Name | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delfin
|21 April 1973 |19 July 1975 |31 December 1975 |in 1989 to Bulgarian Navy as Smeli in service 2014 | ||||
| Nerpa
|22 October 1974 |4 June 1977 |31 December 1977 |in 1978 to East Germany as Rostock , scrapped after 1990 | ||||
| Krechet
|19 January 1977 |3 July 1978 |31 December 1978 |in 1979 to East Germany as Berlin - Hauptstadt der DDR, scrapped after 1990 | ||||
| Sokol
|January 1978 |21 April 1979 |30 November 1979 |in 1980 to Yugoslavia as Split, later to Serbia & Montenegro, scrapped 2013 | ||||
| SKR-481
|25 December 1979 |24 December 1981 |30 September 1982 |in 1982 to Yugoslavia as Koper, scrapped 1998 | ||||
| SKR-149
|8 April 1983 |30 June 1984 |25 June 1985 |in 1985 to East Germany as Halle, scrapped after 1990 | ||||
| colspan="5"| Project 1159T - Koni II | ||||
| {{ship|Soviet frigate|SKR-482 | 2}}
|10 June 1978 |12 January 1980 |30 September 1980 |in 1980 to Algeria as Mourad Rais | |||
| SKR-28
|17 July 1979 |21 June 1980 |30 December 1980 |in 1981 to Cuba as Mariel | ||||
| {{ship|Soviet frigate|SKR-35 | 2}}
|11 June 1980 |30 April 1981 |30 November 1981 |in 1982 to Algeria as Rais Kellik, in service | |||
| SKR-471
|24 April 1981 |31 July 1982 |17 August 1983 |in 1984 to Cuba as 356 | ||||
| {{ship|Soviet frigate|SKR-129 | 2}}
|7 July 1982 |11 November 1983 |30 August 1984 |in 1985 to Algeria as Rais Korfu, in service | |||
| SKR-451
|6 May 1986 |3 May 1987 |25 December 1987 |in 1988 to Cuba as Moncada | ||||
| colspan="5"| Project 1159TR - Koni II | ||||
| SKR-201
|22 September 1982 |27 April 1985 |30 December 1985 |in 1986 to Libya as Al Hani; in Malta for refit since 2013{{cite news |title=Libyan frigate arrives for repairs |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/libyan-frigate-arrives-for-repairs.492292 |access-date=30 December 2019 |work=Times of Malta |date=28 October 2013}}{{cite news |last1=Balzan |first1=Jurgen |title=US blocks release of Libyan military ship docked in Malta |url=https://theshiftnews.com/2018/09/08/us-blocks-release-of-libyan-military-ship-docked-in-malta/ |access-date=30 December 2019 |work=The Shift, Malta |date=8 September 2018}} | ||||
| SKR-195
|18 April 1985 |27 April 1986 |25 December 1986 |in 1987 to Libya as Al Ghardabia, sunk 2011 during the Libyan civil war |
''Patrol Boat 383'', ''P.B.''
On July 16, 1998 the former Cuban Navy Koni II-class frigate designated 353 was scuttled in shallow water near the Cuban resort town of Varadero in the Parque Submarino Cayo Piedra del Norte as an attraction for divers. It is rumored that Fidel Castro promoted the project, being an avid diver himself. The frigate sank upright, and sits on the sand bottom in {{convert|90|ft|m|abbr=on}} of water. For an unknown reason her hull number was changed from 353 to 383 prior to the scuttling.{{cite web |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?137249 |title=Monkada (353) (+1998) |website=wrecksite.eu |access-date=7 May 2022}} The dive operators in the Varadero area refer to the dive site as Patrol Boat 383 or simply P.B even though it is a frigate.
Original operators
- Soviet Union - 1 (to Bulgaria in 1990), Delfin was originally used for training foreign crews in the Black Sea, before being sold to the Bulgarian Navy, currently in service as Smeli (Bulgarian: Смели" ("Brave")).
- Algeria - 3, in service, being upgraded with new electronics, ASW torpedo tubes and 8 x Kh-35 Uran/SS-N-25 Switchblade anti-ship missiles
- Cuba - 3, 356 (No name) ex SKR-471 sunk as a reef, 353 (later 383) (Moncada) ex SKR-451 sunk as a reef and 350 (Mariel) ex SKR-28 status unknown.
- East Germany / Germany - 3, two (Rostock and Halle) taken over by unified German Navy and paid off August 1991, one (Berlin - Hauptstadt der DDR) immediately put up for disposal in 1991.Conway 1995, p. 135
- Libya - 1 (formerly 2), 4 x 406mm torpedo tubes, status unknown, damaged by bombing May 19/20 and on August 9, 2011. (Al Ghardabia). The remaining ship, Al Hani captured by National Transitional Council in Benghazi, and has become the flagship of the reorganized Libyan Navy. She has been stuck in Malta for refit since 2013.
- Yugoslavia - acquired two ships, Split (VPBR-31) and Koper (VPBR-32), during the 1980s.
See also
Citations
{{Commons category|Del'fin class frigate}}
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Chumbley|first2=Stephen|last3=Budzbon|first3=Przemysław|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1995|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=9781557501325}}
- [http://www.mks-kss.de/ Marinekameradschaft KSS]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090815064533/http://www.paluba.info/smf/brodovi-jrm/raketna-fregata-(ex-veliki-patrolni-brod-vpbr)-klase-'koni'/ PALUBAinfo Forum]
- {{in lang|en}} [http://russianships.info/eng/warships/project_1159.htm All Koni Class Frigates - Complete Ship List]
- [http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=koni-class-project-1159-asw-frigate-soviet-union Militaryfactory.com Koni Class frigate]
{{Koni-class frigate}}
{{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
Category:Ship classes of the Volksmarine
Category:Ships of the Soviet Navy