2 × 30 mm AK-630 six-barreled gatling guns (Ropucha II)
The Ropucha class (NATO reporting name, Polish for "toad"), Soviet designation Project 775, is a class of landing ship (large landing ship or Bol'shoy Desantnyy Korabl' - Russian: Большой десантный корабль (BDK - Russian: БДК) in Soviet classification) built in Poland for the Soviet Navy. The ships were built in the Stocznia Północna shipyards in Gdańsk, Poland. They were designed for beach landings, and can carry 450 tons of cargo. The ships have both bow and stern doors for loading and unloading vehicles, and the 630 square metres (6,800 sq ft) of vehicle deck stretch the length of the hull. Up to 25 armored personnel carriers can be embarked.[2]
While designed for roll-on/roll-off operations, they can also be loaded using dockside cranes. For this purpose there is a long sliding hatch-cover above the bow section for access to the vehicle deck. There are no facilities for helicopters.
The Soviet Navy commissioned a total of 28 ships of this type from 1975 to 1991. The last three ships were of the improved variant Project 775M, also called Ropucha II. These have improved defensive armament and accommodation for a greater number of troops.
Operational history
Georgiy Pobedonosets on exercises in the Barents SeaAlexander Shabalin
One ship of the class was delivered to South Yemen in 1979 and served the Yemeni Navy until 2002, before it was sold as a civilian cargo ship named Sam of Yemen. It was the only one of the class in service outside the former Soviet Union.
On 3 August 2012, international media reported that three vessels of the class, Aleksandr Otrakovskiy, Georgiy Pobedonosets and Kondopoga, would visit the Russian naval base in Tartus, Syria. The ships were part of the Northern Fleet. Earlier reports, quoting an anonymous source at the Russian general staff, said the ships would spend a few days in Tartus and take on fresh supplies of food and water. British media added that the ships each had up to 120 marines on board.[3][4] The Russian defence ministry left open the possibility that the ships might dock there at some point for logistical reasons, saying they had every right to do so. The General Staff source had said that after calling at Tartus they would head for the Bosporus and the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk.[3][4] From 2013 on, ten Ropucha-class ships, gathered from all four Russian fleets, were used to transport military equipment from Novorosiysk to Tartus, during an intervention in the Syrian civil war.[5]
In late March 2022, Novocherkassk and Tsezar Kunikov were damaged in a Ukrainian attack in the port of Berdiansk. Tsezar Kunikov's commander, Captain of the 3rd rank Alexander Chirva, was reportedly killed in the strike.[11][12] The ships were unable to return to active duty for several months due to lack of spare parts.[13]Novocherkassk was struck by Ukrainian cruise missiles and destroyed on 26 December 2023.[14] Satellite imagery and local photography taken after the strike showed that an exploded wreck was what remained of the ship.[15]Tsezar Kunikov was reported sunk by several Ukrainian naval drones on 14 February 2024;[16] the sinking was confirmed by Russian sources on 6 March.[17][18]
In early August 2023, Olenegorsky Gornyak was seriously damaged at the Black Sea Novorossiysk naval base after it was struck by a Ukrainian maritime drone carrying 450 kilograms (990 lb) of TNT.[19] The ship was pictured under tow, listing 40–50 degrees to port as tugboats worked to put it in a safe position.[20][21]
On 13 September 2023, Russian military reported that the Sevastopol Shipyard had been struck by a Ukrainian missile attack, damaging Minsk and the Kilo-class submarineRostov-on-Don.[22][23][24][25] The UK Ministry of Defence assessed Minsk as being "functionally destroyed" as a result of the attack with a greater than 95% probability.[26][27]
On 24 March 2024, the two remaining Ropucha-class landing ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet were struck by cruise missiles while they were in port in Sevastopol. The Ukrainian general staff and open-source intelligence sources reported that both Yamal and Azov were hit.[28][29] The recent satellite images did not reveal any damage, showing that the missile hit the pier next to the ship presumably due to the electronic warfare system.[30][31]
On 26 March 2024, Ukraine claimed to have struck the Konstantin Olshansky with a Neptune missile without providing any direct confirmation. This vessel was seized from Ukraine in 2014, when Russian forces took control of the Crimean peninsula.[32]
Heavily damaged in Ukrainian attack on Sevastopol on 13 September 2023.[26][27][35][36] Russian government announced that the ship will be restored.[37]
Transferred to Ukraine in 1996, captured March 2014 during the Russian invasion of Crimea.[38] Reported hit by Ukrainian Neptune Missile on 26th of March, 2024. [39]
