In past blogs we have talked about some of the various fleets of the Russian Navy. Today I wanted to talk about one of the Russian Navies most important ports:

Severomorsk

Severomorsk is situated in the northwestern part of the Kola peninsula, close to Norway. The main asset of this port is that it remains ice free all year, thus allowing for naval operations at any time. 

To get to the city you would need a special pass. Since the 1950's when Severomorsk became the administrative center for the Northern Fleet it has been a closed city. 

Severomorsk is the home port for the bulk of the Russian Northern Fleet. 

Aerial view of Severomorsk

This city was once a mystery to other navies of the world. You would even see references to it in popular Cold War fiction and movies, but since the fall of the Soviet Union many navies have done port visits to Sevormorsk. 

USS Yorktown in port Severomorsk

Severomorsk will continue to be the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet, and will likely see a resurgence in the coming years as the Russian Navy modernizes and rebuilds. 

IL-38

This aircraft is one of a submarines worst nightmares. 

The Il-38 was built to hunt and kill US submarines during the Cold War. A prototype was ordered in 1960 and first flew in 1961. The aircraft entered production in 1967. 

However production was halted after 58 units because the newer and longer-range TU-142 was coming on line. These aircraft however did continue to serve and mainly conduct anti-submarine operations close to the coastline of Russia. 

The air frame is a modification of the IL-18 transport aircraft. The wings were moved forward and a MAD detector was added to the tail. 

About 25 IL-38's remain in service with the Russian Navy. In the 1970's 5 aircraft were given to the Indian Navy. These remain in service.

Though these aircraft are old they are still a formidable weapon. 

The Northern Fleet

      Throughout the Cold War the Northern Fleet was the main area of naval activity for the Soviet Navy, and this fleet remains very active. Officially this fleet was established in 1937 as part of the Soviet Navy. In movies and books it is probably better know as the Red Banner Northern Fleet. This fleet operates out of the extreme northern area of the Russian Federation, but thanks to the gulf stream some of its ports remain ice free year round. 

     Here is a map of the bases in the Northern Fleet's area of operations: 

Area Centered around Murmansk

     The main port for the surface combatants is the city of Severomorsk. This city remain closed  to outsiders. This is also where the Northern Fleet is headquartered.

Severomorsk

     The submarine fleet is spread throughout several different bases, along the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. See map above. 

Oscar's in port

     There are also several airfields associated with the Northern Fleet. 

Tu-142 ASW aircraft

To see a detailed order of battle for the Northern Fleet take a look here. 

      Perhaps the biggest fear coming out of the Northern Fleet is the amount of nuclear waste that is sitting around. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation didn't have the resources to maintain the largest submarine fleet in the world. Many nuclear powered submarines were left to rust away. Fortunately, through international agreements much of this nuclear waste is getting cleaned up. 

Reactor compartments of decommissioned submarines

      Recently Russia has stated that its main focus in the future will be operations in the Pacific Fleet (The US is also doing this). This is evidenced in the fact that many of the new ships being built for the Russian Navy are being sent to the Pacific Fleet, namely the first Mistral and the Yuri Dolgoruki.  Only time will tell if this shift will first actually happen, and second if it will diminish the Northern Fleets significance.