Book Review of
Russian Cruiser Moskva
Top Drawings No. 7129
Author: Witold Koszela
Kagero Books
ISBN: 978-83-85437-84-6
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $24.95
ISBN: 978-83-85437-84-6
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $24.95
HISTORY:
Moskva (Russian: Москва, lit. 'Moscow', [mɐskˈva]), formerly Slava (Слава, 'Glory'), was a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy. She was the lead ship of the Project 1164 Atlant class, named after the city of Moscow. The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with a crew of 510, Moskva was considered the most powerful warship in the Black Sea region.
The cruiser was deployed in military conflicts in Georgia (2008), Crimea (2014), and Syria (2015). She led the naval assault during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, from February 2022 until her sinking on 14 April 2022.
The wreck of the ship has been officially declared an underwater cultural heritage site of Ukraine.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Slava (in Soviet service), Moskva (from 1995)
Namesake: Glory (1979–1995), Moscow (1995–2022)
Builder: 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant (SY 445), Nikolayev, Ukrainian SSR
Laid down: 1976
Launched: 27 July 1979
Commissioned: 30 January 1983
Decommissioned: September 1990
Reinstated: April 2000
Identification: 121
Fate: Sunk by two Ukrainian R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles on 14 April 2022
Flagship of the Black Sea Fleet
Class and type: Slava-class cruiser
Displacement: 9,380 tons standard, 11,490 tons full load
Length: 186.4 m (611 ft 7 in)
Beam: 20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)
Draught: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
Propulsion: 4 COGOG gas turbines, 2 shafts 121,000 shp (90,000 kW)
Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range: 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement: 419 enlisted men and 66 officers
Sensors and processing systems: Voskhod MR-800 (Top Pair) 3D search radar, Fregat MR710 (Top Steer) 3D search radar, Palm Frond navigation radar, Pop Group SA-N-4 fire control radar, Top Dome SA-N-6 fire control radar, Bass Tilt AK360 CIWS System fire control radar
Bull Horn MF hull mounted sonar.
Electronic warfare & decoys: Rum Tub and Side Globe EW antennas, 2 × PK-2 DL (140mm chaff / flare)
Armament :16 × P-500 Bazalt or P-1000 Vulkan anti-ship missiles, 8 × 8 (64) S-300F Fort (SA-N-6 Grumble) long-range surface-to-air missiles, 2 × 20 (40) OSA-MA (SA-N-4 Gecko) SR SAM, 1 × twin AK-130 130 mm/L70 dual purpose guns, 6 × AK-630 close-in weapons systems, 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine mortars, 10 × (2 quin) 533 mm torpedo tubes
Armour: Splinter plating
Aircraft carried: 1 Ka-25 or Ka-27 helicopter
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is in Polish and English.
It is of soft cover and comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cove art shows a color illustration of the center section of the Moskva, with a smaller illustration behind that of the stern section.
Both are posed against a white cutaway line drawing of below decks, against a black background, across a red cover.
The cruiser is medium gray with a red water line, a white no. 121 on the sides of the center section illustration and white Moskva on the sides of the stern section illustration.
The back cover shows a port side and top view of the cruiser. But this time the caption says it is Rocket Cruiser Slawa, 1989, in Polish and English.
The book contains 24 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The book begins with the history of the Moskva in Polish and English.
Followed by line drawings of the bow, showing its shape and cut-away in 1/200th scale.
Further line drawings to the same scale are of: The bow deck, side view and top, The stern deck and side view, The main superstructure side and top view. The control cabin sections. Radar antennas, Stern compartments, Helicopter on the stern.
SM-248 Block launchers for 16 anti-ship P-500 rockets of 4K80 “Bazall” system. AK-130M 130mm gun turrets. More guns and rockets, Fire guide complex. Target detecting set, Cutter boats.
Kamov Ka-25 helicopter.
The last page of the book shows black and white cover arts of 16 other Kagero books:
Me 210/Me-410, Ta-154, Tornado, Clemenceau, Me-163 Komet, B5N Tenzan, Ju-188/388, M3/M5/M9 Half Tracks, Ferdinand, P-43 Lancer, HMS Vanguard, Do-335 Pfeil A, Jean Bart, Do-335 Pfeil B, HMS Furious and Suzutsuki.
There are 2 large sheets inserted loosely into the book.
Both are 15 ½” x 23” in size, folded twice to fit the book.
The first one is printed on slick-coated paper. It has a full color illustration of the port and starboard sides and the top of the Moskva. Already described earlier. The top view shows brown wood sections and gray deck areas. Illustrations are to 1/400th scale.
Moskva (Russian: Москва, lit. 'Moscow', [mɐskˈva]), formerly Slava (Слава, 'Glory'), was a guided missile cruiser of the Russian Navy. She was the lead ship of the Project 1164 Atlant class, named after the city of Moscow. The flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with a crew of 510, Moskva was considered the most powerful warship in the Black Sea region.
The cruiser was deployed in military conflicts in Georgia (2008), Crimea (2014), and Syria (2015). She led the naval assault during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, from February 2022 until her sinking on 14 April 2022.
The wreck of the ship has been officially declared an underwater cultural heritage site of Ukraine.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Slava (in Soviet service), Moskva (from 1995)
Namesake: Glory (1979–1995), Moscow (1995–2022)
Builder: 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant (SY 445), Nikolayev, Ukrainian SSR
Laid down: 1976
Launched: 27 July 1979
Commissioned: 30 January 1983
Decommissioned: September 1990
Reinstated: April 2000
Identification: 121
Fate: Sunk by two Ukrainian R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles on 14 April 2022
Flagship of the Black Sea Fleet
Class and type: Slava-class cruiser
Displacement: 9,380 tons standard, 11,490 tons full load
Length: 186.4 m (611 ft 7 in)
Beam: 20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)
Draught: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in)
Propulsion: 4 COGOG gas turbines, 2 shafts 121,000 shp (90,000 kW)
Speed: 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Range: 10,000 nmi (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement: 419 enlisted men and 66 officers
Sensors and processing systems: Voskhod MR-800 (Top Pair) 3D search radar, Fregat MR710 (Top Steer) 3D search radar, Palm Frond navigation radar, Pop Group SA-N-4 fire control radar, Top Dome SA-N-6 fire control radar, Bass Tilt AK360 CIWS System fire control radar
Bull Horn MF hull mounted sonar.
Electronic warfare & decoys: Rum Tub and Side Globe EW antennas, 2 × PK-2 DL (140mm chaff / flare)
Armament :16 × P-500 Bazalt or P-1000 Vulkan anti-ship missiles, 8 × 8 (64) S-300F Fort (SA-N-6 Grumble) long-range surface-to-air missiles, 2 × 20 (40) OSA-MA (SA-N-4 Gecko) SR SAM, 1 × twin AK-130 130 mm/L70 dual purpose guns, 6 × AK-630 close-in weapons systems, 2 × RBU-6000 anti-submarine mortars, 10 × (2 quin) 533 mm torpedo tubes
Armour: Splinter plating
Aircraft carried: 1 Ka-25 or Ka-27 helicopter
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is in Polish and English.
It is of soft cover and comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cove art shows a color illustration of the center section of the Moskva, with a smaller illustration behind that of the stern section.
Both are posed against a white cutaway line drawing of below decks, against a black background, across a red cover.
The cruiser is medium gray with a red water line, a white no. 121 on the sides of the center section illustration and white Moskva on the sides of the stern section illustration.
The back cover shows a port side and top view of the cruiser. But this time the caption says it is Rocket Cruiser Slawa, 1989, in Polish and English.
The book contains 24 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The book begins with the history of the Moskva in Polish and English.
Followed by line drawings of the bow, showing its shape and cut-away in 1/200th scale.
Further line drawings to the same scale are of: The bow deck, side view and top, The stern deck and side view, The main superstructure side and top view. The control cabin sections. Radar antennas, Stern compartments, Helicopter on the stern.
SM-248 Block launchers for 16 anti-ship P-500 rockets of 4K80 “Bazall” system. AK-130M 130mm gun turrets. More guns and rockets, Fire guide complex. Target detecting set, Cutter boats.
Kamov Ka-25 helicopter.
The last page of the book shows black and white cover arts of 16 other Kagero books:
Me 210/Me-410, Ta-154, Tornado, Clemenceau, Me-163 Komet, B5N Tenzan, Ju-188/388, M3/M5/M9 Half Tracks, Ferdinand, P-43 Lancer, HMS Vanguard, Do-335 Pfeil A, Jean Bart, Do-335 Pfeil B, HMS Furious and Suzutsuki.
There are 2 large sheets inserted loosely into the book.
Both are 15 ½” x 23” in size, folded twice to fit the book.
The first one is printed on slick-coated paper. It has a full color illustration of the port and starboard sides and the top of the Moskva. Already described earlier. The top view shows brown wood sections and gray deck areas. Illustrations are to 1/400th scale.
The reverse side shows these same parts as line drawings in 1/400th scale.
The second sheet shows line drawings of these same parts, with names of things also in 1/400th scale.
This is a neat book about the Moskva. It will be of interest to ship modelers and naval historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The second sheet shows line drawings of these same parts, with names of things also in 1/400th scale.
This is a neat book about the Moskva. It will be of interest to ship modelers and naval historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all their titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.