The Petya class was the

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

for a class of light

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s designed in the 1950s and built for the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

in the 1960s. The Soviet designation was "Storozhevoi Korabl`" (Сторожевой Корабль - Sentry Ship) ''Project 159''.

Design

They were the first gas turbine-powered ships in the Soviet Navy. The role of these ships was

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

in shallow waters and they were similar to the s. The specification (TTZ in Russian) was issued in 1955 and design approved in 1956. A three shaft machinery layout was chosen with the central shaft powered by diesel engines for economical cruising and the two wing shafts powered by gas turbines for speed. Gun armament was two twin AK-726 gun turrets in "A" and "Y" positions which were controlled by a single radar director. Anti-submarine armament consisted of four RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers and a launcher for anti-submarine torpedoes. Some of the ships designed for export replaced the 406 mm

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s with anti-shipping torpedo tubes. A comprehensive sonar suite including VDS was fitted.

Ships

A total of 54 ships were built in two shipyards: the

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

Yantar shipyard built 22 ships including exports and

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( ) is the largest city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China–Russia border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, about north of Vladivostok. As of the 2021 Russian c ...

yard built 32 ships including exports. All Soviet ships were decommissioned in 1989-1992, with other ships continuing service with export customers. As of 2023, Vietnam and Azerbaijan still operate the type, with Vietnam operating five ships and Azerbaijan operating a single ship.

Export sales

* Azerbaijani Navy - 1 ship *

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy (), also known as the Egyptian Naval Forces, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest (by the number of vessels) navy in the w ...

- 4 ships acquired between 1965 and 1971, 1 sunk in combat in 1973, all decommissioned. * Ethiopian Navy - 2 ships - sold for scrap in Djibouti following the independence of Eritrea *

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

- 11 ships designated s (all decommissioned). Classified as corvette due to smaller size and role of the ships. 1 ship ( INS Andaman ) lost at sea. * Syrian Arab Navy - 2 ships were in service, in derelict condition at Tartus port. Probably retired in 2017 or 2018. 1 decommissioned Syrian frigate sunk by Russian air force (Probably by SU-34 with KH-35 air-launched missile) as a training target on 15 April 2018 off the coast of Syria. As of January 2022, the second frigate is no longer visible in Tartus, but may still be held as a hulk. *

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

- 1 ship. The pro-Ukrainian crew of a frigate SKR-112 made an independent transition from the Black Sea Fleet controlled by Moscow on July 21, 1992. The ship was in the Ukraine's service until it was decommissioned in 1993. * Vietnam People's Navy - 5 ships (still in service), being modernized with rebuilt stealthy

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

and new combat suites.

References

* Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995

External links

page from FAS

*

{{Soviet and Russian ships after 1945 Frigate classes Ships of the Soviet Navy

Design

Ships

Export sales

See also

References

External links