Russian Northern Fleet

The Russian Northern Fleet ( _ru. Северный флот, "Severny Flot") is the part of the Russian Navy that defends Russian territory beyond the Arctic Circle. It was originally founded in 1933 as the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet, but changed its name after the fall of the Soviet Union.Fact|date=January 2008 The fleet's headquarters are located in Murmansk and the main base and administrative centre is the Severomorsk naval base. During Soviet Era it was the base of more than 200 submarines between SSBN and SSN.

During the 1980s Soviet naval strategy shifted to an emphasis on bastion defense, fortifying the southern reaches of the Barents Sea for that purpose, and Russia has continued to employ that strategy.

The "Oscar" class submarine "Kursk" was destroyed in a torpedo accident during Fleet exercises in 2000. The submarine was previously based at Ara Bay. The Northern Fleet staged another series of major exercises in January 2004 involving thirteen ships and seven submarines in the Barents Sea. The involvement of "Admiral Kuznetsov" and "Pyotr Velikiy" was overshadowed however by two ballistic missile launch failures, made more embarrassing because President Vladimir Putin was afloat aboard the Typhoon class ballistic missile submarine "Arkhangelsk" to witness the tests. Neither "Novomoskovsk" nor "Karelia" were able to successfully launch what were apparently RSM-54 SLBMs. [Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004-05, p.29]

The flagship of the Northern Fleet, the nuclear-powered large guided missile cruiser "Pyotr Velikiy", is named after Peter I of Russia (or "Peter the Great"). The Northern Fleet is perhaps best known for its many nuclear-powered vessels. In fact, about two thirds of all the Russian Navy's nuclear force is based there.

Sites

In addition to the main base at Severomorsk, the Northern Fleet has six more naval bases and several shipyards and spent fuel storage sites, according to the Bellona Foundation. The spent fuel storage sites include Murmansk, which is also a shipyard and base for "Arktika" nuclear-powered icebreakers, Andreeva Bay, and Severodvinsk, also a shipyard.

Bases

* Severomorsk
* Olenya Bay
* Skalisti
* Ura Bay
* Ara Bay
* Bolshaya Lopatka
* Gremikha - also a spent fuel storage site

Shipyards

* Roslyakovo
* Polyarny
* Nerpa
* Malaya Lopatka

Order of Battle

This is a partial list of Northern Fleet vessels and air units currently in service.

*43rd Missile Ship Division
**RFS "Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Kuznetsov" (TAVKR 063)
**RFS "Pyotr Velikiy"
**RFS "Marshal Ustinov" (GRKR 055)
*11th Squadron, Zaozersk
**RFS "Dmitri Donskoi" (ТК-208) (Nerpichya)
**RFS "Severstal" (TK-20) (Nerpichya)
**RFS "Arkhangelsk" (TK-17) (Nerpichya)
**7th Division, Vidyaevo
***RFS "Pskov" (K-336)
***RFS "Daniil Moskovsky" (K-414)
***other submarines
*12th Squadron, Gadzhiyevo
**31st Division (Yagelnaya Bay, Sayda Inlet)
***RFS "Novomoskovsk" (K-407)
***RFS Verkhoturie (K-51)
***RFS Ekaterinburg (K-84)
***RFS Ryazan (K-44)
***RFS "Borisoglebsk" (K-496)
***RFS Tula (K-114)
***RFS Bryansk (K-117)
***RFS Karelia (K-18) (D-IV)
**24th Division
***K-480, K-317, K-461, K-328, K-154
***RFS "Vepr" (K-157)

*Northern Fleet Aviation [ [http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/russia/navy/ma/ma.htm Ввс Вмф ] ] [Air Forces Monthly, August 2007 issue.]
**924th Separate Maritime Reconnaissance Aviation Regiment - HQ at Olenegorsk/Olenya - Tu-22M3;
**279th Shipborne Fighter Aviation Regiment - HQ at Severomorsk-3 - Su-25UTG, Su-33;
**73rd Independent Air Squadron - HQ at Kipelovo (Fedotovo) - Tu-142MK, Tu-142MR;
**403rd Independent Mixed Aviation Regiment - HQ at Severomorsk-1 - An-12, An-26, Il-38, Tu-134;
**830th Independent Shipborne Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment - HQ at Severomorsk-1 - Ka-27;

List of former vessels

This is a list of former Northern Fleet vessels that have Wikipedia articles (not including those who only served in the Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet).

*Aircraft carriers
** RFS "Admiral Gorshkov" (TAKR 069), sold to the Indian Navy and renamed the INS "Vikramaditya"
** RFS "Kiev", sold to a Chinese military theme park in Tianjin.
** RFS "Minsk", sold to military theme park "Minsk World"
*Cruisers
** RFS "Admiral Ushakov", believed decommissioned in 2001
*Submarines
** B-427, museum ship in Long Beach, California
** K-77, now a museum ship in Providence, Rhode Island
** ТК-202, scrapped in 2000

Commanders

References and external links

*ru icon [http://www.mil.ru/848/1045/1274/8948/8949/index.shtml Official site at mil.ru]
*ru icon [http://www.severnyflot.ru "Northern Fleet... Will Not Let You Down!" - independent information portal, Severomorsk City]
*en icon [http://www.bellona.no/imaker?sub=1&id=8751 Bellona Foundation site about the Russian Northern Fleet]