THE SOVIET 'AIRCRAFT CARRIER'

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP69B00369R000100230002-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2004
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: October 30, 1967
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 20' 4/005 Cl
The, `-Soviet "Aircraft Carrier"
1. The Soviet "aircraft carrier" recently
launched in the press is the. result of imprecise
reporting on.the forthcoming 1967'68 edition of
Jane's,'Fighting Ships, which for the first time
in public print notes the existence of Soviet
helicopter carriers.
2. The first of these units was spotted as
an unusual ship in early 1965, and by late 1965 it
was agreed in the. community that the ship in
question was a helicopter platform, with either
an ASW or amphibious assault mission. Review of
photography showed that construction had been
started in 1963, but the characteristics of the
prototype could not be determined until 1965.
3. We now know of two of these ships, one of
which is undergoing final shakedown in the Black
Sea and should be'operational in the. near future.
The ships are about 625 feet long and carry surface-
to-air missiles. reported in
June, 1967, that t e.se ships,. e% oskya? and the
Leningrad, will each carry a complement of 1,400
and-70 helicopters. The ships are similar to the
French`Jeanne d'Arc, which is. now classified as a
"cruiser helicopter carrier."
4. Special subcommittees were informed of the
detection and identification of the. prototype in
the first .available meetings of November-December
1965, and January 1966. Because of the classifica-
tion, however, there was no general publication until
April, 1966, when the. information was broken out .in
the Central Intelligence Bulletin and in special
memoranda. The ships were discussed in NIE 11-14-66,
October 1966. The full Armed Services Committee
was briefed on 1 March,,1967, and the ships were also
covered. in a special memorandum, "The. Naval Threat
to the: U.S. Fleet," prepared for Mr. Blandford on
18 July 1967.
5. In all of these references, the. terminology
was "helicopter carrier" or "helicopter platform,"
so that recipients. may not have equated them with
the subsequent impression. conveyed by the press that
the USSR is. building ships similar to U.S. attack
and support carriers.
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 25X1 Approved For Release 2004/05/05 : CIA-RDP69B00369R000100230002-8
Approved For Release 2004/05/05 : CIA-RDP69B00369R000100230002-8