Project 12322 small hovercraft

By the end of the 1970s , Soviet designers had quite a wealth of experience in building hovercraft. The series are launched and have long been ^{[ when? ]} such ships as Skat , Kalmar , and Project 12321 Jeyran were operated.

To develop the concept of military hovercraft in 1978, the command of the Navy gave the mission "TsMKB Almaz" to create a more powerful landing ship. The design bureau began work, naming project 12322 under the code "Bison". The plan included an increase in speed, landing load and artillery and electronic weapons. The project, which became the development of " Dzheyranov ", was led by the chief designers L. V. Ozimov, Yu. M. Mokhov and Yu. P. Semenov, under the supervision of captain 2nd rank V.A. Litvinenko (later captain 2nd rank Yu. N. Bogomolov) from the navy. The original layout of the ship was the merit of the deputy chief designer G. D. Koronatov , who developed the preliminary design.

The lead mdkvp under the number mdk-95 was experienced and built in 1986 and, after lengthy tests, became part of the navy in 1988 . According to the results of these tests, the remaining ships of the series received some changes in design.

The drive of the airbag superchargers and propellers on the ship is carried out from the M35 installation with a total capacity of 50,000 liters. with. production of the State Enterprise "Scientific-Production Complex of Gas Turbine Engineering" Zorya "-" Mashproekt " ". The formation of the air cushion is served by 4 HO-10 injection units with an axial impeller with a diameter of 2.5 m. Traction for the movement of the vessel is created by three 4-blade reversing propellers with forced pitch control. Screws with a diameter of 5.5 m are installed in ring nozzles made of polymer composite materials manufactured by KTB Sudokompozit . Project 12322 ships have two power plants , consisting of two gas turbine generators with a capacity of 100 kW each and main switchboards. The movement of the ship and its technical means are controlled centrally, remotely and using automation elements. It is carried out from the main command post, central command post and remote controls.

The hulls of small landing ships are made entirely welded from high-strength corrosion-resistant aluminum - magnesium alloy. The main power bearing part of the ship's hull, providing strength and unsinkability of the ship, is a rectangular pontoon. The superstructure located on the pontoon is divided by two longitudinal bulkheads into 3 functional compartments. In the middle part there is a compartment for landing equipment with tank tracks and ramps. The main and auxiliary power plants, the personnel of the landing groups, residential premises, life support systems and protection against WMD (weapons of mass destruction) are located in the side compartments. A flexible air cushion fence is designed to hold the air cushion under the hull of the ship and to provide the required height of the vessel above the supporting surface ( clearance ). The fence is made in two-tier: with a flexible receiver and hinged elements - with crosswise sectioning of the air cushion with longitudinal and transverse keels. To maintain comfortable conditions at the combat posts, in the landing and in the crew accommodation, ventilation, air conditioning, heating, heat and sound insulating coatings, structures made of vibration-damping material are provided, and normal conditions for rest and nutrition of the crew are created.

The ship is capable of transporting:

• 3 main tanks with a total weight of up to 150 tons;
• or 10 armored personnel carriers , with a total mass of up to 131 tons and 140 troops;
• or 8 infantry fighting vehicles with a total mass of up to 115 tons;
• or 8 amphibious tanks.

For the landing there are 4 rooms with 140 seats. Instead of military equipment, the room can be equipped to accommodate an additional 366 people (about 500 people in total).

Loading and landing is carried out through the ramp located on the nose.

The construction of the first four DKVPs began in 1983 at the shipyards of the Primorsky Shipbuilding Plant and the Shipbuilding Plant More . The lead mdkvp pr.12322 under the number mdk-95 was actually experimental, built in 1986 and, after lengthy tests, became part of the navy in 1988. According to the test results, changes were made to the design of serial ships, including the composition of electronic weapons.

By the beginning of the 90s , the USSR Navy included 8 mdkvp. After the collapse of the USSR and the division of the Black Sea Fleet, Russia took 5, Ukraine transferred 3 combat ships Kramatorsk, Gorlovka, Artemovsk and 2 unfinished shipyards in Feodosia. One of them (Donetsk) was completed and introduced into the Ukrainian Navy in June 1993. Subsequently, 3 of them were decommissioned.

On November 25, 2014, the Minister of Industrial Policy of the Republic of Crimea Andrei Skrynnik announced that it is planned to resume construction of the Zubr project airborne landing ships on the basis of the More shipyard in Feodosia ^[2] .

On June 15, 2017, it was announced that in 2018 it is planned to revive the production of project Zubr type 12322 air cushion landing craft ^[3] . According to representatives of the More and Almaz factories, the beginning of the construction of ships is possible not earlier than 2019-2021 ^[4] .

Export

• Under a contract with Greece, from 2000 to 2004, 4 ships were sold, which became part of the Greek Navy .
• According to a statement from a representative of the Research and Design Center for Shipbuilding enterprise, Ukraine began to fulfill a contract with the PRC for the supply of 4 Zubr hovercraft. According to him, 2 ships will be built in Ukraine, and 2 more - in China with the participation of Ukrainian specialists. According to the Army, Conversion and Disarmament Research Center, in 2009 Ukrainian companies entered into a contract for the supply of a batch of small Zubr hovercraft to China in the amount of $ 315 million ^{[5] [6]} . In September 2012, representatives of the FGC More factory and the Ukrspetsexport Group of Companies announced the beginning of mooring trials of the first contracted ship. On April 12, 2013, according to the contract, the first small landing ship was handed over to China ^[7] .

In service:

•   Greece - 4 units
•   China - 1 + 3 (project 958 "Bison") units
•   Russia - 2 units

• Project 12321 small hovercraft

• TsKB Almaz , official website of the manufacturer
• “Bison” - indisputable superiority, small landing hovercraft of Project 12322, Vladimir Shcherbakov, magazine Review of the Army and Navy No. 5 for 2009