Alligator class landing ship

Nikorai Fil'chenkov in Sevastopol.
Class overview
Operators:
Russian Navy Ukrainian Navy
Completed:
14
Cancelled:
1
Active:
4 (Russia)
Retired:
10
General characteristics
Displacement:
3,400 tons standard4,360-4,700 tons full load
Length:
112.8-113.1 meters long
Beam:
15.3-15.6 meters beam
Propulsion:
2 diesels, 2 shafts, 9,000 bhp
Speed:
16-18 knots
Capacity:
1,750 tons
Troops:
440
Crew:
55
Armament:
Missiles: 1 122mm UMS-72 Grad-M bombardment RL in some, 3 SA-N-5 SAM positions in some.[citation needed]Guns: 1 dual 57mm/70cal DP, 2 dual 25 mm AA in some.[citation needed]
Project 1171 (Tapir) class landing ship (NATO reporting name: Alligator) is a class of Soviet / Russian general purpose, beachable amphibious transport docks (Soviet classification: Large landing ship, Russian: БДК, большой десантный корабль).
Design of Project 1171 was initiated in 1959 by the Navy, while a similar dual-purpose Project 1173 was ordered by the civilian Ministry of Shipping. Eventually both designs were merged under Project 1171 umbrella, and the resulting ship was a compromise between military (speed, survivability) and civil (fuel economy) objectives. Design team produced four different configurations of the ship. The Navy selected the most powerful and fastest option, which was also least fuel-efficient, and the civil Ministry withdrew from the project completely. All production ships were made for the Navy and never operated on shipping lines.[1]
A total of 14 vessels were completed between 1964 and 1975; all were retired in 1992–1995.[1] As at September, 2008, two vessels, currently named Orsk and Saratov are in active service with the 179-th brigade of Russian Black Sea Fleet. An unidentified number remains in reserve.[2]
Saratov (БДК-65) was launched in July 1964, commissioned in 1966 as Voronezhsky Komsomolets. As a leader ship of a formation, it lacked the habitable troops compartments installed on other ships of the class. Saratov was stationed in Donuzlav (Black Sea Fleet) until the Union collapsed and then remained mothballed in Odessa until 1994. The ship was reported in active operations in 2000 and later.[3]
Orsk (БДК-69) was launched and commissioned in 1968 as Nikolay Obekov. It served a total of 11 campaigns in Indian and Atlantic oceans and the Mediterranean. Later, under Russian flag, it carried peacekeeping troops and materials to Yugoslavia, Adjaria and Abkhasia.