The K-8 class was a minesweeper first manufactured by Poland for the Soviet Navy in 1954.

Class overview
NameK-8 class minesweeping boat
Operators
In service1954-present
Completed40
General characteristics
TypeCoastal Minesweeping Boat
Tonnage26 tons
Length16.9 m (55 ft)
Beam1.2 m (4 ft)
Height3.2 m (10 ft)
Installed power3x diesel engines delivering 700 horsepower
Speed18 knots (33 km/h)
Complement6
Armament2x M38 DShK 12.7mm Machine Guns on Bow

Operational history

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Those minesweepers replaced a variety of minesweepers that had been used during World War II. This gave the navy an inexpensive ship to clear mines from its harbors in case of a war with NATO and the West. A wooden hull negated the effects of magnetic mines, and the vessels towed minesweeping gear behind them. However, vessels had no equipment for actually handling mines aboard ship.

Am total of forty vessels were completed. The TR-40 minesweeper slowly replaced the K-8s in Soviet service, but the vessels were transferred to foreign navies such as Poland, Cuba and Vietnam. Designated Project 361T, a handful of K-8 boats were converted to mine warfare drones but saw limited service. The survivors were put into reserve until being struck from the record in the early 1980s.

References

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Bibliography

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  • Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen (1995). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
  • "STMMain". russianwarrior.com. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  • "World Navies Today: Russian Littoral Warfare Ships". Archived from the original on 2000-08-15. Retrieved 2014-08-26.