World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseLike her sister ships, light cruiser Molotov was named after a contemporary Russian politician; in her case, she was named after Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. When she was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet on 14 Jun 1941, her mainmast-mounted Redut-K radar made her the first Soviet ship to have a radar system. In late 1941, she served in the Sevastopol region in Southern Russia, using her radar to provide early warning for region anti-air defense facilities. Between 24 and 28 Dec, she transported elements of the Russian 386th Infantry Division from Poti to Sevastopol; while offloading troops on 29 Dec, she was attacked by Germans, suffering several shell hits on the stern. On 30 Dec, she took on 600 wounded and transported them away from Sevastopol, returning two days later on the first day of the new year with 700 men of the 386th Infantry Division and various equipment. Between 3 and 5 Jan, she repeated the evacuation-reinforcement combination once again. On 22 Jan, she was damaged by heavy storm, keeping her out of commission until 18 Feb when repairs were completed. Between 20 and 21 Feb, she shelled the Crimean shore against German positions, returning to port amidst another storm. Between 26 Feb and 2 Mar, she shelled Feodossiya along with other ships. After another run at German positions on the Crimean shore in mid-Mar, she departed for Poti for servicing. On 12 Jun, she transported 2,998 troops of the 138th Infantry Brigade to Sevastopol, bombarding German lines with her guns while she unloaded the men and taking on 1,065 wounded and 350 women. On 2 Aug, she attacked Feodossiya and was attacked by Italian torpedo boats and German He 111 torpedo bombers; the latter scored a hit aft, killing 18 and seriously damaging steering and screws, causing her to be out of commission from Oct 1942 to 31 Jul 1943 for repairs. She did not see significant action after her return as Joseph Stalin had given the order to withhold large warships from entering combat, as there was no longer any need to risk losing them since the main theater of combat had moved inland.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, Molotov was inactivated to perform permanent repairs from damage sustained during the war. On 5 Oct 1946, during firing maneuvers, a fire in the handing room for turret 2 caused an explosion, killing 22 and wounding 20. On 19 Aug 1947, she transported Joseph Stalin from Yalta to Sochi, two cities on the Black Sea coast. In the late 1940s, she was test bed for new radar systems, and in the 1950s she was subject to modernization that saw her light artillery and radar systems standardized. On 29 Oct 1955, she helped with the rescue efforts after the sinking of the battleship Novorossiysk. On 3 Aug 1957, she was renamed Slava after Molotov's involvement in a failed coup against Nikita Khrushchev. She was inactivated between 14 Jan and 14 Jul 1959. On 3 Aug 1961, she was reclassified as a training cruiser. Between 5 and 30 Jun 1967, she was sent to the Syrian coast to support Syria during and after the Six Day War against Israel. Between Sep and Dec 1970, she served in the Mediterranean Sea. She was sold for scrap in 1972.

Photographs

Molotov Operational Timeline