Lebed Class Amphibious Assault Hovercrafts (Kaspiysk) | military

 military, hovercraft

“Д-145” “Д-154” “Д-457” Amphibious Assault Hovercraft
Project 1206 Kalmar
NATO: Lebed Class
(Hull # 640, 641, 639)

The 242nd division of amphibious ships (Kaspiysk)
CO 1st-Class Captain Oleg Malkin Subordination
Subordinate to
The 106th brigade of water region patrol ships (Kaspiysk)

Commissioned :
“Д-145” - 1982,
“Д-154” - 30.12.1981,
“Д-457”- 30.09.1985.

The Lebed class (Project 1206 Kalmar) is a medium size assault hovercraft designed for the Soviet Navy. The few remaining craft are operated by the Russian Navy. Designed by the design bureau wing of Almaz shipbuilding company early in the 1970s, production started in 1972 and continued until 1985 in plants at Leningrad and Theodosia.

The Lebed class is the Russian Navy equivalent to the U.S. Navy LCAC, thought the U.S. version entered service seven years later. The Lebed class entered service in 1975, and by the early 1990s twenty had been produced. The ship has a bow ramp with a gun on the starboard side and the bridge to port. The Lebed class can be carried by the "Ivan Rogov" class assault transport ships. The type began to be withdrawn following the fall of the Soviet Union, and by 2004 only three remained. Number 533 is in the Northern Fleet, while 639 and 640 took part in the Caspian Sea exercises of 2002.

russian-ships.info/eng/warships/project_1206.htm