TASKS, DEVELOPMENT AND COMBAT POTENTIAL OF SOVIET NAVY DURING THE COLD WAR

Abstract

The article presents the views of senior Soviet officers (adm. Gorshkov, Kasatonov, and marshal Sokolowski) on the development, tasks and combat potential of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. The analysis confirms, that during the Cold War in the USSR, the directions of development of the navy were determined primarily by the views of political leaders, not military commanders. The article presents an analysis of numbers of the ship's missile and torpedo salvo from the Warsaw Pact and NATO countries, with particular emphasis on the potential of the USSR and the USA. An important aspect of the publication is the analysis of the changes in the quantitative combat potential of the Soviet surface and submarines in the years 1960–1990.

Data for the performance of potential analyses come from the Jane's Fighting Ships yearbooks from 1960-1990, which allowed to verify the views presented by admirals Gorshkov and Kasatonov.