Tarantul-class Corvettes Missile Armament
Soviet Molniya-type (Tarantul-class) missile boats carry four anti-ship missiles as their main armament, placed in twin launchers on the sides of the superstructure. The first series of ships used cruise missiles P-15 "Termit" (according to the NATO classification SS-N-2 Styx) adopted in 1960.
![P-21 rocket Molniya rocket boat](http://ps1.lpsphoto.top/18/0926/092441.jpg)
In 1972, the rocket was significantly upgraded and received the name P-15M, with some changes, this rocket was exported under the name P-21. Such missiles were carried by boats of the People's Fleet of the GDR (Volksmarine).
![P-21 rocket Molniya rocket boat](http://ps1.lpsphoto.top/18/0926/110207.jpg)
The missiles have the following characteristics: length 6.48 m, diameter 0.78 m, wingspan 2.40 m, launch weight 2573 kg with a warhead mass of 513 kg. 490 kg falls on the starting powder accelerator SPD-192 with a thrust of 50000kg. After acceleration, the main liquid rocket engine C2.722 is turned on with a starting thrust of 1217 kg, however, after entering the trajectory, the thrust decreased by 515 kgf. The fuel used is a mixture of trethylamine and xylidine, the oxidizer is a mixture of nitric acid and nitrogen tetraoxide.
![P-21 rocket Molniya rocket boat](http://ps1.lpsphoto.top/18/0926/110228.jpg)
Rockets are loaded into the launch tubes at the base already filled, which saves the crew from working with highly toxic liquids. The base of the rocket wing has a hinge and in the launch tube the wings were bent down. After exiting the tube, the wings take the flight position using an electric drive.
![P-21 rocket Molniya rocket boat](http://ps1.lpsphoto.top/18/0926/110227.jpg)
The missile has a range of up to 80 km at a speed of 320 m / s and a flight altitude of 50-200m (up to a maximum of 400 m). Control of the rocket on the march is carried out by an inertial gyroscopic system, the set height is provided by a radio altimeter. At the final stage, the missile is lowered to 5 meters and turns on the radar head to search for the target.
![P-21 rocket Molniya rocket boat](http://ps1.lpsphoto.top/18/0926/110239.jpg)
Missiles of this type have been used in various conflicts, starting with the Arab-Israeli War of Attrition. On October 21, 1967, the Israeli destroyer Eilat was sunk by such missiles, which cannot be called a great achievement, since this ship was built in 1944. In the Indo-Pakistani conflict of 1971, the missiles showed their effectiveness, but in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the updated Israeli fleet successfully repelled their attacks.