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| Aviation History And Aircraft Photography |
Minsk 1143.2
Minsk Aircraft Carrier World
Shenzhen, China
| The Carrier: |
The Minsk is a pretty big ship
at 900 feet long, but it is quite different from US Navy aircraft carriers.
It is essentially a conventional ship with the flight deck hung off of the
side of the ship. This configuration was picked to match the helicopters
and vertical take-off jets that were stationed on the ship.
The Kiev class of carriers, and the Minsk in particular were trouble-prone
from day one. The Minsk was completed in 1978, but was no longer
serviceable in 1989, and she was retired in 1993. The ship was sold to
South Korea, where it arrived in 1995. The Korean owners ended up
doing a deal with China to buy the ship to be used as a museum. The
ship went on display in 2000.
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| The Museum: |
I have not visited the
Minsk, so I know nothing about it first hand. The ship is reported
to not only be a museum, but it also has commercial attractions such
as a theater, disco, and casino. It is reported to be very popular,
attracting 2,000 visitors on weekdays, and as many as 5,000 visitors
on weekends.
Note—these photos were swiped from a German auction site.
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