1/142 Soviet Okean Class AGI Linza (Scratchbuilt)

I scratchbuilt this Soviet Okean Class (AGI) Intelligence Ship using the hull from a 1/142 scale Revell North Sea Fishing Trawler. She is modeled as the Soviet AGI “*Linza*” as she appeared in the mid-1980s’. *Linza* started her career in 1960 as the soviet trawler *Dikson*. In 1962 she was converted to an SRTR (medium refrigerated fish trawler) and sailed as the ‘SRTR-9167’ - *Ostrovets* until her eventual conversion to an AGI vessel in the late 1960s and renamed *Linza*. (She possibly did service for the East Germans as well under the name of *YAZ*.) *Linza* was decommissioned in April 1990.

The US Navy officially designated these trawlers as “Auxiliary, General Intelligence” or AGI, and they were informally known as "Tattletales". An AGI might be assigned to a single patrol station for as long as six months. These ships were not fast enough to keep up with most warships, but they sometimes congregated around aircraft carriers conducting air operations of the US Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean or Seventh Fleet in the western Pacific Ocean, or in suspected patrol areas of ballistic missile submarines.

There were many variants within the class. One modified subgroup of four (the Linza, Lotlin, Reduktor, and Zond) had the port side main deck superstructure enclosed. The starboard side of the superstructure was open to the weather deck. These ships also had additional work compartments housed in an extension of the main superstructure amidships, that extended onto the old well deck of the trawlers. A large radar room sat above and aft of the navigation bridge. Festooned with a plethora of antenna, long-wires, and electronic receivers and transmitters these small ships were very effective at their assigned missions.

These older Okean class converted trawlers were eventually replaced by the 1,200 ton Alpinist class vessels which are actually converted stern trawlers. And it would not be until the 1970s that the Soviet’s introduced a design-specific intelligence ship class: the Primorye – which is actually based on the hull design of the Mayakovskiy-class fish factory trawler.

Length over All (LOA): 167 ft.
Beam: 29 ft.
Draft: 11 ft.
Displ: 462t standard / 726t fully loaded
Propulsion: One 540 hp R8DV-148 diesel, 1 fixed pitch propeller, one 99 kW
diesel generator, one 64 kW diesel generator, one 9.5 kW diesel generator
Speed: 11 kts
Range: 7900 nm @ 9 kts
Complement: 60-70 (9 Officers, 8 Warrant Officers, remainder rated enlisted)
Electronic suite: Varied depending on assigned target. Many times these
vessels were seen with disc cone omnidirectional antenna, various radar
receivers – both surface and air search, DF loops, folded dipole for HF
reception, various long wires and whip antenna, and DON navigation radars.

Gallery updated 8/26/2020

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