Control Room of Tarantul-class Missile Boat

All ship and armament control systems are located in the forward part of the superstructure. The largest room is occupied by the missile weapons control equipment located on the starboard side.

The control panel of the Gravy-M (Гравий-М) radar complex, which was installed on export missile boats of the Molnija project. With its help, active and passive target detection is carried out, ensuring the development and issuance of target designation.

Behind it, on the bulkhead, we can see four control panels for anti-ship missile launchers.

On the port side is the chart room. An echo sounder recorder hangs on the bulkhead, recording the depth under the keel. A large green tablet on the table is designed to record the ship's course on the map. In fact, this is a two-coordinate plotter.

Here we also see a gyrocompass control panel and a radio direction finder.

As befits any chart room, there is a large table for navigation maps combined with a round tablet for calculating the flight path of missiles.

The wheelhouse is a cramped room that usually accommodates 2-3 people. On the right side is a massive motion control panel.

Here we see dual control knobs for running and afterburning gas turbine units and arrow indicators for the number of propellers ' revolutions.

On the left is the place of the watch officer, directly in front of him is the ship's communication selector, on the right is the indicator of the Pechora-1 navigation radar. The indicator screen is covered with a light-shielding cone, since it was possible to see the image on the screen of the Soviet radar only in complete darkness.

The steering panel is located in the center. In front of the console is a rather complex structure that facilitates the work of the steering sailor in pitching conditions. This is a high chair with armrests. The seat can be folded and the helmsman can work standing up.

On the steering console there is a complex device that combines a gyrocompass, a course setter for automatic control, and a rudder position indicator. In the open sea, the ship moves most of the time in a given course, which is supported by the autopilot (auto-steering).

In a small nook, you can see a purely German addition to the standard equipment. This is a Robotron desktop computer manufactured in the German Democratic Republic with an additional monitor. The table for him is clearly made in an artisanal way from improvised materials. Of course, there were no computers on the missile boats of the USSR fleet. I can assume that this computer could be used for navigation calculations.