OVERVIEW: The Alesha-class (Project 317) minelayer is a diesel-powered minelayer.

DETAILS:   The Alesha class minelayers, known in the USSR as Project 317, was a designation for a class of three ships completed in 1967-69. The were intended for laying both defensive mindefilds and maintianing ASW harbor defense nets.  The ships were named Pripyat, Sukhona and Vychegda, but were assigned the reporting name Alesha by NATO.

NOTES: Displacement: 2,900 tons standard
       Speed: 17 knts
       Range: 4,000 nm @ 16 knts; 8,500 nm @8 knts
       Complement: 190 crew
       In Commission: 1978  

SOURCES: Norman Polmar, "Guide to the Soviet Navy, 3rd ed. (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1983); Gardiner, R. (Ed.). (1983). Conway's all the world's fighting ships 1947-1982: Part 2. London: Conway Maritime Press, pg 509 ; Alesha-class minelayer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alesha-class_minelayer 