The conversion removed a main turret, rangefinder, several 37 mm guns, and the torpedo armament to make room for a stabilized launcher, ten missiles, new radars, and their control equipment. Installing the system required cutting through three decks and adding a three-meter supporting superstructure. Designers also recalculated stability and survivability around the new weight and internal arrangement. Dzerzhinsky later served as a training ship and undertook a 1967 support mission connected with Egypt. The project shows both the physical adaptability of the hull and the Soviet Navy's transition from gun cruisers toward guided weapons.
Notable Point · 1:13:55-1:17:19
Project 70E turned a Sverdlov into a missile test ship
Dzerzhinsky's Project 70E conversion replaced an aft six-inch turret with the M-2 air-defence system, demonstrating the class's capacity for radical modernization.