The construction of Project 941 Shark submarines (according to the international classification Typhoon) was a kind of response to the construction in the United States of Ohio-type nuclear submarine missile carriers armed with 24 intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the USSR, the development of a new ship began later than the Americans, so the design and construction went almost in parallel.

"The designers faced a difficult technical task - to place on board 24 missiles weighing almost 100 tons each," says S.N. There are no analogues to such a solution in the world." "Only Sevmash could build such a boat," says A.F., head of the department of the Ministry of Defense. Helmets. The construction of the ship was carried out in the largest boathouse - workshop 55, which was led by I.L. Kamai. A fundamentally new construction technology was used - an aggregate-modular method, which made it possible to significantly reduce the time. Now this method is used in everything, both underwater and surface shipbuilding, but for that time it was a serious technological breakthrough.

As a result, the ship was built in record time - in 5 years. Behind this small figure is the enormous work of the entire team of the enterprise and its numerous counterparties. “The construction of the submarine provided more than a thousand enterprises throughout the country,” recalls A.I. Makarenko, then the chief engineer of Sevmashpredpriyatiye. “Our Akula was ready a year earlier than the American Ohio. Naturally, the government highly appreciated the merits participants in the creation of this unique ship". Anatoly Innokentevich was appointed personally responsible for the construction by order of the Minister of the Shipbuilding Industry. For the creation of the nuclear submarine of project 941 A.I. Makarenko and KSP assembler A.T. Maksimov was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. Responsible deliverer A.S. Belopolsky was awarded the Lenin Prize, N.G. Orlov, V.A. Borodin, L.A. Samoilov, S.V. Pantyushin, A.A. Fishev - State Prize. 1219 employees of the enterprise were awarded orders and medals. Among the distinguished heads of workshops G.A. Rules, A.P. Monogarov, A.M. Budnichenko, V.V. Skaloban, V.M. Rozhkov, chief specialists M.I. Shepurev, F.N. Shusharin, A.V. Rynkovich.

In September 1980, an unusually large nuclear-powered submarine as high as a nine-story building and almost two football fields long touched the water for the first time. Enthusiasm, joy, fatigue - the participants of that event experienced different feelings, but they all had one thing in common - pride in a great common cause. Mooring and sea trials were carried out in record time for a submarine of this design. And this is the great merit of the commissioning team, such excellent specialists as G.D. Pavlyuk, A.Z. Elimelakh, A.Z. Raikhlin, and the personnel of the ship under the command of Captain I Rank A.V. Olkhovikov. Despite the tight deadlines for the construction and testing of the latest nuclear submarines, situations arose when engineers were required to urgently develop new design solutions. “As you know, the outer hull of the boat is covered with a thick layer of rubber,” Anatoly Innokentevich continues. “On the Akula, each sheet weighed 100 kilograms, and the total weight of the glued rubber was 800 tons. coating came off. I had to quickly invent new technological methods of gluing. "
The ship adopted the first domestic solid-propellant missile system D-19. On the lead cruiser of the series, which later received the name "Dmitry Donskoy", a large number of missile launches were carried out. “The extended missile test program was more than intense,” recalls the former commander of the BS-5, Captain 1st Rank V.V. Kiseev. “The tests took place not only in the White Sea, but also in the North Pole region. there were technical failures. Everything was very reliable."

After ten years of operation, the world's largest nuclear-powered submarine was lifted onto the slipway for a medium repair. It was a difficult task in terms of ensuring radiation and fire safety, since nuclear submarines had not been repaired at Sevmash's shop slipways before. After an average repair and replacement of a number of complexes in May 2002, "Dmitry Donskoy" was taken out of the shop. This date is considered the second birth of the ship. The slipway work and the withdrawal of the ship were supervised by the deputy head of the workshop M.A. Abizhanov, and by the actions of the commissioning team on the ship - mechanic G.A. Laptev. “Now factory sea trials, state tests of various weapons systems are being successfully carried out. The Dmitry Donskoy is unique in terms of its maneuverability and controllability,” the nuclear submarine commander, Captain 1st Rank A.Yu. Romanov, proudly says. “This order has amazing combat capabilities. This is the fastest of all ships in the series, exceeding the previous speed record of Project 941 by two knots. Nuclear submarines, specialists in their field, the commander of the combat electromechanical unit, captain II rank A.V. Prokopenko, the commander of the navigational combat unit, captain-lieutenant V.V. Sankov, the commander of the combat communications unit, captain III rank A.R. Shuvalov and many others.

A ship, like a person, has its own destiny. This cruiser proudly bears the name of the great Russian warrior, Prince of Moscow and Vladimir Dmitry Donskoy. As the submariners themselves say, their ship is reliable and happy. “Now the fate of this nuclear-powered submarine is clear,” says S.N. Kovalev. “This submarine will be the most powerful ship in the Navy for a long time. Today is a good occasion to congratulate all the designers who designed this boat, Sevmash, who built it, many other enterprises that participated in its creation, and, of course, the Navy with the anniversary of a wonderful ship."

For 25 years "Dmitry Donskoy" has faithfully served the Motherland. The crew, the commissioning team are changing, but for everyone the cruiser remains native. Today, the ship, like a quarter of a century ago, is the first - it is at the forefront of testing new marine rocket technology. Happy anniversary and happy sailing to you, "Dmitry Donskoy"!

In general, there are no Typhoons in the official documents of the Russian Navy. This name was invented by the Western military. They love to endow military equipment with terrible nicknames. Although, you see, the “Project 941 strategic nuclear missile cruiser” sounds much less impressive.

The birth of Typhoon was preceded by a long history. At the beginning of our century, when the first combat submarines appeared, military theorists were more than skeptical about this type of technology. Few could have imagined that a thin-walled, slow-moving tin with the barrels of small-caliber guns absurdly sticking out over a short bridge would turn into an aggressive sea predator, the most dangerous enemy of surface fleet ships, in a decade.

But the strength of the submarine is not in guns and armor, and not even in torpedoes, which, by the way, were very imperfect for a long time. Stealth is the main advantage of combat submarines. An underwater predator quietly sneaks up on the victim and discharges its torpedo tubes almost point-blank.

But what about the enemy's objects located on land? Torpedoes cannot run along the coast, the range of artillery fire is too small. Maybe planes? The Japanese at the end of World War II created a whole flotilla of submarine aircraft carriers. And they were ready to strike at the locks of the Panama Canal. Fortunately, we didn't.

And the creation of such aircraft carriers is difficult and quite expensive. Rockets are another matter. With the advent of this type of weapon, it became clear in which direction the submarine fleet would develop. Underwater missile carriers are the solution to the problem.

And the first such projects appeared in the USSR in 1949. Initially, it was planned to use captured FAUs, though not winged, but ballistic. But then a much more advanced R-11 rocket designed by S.P. Korolev arrived in time.

On January 26, 1954, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a secret resolution on the creation of a large missile-armed submarine. This date can be considered the birthday of our submarine missile fleet. A pair of R-11s were installed on a B-67 boat, and on September 16, 1955, for the first time in the world, a ballistic missile was launched from a submarine.

In order to launch, the first rocket carriers had to surface. The launch procedure itself took more than 10 minutes, which naturally gave the enemy a good chance of destroying the boat. Underwater launch technology was developed only by 1960.

In 1970, a strategic submarine missile carrier of project 667 appeared. But the trouble is - it turned out to be too noisy. The NATO sonar tracking system detected the missile carriers even when leaving the base. The main component of the noise spectrum of a boat is propeller noise. The smoother the blade surface, the less noise. Machine tools to create such parts had to be purchased from Japan, but the rubber-like material that covers the outside of the boat's hull was borrowed from the British. Both caused considerable scandals.

It is believed that the Typhoon is the most comfortable boat in the world. A six-meter fresh water swimming pool, a sauna, two gyms where you can play tennis, a cinema hall, a library. It would seem that all this is more suitable for a pleasure yacht than for a submarine cruiser. In fact, the need for comfort is dictated by iron logic - "habitability" is no less important than nuclear missile weapons.

The design of the boat is completely unique. "Typhoon" is a catamaran. Two strong cases are adjacent to each other, like double-barreled barrels. Between the steel cylinders of the hulls, which house the main mechanisms of the ship, living quarters and a nuclear power plant, there is a jumper. It is here that twenty launch silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles RSM-52 with nuclear warheads are equipped.

The flight range of such "toys" is more than three thousand kilometers. The missiles have one to three individually targetable thermonuclear warheads. The power of each is one and a half megatons, and the accuracy of shooting is such that it ensures that it hits a circle with a diameter of 30 meters. No fleet in the world has more advanced weapons.

With a standard displacement of 23,000 tons on the surface, the Typhoon surpassed most of the heavy cruisers of the last war in this parameter. And the fact that a heavier and larger submarine has not yet been built is absolutely certain.

True, the underwater speed of our submarine is not too high, but the range and time spent at sea are excellent. No one has yet beaten the indicator of 120 days, and that is how much Typhoon can autonomously swim. And at the same time, dive to depths of up to 400 m and successfully launch missiles from a depth of 30-60 m.

Now the Russian Navy is armed with six such submarines. And only in 2003 will they have to embark on modernization!

A. KONSTANTINOV
Inventor and innovator 2000 №8

Modern status

As of 2017, out of 6 ships built under the USSR, 3 ships of project 941 have been disposed of, 2 ships have been withdrawn from the fleet and are being prepared for disposal, one has been modernized according to project 941UM and is in service.

Due to the chronic lack of funding, in the 1990s, it was planned to decommission all units, however, with the advent of financial opportunities and the revision of military doctrine, the remaining ships (TK-17 Arkhangelsk and TK-20 Severstal) underwent maintenance repairs in 1999-2002. TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy" was overhauled and upgraded under project 941UM in 1990-2002 and since December 2003 has been used as part of the test program for the latest Russian SLBM "Bulava". When testing the Bulava, it was decided to abandon the previously used test procedure:

• throws from a submersible stand in Balaklava,
• throws from a specially converted experimental submarine
• at the next stage - a series of launches from a ground stand
• only after successful launches from a ground stand, the rocket was allowed to flight tests from a submarine - its regular carrier

For throwing and launch tests, the modernized TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy" was used. General designer S. N. Kovalev explained the decision as follows:

“Today we no longer have Balaklava. An experienced submarine is expensive to build. The ground stand near Severodvinsk is not in the best condition. And for a new missile system, it must be adapted, rebuilt. Therefore, at our suggestion, a rather bold - from the point of view of designers - justified decision was made: all tests of the Bulava ballistic missile (BR) should be carried out from the converted lead submarine of project 941U Typhoon "

The 18th submarine division, which included all the Sharks, was reduced. As of February 2008, it consisted of TK-17 Arkhangelsk (last combat duty - from October 2004 to January 2005) and TK-20 Severstal "(Last combat duty - 2002), as well as the TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy" converted for the "Mace". TK-17 "Arkhangelsk" and TK-20 "Severstal" for more than three years were waiting for a decision on the disposal or re-equipment with new SLBMs, until in August 2007 the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet V.V. it is planned to modernize the nuclear submarine "Akula" under the missile system "Bulava-M".

On May 7, 2010, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Vladimir Vysotsky announced that two nuclear submarines of the Akula project would be part of the Russian Navy until 2019 in combat condition. At the same time, no decision has yet been made on the fate of submarines, in particular, the issue of the timing of possible modernization has not been resolved. However, the modernization capabilities of this type of submarines are very large, Vysotsky noted. In particular, the option of re-equipping them to accommodate cruise missiles was considered, by analogy with the rearmament of the US Navy Ohio-class submarines.

On September 28, 2011, a statement was published by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, according to which, the Sharks, as they do not fit into the START-3 treaty limits and are excessively expensive compared to the new Borey-class missile carriers, are planned to be decommissioned and cut into metal up to 2014. The options for converting the three remaining ships into transport submarines according to the Rubin TsKBMT project or cruise missile arsenal submarines were rejected due to the excessive cost of work and operation.

At a meeting in Severodvinsk, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said that Russia had decided to temporarily abandon the disposal of third-generation strategic nuclear submarines currently in service with the Navy. As a result, the service life of the boats will last up to 30-35 years instead of the current 25. The modernization will affect the strategic nuclear submarines of the Akula type, where the electronic filling and weapons will change every 7 years.

In February 2012, information appeared in the media that the main weapons of the Akula-type nuclear submarine, RSM-52 missiles, were not completely disposed of, and until 2020 it is possible to commission the Severstal and Arkhangelsk boats with standard weapons on board.

In March 2012, information appeared from the sources of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation that the strategic nuclear submarines of project 941 Akula would not be upgraded for financial reasons. According to the source, the deep modernization of one Shark is comparable in cost to the construction of two new Project 955 Borey submarines. Submarine cruisers TK-17 Arkhangelsk and TK-20 Severstal will not be upgraded in light of a recent decision, TK-208 Dmitry Donskoy will continue to be used as a test platform for weapons systems and sonar systems until 2019

In June 2016, it was announced that the service life of Dmitry Donskoy in the Navy was extended until 2020.

In January 2018, the final decision was made to dispose of Arkhangelsk and Severstal after 2020.

23.02.2016 at 22:08 · pavlofox · 35 890

The largest submarines in the world

Submarines are in service with many countries of the world. There are among them small vessels, the crew of which consists of 1-2 sailors and largest submarines in the world. We will talk about the latter in the article.

The largest submarines are submarine cruisers, the underwater displacement of which can reach 48,000 tons and a length of 172 meters.

10. Navaga | Length 128 meters

In 10th place among the largest submarines in the world are the Soviet submarines of project 667A "", equipped with ballistic missiles. The submarine is 128 meters long and 11.7 meters wide. Equipment - 16 launchers with R-27 missiles. Range - 2400 kilometers. The total combat set of the submarine is 22 torpedoes, two of which are nuclear.

The development of submarines of the Navaga series began in 1958.

9. Triumph | Length 138 meters

French submarines of the "" type are among the largest submarines in the world. The construction of the first submarine began in 1986. The collapse of the USSR made adjustments to the number of submarines built - instead of 6, 4 submarines were created.

Submarine dimensions: underwater displacement - 14,335 tons, hull length - 138 meters, width - 12.5 meters. Armament - 16 M45 class ballistic missiles. Ninth place in our ranking.

8. Jin | Length 140 meters

The Chinese submarines of project 094 "" are also striking in their size. They take the 8th place in the ranking of the largest submarines in the world. They replaced the 092 "Xia" class boats. The construction of new submarines began in 1999. Since China prefers to keep all its military developments secret, little is known about the new generation of submarines. The length of the submarine is 140 meters, the width is about 13 meters, the underwater displacement is 11,500 tons. Armament - 12 ballistic missiles with a range of up to 12 thousand kilometers.

In 2004, the first submarine of the Jin series was launched. According to the Chinese side, there are currently 6 submarines of this type in service with China. They were supposed to start combat patrols in 2014.

7. Vanguard | Length 150 meters

Among the largest submarines in the world are British submarines of the "". In the 1990s they replaced the Resolution class boats. The appearance of new submarines in the USA and the USSR forced England to start creating a new type of submarine, with the same high combat characteristics. Initially, it was decided to build at least 7 submarines, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the need for such a number of missile carriers disappeared. In total, 4 Vanguard-class submarines entered service. Construction of the first of them began in 1986.

Submarine dimensions: underwater displacement - 15,900 tons, hull length - 150 meters, width - 12.8 meters. Armed with 16 Trident-2 D5 ballistic missiles.

6. Squid | Length 155 meters

Submarine dimensions: underwater displacement 13,050 tons, hull length 155 meters, width - 11.7 meters. Armament - 16 R-29R intercontinental liquid-propellant missiles with a range of more than 6,000 km.

To date, most of the Kalmar submarines have been disposed of, the rest are part of the Russian Pacific Fleet.

5. Murena-M | Length 155 meters

Submarines of the project "" are among the largest submarines. This is the modernization of the boats of the Murena project. The main difference is the placement of 16 missiles, not 12. For this, the hull of the boat was increased by 16 meters.

Submarine dimensions: underwater displacement 15,750 tons, hull length 155 meters, width - 11.7 meters. Armament - 16 R-29D missiles with a range of more than 9,000 km. Fifth place in the ranking.

4. Dolphin | Length 167 meters

The submarine of the project "", which occupies the 4th place in our rating, continued the development of the Kalmar project. The construction of the first submarine began in 1981. 7 submarines were built. Now they are all part of the Russian submarine fleet. In terms of size, a submarine of that type is one of the largest submarines in the world. Its underwater displacement is 18,200 tons, length is 167 meters, width is 11.7 meters. Armament - 16 R-29RM class ballistic missiles.

3. Ohio | Length 170 meters

American submarines of the "" type are among the largest submarines in the world. They belong to the third generation submarines and are equipped with 24 Trident ballistic missiles. Their feature is multiple warheads and an individual targeting system. Today, Ohio-class submarines form the core of America's nuclear forces. They are on combat duty in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Submarine dimensions: underwater displacement - 18,750 tons, hull length - 170.7 meters, width - 12.8 meters. The maximum diving depth is 55 meters. The first submarine of this type entered service in 1981.

An interesting fact: in 2009, during combat duty, the crew of the USS Rhode Island submarine rescued four men and a boy who were wrecked and were at sea for four days without hope of rescue.

2. Northwind | Length 170 meters

Russian submarines of project 955 "" take 2nd place in the ranking of the largest submarines in the world. 3 submarines have been built and put into operation, three are under construction and the last one was laid down in December 2015. In total, by 2018, it is planned to build 8 Borey submarines. The submarine was developed in order to replace the submarines of the Dolphin and Shark projects.

Submarine dimensions: underwater displacement 24,000 tons, hull length 170 meters, width - 13.5 meters. Armament - 16 Bulava missiles.

1. Shark | Length 173 meters

The first place in the ranking of the largest submarines in the world is occupied by the Russian submarine of project 941 "". This is the largest submarine built by man. Imagine a colossus as high as a nine-story building and two football fields long - this is the legendary "Shark". From the point of view of combat effectiveness, such dimensions are questionable, but one cannot help but admire the power of this gigantic submarine.

The construction of the submarine began in 1976. "Shark" was the answer to the project of the American Ohio-class submarine. The first submarine missile carrier entered service in 1980.

Submarine dimensions: underwater displacement 48 thousand tons, hull length 172.8 meters, width - 23.3 meters. The submarine cruiser is armed with 20 R-39 Variant three-stage ballistic missiles.

The submarine has improved conditions for the crew. There is a small swimming pool, solarium, sauna, gym and even a living corner.

The dimensions allow the submarine to break through ice more than two meters thick. And this means that it can carry out combat patrols in the Arctic latitudes.

In total, Russia is armed with 6 Shark-class submarines.

Project 941 Akula heavy strategic missile submarines(SSBN "Typhoon" according to NATO classification) - the world's largest nuclear submarines. The project was developed in TsKBMT "Rubin" (St. Petersburg). The development order was issued in December 1972.

Story

In the early 70s in the United States (as Western media wrote, in response to the creation of the Delta complex in the USSR), the implementation of the large-scale Trident program began, which provides for the creation of a new solid-fuel missile with an intercontinental (more than 7000 km) range, as well as SSBNs a new type capable of carrying 24 of these missiles and having an increased level of stealth.

The political leadership of the USSR demanded from the industry an "adequate response" to the next American challenge.

The construction of Project 941 Akula submarines (according to the international classification Typhoon) was a kind of response to the construction in the United States of Ohio-type nuclear submarine missile carriers armed with 24 intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the USSR, the development of a new ship began later than the Americans, so the design and construction went almost in parallel.

“The designers faced a difficult technical task - to place on board 24 missiles weighing almost 100 tons each,” says S.N. Kovalev, general designer of projects of the Rubin Central Design Bureau. there is no solution in the world." "Only Sevmash could build such a boat," says the head of the department of the Ministry of Defense A.F. Helmets. The construction of the ship was carried out in the largest boathouse - workshop 55, which was led by I.L. Kamai. A fundamentally new construction technology was used - an aggregate-modular method, which made it possible to significantly reduce the time. Now this method is used in everything, both underwater and surface shipbuilding, but for that time it was a serious technological breakthrough.

As a result, the ship was built in record time - in 5 years. Behind this small figure is the enormous work of the entire team of the enterprise and its numerous counterparties. “The construction of the submarine provided more than a thousand enterprises throughout the country,” recalls A.I. Makarenko, then the chief engineer of Sevmashpredpriyatie. “Our Akula was ready a year earlier than the American Ohio. Naturally, the government highly appreciated the merits of the participants in the creation this unique ship. Anatoly Innokentevich was appointed personally responsible for the construction by order of the Minister of the Shipbuilding Industry. For the creation of the nuclear submarine of project 941 A.I. Makarenko and KSP assembler A.T. Maksimov was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. Responsible deliverer A.S. Belopolsky was awarded the Lenin Prize, N.G. Orlov, V.A. Borodin, L.A. Samoilov, S.V. Pantyushin, A.A. Fishev - State Prize. 1219 employees of the enterprise were awarded orders and medals. Among the distinguished heads of workshops G.A. Rules, A.P. Monogarov, A.M. Budnichenko, V.V. Skaloban, V.M. Rozhkov, chief specialists M.I. Shepurev, F.N. Shusharin, A.V. Rynkovich.

In September 1980, an unusually large nuclear-powered submarine as high as a nine-story building and almost two football fields long touched the water for the first time. Delight, joy, fatigue - the participants of that event experienced different feelings, but they all had one thing in common - pride in a great common cause. Mooring and sea trials were carried out in record time for a submarine of this design. And this is the great merit of the commissioning team, such excellent specialists as G.D. Pavlyuk, A.Z. Elimelakh, A.Z. Raikhlin, and the personnel of the ship under the command of Captain I Rank A.V. Olkhovikov. Despite the tight deadlines for the construction and testing of the latest nuclear submarines, situations arose when engineers were required to urgently develop new design solutions. “As you know, the outer hull of the boat is covered with a thick layer of rubber,” continues Anatoly Innokentevich. “On the Shark, each sheet weighed 100 kilograms, and the total weight of the glued rubber was 800 tons. When the boat first went to sea, part of this coating came off. I had to quickly invent new technological methods of gluing.

The ship adopted the first domestic solid-propellant missile system D-19. On the lead cruiser of the series, which later received the name "Dmitry Donskoy", a large number of missile launches were carried out. “The program for extended testing of missile weapons was more than intense,” recalls the former commander of the BCH-5, Captain 1st Rank V.V. Kiseev. The tests took place not only in the White Sea, but also in the North Pole region. Everything was very reliable."

After ten years of operation, the world's largest nuclear-powered submarine was lifted onto the slipway for a medium repair. It was a difficult task in terms of ensuring radiation and fire safety, since nuclear submarines had not been repaired at Sevmash's shop slipways before. After an average repair and replacement of a number of complexes in May 2002, "Dmitry Donskoy" was taken out of the shop. This date is considered the second birth of the ship. The slipway work and the withdrawal of the ship were supervised by the deputy head of the workshop M.A. Abizhanov, and by the actions of the commissioning team on the ship - mechanic G.A. Laptev. “Now factory sea trials, state tests of various weapons systems are being successfully completed. The Dmitry Donskoy is unique in terms of maneuverability and controllability,” the nuclear submarine commander, Captain 1st Rank A.Yu. Romanov, proudly says. “This order has amazing combat capabilities. This is the most the fastest of all ships in the series, exceeded the previous speed record of project 941 by two knots. experts in their field, the commander of the combat electromechanical unit, captain II rank A.V. Prokopenko, the commander of the navigational combat unit, captain-lieutenant V.V. Sankov, the commander of the combat communications unit, captain III rank A.R. Shuvalov and many others.

A ship, like a person, has its own destiny. This cruiser proudly bears the name of the great Russian warrior, Prince of Moscow and Vladimir Dmitry Donskoy. As the submariners themselves say, their ship is reliable and happy. “Now the fate of this nuclear-powered submarine is clear,” says S.N. Kovalev. “This submarine will be the most powerful ship in the Navy for a long time. Today is a good occasion to congratulate all the designers who designed this boat, Sevmash, who built it , many other enterprises that participated in its creation, and, of course, the Navy with the anniversary of a wonderful ship."

Modern status

As of 2007, one Project 941 (TK-202) ship has been scrapped. TK-12 "Simbirsk" and TK-13 are decommissioned from the Russian fleet and are being scrapped.
Due to the chronic lack of funding, in the 1990s, it was planned to decommission all units, however, with the advent of financial opportunities and the revision of military doctrine, the remaining ships (TK-17 Arkhangelsk and TK-20 Severstal) underwent maintenance repairs in 1999-2002. TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy" was overhauled and upgraded under project 941UM in 1990-2002 and since December 2003 has been used as part of the test program for the latest Russian SLBM "Bulava". When testing the Bulava, it was decided to abandon the previously used test procedure:
throws from a submersible stand in Balaklava,
throws from a specially converted experimental submarine,
at the next stage - a series of launches from a ground stand,
only after successful launches from a ground stand, the rocket was allowed to flight tests from a submarine - its regular carrier.

For throwing and launch tests, the modernized TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy" was used. General designer S. N. Kovalev explains the decision as follows:
Today we no longer have Balaklava. An experienced submarine is expensive to build. The ground stand near Severodvinsk is not in the best condition. And for a new missile system, it must be adapted, rebuilt. Therefore, at our suggestion, a rather bold - from the point of view of designers - justified decision was made: all tests of the Bulava ballistic missile (BR) should be carried out from the converted lead submarine of project 941U Typhoon.

The 18th submarine division, which included all the Sharks, was reduced. As of February 2008, it consisted of TK-17 Arkhangelsk (last combat duty - from October 2004 to January 2005) and TK-20 Severstal "(last combat duty - 2002), as well as the TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy" converted for testing purposes. TK-17 "Arkhangelsk" and TK-20 "Severstal" for more than three years were waiting for a decision on the disposal or re-equipment with new SLBMs, until in August 2007 the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet V.V. it is planned to modernize the nuclear submarine "Akula" under the missile system "Bulava-M".

On May 7, 2010, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Vladimir Vysotsky announced that two nuclear submarines of the Akula project would be part of the Russian Navy until 2019 in combat condition. At the same time, a decision has not yet been made on the fate of the submarines, in particular, the issue of the timing of possible modernization has not been resolved. However, the modernization capabilities of this type of submarines are very large, Vysotsky noted.

The first cases of the use of submarines for combat purposes date back to the middle of the 19th century. However, due to their technical imperfection, submarines for a long time played only a supporting role in the naval forces. The situation changed completely after the discovery of atomic energy and the invention of ballistic missiles.

Goals and dimensions

Submarines have different purposes. The size of the world's submarines varies depending on their purpose. Some are designed for a crew of only two people, others are capable of carrying dozens of intercontinental missiles on board. What tasks do the largest submarines in the world perform?

"Triumph"

French strategic nuclear submarine. Its name means "triumphant" in translation. The length of the boat is 138 meters, the displacement is 14 thousand tons. The vessel is armed with three-stage ballistic missiles M45 with multiple warheads, equipped with individual guidance systems. They are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 5300 kilometers. At the design stage, the designers were tasked with making the submarine as invisible to the enemy as possible and equipping it with an effective system for early detection of enemy anti-submarine defense systems. Careful study and numerous experiments have shown that the main reason for disclosing the location of a submarine is its acoustic signature.

When designing the Triumfan, all known methods for reducing noise were used. Despite the impressive size of the submarine, it is a rather difficult object to detect acoustically. The specific shape of the submarine helps to reduce hydrodynamic noise. The level of sound produced during the operation of the ship's main power plant has been significantly reduced due to a number of non-standard technological solutions. Triumfan has on board an ultra-modern sonar system designed for early detection of enemy anti-submarine weapons.

"Jin"

A strategic nuclear-powered missile submarine built for the Chinese Navy. Due to the heightened level of secrecy, much of the information about this ship does not come from the media, but from the intelligence services of the United States and other NATO countries. The dimensions of the submarine are based on a photograph taken in 2006 by a commercial satellite designed to digitally image the earth's surface. The length of the ship is 140 meters, the displacement is 11 thousand tons.

Experts note that the dimensions of the nuclear submarine "Jin" are larger than the dimensions of the previous, technically and morally obsolete Chinese submarines of the "Xia" class. The ship of the new generation is adapted to launch Juilang-2 intercontinental ballistic missiles equipped with multiple nuclear warheads. The maximum range of their flight is 12 thousand kilometers. Missiles "Juilang-2" are an exclusive development. Their design took into account the dimensions of the Jin-class submarines intended to carry this formidable weapon. According to experts, the presence of such ballistic missiles and submarines in China significantly changes the balance of power in the world. Approximately three-quarters of the territory of the United States is in the zone of destruction of the Jin boats located in the Kuril Islands. However, according to information available to the US military, test launches of Julang missiles often end in failure.

"Vangard"

A British strategic nuclear submarine that rivals the largest submarines in the world. The vessel is 150 meters long and has a displacement of 15,000 tons. Boats of this type have been in service with the Royal Navy since 1994. To date, the Vanguard-class submarines are the only carriers of British nuclear weapons. They are equipped with Trident-2 ballistic missiles. This weapon deserves special mention. It is produced by the famous American company for the US Navy. The British government took on 5% of the cost of developing missiles, which, according to the designers, were supposed to surpass all their predecessors. The Trident-2 hit zone is 11 thousand kilometers, the accuracy of hitting reaches several feet. Missile guidance is independent of the US Global Positioning System. "Trident-2" deliver to the target atomic warheads at a speed of 21 thousand kilometers per hour. Four Vanguard boats carry a total of 58 of these missiles, representing the UK's "nuclear shield".

Murena-M

Soviet submarine built during the Cold War. The main goals of the creation of the boat were to increase the range of missiles and overcome American sonar detection systems. The expansion of the affected area required a change in the dimensions of the submarine compared to previous versions. The launch silos are designed for D-9 missiles, the launch weight of which is twice the normal one. The length of the ship is 155 meters, the displacement is 15 thousand tons. According to experts, the Soviet designers managed to complete the original task. The range of the missile system has increased by about 2.5 times. In order to achieve this goal, the Murena-M submarine had to be made one of the largest submarines in the world. The dimensions of the missile carrier did not change for the worse the level of its secrecy. The design of the boat was designed to dampen the vibration of the mechanisms, since at that time the US sonar tracking system became a serious problem for Soviet strategic submarines.

"Ohio"

"Borey"

The development of this nuclear submarine began in the Soviet Union. It was finally designed and built in the Russian Federation. Its name comes from the name of the ancient Greek god of the north wind. In accordance with the plans of the creators, the boat "Borey" in the foreseeable future should replace the submarines of the "Shark" and "Dolphin" classes. The length of the cruiser is 170 meters, the displacement is 24 thousand tons. Borey became the first strategic submarine built in the post-Soviet era. First of all, the new Russian boat serves as a platform for launching Bulava ballistic missiles equipped with multiple nuclear warheads. The range of their flight exceeds 8 thousand kilometers. Due to funding problems and the disruption of economic ties with enterprises located on the territory of the former Soviet republics, the deadlines for completing the construction of the ship were repeatedly postponed. The boat "Borey" was launched in 2008.

"Shark"

According to NATO classification, this ship has the designation "Typhoon". The dimensions of the submarine "Shark" surpass anything that has been created throughout the history of the existence of submarines. Its construction was the answer of the Soviet Union to the American Ohio project. The huge size of the Akula heavy submarine was due to the need to place R-39 missiles on it, the mass and length of which significantly exceeded those of the American Trident. Soviet designers had to put up with large dimensions in order to increase the flight range and weight of the warhead. The Shark boat, adapted to launch these missiles, has a record length of 173 meters. Its displacement is 48 thousand tons. To date, the Shark remains the largest submarine in the world.

Generation of an era

The first lines of the rating are also occupied by the USSR. This is understandable: the superpowers involved in the Cold War believed in the possibility of delivering a preemptive strike. They saw their main task in quietly placing nuclear missiles as close to the enemy as possible. This mission was entrusted to large submarines, which became the legacy of that era.