The ship’s jet-bombing installation (RBU-6000) “Smerch-2” is the brainchild of the Moscow Research Institute of Heat Engineering, released by “Plant No. 9” in Yekaterinburg. It is used to combat enemy submarines and torpedoes through depth charges.
History of creation
With the advent of nuclear submarines in the ranks of the navy of Western countries, the question arose of the obsolescence of anti-aircraft systems.
Technical solutions that surface ships were equipped with were able to stop conventional diesel-electric submarines. Atomic excelled.
Advanced sonar and the maneuverability of new submarines made it possible to evade the attack with depth bombs and attack surface ships at a great distance, without being detected.
To cope with the task of detecting a nuclear submarine at a greater distance could only guided anti-submarine missiles - a new generation of weapons. Since the mid-fifties in the USSR and in the West, the development of such anti-submarine warfare weapons has been carried out.
"Tornadoes"
In the sixties, the Council of Ministers decided to create two systems of salvo and single shooting:
- RBU-6000 “Smerch-2” with depth charges of the RSL-60 marking.
- RBU-1000 "Tornado-3" with shells of the RSL-10.
Both complexes are capable of shooting submarines at a great distance and intercepting torpedoes attacking a surface ship.
The advantage of the RBU-6000 jet bomb (compared to previous systems) is the lack of manual loading: the automated mechanism delivers ammunition from a special cellar installed under the gun and charges.
Both installations were adopted by the USSR in 1961.
Shooting
Guidance missile launcher RBU-6000 was carried out horizontally and vertically. Twelve trunks located in a circle were charged automatically.
From the main captain’s console, the values of the depth of detonation were entered, from there fire control was carried out to four RBU-6000 installations. The reaction time between detecting an enemy submarine and a preemptive salvo was 1-2 minutes.
Target marking was made by sonar systems or ship navigation systems of the Dozor-Tulip type.
Power drives read a predetermined angle of fire when a target is detected and hold the bomber barrel in the same position during the shelling.
Tactical and technical characteristics of RBU-6000
The caliber of the depth bomb, as well as each of the 12 barrels of the package guiding the bomb, is 212 mm. The bomb, released from the installation, successfully covers a distance of 6 km at a speed of 300 m / s, after which it begins to dive.
The length, width and height of the complex are 2 × 2.25 × 1.7 m, respectively. With a weight of 3.1 tons, the control of turns and the sending of shells is carried out automatically.
Horizontally, the gun is able to rotate 180 ° to select the desired angle of fire. Vertical guidance is more difficult - it is possible to deviate from the right angle by 65 ° to the positive or negative plane. That is, the target, located at an angle of -70 °, is already in the dead zone and inaccessible to the gun.
Shells
Depth bombs for RBU-6000 marked RGB-60, used with the complex, had a mass of 23 kg and sank at a speed of 11 m / s.
They worked with such ammunition at sea depths of about 450 meters, while the charge was detonated remotely using the UDV-60 unit. The explosion of one ammunition produced the operation of the remaining "depths" in a radius of 50 meters.
The military industry did not stand still, and in 1966, shells for RBU-6000 came into service, the design of which was a non-contact acoustic detonator VB-2. The device allowed to activate the bomb when fixing the object within a radius of 6 meters.
The use of VB-2 increased the chain reaction of the shells nearby, increasing the response radius from 50 meters to 100.
Later in the eighties, Magnetite bombs appeared, used to deflect torpedoes. A kind of distraction.
Further development
The development of the military industry did not stop at RBU-6000. The modernization of western submarines followed, and therefore the bomb was upgraded. The new sample was called RPK-8 "West".
The purpose of modernization was to increase the effectiveness of anti-submarine and anti-torpedo combat. The product was developed by the NPO “Alloy”. The creators did not plan to go far from RBU-6000, so they left the loading and feeding system of shells the same, as well as the fire control mechanisms.
The innovation consisted of a projectile marked 90P, which carried an active unit with an autonomous acoustic guidance system capable of detecting an enemy submarine within a radius of 130 meters.
The bomb sank 1,000 meters with a weight of 19.5 kg. The use of 90P ensured the successful fight against submarines in 80% of cases.
In addition, RPK-8 successfully shot down torpedoes aimed at the ship, the response time to the threat was 15 seconds.
Verdict
The military industry does not stand still, every year new instruments of war are being invented. Something is being finalized, and something is being put into a long box, in order to be in demand again in the future.
Not so long ago, the oceanic multi-purpose system “Status-6” was presented, which was previously only rumored. The complex takes torpedo-boat confrontation to a new level and negates most of the Western measures to counter submarines. And in view of the features of operation, it does not fit the classification into any type of weapon in the world, which creates loopholes in the legal part of the application of the system.
It is hoped that such weapons will remain a deterrence weapon and will not grow into a Doomsday weapon.
All a peaceful sky and quiet sea!