Submarines have long been the main striking force of our fleet and a means of countering a potential enemy. The reason for this is simple: our country has not historically developed with aircraft carriers, but missiles fired from under water are guaranteed to hit any point on the globe. That is why even in the Soviet Union, great importance was attached to the development and creation of new types of submarines. At one time, project 971 was a real breakthrough, within the framework of which multipurpose low-noise ships were created.
New "Pikes"
In 1976, it was decided to design and build new submarines. The task was entrusted to the notorious Malachite enterprise, which the country's nuclear fleet always counted on. The peculiarity of the new project is that during its development the developments on Barracudas were fully used, and therefore the preliminary design stage and many calculations were skipped, which significantly reduced the cost of the project and accelerated the work carried out within its framework.
Unlike the “ancestors” of the 945 family, project 971, at the suggestion of engineers from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, did not involve the use of titanium in the manufacture of cases. This was due not only to the enormous cost and scarcity of this metal, but also to the monstrous laboriousness of working with it. In fact, only Sevmash, whose capacities were already fully loaded, could pull such a project. The first components had already been sent to the slipways ... as intelligence had provided information about a new American submarine such as Los Angeles. Because of this, project 971 was urgently sent for revision.
Already in 1980, it was completely completed. Another feature of the new "Pike" was that most of the work on their design and creation was carried out in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Until then, Pacific shipyards were in the position of a “poor relative” and performed only the functions of followers.
Other features of the project
Few people know about this historical fact, but in the very beginning of the 80s, our country purchased Toshiba products from Japan - particularly precise metal processing machines that made it possible to make new screws that produce minimal noise during operation. The deal itself was especially secret, but the United States, by then practically “colonizing” Japan, knew about it almost immediately. As a result, Toshiba even came under economic sanctions.
Thanks to the propellers and some other design features, Project 971 was distinguished by a striking silence in swimming. In many respects, this is the merit of Academician A.N. Krylov, who worked for several years to reduce the noise of submarines, being involved in the creation of Barracud. The efforts of the honored academician and the whole team of the research institute headed by him were not left without remuneration: the boats of project 971 "Pike-B" were noisy several times smaller than the latest American "Los Angeles".
The appointment of new submarines
The new submarines were able to adequately meet any enemy, since their strike weapons and its diversity struck even the seasoned sailors of the sea. The thing is that Shchuki-B had to destroy surface and submarine ships, set mines, conduct reconnaissance and sabotage raids, participate in special operations ... In a word, do everything to justify the characteristic “multipurpose submarine of project 971“ Pike- B "."
Innovative Solutions and Ideas
As we said, the initial design of this type of submarines had to be significantly adjusted. The only weak link of our submarines in comparison with their American counterparts was the lack of a digital interference filtering complex. But in terms of general combat characteristics, the new Pikes were still far superior. For example, they were armed with the latest Granat anti-ship missiles, which made it possible, if necessary, to severely thin out any enemy naval surface group.
But after the "file finalization" in 1980, the Pike received the Skat-3 digital jamming processing system, as well as the latest guidance systems that allowed the use of the most advanced cruise missiles. For the first time, comprehensive automation of combat and weapon control tools was achieved, and a special pop-up capsule was massively introduced into the design to save the entire crew, which was successfully tested at the Barracuda.
Design Features
Like all the main USSR submarines of this class, Project 971 submarines used the classic two-hull scheme. For the first time in the history of “underwater” shipbuilding, the experience of block articulation of submarine fragments was widely used, which allowed us to perform most of the work in the comfortable conditions of the workshop. Widely used were also zonal units of equipment, which, after completion of installation, simply connected to centralized data transfer buses.
How did you manage to reduce the noise level?
In addition to the special screws, which we have already mentioned several times, special depreciation systems are used. Firstly, all mechanisms are installed on special “foundations”. Secondly, each zone block has another depreciation system. Such a scheme made it possible not only to significantly reduce the volume of noise generated by the submarine, but also to additionally protect the crew and equipment of the submarine from the action of shock waves generated during explosions of deep bombs. So our fleet, for which submarines were almost always the main striking force, received a weighty “argument” to deter a potential enemy.
Like all modern submarines, the Pike have a developed keel plumage with an outstanding bullet, which houses the towed antenna of the radar system. The peculiarity of the plumage of these boats is that it is made, as it were, a single whole with the power elements of the main body. All this is done in order to minimize the number of twists. The latter can lead to the track of the ship sonar of the enemy. These measures yielded their legitimate results: Pikes are considered the most inconspicuous submarines to date.
Submarine dimensions and crew
The surface displacement of the ship is 8140 tons, underwater - 10 500 tons. The maximum length of the hull is 110.3 m, the width does not exceed 13.6 m. The average draft in the surface position is close to ten meters.
Due to the fact that various solutions for the integrated automation of controlling it were massively applied in the design of the boat, the crew managed to be reduced to 73 people in comparison with the American 143 crew members (on the Los Angeles). If we compare the new "Pike" with the previous varieties of this family, the living and working conditions of the crew were significantly improved. By reducing the number of the latter, it was also possible to place people in the two most protected compartments (residential).
Power point
The heart of the ship is a 190 mW reactor. It has four steam generators and one turbine, the control and mechanization of which are duplicated many times. The power delivered to the shaft is 50,000 liters. from. The screw is a seven-blade, with a special section of the blades and a reduced speed of rotation. The maximum speed of the ship under water, if translated into understandable "land" values, exceeds 60 km / h! Simply put, a boat can move in a dense environment faster than many sports yachts, not to mention heavy warships. The thing is that the hulls of the boats were developed by a whole "battalion" of academics with numerous works in the field of hydrodynamics.
Means of detecting enemy ships
The real highlight of the new “Pike” was the MGK-540 Skat-3 complex. He can not only filter out interference, but also independently detect the bearing of the noise from the propellers of any ship. In addition, the "Skat" can be used as a conventional sonar when passing unfamiliar fairways. The detection range of enemy submarines has increased three times in comparison with the submarines of previous generations. In addition, Skat determines the characteristics of the pursued targets much faster and gives a forecast on the time of combat contact.
A unique feature of any Project 971 submarine is the installation, which allows it to detect any surface ship by the wake left by it. The equipment calculates the waves diverging from it, even several hours after the passage of the vessel in this square, which makes it possible to secretly monitor enemy naval groups at a safe distance from them.
Weapon characteristics
The main striking force is four 533 mm caliber rocket and torpedo tubes. But four more 650 mm TA caliber mounts look much more impressive. In total, up to 40 missiles and / or torpedoes can be on board the submarine. Pike can fire Granat rockets, as well as Squalls, equally effective in underwater and surface positions. Of course, there is the possibility of firing conventional torpedoes and firing automatic mines from torpedo tubes, which are independently put into combat position.
In addition, with the help of this submarine, you can put and ordinary minefields. So the range of weapons is very wide. When launching cruise missiles, their guidance and escort take place in a fully automatic mode, without distracting the attention of the crew from performing other combat missions. Alas, in 1989, after the conclusion of agreements that were extremely unprofitable for our country with the Americans, the Project 971 submarines went on combat duty without the Grenades and Whirlwinds, since these weapons could carry a nuclear charge.
Significance of "Pike" for domestic shipbuilding
As we said, these submarines became the first independent project of the shipyards of the Far East, which for the first time received a state order of such complexity and importance. The K-284 boat, which became the flagship of the series, was laid in 1980 and four years later it entered the arsenal of the fleet. During construction, minor corrections were quickly introduced into the structure, which were regularly used to create all subsequent submarines.
Already during the first tests, the sailors and members of the Ministry of Defense were delighted with how quiet the submarine was. These indicators were so good that they allowed us to say with full confidence that Soviet shipbuilding was on a fundamentally new level. Western military advisers, who recognized the "Pikes" as weapons of a new class and assigned them the Akula code, were completely agree with this.
Due to its features, Project 971 submarines can overcome defense in depth, equipped with standard means of acoustic detection. Given the powerful weapons, the submarine may well stand up for itself even if it is discovered.
Even in the zone of domination of the enemy, quiet and invisible nuclear submarines of Project 971 can inflict sensitive losses on the enemy, up to shelling coastal targets with nuclear weapons. The Pike can easily handle surface and submarine ships, as well as the destruction of strategically important command centers, even located at a considerable distance from the coastal zone.
The significance of the project "Pike-B" for our country
The advent of the Project 971 nuclear submarine confused the Americans with all the cards. Prior to that, they quite rightly considered their offensive surface forces to be the strongest in the world, and the Soviet fleet, which had significantly fewer surface ships, was rated rather low by their experts. “Pike” has reached a whole new level of play. They can safely work even in the deep rear of the enemy, going beyond the anti-submarine defense lines. In the event of a full-scale war, not a single command center is insured against a nuclear strike from under the water, and there is no need to talk about a full-scale cross-section of sea routes.
Any offensive operation of a potential enemy in such conditions turns into an analogue of dance in a minefield, and you can forget about the suddenness of the attack. US leadership Pikes (especially modernized ones) are very worried. Already in 2000, they repeatedly made attempts to break through the legislative agreement on the strong restriction of their use, but the interests of the Russian Federation to such "mutually beneficial" agreements do not have.
Modifications and further development of the project
Subsequently, "Pike" (project 971) has repeatedly improved, especially in terms of sonar stealth. The Vepr and Dragon vessels built according to the individual project 971U are especially different from the others. They are immediately noticeable in the changed contours of the hull. The latter was lengthened immediately by four meters, which made it possible to regularly place additional equipment for direction finding and apply new design solutions aimed at reducing the noise level. Displacement in surface and underwater positions increased by more than one and a half tons.
Significantly changed and the power plant, which feeds the reactor model OK-650B3. The changes were so obvious that the new nuclear multipurpose submarine in the foreign media was immediately christened Improved Akula. Four more submarines were to be built under the same project, but as a result, only two of them were laid and created at the shipyards. The first of them, K-335 "Cheetah", was generally built according to special project 971M, which provided for the use in the design of the latest achievements of the electronic industry.
This boat generally became known to Western sailors as Akula II, since its differences from the basic design were striking. The second completed submarine, it is the K-152 "Nerpa", was also created according to a special project 971I, originally intended to be leased to the Indian Navy. Basically, "Nerpa" differs from its "brothers" in the most simplified electronic filling, in which there are no secret components.
The continuity of generations
Initially, all boats in this series had only an index, not denoted by proper names. But in 1990, K-317 received the name "Panther". It was given in honor of the submarine of the Russian Empire, which was the first to open a combat account. Subsequently, the Tiger nuclear submarine of project 971 became the “birthday girl”. Soon, all submarines of this family also received proper names that echoed the designations of the ships that were part of the Imperial and Soviet Navy. The only exception that project 971 has is Kuzbass. Previously, this ship was called the Walrus. At first he was named after one of the first submarines of the Empire, but subsequently honored the memory of Soviet sailors.
But the most significant were the nuclear submarines launched at Sevmash. Their entire series received the code name "Bars". For this, all of the project’s submarines were nicknamed “cats” in the West.
Semi-Combat Work
During NATO aggression against Serbia in 1996, K-461 "Wolf" was on combat duty in the Mediterranean Sea. American hydroacoustics managed to detect its location during the passage of the Strait of Gibraltar, but our submariners managed to get away from them. Re-discovering the "Wolf" was possible only directly off the coast of Yugoslavia. In this military campaign, the nuclear submarine protected the domestic aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov from the potential aggressive actions of the "Western partners." At the same time, the Wolf carried out covert surveillance of six NATO nuclear submarines, including one rival Los Angeles type boat.
In the same year, another "Pike-B", which was under the command of A. V. Burilichev, was on combat duty in the waters of the Atlantic. There, the crew discovered a U.S. Navy SSBN, and then secretly escorted the ship throughout its combat duty. If it were in a war, the American missile carrier would sink. The command perfectly understood all this, and therefore Burilichev immediately after the "business trip" received the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. This is another evidence of the high combat qualities and stealth of any project 971 boat.
About cases of appendicitis in the sea ...
At the end of February of the same 1996, anecdotal incident occurred at all. Then, large-scale exercises of the NATO fleet were just held. An anti-submarine ship order had just managed to get in touch with the command and report on the absence of potential enemy submarines at the convoy's course ... A few minutes later the commander of the Russian submarine contacted the English ships. And soon the “culprit of triumph” itself surfaced before the stunned British sailors.
The crew said that one of the sailors was in serious condition due to burst appendicitis. Under the conditions of the submarine, the success of the operation was not guaranteed, and therefore the captain made an unprecedented decision to communicate with foreign colleagues. The patient was quickly loaded onto an English helicopter and sent to a hospital. It is hard to imagine what the British sailors felt at that moment, having just reported on the absence of enemy submarines. What is even more interesting, they could not then detect a boat of project 971 of the old series! Since then, Project 971 Shark has been highly respected by the British Navy.
Current state of affairs
Currently, all submarines of this series are in service, serve as part of the Pacific and Northern fleets. The Nerpa mentioned above is in the service of the Indian Navy and, under the terms of the contract, will remain there until 2018. It is possible that after this, the Indians will prefer to extend the contract, since they highly appreciate the fighting qualities of the Russian submarine.
By the way, in the Indian Navy "Nerpa" was called Chakra. It is interesting that earlier the boat 670 Skat had the exact same name, which also served India on a leasing basis from 1988 to 1992. All the sailors who served there became real professionals in their field, and some officers from the first Chakra had already reached the rank of admiral. Whatever it was, but the Russian "Pike" today are actively used in the difficult task of carrying out combat duty and serve as one of the guarantors of the state sovereignty of our country.
Today, when the fleet begins to gradually recover after the 90s, there is already talk that the fifth generation nuclear submarines should be based on the designs of Project 971, since the ships of this series have repeatedly proved their promise. The Pikes themselves correspond in their parameters to the fourth generation submarines. An indirect confirmation of this is the fact that they repeatedly deceived the sonar detection system SOSUS, which at one time created many problems for Soviet sailors.