The Soviet submarine S-80 was in service with the naval forces of the USSR in the 1950s. In 1961, the boat sank in the Barents Sea under mysterious circumstances. The article discusses the structure of this boat and various versions of its death. In the 2000s, the construction of new Spanish S-80 submarines (Isaac Peral) began in Spain. This is a kind of prototype of a Soviet ship, which also has a role in this article.
The device and armament of the Soviet boat
The submarine S-80 was constructed in 1950, and in 1957 some modernization and improvement work was carried out on it. Its length was 76 m, its width was 6.6 m, it could sink to a depth of 230 m, and move under water at a speed of 10 knots. The S-80 diesel submarine was powered by 6 engines: 2 diesel and 4 electric. "Submarine" had a modern navigation system at that time, called the "Lira."
The submarine’s military arsenal included torpedoes and cruise missiles (4 torpedo and 2 missile launchers).
S-80 boat: tragic events, its rise to the surface and the official version of the death
The tragedy of the submarine S-80 happened on January 26, 1961, when it sank in the Barents Sea. According to the official version, the cause of the tragic event was the ingress of water into the boat due to incorrect actions and crew negligence. Note that 68 officers and sailors went on their last voyage. The submarine S-80, a ghost boat, received its unspoken mystical name due to the fact that after the crash it was found only after 7 years, that is, in 1968, and the operation to rise to the surface took place during June-July 1969. This operation was led by Sergey Minchenko (captain of the first rank).
The analysis of the state of the raised submarine S-80 made it possible to virtually reconstruct the tragic events that occurred. Carrying out military exercises in 1961 in the Barents Sea, the boat went at periscope depth, and then began to go under water and water began to fall into it. The corresponding valve did not work due to icing. Further, in the official version of the death of the submarine, it is said that the driver confused the flywheel, which was supposed to close the compartment where water began to fall. After that, the crew made several more mistakes, and the boat went to the bottom, completely losing its speed.
According to the reconstruction of events, the boat experienced a strong water-air strike, as a result of which people in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th compartments died instantly, part of the crew in the 6th and 7th compartments tried to get out of the submarine . They planned to use the IDA-51 devices intended for this, but did not manage to do this because of the rapid flooding of the compartments. The sailors lived the longest in the 1st compartment, which was completely flooded only a few days later.
Cause of the accident
As described above, one of the reasons that led to the rapidly developing catastrophe of the submarine S-80, a ghost boat, was a series of mistakes by sailors and officers who were on guard duty that tragic night. Note that of the 68 people on board the boat, 7 people were transferred to it recently. Among these 7 people was the driver who mixed up the direction of closing the lock, since on his previous boat it was closing in the opposite direction than on the S-80.
But what triggered the catastrophe? Inspecting the boat, rescuers noticed that the steering wheel on it was turned as far as possible to the left, as if she had made an emergency change in her course of movement so as not to collide with something or someone. There are no reefs in the area where the boat died, therefore, it is believed that this could be someone else's ship, which was noticed by crew members too late.
This alien ship could be a NATO ship, since the US military had huge interest in the Soviet submarine, which had modern equipment and weapons at that time. In 1976, the US Navy received new Los Angeles boats. Later, the presence of some navigation systems for the S-80 submarine in Los Angeles was noted. Where did they come from? The answer to this question remains a mystery to this day.
Removing the bodies of the dead
After the boat was raised to the surface, there was a danger that, when draining the compartments in it from the differential pressure, torpedoes that were on this submarine could explode. Therefore, it was proposed simply to blow up the boat and not find out the cause of its death.
However, after a preliminary inspection, it was found that there was no need to be afraid of the explosion of torpedoes. The compartments were drained, and those people who entered it first saw that the S-80 diesel submarine was an “autonomous vehicle” of the dead, since dead officers and sailors were in all places in each compartment. Some of them until the last fought for their lives - this is evidenced by the fact that all possible oxygen on the submarine was used up. Others did not survive a painful death. For example, a midshipman was found who was holding on to a bare wire, or a sailor who was lying in his bunk with a noose around his neck.
After the bodies of the dead were taken from the submarine S-80, they noted a surprising thing: those bodies that were physically unscathed created the impression that these people died quite recently, and not 7 years ago. The fact is that their cheeks were pink, and the blood had not yet had time to clot. Of course, this fact has a simple explanation, because in biological water at great depths any biological body is in a practically preserved state.
Today, after many years after the death of the Soviet submarine, an object with an analog name was produced. This is a Spanish submarine, which is currently being developed under the code name S-80 (read S-80).
Some information on the tasks of the Spanish submarines and their construction
The main feature of the new S-80 submarines is the engine system created using advanced technologies and the ability to exist and perform their tasks offline under water for a long time. New submarines drafted into the armed forces of Spain to perform the following tasks:
- missile strikes on coastal targets;
- naval battles;
- protection of ships during loading and unloading;
- protection of naval units of military equipment.
At the beginning of the development of the program for the construction of Spanish submarines S-80, an amount of 1.8 billion euros was spent, in 2014 this amount increased to 3 billion euros, costs in 2018 are estimated at 3.6-3.9 billion euros. Currently, 4 units of Isaac Peral class boats are under construction. The first of them should be launched by 2020, and will enter the armed forces in 2022. The first two submarines of the S-80 will not include technology of an air-independent movement system. The construction of the 3rd and 4th boats began in 2009 and 2010, respectively. If necessary, the company "Navantiya" can take up the construction of 2 more boats of this class.
Historical reference
In the last 40 years, the Spanish naval forces had 4 Dolphin-class submarines (S-60), all of them have already been decommissioned, as well as Galerna-type submarines (S-70), 3 of them are still in service and perform their tasks. All these boats have a classic French design, and were built in the city of Cartagena under the license of the French state company DCNS. If you look even further into history, then in the 1950s in Spain, the national company Bazan was engaged in the construction of submarines of the Tyulen (S-40) and Shark (S-50) classes. The firm "Navantia" until the 2000s collaborated with DCNS and was engaged in fulfilling orders for the construction of submarines for Chile, Malaysia and India.
Thus, the independent construction of submarines S-80 is a real challenge for the military marine technology of Spain.
Submarine Class S-80
Techno-class Isaac Peral boats are far ahead of the latest generation electric-diesel boats. The S-80 was originally conceived as a submarine suitable for the Spanish Navy. They have an average displacement and are able to fulfill their mission several thousand miles from the coast, acting as unnoticed as possible. The S-80 anaerobic engine system of submarines, as well as modern naval battle systems, place these submarines far ahead of all the other existing and existing in Spain classic submarines and at the level of technological excellence of nuclear submarines.
Note that before Navantia began developing new Spanish boats, a scandal erupted between the Spanish and French companies, as the French company accused Navantia of copying many systems on the S-80 from previous boats that Spain built with France in DCNS. This dispute ended with the fact that both sides took the claims from the arbitration court in Paris in 2009, and the program for the construction of Isaac Peral class submarines by the Navantia company was left alone.
Historical facts about the S-80 since 1997
The S-80 diesel submarine program was launched in 1997, and in 1991, preliminary studies were already underway. The following are historical data for each year that are associated with this program:
- 1997: the revision of the document was completed, in which the program for constructing the first S-80 boat was discussed;
- 1998: approved a document that indicated the main characteristics of the submarines;
- 1999: a project for the construction of boats in the Spanish city of Cartagena;
- 2001: A prototype submarine is defined that will be suitable for classic missions;
- 2002: a new document was compiled, in which the basic requirements for new submarines were revised taking into account new scenarios and tasks;
- 2003: documents are compiled that relate to the initial phase of the launch of the program for the construction of new boats, the technical characteristics of the project, indicative dates and the necessary budget are determined;
- 2004: The Ministry of Defense of Spain issues a decree on the construction of four multi-tasking submarines of type S-80;
- 2005: Navantia begins construction of the first submarine, a preliminary construction completion date is set for 2012;
- 2007: in December, the company began construction of the S-82 boat;
- 2008: Navantia corrects the deadline for the delivery of the first S-80 boat; construction should be completed in 2013;
- 2009: in February, the construction of the 3rd S-83 boat begins;
- 2010: in January, construction of the S-84 begins, and in October of this year, the construction of the hull of the boat S-81 is completed;
- 2011: in March, Navantia received the finished upper part of the S-81 submarine, and in April the company delivered a fuel cell for this boat.
- 2012: in January, names were invented for all 4 submarines of the S-80 type (S-81 will be called Isaac Peral, S-82 will be called Narsiso Monturol, S-83 will be called Cosme Garcia, S-84 - “Mateo Garcia de los Reyes”);
- 2013: in view of the fact that the resulting boats had a larger mass than originally assumed, the Navantiya company decided to delay their production for 1.5-2 years to provide them with the necessary swimming ability; the firm also emphasized that such a delay is normal due to the complexity of the project itself;
- 2014: the necessary funds are recalculated to continue the project, and a new date is set for the delivery of the first unit of the S-80 submarine to the armed forces;
- 2018: the company publishes information on an increase in costs of 1.5-1.8 billion euros, a new project completion calendar is being established.
The mission of the new Spanish boats and their abilities
Submarines S-80 (Spain), as part of the country's armed forces, must comply with the military equipment of modern times, the latest technological military developments in terms of weapons, communication and navigation. The following is a list of tasks that new boats should confidently perform:
- striking at sea and land targets;
- observation near the coast and in the open ocean;
- attack and defense of naval installations;
- ability to evade and evade a possible military clash.
A new class submarine should be able to fight back and continue to fulfill its mission, both near the coast and in the open ocean in the following cases:
- when in minefields;
- in a collision with ships on the surface of the water that have active sonars;
- upon detection by aerial anti-submarine ships with radars and sonars;
- when meeting with nuclear and modern traditional enemy submarines.
S-80 submarines must have the appropriate capabilities to ensure the success of the mission. First of all, boats should be able to move under water at high speed, and a system of non-volatile engines should provide the possibility of the boat staying in hidden areas for a long time, while reducing the risk of its detection by the enemy. Also, submarines S-80 should be equipped with a system of simultaneous strikes on several targets. If necessary, special military groups can be transported on them. Boats should have systems against acoustic, magnetic, infrared and visual detection by the enemy.
Characteristics of the Spanish submarine S-80
A new generation of Spanish submarines is designed so that their crew can be mixed, that is, male and female, and each member of the boat has its own berth. A feature of the new boats is their supply with a desalination system of sea water. This system is capable of purifying water from salts and impurities to a depth of 200 meters. It works on the basis of reverse osmosis.
Combat systems, boat software, monitoring of intrinsic noise, sonar systems, electronic systems developed with the participation of the American company Lockheed Martin.
The armament of the new generation boats is made up of German heavy torpedoes DM2 / A4, American long-range missiles UGM-109 Tomahawk, American anti-ship missiles UGM-84, as well as Spanish multifunctional mines. Torpedo launch systems and anti-torpedo weapons are British.
As for the propulsion systems (diesel engines, non-volatile reactor, oxygen and ethanol weight compensation systems, carbon dioxide removal system), basically they are all Spanish developments. The fuel batteries on the boats are American.
Bioethanol and non-volatile engine
Bioethanol is the main fuel for the non-volatile engine in Spanish boats S-80. Ethanol is a chemical compound that is described by the formula CH 3 —CH 2 —OH; under normal conditions, it is a flammable liquid. Any alcoholic beverage contains this substance (beer - 3-7%, wine - 12-15%, liquor - up to 50%). You can get it in two common ways: by hydration of ethylene and as a result of fermentation processes of some plant materials containing sugars, starches and cellulose. For the resulting ethanol fermentation process, the prefix “bio” is used. Bioethanol was chosen as the main fuel on the new submarines due to the fact that Spain is not dependent on other countries in this matter. There are currently 7 bioethanol factories operating on its territory.
The non-volatile motor consists of two main parts: a converter and a battery. A chemical reaction occurs in the converter, resulting in high purity hydrogen from bioethanol. The reaction product is carbon dioxide. Next, the resulting hydrogen enters the engine battery, where it reacts with oxygen as part of an exothermic reaction, which is accompanied by the release of a large amount of energy. The product of this last reaction is water. Water and carbon dioxide are discharged from the submarine. The non-volatile S-80 boat engine is capable of delivering 300 kW.
The boat is propelled by a propeller that rotates due to the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction using permanent magnets. The screw is projected according to the latest technologies in such a way that it allows to quench cavitation effects when the boat moves at high speeds.
Submarine units of a new class
In January 2012, the names of all 4 S-80 submarines were approved, with the first two names being used for the 4th time, the third name for the 3rd time, and the fourth name for the 2nd time for the Spanish submarine. The names are intended to pay tribute to the famous designers and inventors of submarines, Isaac Peral, Narsis Monturol and Cosma Garcia Saes, as well as the first admiral of the submarine armed forces of Spain, Mateo Garcia de los Reyes. Below is a photo of the boat S-80.
The following are the completion dates for the construction of Spanish boats.
- “Isaac Peral” (S-81). It was planned to be put into effect in 2017, but due to overload problems, this date is delayed until December 2022.
- “Narsiso Montouliol” (S-82). The date of delivery of the boat was changed from 2018 to the end of May 2024.
- Cosme Garcia (S-83). It is planned to complete its construction by March 2026.
- “Mateo Garcia de los Reyes” (S-84). The last unit of the project, the submarine S-80 plus, will be commissioned in July 2027.
Currently, the Council of Ministers of Spain is considering the possibility of approving a decree on the construction of 2 more boats of a new generation (S-85 and S-86), which the company "Navantia" can take over.