Perhaps there is no episode in the history of the former Soviet Union more romantic and dramatic than the development of the Far North. The need for this was paramount: in those parts lies a huge amount of minerals, which the industry of the young state urgently needed. In addition, the data on the study of those places were very necessary for scientists, since they made it possible to consider the stages of development of the entire planet.
In a word, it was necessary to somehow get to the destination. In the most severe climate and complete impassability, the best way out was to use the sea routes, only the navigation season in those parts is extremely short. The risk of being locked in ice was great.
It was then that the world famous Soviet ice fleet arose. One of its most significant representatives was the Arctic icebreaker, the history of which this article is devoted to. This ship is so unique that you can safely devote a whole book to it! If you read the article, you will probably agree with us on this.
Brief technical description
The ship has extremely high and durable sides, four decks and two cargo platforms at once. A five-tier deck superstructure is used to accommodate the governing bodies and command personnel. A huge ship is propelled by three propellers at once (four blades on each). In the central part of the icebreaker is a steam turbine for which steam is generated using a nuclear reactor. For the manufacture of the latter, all theoretical and practical developments that the Union’s nuclear industry had accumulated by that time were used.
A feature of the whole structure is a case made of high-quality alloy steel. Just think: the whole huge structure is made of such an expensive and incredibly durable material! In those places that in practice are subject to the greatest pressure of ice, protection is provided, the so-called ice belt, which is a reinforcement of the structure by building up a layer of the main ship's hull.
Other ship systems
An important structural part that distinguishes the Arctic icebreaker is the trim and roll systems. For towing, which often had to be carried out by the crew of the vessel, a whole towing platform is located located at the stern of the vessel. There was also
a helipad. As a rule, Mi-8 was used in campaigns, which was indispensable for conducting long-range reconnaissance and finding ships stuck in ice.
An important feature of the vessel is the automation, which was extremely perfect in its time, thanks to which the nuclear reactor could function for a long time in a completely autonomous mode, without requiring constant and laborious rotations. Sensors were also installed in the room of the propeller motors, in the compartments of power plants, as well as in the main switchboards. Management of the central power plant was carried out from the command center, which was the wheelhouse.
It is located at the very top of the deck superstructure, since this position provides the most effective view. The width of the wheelhouse is about five meters, in length it stretches to all 30 meters. The front and side walls of the wheelhouse are almost completely covered with wide viewing windows. Oddly enough, but the list of equipment located in it is quite modest.
So, in the room there are three completely identical control panels, on which there are handles for controlling the direction of movement of the ship, as well as indicators showing the state of the position of all the propellers and the steering wheel. There are buttons for giving a warning sound signal, devices for activating the ballast tank emptying mechanism. The picture is completed by a navigator table, a helm, a table of hydrologists and stands with sonars.
Peak power - 55 MW, displacement is 23 thousand tons. Speed ​​(under ideal conditions) can reach about 18 knots, the duration of a fully autonomous navigation is seven months.
History of creation
The Arctic icebreaker itself, which is the lead ship of project 10520, was laid down in 1971 on the slipways of the Baltic Shipyard. For the first time in the history of the Soviet fleet, the future crew of 150 people not only participated in the construction of the vessel, but also could give advice in its design. This practice allowed the sailors to master a completely new technique in record time. The crew was led by Captain Yu. S. Kuchiev.
He was an incredibly experienced captain who sailed on different types of icebreakers for more than three decades. Already at the end of December 1972, the ship was launched, which is an all-time record for the construction of this kind.
Defense use case
The government of the USSR almost immediately decided that the Arctic icebreaker should have technical capabilities to be used as a powerful coast guard cruiser . To achieve this, it was necessary to install a set of large-caliber artillery weapons, devices for setting active interference, as well as additional military-grade radar equipment. The "maximum program" also provided for testing under conditions close to combat.
After that, all military equipment was supposed to be removed and mothballed. It was planned to leave part of the most necessary and demanded weapons in wartime on the ship, preserving it in a special way (while preserving the possibility of its speedy unpacking and putting into a fighting position).
In principle, if you look at the high-quality model of the Arctic icebreaker, you can see the outlines of a warship in its contours. For the USSR, such militarization was not something new, because the country always remembered the experience of the 40s.
How have the pace of ship construction been achieved
For a very long time, designers were thinking about how to avoid the slightest delay in the construction of the ship. For this purpose, a separate operational headquarters was created, which worked under the leadership of Viktor Nilovich Shershnev. He decided: to make all the necessary tests at sea, without calling at the port, in one go.
It was planned to take on board all the necessary military specialists, as well as a separate team, which was to be responsible for small arms and artillery weapons. The crew immediately grew to 700 people, while in a regular manner on board provided no more than 150 seats.
Designers and customer representatives had to work very hard to accommodate all the required personnel, while not offending anyone. I had to stay for four days in Leningrad for this. During this time, the water level fell significantly below the level of the ordinar, despite the fact that for the successful withdrawal of the ship it was necessary to exceed it by 30-40 centimeters!
Conclusion of the vessel to sea tests
It was possible to avoid problems, if only because no one had to wait: the entire crew was in constant combat readiness, living directly on board. They introduced a sea routine, the ship was successfully put out to sea. In mid-December 1974, a short and concise radiogram was accepted in Moscow and Leningrad: "The work is completed." Subsequently, it was joked that Kuchiev surpassed Caesar himself: so briefly report on the successful completion of sea trials of a complex ship!
Hundreds of proposals were made to improve the running and mooring qualities of the icebreaker, and most of them were completely implemented by the designers “in hot pursuit”. In April 1975, the first serious access to the sea took place. This indicated that the Arctic icebreaker, the photo of which is available in the article, fully complies with all the requirements that were laid down at the design stage and sketches.
Already on April 25, 1975, when the ship was on a roadstead in the port of Tallinn, the USSR state flag was hoisted on it. Finally, they officially signed an act on the transfer of property to the fleet, after which the first Arctic-class icebreaker went straight to Murmansk, where its home port was located. It was a triumph for the entire scientific and defense industry of a huge country.
In addition to the thousands of people who were directly involved in the construction of the vessel, more than 350 (!) Research, defense, oceanographic and hydrological institutes, design bureaus, research institutes throughout the country were involved in its design and conduct of experiments.
Posting along the Northern Sea Route
At the beginning of 1975, before its official acceptance, the Arctic icebreaker (see photo above) brilliantly conducted the Admiral Makarov ice-breaker (diesel-electric) along the Northern Sea Route. At the beginning of next year, he literally pulled out a similar ship "Ermak" from the captivity of ice hummocks, and also saved the Captain Myshevsky dry cargo ship from certain death.
It was the “Arctic” that participated in the rescue of the icebreaker “Leningrad” together with the transport ship “Chelyuskin”. The happy captain called this event the high point of the new ship, since only for the sake of these four cases could it be built.
Only two years of such active work convincingly proved that the flagship, the atomic icebreaker "Arctic", was included in the Soviet fleet. His model in those years was considered the most coveted prey of any Soviet boy. And not without reason, I must say! It was demonstrated not only the outstanding reliability of nuclear and other installations, but also the excellent seaworthiness of the ship. However, the restless captain Kuchiev knew that his “ward” was capable of more, and therefore required the preparation of a long northern campaign. Soon, his insistent requests were heard. The team began to prepare for a long flight.
April 1977, experimental flight to Yamal
In 1976, the ship left the port of Murmansk, simultaneously passing through the ice the reinforced ship "Pavel Ponomarev". Transport transported almost four thousand tons of various food and household goods on board. Not far from Cape Harasavey, the team was able to unload all supplies on landfast ice without any difficulties, after which they were brought ashore. Both ships lay back on course in the ice-free port of Murmansk.
Experience has shown that Kuchiev is absolutely right in his highest assessments of the ship's driving performance, and therefore an even longer and much more complicated expedition was immediately planned for 1977. Now it was supposed to make several flights to Yamal at once. This time, the team included not only the first icebreaker in the Arctic, but also a ship of a similar class Murmansk, as well as three transport cargo ships.
“Miracles on bends”
In early 1977, the caravan sailed safely from Murmansk, after which, after four days, he approached Kharasavey. A week later, the ships went on the reverse course. In the Barents Sea, one of the transporters was sent under their own power to Murmansk, where, upon arrival, he immediately started loading. Meanwhile, the icebreaker company took another lead ship, and then again carried it back on course. After only two days, the process was repeated again.
All participants in that campaign unanimously recognized that the Arctic icebreaker, the technical characteristics of which are presented in the article, worked real miracles, breaking through hummocks of monstrous thickness.
Followers
And now we give a complete list of all the ships built under the project 10520:
- "Arctic".
- "Siberia".
- "Russia".
- "Soviet Union".
- Yamal.
- "50 years of Victory."
It should be noted that the last icebreaker “Arktika” (the new ship “50 years of Victory”) was put into operation only in 2007, although it was launched in 1993. The reason is simple - the leadership of the new country had a constant lack of money .
Since the 2000s, an excursion to the Arctic on an icebreaker has become available to everyone (there would be money). Thanks to this, the required amounts for final completion were finally managed to be collected, and the long-term shipbuilding was introduced into the fleet of the Russian Federation.
New time
By 1999, the “old man” had already worked for 25 years, having navigated more than three thousand ships across the Northern Route, in the holds of which more than one million tons of valuable cargo was transported. But the path of the veteran was not completed, he was waiting for a completely new record. From May to May, from 1999 to 2000, the ship conducted 110 vessels in the Arctic Ocean. Of the 50 thousand nautical miles, exactly 32 thousand ship passed without a single breakdown. Not bad for a 25-year-old “dinosaur,” who has worked all his life in unrealistically difficult conditions!
How was the Arctic icebreaker supposed to be used at that time? Museum or attraction for wealthy tourists, with which the sailors strongly disagree! In fairness, it is worth noting that the first ship of the project 10520 in 2008 still became a museum, but its historical identity was completely preserved. On those vessels of the project that remain in service to this day, you can take a tour on the icebreaker to the Arctic. The impressions of the tourists who visited there are simply impossible to convey in words. Indescribable delight!
Life Extension
The nuclear-powered icebreaker has become a true research site. The sailors proved to scientists that the power plant of the ship can work for a long time beyond the time allotted for it. By the middle of 2000, the main operating time of all ship systems and mechanisms was already about 146,000 hours. Given all this, scientists and designers decided that the operational resource of the "Arctic" itself can safely be extended to 175 thousand hours, and other ships of the project can be exploited until they reach an operating time of 150 thousand.
The flagship of this project made it possible to carry out hundreds of thousands of experiments, the most complex complexes of navigation and radar equipment of the USSR and the Russian Federation were worked out on it, nuclear scientists collected indescribably valuable data on the operation of nuclear power plants in extremely harsh conditions. The importance that the Arctic icebreaker has (the photos are presented in the article) can hardly be overestimated.