When the construction of the first nuclear-powered icebreaker in the world was completed in the USSR in 1959, the entire foreign press began to write about this great scientific and technological achievement of Soviet scientists. This ship was named after the first Soviet leader of the revolution. The icebreaker "Lenin" was the beginning of a new era in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
The history of the construction of the first nuclear-powered ship
In 1953, at the CPSU Congress in Moscow, it was decided to begin construction of a new class ice drift that would have a nuclear power plant. The development of the nuclear-powered ship was entrusted to scientists from the Central Design Bureau-15 (now called the Iceberg Central Design Bureau). For two years, from 1953 to 1955, project number 92 (the code name of the nuclear-powered ship) was developed. Then, in the fall of 1953, the USSR Council of Ministers decided to name the new ship. The icebreaker “Lenin” is what the first nuclear-powered ship on the planet was supposed to be called. The position of chief designer was entrusted to Vasily Ivanovich Neganov. In CRI KM "Prometey" for the icebreaker began to develop a special hull steel. When the design was completed by the end of 1955, they decided to lay the ship at the famous Leningrad shipyard named after A. Marty, and V. Chernyakov was appointed the chief builder. However, many details of the icebreaker were prepared in various factories of the country. For example, ship turbines were produced at one of the factories in the city of Kirov, electric generators were produced in Ukraine, at the Kharkov Electromechanical Plant, and comb motors were produced at the Electrosila plant (Leningrad), etc. In a word, they built it all over the country. In December 1957, the first nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin was launched into the Neva. It was a smooth-deck vessel with two masts and a aft landing area. He had the following parameters: width (maximum) - 27.6 m, side height - 16.1 m, length (maximum) - 134 m, ship displacement - 17810 tons, power of the main unit - 44000 horsepower, maximum cruising speed. - 19.6 knots.
First test
Another 22 months passed. In September 1959, A. Marty left the Lenin icebreaker on his first test voyage from the shipyard. P.A. was appointed captain of the vessel Ponomarev. It becomes known from the press of those years that there were many delegations from various countries on board the vessel. The most famous guests were the future president of the United States, R. Nixon, and British Prime Minister G. Macmillan. Newspapers and magazines around the world placed publications under the heading “Icebreaker“ Lenin ”, a photo of the famous nuclear-powered ship and famous guests on board. After the trial period, the vessel was transferred to the hands of the USSR MMF. In 1960, it was already in Murmansk, from where it was supposed to head to the North Pole.
Arctic exploration day
The icebreaker Lenin, the world's first nuclear-powered icebreaker, has become a symbol of Arctic exploration. In August 1960, its first Arctic navigation started. It lasted exactly 100 days, and in front of the ship were waiting for many responsible tasks, which it performed as a real giant savior, clearing the way for many ships stuck in the thickness of ice. They said about him that it drives caravans of ships, like a counselor. This hardy and very powerful ship was and always will be the pride of the Russian fleet.