A submarine is a separate class of ships that are capable of diving to great depths and being under water for a long time. Today, submarines are the main tactical weapon of the navy of any state. Their main advantage is stealth. This makes submarines indispensable in martial law.
History of Creation: Beginning
For the first time on the question of what a submarine, Leonardo da Vinci gave a practical answer. He described its military-tactical advantages and worked for a long time on the model of the device, but in the end he burned all his models, fearing for irreversible consequences.
In 1578, the English scientist W. Bourne in his report designated a certain submarine ship, which he noticed in the abyss of the Black Sea. The described submarine is nothing more than the first submarine made in Greenland from leather and seal skins. The vessel had ballast tanks, and an exhaust pipe acted as a navigator. Such a submarine could not be under water for a long time, but even then it showed amazing results.
The official project to create submarines received publicity only in 1620. The approval for the construction was given by the English king Jacob I. The Dutch engineer C. Drebbel undertook to construct the submarine. Soon the boat was successfully tested in London. The engines of the first UK submarine were powered by rowing.
In Russia, the idea of creating a hidden fleet was initiated by
Peter I. However, with his death, the project died in the bud. In 1834, the first all-metal submarine appeared. Its inventor was a Russian engineer K. Schilder. Propulsion were rowing devices. The tests were successful, and at the end of the year the world's first launch of an underwater rocket was carried out.
The US Navy could not stand by. In the 1850s, a project was launched under the leadership of L. Hanley. The boat was driven from a separate compartment. A large screw was used as the engine, which was spun by seven sailors. Observation went through small protrusions in the case. In 1864, the first brainchild of Hanley sank an enemy ship. Subsequently, Russia and France could boast of such successes.
During the First World Submarines were equipped with diesel and electric engines. In the design of the new generation submarines, the main role was played by Russian engineers. During the war, 600 deep-sea vessels participated in the fighting, which eventually sunk about 200 ships and destroyers.
History of Creation: A New Era
By the time World War II began, most of the submarines were on the balance of the USSR (211 units). In second place was the flotilla of Italy - 115 submarines. Further, the United States, France, Britain, Japan and only then Germany with 57 deep-sea vessels were located. It is worth noting that the submarine was considered the main combat unit of the fleet during the war. This is also proved by the fact that the USSR dominated the sea surface and under it until the end of World War II. The fault was submarines, which sank a total of more than 400 enemy ships.
At that time, submarines could sink up to 150 meters, being under water for several hours. The average speed was about 6 knots. The revolution in underwater engineering was made by the famous scientist Walter. He designed a streamlined body and a hydrogen peroxide engine. This allowed the submarines to overcome the high-speed barrier of 25 knots.
U-boats today
A modern submarine is a deep-sea vessel that uses nuclear power plants to produce the necessary energy. Also , submarines are powered by batteries, diesel engines, Stirling engines, and other fuel cells. Currently, flotillas of 33 countries are rich in such combat units.
Back in the 1990s, NATO had 217 ships, including SSBNs and PLA. At that time, Russia had a little less than 100 units on its balance sheet. In 2004, the Russian Federation ordered the creation of a small submarine of a non-nuclear type in Italy. The project was called S1000. Nevertheless, in 2014 he was frozen by mutual agreement.
Today, hydrogen is considered one of the fastest and most versatile submarines. These are deep-sea vessels of class U-212, which relatively recently began to be produced in Germany. Such boats operate on the basis of hydrogen, due to which maximum noiseless movement is achieved.
Classification of submarines
Submarines are usually divided into groups according to categories:
1. By type of energy source: atomic, diesel, combined-cycle, fuel, hydrogen.
2. By destination: multi-purpose, strategic, specialized.
3. In size: cruising, medium, small.
4. By type of weapon: torpedo, ballistic, missile, mixed.
The most common deep-sea unit is an atomic submarine. This type of submarine has its own classification:
1. SSBN - nuclear submarines with ballistic weapons.
2. SSGN - nuclear submarines with cruise missiles.
3. MPLATRK - multipurpose missile and torpedo submarines, the main source of energy for which is a nuclear reactor.
4. DPLK - diesel submarines with missile and torpedo weapons.
From the experimental species can be distinguished: flying, winged and river uninhabited submarine.
Design Basics
Submarines consist of 2 hulls: light and durable. The first is designed to give the ship improved hydrodynamic properties, and the second - to protect against high water pressure. The strong case is mounted from alloy steel, however titanium alloys are quite often found.
The submarine has special tanks for trim and ballast control. Diving is carried out using hydroplanes. Surfacing is determined by the displacement of water by compressed air from ballast tanks. The vessel is driven by diesel or nuclear plants. Small submarines operate on batteries and electricity. Special diesel generators are used to recharge.
Propellers are used as an engine
.Types of weapons
The purpose of submarines is to perform certain tasks:
- destruction of warships,
- liquidation of multi-purpose vessels,
- destruction of strategic enemy targets.
Depending on the objectives, the appropriate types of weapons are installed on the submarines: mines, torpedoes, missiles, artillery installations, radio electronics. For defense, many deep-sea ships use portable anti-aircraft systems.
Russian submarines
One of the last to enter service in the Russian fleet was the submarine "Halibut". The construction of 24 units lasted about 20 years, since 1982. Today at the disposal of Russia is 18 submarine "Halibut". Boats were built as part of project 877. These deep-sea ships became the prototypes of the so-called Varshavyanka.
In 2004, a new generation submarine Lada was launched, operating on an electro-diesel installation. The ship is designed to destroy any enemy objects. These submarines of Russia have gained distribution due to the minimum noise level. Due to the high cost, the project was quickly phased out.
The main striking force of the Russian flotilla is the Schuka-B nuclear submarine. The project lasted more than 20 years until 2004. Today, submarines of this type are in service with the Russian Federation 11 units. "Pike-B" is able to reach a speed of 33 knots, dive for 600 m and be in autonomous navigation for up to 100 days. Capacity - 73 people. The construction of one unit cost the treasury about 785 million dollars.
Also in the arsenal of the fleet are such atomic submarines of Russia as the “Shark”, “Dolphin”, “Barracuda”, “Kalmar”, “Antey” and others.
Latest submarines
In the near future, the Russian Navy will replenish with new units of the Varshavyanka series. These will be the latest submarines Krasnodar and Stary Oskol. Boats will be put into service in the second half of 2015. The Kolpino and Veliky Novgorod deep-sea ships are on the docks, but their construction will only be completed by the end of 2016. As a result, there will be 6 units of the Varshavyanka project on the balance of the Black Sea Fleet.
Representatives of this series are designed to counter enemy attacks, that is, to protect naval bases, communications, and the coast. Submarines "Varshavyanka" are classified as silent. They work on an electric diesel engine.
The length of such a submarine is 74 m, and the width is 10 m. Under water, the ship can reach a speed of 20 knots. The immersion threshold is 300 m. The swimming period is up to 45 days.
Missing and sunken submarines
Until the 1940s, submarines were constantly lost in the depths of the seas and oceans. The reasons for this were design flaws, and oversights of the commanding staff, and secret military operations of opponents.
After World War II, missing submarines are counted in units. Over the past 50 years, engineering has reached its peak. Since the early 1950s, submarines were no longer considered life-threatening crews, and any contact with the enemy is immediately fixed by a military base. That is why in recent decades there have been so few lost submarines.
The most famous missing ships are Scorpio (USA), Dakkar (Israel) and Minerva (France). It is noteworthy that all 3 sunken submarines crashed under strange circumstances during the 2 weeks of 1968. In the reports of all 3 disasters, an unidentified object was mentioned, after which contact with the crew was lost forever.
In total, over the past 60 years, 8 sunken atomic submarines have been officially recorded, including 6 Russian and 2 American. The first was the Thresher ship (USA), on board of which there were 129 people. The disaster occurred as a result of an enemy attack in 1963. The whole crew died.
The most sensational and tragic is the fate of the Kursk submarine. In the summer of 2000, due to a torpedo explosion in the first compartment, the ship sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea. As a result, 118 people died.