In order to understand how large and small anti-submarine ships were born, what factors influenced the tactics of their use and the current state, one should delve into history.
History tour
At the end of the 20th century, European countries actively discussed the problem of protecting fleets from destroyers. With the invention in 1865 by the Russian scientist Aleksandrovsky of a torpedo, then called the “self-propelled mine”, naval powers around the world began to actively develop their mine forces, resulting in the fact that by the end of the century most of the fleets of all countries of the world consisted mainly of armed with torpedoes of small vessels, called "destroyers".
The question arose about countering these agile ships, capable of inflicting tremendous damage to the enemy fleet. The solution was found in the UK, where in 1881 the destroyer Polyphemus descended from the stocks of the shipyard in Chatham, becoming the only ship in the British fleet equipped with a ram. Polyfemus was the forerunner of destroyers (destroyers), which, in turn, were the ancestors of anti-submarine ships.
World War Experience
The heyday of the destroyers fell on world wars. In the First World War, because of the fear of losing large ships in an open combat clash, the warring parties actively used destroyers in military operations. And it was during World War I that they encountered submarines, becoming the main means of combating them. During the Second World War, the destroyers underwent a number of serious changes, even closer to the anti-submarine ships. Along with the gradual abandonment of torpedo weapons and replacing them with bomb and deep bombs, the air defense of the destroyers began to grow, and they themselves began to be used as multi-purpose ships, becoming the "cannon fodder" of the enemy fleets.
In the USSR during the Second World War, there was a special class of ships intended primarily for the fight against submarines. We are talking about the so-called submarine hunters. It was from them that modern anti-submarine ships went.
From destroyer to anti-submarine ship
The emergence of anti-submarine ships is associated primarily with the Cold War and the development of submarines. After World War II, the question of nuclear war arose sharply. The military doctrines of the USSR and the USA envisioned nuclear strikes on enemy territory using all available means: bombs and ballistic missiles. The latter, in addition to stationary positions and mobile platforms, were also located on nuclear submarines, completely protected from nuclear attacks and capable of launching missiles in the immediate vicinity of the enemy. The question arose of countering these boats, for which work was begun on the construction of ships sharpened exclusively for the fight against submarines.
USSR experience
In the Soviet Union, issues of anti-submarine warfare were taken up in the 1960s. Various ideas were put forward, and especially hotheads at the headquarters of the Navy in the early 70s even suggested creating an anti-submarine defense system by analogy with the air defense system guarding the sky of the Soviet Union. Such a scrupulous approach ensured that the Soviet fleet had, by the end of the USSR, the entire spectrum of anti-submarine ships, mainly intended for the search and destruction of submarines or the protection of large attack ships. The escort service, which destroyers were mainly engaged in, was not included in the range of tasks of the new subclass.
The anti-submarine ships of the USSR Navy, according to the classification of 1990, were divided into anti-submarine cruisers (RCC), large anti-submarine ships (BOD), patrol ships (TFR) and small anti-submarine ships (IPC).
First generation
In the 60s, the first generation of anti-submarine ships entered the system of the USSR Navy, represented by Project 61 models, Project 159 patrol ships and Project 31, and Project 204 small anti-submarine ships. They carried the most advanced sonar stations at that time and were armed with anti-submarine torpedoes and jet bombs. But due to the short range of the stations, the insufficient range of weapons and the lack of helicopters, the first anti-submarine ships were not very effective and were quickly replaced by new ones, the projects of which began to be embodied in metal from 1967.
Second generation
The first ships of the second generation were project 1123 anti-submarine cruisers, which did not have the ability to base helicopters and powerful anti-submarine anti-aircraft weapons. Next came the large anti-submarine ships of projects 1134A and 1134B, specially adapted for operations in the ocean and armed with helicopters, modern sonar stations, rocket-torpedo and anti-aircraft missile systems.
But the capabilities of the USSR shipbuilding industry were very limited, and it was difficult to produce the required number of large anti-submarine ships, which made it practically impossible to implement the plans of the USSR Navy command to build the capacity of the anti-submarine fleet forces. The solution to this problem was the deployment of the production of patrol ships of projects 1135 and 1153M, in contrast to the BOD, which had less displacement, but without helicopters and anti-aircraft missile systems.
The watchmen were supposed to be used in battle together with helicopter carriers and aircraft carrying cruisers, which was due to the absence of helicopters. Along with the production of watchdogs, the conversion of obsolete 57bis missile ships to large anti-submarine ones and the modernization of individual first-generation anti-submarine models were begun.
In the second half of the 1970s, small Project 1124M anti-submarine ships were laid. They were followed by another model. These were small anti-submarine ships of Project 1124. They were characterized by the presence of two sonar stations, which differed in design. Most of these ships became part of the KGB Border Troops under the code "Albatross". At the same time, construction began on Project 12412 small anti-submarine ships developed on the basis of Project 1241 Lightning missile boat .
Ships of the second generation by the mid-1980s were outdated, and the designers faced the question of replacing obsolete equipment. But the planned modernization program was not implemented due to lack of funds and the same limited capacity of the shipbuilding industry.
Several patrol ships of Project 1135 were partially modernized. In general, second-generation ships almost did not undergo systematic repairs. This led to the fact that in the 90s, most of them were decommissioned. Today, the Russian Navy has 22 small anti-submarine ships. Two of them deserve special attention. Among them is the small anti-submarine ship Urengoy.
Iron Albatross
The first small anti-submarine ship "Albatros" left the slipways of Zelenodolsk Shipyard in 1967 and was immediately noted by military specialists because of its speed and maneuverability. The lead ship of the series visited during a vacation in Yalta, L.I. Brezhnev. The emergence of new anti-submarine ships quickly ceased to be a secret for a potential enemy. The Albatrosses were classified as corvettes and given them the code name Grisha.
The armament of the ship consists of a 57 mm artillery mount, 30 mm art. installations, OSA-M, two jet bombs, 533-mm torpedo tubes, depth charges and mines. The speed of 35 knots to the ship provides a gas turbine installation.
"Kazanets" in the service of the Baltic Fleet
In the 1970s, a draft anti-submarine ship was developed in the German Democratic Republic, received code number 1331. It was developed on the basis of the Soviet project 1124 with the participation of Soviet specialists and was one of the first military ships created in the German Democratic Republic. Thus, the Soviet leadership wanted to give the Germans the opportunity to gain experience in the independent design and construction of warships. In the West, these ships received the code name Parchim-II class.
One of the ships of the series is the small anti-submarine ship Kazanets, which is now part of the Baltic Fleet. It was laid on the slipway of a shipyard in Volgstad by order of the USSR on January 4, 1985, and launched on March 11 of the same year. Since 1986, it has been on the lists of ships of the USSR Navy, in 1987 it officially became part of the Baltic Fleet, and in 1992 it became a part of the Russian Navy.
"Kazanets" has powerful anti-submarine, artillery and anti-aircraft weapons, two sonar stations and a long-range radar station. A speed of 25 knots provides a three-shaft installation.
It should also be noted that the ship is distinguished by the quality of construction, quality factor and reliability, like any German equipment.
The Russian Navy also includes the twin brother Kazanza, a small anti-submarine ship Urengoy.
Third generation
In the 80s, a new anti-submarine ship building program was launched, the result of which was the construction of two series of ships: the large 1155 anti-submarine project and the 11540 project patrol team.
Large anti-submarine ships of Project 1155 were equipped with two helicopters, a long-range sonar station “Polin” and an anti-submarine missile system “Rastrub-B”. The patrol equipment was much more modest: one helicopter, a sonar station and anti-submarine missile system.
The ships of both projects are equipped with multi-channel anti-aircraft missile systems and 100 mm artillery systems. Also, project 11540 watchdogs have the ability to equip the Uran missile defense system, thus being the first Russian multi-purpose frigates.
Current state
In 2001, the lead ship of the new series of large anti-submarine ships of project 20380, which were called to be the first in the era of Russian shipbuilding, was laid at the Amur Shipyard. This is a fundamentally new type of anti-submarine missile ships designed to detect and destroy enemy submarines, surface targets of any rank, including aircraft carriers, latest generation fighters, cruise missiles and torpedoes. The ships also have powerful enough artillery weapons to support a landing force with fire. The Baltic Fleet now contains 4 copies of the project 20380. These are “Guardian”, “Clever”, “Resistant” and “Boyky”.
The new ships are equipped with powerful weapons, which allows them to fight on equal terms with any enemy. A speed of 24 knots is provided by 4 diesel engines.
Prospects for the development of anti-submarine ships
Based on the modern political map of the world and recent events, the task of ensuring the security of the borders of our homeland comes first in the list of paramount. The threat of nuclear war after the cold not only did not disappear, but, on the contrary, increased, because our country needs anti-submarine ships capable of fighting the potential enemy’s submarines on equal terms.