Project 971 - a series of multi-purpose nuclear submarines: characteristics

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Submarines have long been the main strike force of our fleet and a means of countering a potential enemy. The reason for this is simple: historically, our country did not work out with aircraft carriers, but missiles launched from under the water are guaranteed to hit any point on the globe. That is why, even in the Soviet Union, great importance was attached to the development and creation of new types of submarines. At one time, project 971 became a real breakthrough, within the framework of which multi-purpose low-noise ships were created.

New Pike

In 1976, it was decided to design and build new submarines. The task was entrusted to the well-known enterprise "Malachite", on which the country's nuclear fleet has always counted. The peculiarity of the new project is that during its development the developments on the Barracudas were fully used, and therefore the stage of preliminary design and many calculations were skipped, which significantly reduced the cost of the project itself and accelerated the work carried out within its framework.

Unlike the "ancestors" of the 945 family, project 971,at the suggestion of engineers from Komsomolsk-on-Amur, did not involve the use of titanium in the production of hulls. This was due not only to the enormous cost and shortage of this metal, but also to the monstrous laboriousness of working with it. In fact, only Sevmash, whose capacities were already fully loaded, could pull off such a project. The first components have already been sent to the stocks … as intelligence provided information about the new American Los Angeles-class submarine. Because of this, project 971 was urgently sent for revision.

Already in 1980, it was fully completed. Another feature of the new "Pike" was that most of the work on their design and creation was carried out in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Prior to that, the Pacific shipyards were in the position of "poor relative" and performed only the functions of slaves.

Other features of the project

Few people know about this historical fact, but at the very beginning of the 80s, our country purchased Toshiba products from Japan - especially precise metalworking machines that made it possible to make new screws that produce a minimum of noise during operation. The deal itself was especially secret, but the United States, which by that time had practically "colonized" Japan, found out about it almost immediately. As a result, Toshiba even came under economic sanctions.

Thanks to the propellers and some other design features, the Project 971 was remarkably quiet in navigation. This is largely the merit of Academician A. N. Krylov, who worked for several years on reducing the noise of submarines, beinginvolved in the creation of "Barracuda". The efforts of the honored academician and the whole team of the research institute headed by him did not go unrewarded: the boats of project 971 "Pike-B" were several times less noisy than the newest American "Los Angeles".

Assignment of new submarines

The new submarines were able to adequately meet any enemy, as their striking weapons and their diversity amazed even worldly-wise Mormans. The thing is that "Pike-B" had to destroy surface and underwater vessels, lay mines, conduct reconnaissance and sabotage raids, participate in special operations … In a word, do everything to justify the characteristic "multi-purpose submarine of project 971" Shchuka- B"".

Innovative solutions and ideas

As we said, the original design of submarines of this type had to be significantly corrected. The only weak link of our submarines in comparison with their American counterparts was the lack of a digital interference filtering system. But in terms of general combat characteristics, the new "Pikes" still greatly surpassed them. For example, they were armed with the latest Granat anti-ship missiles, which, if necessary, made it possible to greatly thin out any enemy surface ship grouping.

But already after the “finishing with a file” in 1980, the Pike still received the Skat-3 digital jamming complex, as well as the latest guidance systems that allowed the use of the most advanced cruise missiles. For the first time, a comprehensive automation of combat controls and theweapons, a special pop-up capsule was massively introduced into the design to save the entire crew, which was successfully tested on the Barracudas.

Design features

Like all the main USSR submarines of this class, Project 971 submarines used the now classic double-hull scheme. For the first time in the history of "underwater" shipbuilding, the experience of block articulation of submarine fragments was widely used, which made it possible to perform most of the work in comfortable workshop conditions. Zonal units of equipment were also widely used, which, after installation, were simply connected to centralized data buses.

How did you manage to reduce the noise level?

In addition to the special propellers that we have already mentioned, special damping systems are used. Firstly, all mechanisms are installed on special "foundations". Secondly, each zone block has another cushioning system. Such a scheme made it possible not only to significantly reduce the volume of noise generated by the submarine, but also to additionally protect the crew and equipment of the submarine from the action of shock waves generated during explosions of depth charges. So our fleet, for which submarines have almost always been the main striking force, has received a weighty "argument" for deterring a potential enemy.

Like all modern submarines, "Pikes" have a developed tail plumage with an outstanding boule, which houses the towed antenna of the radar complex. The peculiarity of the plumage of these boats is thatthat it is made, as it were, a single whole with the power elements of the main body. All this is done in order to minimize the number of turbulences as much as possible. The latter can lead enemy hydroacoustics onto the trail of the ship. These measures have paid off: Pike are considered the most inconspicuous underwater vessels to date.

Submarine dimensions and crew

The surface displacement of the ship is 8140 tons, underwater - 10 500 tons. The maximum length of the hull is 110.3 m, the width does not exceed 13.6 m. The average draft on the surface is close to ten meters.

Due to the fact that various solutions for integrated automation of its control were massively applied in the design of the boat, the crew was reduced to 73 people compared to the American 143 crew members (at Los Angeles). If we compare the new Pike with the previous varieties of this family, then the living and working conditions of the crew have been significantly improved. By reducing the number of the latter, it also became possible to place people in the two most protected compartments (residential).

Power plant

The heart of the ship is a 190 MW reactor. It has four steam generators and one turbine, the controls and mechanization of which are repeatedly duplicated. The power delivered to the shaft is 50,000 hp. With. The screw is seven-blade, with a special section of the blades and a reduced rotation speed. The maximum speed of the ship under water, if translated into understandable"Land" values exceed 60 km/h! Simply put, the boat can move through dense environments faster than many sports yachts, not to mention heavy warships. The thing is that the hulls of the boats were developed by a whole "battalion" of academicians with numerous works in the field of hydrodynamics.

Means of detecting enemy ships

The real highlight of the new "Pike" was the complex MGK-540 "Skat-3". He can not only filter out interference, but also independently detect the bearing of noise from the propellers of any ship. In addition, Skat can be used as a conventional sonar when passing unfamiliar fairways. The detection range of enemy submarines has tripled compared to submarines of previous generations. In addition, "Scat" determines the characteristics of the pursued targets much faster and gives a forecast for the time of combat contact.

A unique feature of any Project 971 submarine is an installation that allows you to detect any surface ship by the wake it leaves. The equipment calculates the waves diverging from it even several hours after the ship passes through this square, which makes it possible to covertly track enemy ship groups at a safe distance from them.

Weapon characteristics

The main strike force is four 533 mm caliber rocket and torpedo tubes. But four more 650 mm TA mounts look much more impressive. In total, up to 40 missiles and / or torpedoes can be on board the submarine. "Pike" can firemissiles "Granat", as well as "Shkval", equally effective in underwater and surface positions. Of course, it is possible to fire conventional torpedoes and launch automatic mines from torpedo tubes, which are independently placed in a firing position.

In addition, with the help of this submarine, you can also set up ordinary minefields. So the range of means of destruction is very wide. When cruise missiles are launched, they are guided and tracked in a fully automatic mode, without diverting the attention of the crew from performing other combat missions. Alas, in 1989, after the conclusion of agreements with the Americans that were extremely unfavorable for our country, Project 971 submarines went on combat duty without Grenades and Whirlwinds, since these weapons could carry a nuclear charge.

The significance of "Pike" for domestic shipbuilding

As we said, these submarines became the first independent project of the shipyards of the Far East, which for the first time received a state order of such complexity and importance. The boat K-284, which became the flagship of the series, was laid down in 1980 and entered service with the fleet four years later. During construction, minor corrections were quickly made to the design, which were regularly used in the creation of all subsequent submarines.

Already during the first tests, sailors and members of the Ministry of Defense were delighted with how quiet the submarine turned out to be. These indicators were so good that they made it possible to speak with full confidence aboutthe emergence of Soviet shipbuilding to a fundamentally new level. Western military advisers fully agreed with this, who recognized the Pike as a new class of weapon and assigned them the Akula code.

Due to their features, Project 971 submarines can overcome anti-submarine defenses in depth equipped with standard acoustic detection tools. Given the powerful weapons, the submarine may well stand up for itself even if it is discovered.

Even in the zone of enemy domination, quiet and inconspicuous Project 971 nuclear submarines can inflict significant losses on the enemy, up to shelling coastal targets with nuclear weapons. "Pikes" are quite capable of surface and submarine ships, as well as the destruction of strategically important command centers, even if they are located at a considerable distance from the coastal zone.

The significance of the Pike-B project for our country

The appearance of the nuclear submarine of project 971 confused the Americans all the cards. Prior to this, they quite rightly considered their offensive surface forces to be the strongest in the world, and the Soviet fleet, which had significantly fewer surface ships, was rated rather low by their experts. "Pikes" have reached a whole new level of play. They can safely work even deep behind enemy lines, going beyond anti-submarine defense lines. In the event of a full-scale war, not a single command center is immune from a nuclear strike from under the water, and it’s not even worth talking about a full-scale cutting of sea lanes of communication.

Any offensive operation of a potential enemyin such conditions it turns into an analogue of a dance in a minefield, and one can forget about the surprise of an attack. The US leadership "Pikes" (especially modernized ones) are very worried. Already in 2000, they repeatedly made attempts to legislate an agreement on a strong restriction of their use, but the interests of the Russian Federation do not have such "mutually beneficial" agreements.

Modifications and further development of the project

Subsequently, the "Pike" (project 971) was repeatedly improved, especially in terms of sonar ste alth. Particularly different from others are the Vepr and Dragon ships, built according to an individual project 971U. They are immediately noticeable by the modified contours of the hull. The latter was lengthened by four meters at once, which made it possible to regularly place additional equipment for direction finding and apply new design solutions aimed at reducing the noise level. Displacement in the surface and submerged positions has increased by more than one and a half tons.

The power plant powered by the OK-650B3 reactor has also changed significantly. The changes were so obvious that the new nuclear-powered multi-purpose submarine was immediately dubbed Improved Akula in the foreign media. According to the same project, four more submarines were to be built, but in the end, only two of them were laid down and created at the shipyards. The first of them, K-335 "Gepard", was generally built according to the special project 971M, which provided for the use of the latest achievements of the radio-electronic industry in the design.

This boat has generally become for Westernnaval sailors known as Akula II, as its differences from the basic design were striking. The second completed submarine, also known as the K-152 Nerpa, was also created according to a special project 971I, originally intended to be leased to the Indian Navy. Basically, the "Nerpa" differs from its "brothers" in the most simplified electronic filling, in which there are no secret components.

Continuity of generations

Initially, all boats of this series had only an index, not designated by proper names. But in 1990, K-317 received the name "Panther". It was given in honor of the submarine of the Russian Empire, which was the first to open a combat account. Later, the "birthday girl" was the nuclear submarine "Tigr" of project 971. Soon, all submarines of this family also received proper names, echoing the designations of the ships that were part of the Imperial and Soviet Navy. The only exception that project 971 has is Kuzbass. Previously, this ship was called "Walrus". At first, it was named after one of the first submarines of the Empire, but later it was commemorated by Soviet sailors.

But the most significant were the nuclear submarines produced at Sevmash. Their entire series was codenamed "Bars". For this, all the submarines of the project received the nickname "cats" in the West.

Semi-combat work

During the NATO aggression against Serbia in 1996, the K-461 "Wolf" was on combat duty in the Mediterranean Sea. American hydroacoustics managed to detect its location during the passage of the Strait of Gibr altar, but our submariners managed to get away from them. Rediscover"Wolf" succeeded only directly off the coast of Yugoslavia. In this military campaign, the nuclear submarine covered the domestic aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" from potential aggressive actions of "Western partners". At the same time, the Volk was conducting covert surveillance of six NATO nuclear submarines, including one submarine of the “competing” Los Angeles class.

In the same year, another "Pike-B", under the command of A. V. Burilichev, was on combat duty in the waters of the Atlantic. There, the crew discovered a US Navy SSBN and then covertly escorted the ship throughout its combat duty. If it were in a war, the American missile carrier would go to the bottom. The command understood all this very well, and therefore Burilichev immediately after the "business trip" received the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. This is another evidence of the high combat qualities and ste alth of any Project 971 boat.

About cases of appendicitis at sea…

At the end of February of the same 1996, an anecdotal incident occurred at all. Then large-scale exercises of the NATO fleet were just being held. The order of anti-submarine ships had just managed to get in touch with the command and report on the absence of potential enemy submarines along the course of the convoy … A few minutes later, the commander of the Russian submarine contacted the British ships. And soon the "hero of the occasion" herself surfaced in front of the stunned British sailors.

The crew reported that one of the sailors was in serious condition due to bursting appendicitis. Under the conditions of the submarine, the success of the operation was not guaranteed, and therefore the captain acceptedan unprecedented decision to communicate with foreign colleagues. The patient was quickly loaded onto an English helicopter and sent to the hospital. What the British sailors felt at that moment, who had just reported on the absence of enemy submarines, is hard to imagine. What is even more interesting, they could not then detect the boat of the project 971 of the old series! Since then, Project 971 Shark has been deeply respected by the Royal Navy.

The current state of affairs

Currently, all submarines of this series are in service, serving in the Pacific and Northern Fleets. The Nerpa mentioned above is in service with the Indian Navy and, under the terms of the contract, will stay there until 2018. It is possible that after that the Indians will prefer to extend the contract, as they highly appreciate the combat qualities of the Russian submarine.

By the way, the Indian Navy called the Nerpa Chakra. It is interesting that earlier the boat 670 Skat had exactly the same name, which also served India on a leasing basis from 1988 to 1992. All the sailors who served there have become real professionals in their field, and some officers from the first Chakra have already managed to rise to the rank of admiral. Whatever it was, but the Russian "Pike" today are actively used in the difficult task of combat duty and serve as one of the guarantors of the state sovereignty of our country.

Today, when the fleet begins to gradually recover after the 90s, there is already talk that fifth-generation nuclear submarines should be based precisely ondevelopment of project 971, since the vessels of this series have repeatedly proved their promise. The "Pikes" themselves correspond in their parameters to fourth-generation submarines. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that they repeatedly deceived the SOSUS hydroacoustic detection system, which at one time created many problems for Soviet sailors.