Loading AI tools
Class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Project 941 Akula (Russian: Акула, meaning 'shark', NATO reporting name Typhoon), was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. With a submerged displacement of 48,000 t (47,000 long tons),[4] the Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built,[7] able to accommodate comfortable living facilities for the crew of 160 when submerged for several months.[8] The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it is often claimed to be related to the use of the word "typhoon" ("тайфун") by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev of the Communist Party in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, as a reaction to the United States Navy's new Ohio-class submarine.[9]
 Project 941 Akula SSBN profile | |
Arkhangelsk submarine under way | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Project 941 Akula |
| Builders | Sevmash, designed by Rubin |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Delta class |
| Succeeded by | Borei class |
| Built | 1976–1989 |
| In service | 1981–2023 |
| Planned | 7 |
| Completed | 6 |
| Cancelled | 1 |
| Laid up | 3[1][2] |
| Retired | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ballistic missile submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 175 m (574 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 23 m (75 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 12 m (39 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed |
|
| Endurance | 120+ days submerged[4] |
| Test depth | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Complement | 160 persons[4] |
| Armament |
|
The Russian Navy cancelled its modernization program in March 2012, stating that modernizing one Typhoon would be as expensive as building two new Borei-class submarines.[10] A total of six boats of the Typhoon class had been built and a seventh was started but never finished.[11] Three boats were decommissioned in the 1990s and were scrapped in the 2000s, another two were decommissioned during the 2000s and are currently inactive. With the announcement that Russia has eliminated the last R-39 Rif (SS-N-20 "Sturgeon") submarine-launched ballistic missiles in September 2012, only one Typhoon remained in service, Dmitriy Donskoi, which was refitted with the more modern RSM-56 Bulava SLBM for testing. She continued to serve until February 2023, when she was decommissioned.
Soviet – subsequently Russian – nuclear submarines are identified by the letter "K" followed by a number (for example, the lead boat of the Yasen class, the Severodvinsk, is K-560). K stands for Cruiser: (Крейсер). The sheer displacement of the Typhoon-class boats, comparable to several aircraft carrier classes, led to their classification as Heavy Cruisers (Тяжелый Крейсер).
Besides their missile armament, the Typhoon class featured six torpedo tubes designed to handle RPK-2 (SS-N-15) missiles or Type 53 torpedoes. A Typhoon-class submarine could stay submerged for 120 days[4] in normal conditions, and potentially more if deemed necessary (e.g., in the case of a nuclear war). Their primary weapons system was composed of 20 R-39 (NATO: SS-N-20) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with a maximum of ten multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle nuclear warheads each. Technically, Typhoons were able to deploy their long-range nuclear missiles while moored at their docks.[12]
Typhoon-class submarines featured multiple pressure hulls which simplifies internal design while making the vessel much wider than a normal submarine. In the main body of the sub, two long pressure hulls lie parallel with a third, smaller pressure hull above them (which protrudes just below the sail), and two other pressure hulls for torpedoes and steering gear. This also greatly increases their survivability – even if one pressure hull is breached, the crew members in the other are safe and there is less potential for flooding. Its ballistic missiles were placed between the two main pressure hulls, their launch tubes enclosed only by the outer, "light" hull.
The Typhoon was capable of traveling at 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) submerged.[13]
The Typhoon class was developed under Project 941 as the Soviet Akula class (Акула), meaning shark. It is sometimes confused with other submarines, as Akula is the name NATO uses to designate the Russian Project 971 Shchuka-B (Щука-Б)-class attack submarines. The project was developed with the objective to match the SLBM armament of Ohio-class submarines, capable of carrying 192 nuclear warheads, 100 kt each, but with significantly longer range. To accommodate this increase in range, Soviet SLBMs were substantially larger and heavier than their American adversaries (the R-39s is more than twice as heavy as the UGM-96 Trident I; it remains the heaviest SLBM to have been in service worldwide). The submarine had to be scaled accordingly.[11]
In the early 1990s, there were also proposals to refit some of the Typhoon-class submarines to submarine cargo vessels for shipping oil, gas and cargo under polar ice to Russia's far flung northern territories. The submarines could take up to 10,000 tonnes (9,800 long tons; 11,000 short tons) of cargo on-board and ship it under the polar ice to tankers waiting in the Barents Sea. These ships – after the considerable engineering required to develop technologies to transfer oil from drilling platforms to the submarines, and later, to the waiting tankers – would then deliver their cargo world-wide.[14]
Six Typhoon-class submarines were built between 1976 and 1985. Originally, the submarines were designated by hull numbers only. Names were later assigned to the four vessels retained by the Russian Navy after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During the time of the Russian Federation, these boats were to be sponsored by either a city or company. The construction order for an additional vessel (hull number TK-210) was cancelled and never completed.
In late December 2008, a senior Navy official announced that the two Typhoon-class submarines, Arkhangelsk and Severstal, that were in reserve would not be rearmed with the new Bulava SLBM missile system. They could potentially yet be modified to carry cruise missiles or to lay mines, or could be used in special operations.[citation needed] In late June 2009, the Navy Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy, told reporters that the two submarines would be reserved for possible future repairs and modernisation.[15] In September 2011, the Russian defense ministry decided to write off all Project 941 Akula nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines until 2014. The reasons for decommissioning the Typhoon-class vessels are the restrictions imposed on Russia by the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and successful trials of the new Borei-class submarine.[16]
Despite being a replacement for many types of submarines, the Borei-class submarines are slightly shorter than the Typhoon class (170 m (560 ft) as opposed to 175 m (574 ft)), and have a smaller crew (107 people as opposed to 160). These changes were in part designed to reduce the cost to build and maintain the submarines. In addition, the United States and Canada provided 80% of funds for scrapping the older Typhoon-class submarines, making it much more economical to build a new submarine.[17]
In 2013, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency announced that the Navy would scrap two Typhoons, beginning in 2018. They were the Arkhangelsk and Severstal.[18] As of 2017, the decision about the scrapping of Archangelsk and Severstal was still not firm.[19]
On 20 July 2022, it was reported that Dmitriy Donskoi was withdrawn from the Russian Navy.[20] This was an earlier-than-expected decommission date, as it was stated in 2021 that the submarine was expected to remain in service until 2026 as a weapons test platform.[21] However, sources suggested in 2022 that the 2026 date was not in the Russian Navy plan.[2] On 6 February 2023, it was reported she was decommissioned.[22]
| # | Name | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fleet | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TK-208 | Dmitriy Donskoi | 30 June 1976 | 27 September 1979 | 23 December 1981 | Northern Fleet | Decommissioned February 6, 2023[23] | |
| TK-202 | 22 April 1978 | 23 September 1982 | 28 December 1983 | Withdrawn from active service in June 1999, scrapped with the financial support of the U.S.[citation needed] | |||
| TK-12 | Simbirsk | 19 April 1980 | 17 December 1983 | 26 December 1984 | Withdrawn from active service in 1996, scrapped 2006–2008[citation needed] | ||
| TK-13 | 23 February 1982 | 30 April 1985 | 26 December 1985 | Withdrawn from active service in 1997, scrapped 2007–2009[24] | |||
| TK-17 | Arkhangelsk | 9 August 1983 | 12 December 1986 | 15 December 1987 | Decommissioned in 2006,[25] or 2013[26] | ||
| TK-20 | Severstal | 27 August 1985 | 11 April 1989 | 19 December 1989[4] | Decommissioned in 2004,[25] or 2013[26] | ||
| TK-210 | 1986 | Unfinished, scrapped on the way | |||||
TK-208 Dmitriy Donskoy (Typhoon #1)
TK-17 Arkhangelsk (Typhoon #5)
TK-20 Severstal (Typhoon #6)
Probably the best-known fictional Typhoon-class submarine is the stealth-equipped Red October (Красный Oктябрь), the subject of the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October and its 1990 movie adaptation, starring Sean Connery as the fictional Captain Marko Ramius.
Another fictional Typhoon-class submarine is the "Mayflower", which is featured prominently in the Sam's Story DLC for the 2019 video game Metro Exodus.
The 2001 documentary Mission Invisible about the Russian submarine Severstal was produced by Corona Films for Discovery Channel with the participation of ZED, France 5, ZDF, RTBF, TV5 Monde and the Scottish Screen Fund.[30][31]
In 2008, National Geographic released a documentary about the scrapping of one of the Typhoons in the series Break It Down.[32] This boat is TK-13, which was scrapped in 2007–2009.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
