The largest submarine in the world. The largest submarines in the world

Since their appearance in the fleets of the whole world, submarines have played a role in the development of all tactics sea ​​battle almost decisive. What is at least worth the legendary German U-35, which sent to the bottom Atlantic Ocean 226 ships and transports, and this was done in just 19 combat missions.

But those ships were very small, and their crew lived in truly Spartan conditions: the maximum comfort they could count on was a seawater shower, which they were provided with regularly, according to at will. As time went on, the ships became more and more impressive. Their underwater relatives have not deviated from this trend either. Not so long ago, the world's largest submarine appeared, which is capable of eclipsing even some surface vessels in its dimensions.

How it was

At the end of September 1980, the “Shark” entered the White Sea. The artist who covered the bow section of the vessel with a beautiful painting depicting a shark and a trident is unknown. Of course, after launching the picture was no longer visible, but among the people the name “Shark” had already firmly entered into everyday use.

All ships of this class were officially called by this name, and a chevron with the image of a grinning shark’s mouth was even introduced for their crews. In the West, these submarines became known as Typhoon. Soon the largest submarine, the Typhoon, became the official rival of the American Ohio.

Yes, in those years our former allies were intensively replenishing their submarine fleet with new vessels... But the Akula was supposed to become not just another boat, but part of the huge and very important Typhoon program. Domestic science and industry received technical specifications for its design back in 1972, and S. N. Kovalev was appointed curator of the project.

But the world's largest submarine is still known throughout the world precisely for its size. Why are all experts shocked by them? Perhaps the ship is not so big?

Legendary dimensions

The official name of one of the remaining ships in our fleet is “Dmitry Donskoy”. So what are the dimensions of the largest submarine? Its total displacement is 27,000 tons, this giant is 170 meters long and 25 meters wide. Its deck is so large that a loaded KAMAZ can easily turn around there. From the keel to the top of the cabin, the height is also 25 meters. For reference: this is the height of an eight-story building, with an improved layout and high ceilings. The remaining two submarines are in no way inferior to the Donskoy.

If the world's largest submarine lifts all retractable devices, then the height is already similar to a nine-story building. No, the famous Tseretelli did not participate in the design of the vessel: these dimensions were simply due to the size of the new high-power intercontinental missiles.

Missile weapons

The new weapon received the Soviet name "Thunder", but in the West they were called Rif. These missiles were significantly superior to the American Trident-I, which were equipped with the Ohio boats, having many best characteristics in terms of flight range and number of multiple warheads, which could penetrate almost any missile defense system.

But you had to pay for such impressive characteristics with no less impressive dimensions. Each rocket not only weighs 84 tons, but also has a diameter of 2.5 meters! The American equivalent weighs 59 tons. With comparable characteristics. So, in fairness, we note that our largest submarine in the world still could not become the “best” in all respects.

Although no, I could. The fact is that the “Shark” is the only missile carrier that can fire at half the globe while being under the ice of the Northern Arctic Ocean. This is something incredible even by today's standards. The fact is that each R-39 missile could hit targets located at a distance of 9000 km: simply put, a missile fired at the North Pole itself could easily reach the equator. Of course, such formidable weapons reached the United States even more so. Since the greatest diving depth of a submarine of this type reached five hundred meters, which was 200 meters higher than the Ohio.

Because of this, the boats did not need to go on long sea voyages: having moved a couple of thousand kilometers away, they could literally “dissolve” in the vastness of the northern seas.

Foreign analogues

It would be foolish to think that the idea of ​​​​creating giant submarines visited the minds of only Soviet designers. What are the largest known submarines peace? Firstly, this is the “Ohio” we mentioned: its length is also 170 meters, but its width is “only” 12 meters. Actually, this is where the list ends. No other country in the world has been able to create anything similar.

Work on the design and training of crews of new ships

Thus, the designers had to completely rework the layout of the ships. At the end of 1973, the resolution to begin work on the project was finally approved. The first boat was laid down at the beginning of 1976, and it was launched on September 23, 1980. In addition to the cyclopean dimensions, the program provided for an absolutely incredible routine for the operation of these facilities.

The secrecy was incredible, there were no leaks at all. So, the Americans actually received a photo of the largest submarine by accident, simply by looking satellite images THE USSR. According to rumors, heads rolled in the military department: looking at such a “whale” under the nose is an unforgivable oversight!

In Obninsk they had to build a giant The educational center with a military camp and complete social infrastructure. Several crews of submariners were supposed to be trained there at once. For each (!) of the seven boats it was supposed to have three sets: two crews were combat crews, who were supposed to work in shifts, and the third was a technical one, responsible for the condition of the mechanisms. Their mode of operation is very unique.

The first set of sailors sails the oceans for three months. Gradually, faults begin to accumulate on the ship. The ship goes to the base, the crew is loaded into comfortable buses (where their families are already waiting for them), and then sent on vacation. The place of “resort-goers” is taken by techies. “Soldering Iron and File” workers carry out a complete diagnosis of all systems, carry out preventive maintenance and eliminate all faults found.

In this way, the Shark - the largest submarine - is like a Formula 1 car in a pit stop. Here they will change your “wheels”, and they can also replace the pilot if necessary.

Routine for the second crew

At this time, the second combat crew, slightly tired from rest, flies to Obninsk. Here they are mercilessly put through all the simulators, and then the sailors, having proven their professional suitability, go to Murmansk. After this, they are sent to the ship, which by that time is in full combat readiness and can go to sea. The process is repeated over and over again.

In general, the conditions for working on these submarines are truly fabulous. Conscript sailors recall that there is a sauna on board, Gym and comfortable cabins. You can serve like this for at least a whole year: psychophysical fatigue is minimal. And this is extremely important for a missile carrier, which can “lie” under the ice of the Northern Ocean for months, camouflaging itself from enemy detection means.

This is what makes Russia's largest submarines unique (today there are three of them left).

Main technical characteristics

The unique missile carriers were powered by two OK-650VV reactors at once, and the power of each of them was 360 MW. The fuel was especially pure uranium dioxide. To understand the power of these power plants, it is enough to know that they could easily ensure the electrification of the entire Murmansk and its suburbs. Their energy turns giant propellers and ensures the functioning of complex onboard systems.

In the navy, the boats also received the nickname “loaf”, since the shape of the hull strongly resembled this bakery product. But this is just the outer shell of a formidable ship. It is needed to reduce resistance as much as possible aquatic environment. Inside the “shell” there is a second, especially durable body of a unique design. No one in the world has done this.

Most of all, it resembles two giant cigars placed next to each other, which are connected to each other through three through passages at once, which are located at the bow, in the center and at the stern. After this, it is not surprising that the largest nuclear submarine at one time was designed by the best engineers of the Union.

Simply put, there are actually two submarines located in one outer hull. For convenience, they are called “left side” and “starboard side”, meaning by this term the entire “cigar” as a whole. The design is also unique in that the “sides” completely duplicate each other: turbines, engines, reactors and even cabins. If everything fails on one half, there is a radiation leak or something similar, the crew will move to the second half and will be able to bring the giant submarine to its home port. Yes, the largest Russian submarines have no analogues in the world.

Housing characteristics

Everything on the right sub is marked with odd numbers. On the left - even. This is done so that the crew simply does not get confused. By the way, all the sailors on board are also called “port specialists” or “starboard specialists”, that is, even the crew on the boat is completely duplicated.

Between the two buildings there remains quite a significant space in which all important equipment is located, which is urgently needed to be protected from exposure high pressure others negative factors environment. Yes, yes, this submarine (the largest, by the way) even has missiles there: they are located between the sides of the “cigars” and in the front part of the wheelhouse (more precisely, in front of it). It's also unique distinguishing feature, since you will not find such a missile armament configuration on any other submarine in the world.

At the same time, the “Shark” seems to “push” its massive weapons in front of itself. Important! When submerged, water fills (!) the space between the sides, and therefore, when moving, has a huge impact on the maneuverability of the vessel. This allows not only to save engine life, but also... to incredibly reduce noise levels.

About how the whale fell in love with Shark

What else is characteristic of this submarine? The biggest is good, but Americans are afraid of these ships for a completely different reason.

Since the advent of submarines, what their crews have been most afraid of is the noise that occurs during the operation of systems and mechanisms. The noises unmask the ship and give it away to the enemy Navy. “Shark” with its double hull became a champion not only in size, but also in extreme low level noise produced during operation. In one case, the result was completely unexpected... Somewhere near Spitsbergen, a female whale circled around the submarine for a long time, mistaking it for her beau.

The acousticians, laughing and joking, recorded her love serenades on tape. In addition, killer whales sometimes rub against the Sharks’ hulls, emitting interested trills. Even world-famous ichthyologists became interested in this phenomenon. They came to the conclusion that the combination of engine noise and the resonant sounds of masses of water splashing inside the outer hull somehow attracts marine life.

Of course, the largest Russian submarine was clearly not designed with the goal of seducing female whales and playing with killer whales, but the effect was still extremely interesting.

Once again about the living conditions of sailors

Even compared to surface ships, living conditions on the Sharks were simply unimaginably good. Perhaps, only the fictional “Nautilus” by Jules Verne could compete with the domestic submarine. It was jokingly nicknamed the “floating hotel.”

There was no effort to save weight and dimensions when designing the boat, and therefore the crew lived in luxurious cabins for two, four and six places, which were furnished no worse than a hotel room. The sports complex was also amazing: a huge gym, many exercise machines and treadmills.

Not every surface combatant has four showers and nine latrines either. Up to ten people could wash in the sauna, the walls of which were lined with oak boards. And there was even a four-meter-long swimming pool on board. What is characteristic is that even conscripts could use all this wealth, which is generally something unthinkable for our army.

A stab in the back, or the current state of affairs

Western countries were simply terrified of these missile carriers. Of course, after the collapse of the Union, a bunch of “partners” appeared who immediately convinced the government to cut three unique ships into metal. The seventh side of the TK-210, laid down at the shipyards, was completely barbarically stolen, deciding not to complete construction. The huge sums of money and titanic labor that the people of the USSR spent on creating these incredible machines were actually splashed out on cold water Northern Ocean.

And the disposal took place even though the military and designers were almost begging to create floating supply bases for northern cities based on submarines. Alas, today only the Dmitry Donskoy, which was converted to carry Bulava missiles, continues to serve. They do not pose any danger to the United States. The cruisers TK-17 Arkhangelsk and TK-20 Severstal are awaiting either disposal or an equally meaningless modernization.

What did the Americans do with their Ohio? Of course, no one began to saw them. The boats are undergoing planned modernization and are being equipped with new cruise missiles. The US government does not intend to throw away technologies that have spent so much time and effort creating.

By the beginning of the 70s, the main participants nuclear race The USSR and the USA quite rightly relied on the development of a nuclear submarine fleet equipped with intercontinental ballistic missiles. As a result of this confrontation, the world's largest submarine was born.

Opposing parties began creating nuclear-powered heavy missile cruisers. American project - Nuclear submarine type"Ohio" assumed the deployment of 24 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Our answer was the Project 941 submarine, provisionally named “Akula”, better known as “Typhoon”.

History of creation

Outstanding Soviet designer S. N. Kovalev

The development of Project 941 was entrusted to the team of the Leningrad TsKBMT Rubin, which was led by the outstanding Soviet designer Sergei Nikitovich Kovalev for several decades in a row. The construction of the boats was carried out at the Sevmash enterprise in Severodvinsk. In all respects, it was one of the most ambitious Soviet military projects, still stunning in its scale.

“Akula” owes its second name - “Typhoon” to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L. I. Brezhnev. This is how he presented it to the delegates of the next party congress and to the rest of the world in 1981, which fully corresponded to its all-destructive potential.

Layout and dimensions

The size and layout of the nuclear underwater giant deserve special attention. Under the shell of the light hull there was an unusual “catamaran” of 2 strong hulls located in parallel. For the torpedo compartment and the central post with the adjacent radio-technical weapons compartment, sealed capsule-type compartments were created.

All 19 compartments of the boat communicated with each other. The horizontal folding rudders of the “Shark” were located in the bow of the boat. In case it surfaced from under the ice, provisions were made to significantly strengthen the conning tower with a rounded lid and special reinforcements.

“Shark” amazes with its gigantic size. It is not for nothing that it is considered the largest submarine in the world: its length - almost 173 meters - corresponds to two football fields. As for the underwater displacement, there was also a record here - about 50 thousand tons, which is almost three times more corresponding characteristic American "Ohio".

Characteristics

To propel this monster, it was equipped with two 190-megawatt nuclear reactors, which drove two turbines with a power of about 50 thousand hp. The boat moved thanks to two 7-bladed propellers with a diameter of more than 5.5 meters.

The “combat vehicle crew” consisted of 160 people, more than a third of whom were officers. The creators of the “Shark” showed truly fatherly concern for the living conditions of the crew. For officers, 2- and 4-berth cabins were provided. Sailors and foremen were located in small cubicles with washbasins and televisions. All living areas were supplied with air conditioning. In their free time off duty, crew members could visit the pool, sauna, gym or relax in the “living” corner.

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Story

Project 941 "Shark" (SSBN "Typhoon" according to NATO classification) - Soviet heavy missile submarine cruisers strategic purpose(TRPKSN). Developed at one of the leading Soviet enterprises in the field of submarine design, at the Rubin design bureau, in St. Petersburg. The development order was issued in December 1972. Project 941 nuclear submarines are the largest in the world and are still among the most powerful.
In December 1972, a tactical and technical specification for the design was issued, and S. N. Kovalev was appointed chief designer of the project. The new type of submarine cruiser was positioned as a response to the US construction of Ohio-class SSBNs (the first boats of both projects were laid down almost simultaneously in 1976). The dimensions of the new ship were determined by the dimensions of the new solid-fuel three-stage intercontinental ballistic missiles R-39 (RSM-52), with which it was planned to arm the boat. Compared to the Trident-I missiles, which were equipped with the American Ohio, the R-39 missile had better flight range characteristics, throw weight and had 10 blocks versus 8 for the Trident. However, the R-39 turned out to be almost twice as long and three times as heavy as its American counterpart. The standard SSBN layout was not suitable for accommodating such large missiles. On December 19, 1973, the government decided to begin work on the design and construction of a new generation of strategic missile carriers.

TK-208 is the first submarine built of this type. It was laid down at the Sevmash enterprise in June 1976. Her launch took place on September 23, 1980. Before the ship was launched, an image of a shark was painted on the bow. Then shark stripes began to appear on crew uniforms. Although the project was started later than American project, the cruiser still entered sea trials a month earlier than the American Ohio (July 4, 1981). TK-208 entered service on December 12, 1981. In total, from 1981 to 1989, 6 Akula-type boats were built and launched. The planned seventh ship was never completed.
For the first time, Leonid Brezhnev announced the creation of the “Shark” series at the 26th Congress of the CPSU, saying: “The Americans have created a new submarine “Ohio” with Trident-I missiles.” We also have a similar system - “Typhoon”. Brezhnev called the “Shark” “Typhoon” for a reason; he did this in order to mislead his Cold War opponents.
To ensure reloading of missiles and torpedoes, in 1986 the diesel-electric transport-missile carrier “Alexander Brykin” of Project 11570 with a total displacement of 16,000 tons was built.
On September 27, 1991, during a training launch in the White Sea on the TK-17 Arkhangelsk, a training rocket exploded and burned out in the silo. The explosion blew off the mine cover and combat unit rockets - thrown into the sea. The crew was not injured during the incident; the boat was forced to undergo minor repairs.
In 1998, the Northern Fleet underwent tests, during which 20 R-39 missiles were launched simultaneously.

Chief designer of the project Sergey Nikitich Kovalev

Sergei Nikitich Kovalev (August 15, 1919, Petrograd - February 24, 2011, St. Petersburg) - general designer of Soviet nuclear-powered strategic submarine cruisers. Twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1963, 1974), laureate of the Lenin Prize (1965) and State Prize USSR, Russian Federation (1978, 2007), holder of four Orders of Lenin (1963, 1970, 1974, 1984), holder of the Order of the October Revolution (1979), full member Russian Academy Sciences (1991, USSR Academy of Sciences - since 1981), Doctor of Technical Sciences.

Biography

Sergei Nikitich Kovalev was born on August 15, 1919 in the city of Petrograd.
In 1937-1942 he studied at the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute. Because of the Great Patriotic War, he completed his studies at the Nikolaev Shipbuilding Institute.
In 1943, after graduating from the institute, he was assigned to work at the Central Design Bureau No. 18 (later became known as the Central Design Bureau of Marine Equipment "Rubin"). In 1948 he was transferred to SKB-143 to the position of assistant chief designer. Since 1954, he became the chief designer of the Project 617 steam and gas turbine boat.
Since 1958, he has been the Chief (later General) designer of nuclear submarines and strategic submarine cruisers of projects 658, 658M, 667A, 667B, 667BD, 667BDR, 667BDRM and 941. At Sevmash, only according to Kovalev’s designs, 73 submarines were built. IN total 92 submarines were built according to all Kovalev’s projects.
Sergei Nikitich Kovalev died in St. Petersburg at the age of 92.

Awards

Honorary titles

Orders and medals

Awards

Design

The power plant of the submarines was made in the form of two independent echelons, located in two different, fortified buildings. The reactors were equipped with an automatic shutdown system in the event of loss of power supply, and to monitor the condition of the reactors, the submarine was equipped with pulse equipment. Also, during the design, the TTZ included a clause on ensuring a safe radius; for this purpose, methods for calculating the dynamic strength of complex hull components (fastening modules, pop-up cameras and containers, inter-hull connections) were developed and tested by experiments in experimental compartments.
To build the Sharks, a completely new workshop No. 55 was specially built at Sevmash, which became the largest indoor boathouse in the world. The ships of this project have a large reserve of buoyancy - more than 40%. In a fully submerged state, exactly half of the displacement is accounted for by ballast water, for which the boats received the unofficial name “water carrier” in the navy, and in the competing design bureau “Malachite” - “a victory of technology over common sense" One of the reasons for this decision was the requirement for the developers to ensure the smallest draft of the ship to be able to use existing piers and repair bases. Also, it is the large reserve of buoyancy, coupled with a durable deckhouse, that allows the boat to break through ice up to 2.5 meters thick, which for the first time made it possible to conduct combat duty in high latitudes right up to the North Pole.

Crew conditions

On the Sharks, the crew members are provided with not just good, but unimaginably good living conditions for submarines. For its unprecedented comfort, the Sharks were nicknamed the “floating hotel,” and sailors call the Shark the “floating Hilton.” When designing the Project 941 submarines, apparently, they did not particularly strive to save weight and dimensions, and the crew was housed in 2-berth, 4-berth and 6-berth cabins lined with wood-like plastic, with desks, bookshelves, and lockers for clothes. , washbasins and televisions.
The “Shark” also has a special recreation complex: a gym with a wall bars, a horizontal bar, a punching bag, exercise bikes and rowing machines, and treadmills. True, some of this did not work from the very beginning. It also has four showers, as well as nine latrines, which is also very significant. The oak-paneled sauna was, generally speaking, designed for five people, but if you tried, it could accommodate ten. There was also a small pool on the boat: 4 meters long, two meters wide and two meters deep.

Representatives

TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy"

TK-208 "Dmitry Donskoy"- heavy strategic missile submarine cruiser project 941 "Akula", armed with ballistic missiles, designed to attack missile strikes at strategically important enemy military-industrial facilities. Modified according to project 941UM. Equipped with the Bulava missile system with 6 hypersonic nuclear warheads. "Dmitry Donskoy" is the fastest of all ships in the series, it exceeded the previous speed record of Project 941 "Akula" by two knots.

Ship history

Specifications

Main weapons

TK-202

TK-202- Project 941 Akula heavy strategic missile submarine. The second ship in this series.

Ship history

Specifications

Main weapons

TK-12 "Simbirsk"

TK-12 "Simbirsk"- Project 941 Akula heavy strategic missile submarine. The third ship in this series.

Ship history

Specifications

Main weapons

TK-13

TK-13- Project 941 Akula heavy strategic missile submarine. The fourth ship in this series.

Ship history

Specifications

Main weapons

TK-17 "Arkhangelsk"

TK-17 "Arkhangelsk"- Project 941 Akula heavy strategic missile submarine. The fifth ship in this series.

Ship history

Specifications

Main weapons

TK-20 "Severstal"

TK-20 "Severstal"- Project 941 Akula heavy strategic missile submarine. The sixth ship in this series.

Ship history

Specifications

Main weapons

TK-210

TK-210- Project 941 Akula heavy strategic missile submarine. It was planned to be laid down in 1986 at Sevmash under serial number 728. It was supposed to be the seventh ship in the series, but due to the SALT-1 agreement, construction was canceled, and the finished hull structures were dismantled for metal in 1990.

Comparative assessment of project 941 "Shark"

The US Navy has only one series of strategic boats in service, which belong to the third generation - the Ohio. A total of 18 Ohio-class submarines were built, of which 4 were converted to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles. The first nuclear submarines of this series entered service simultaneously with the Soviet Sharks. Due to the possibility of subsequent modernization inherent in the Ohio, including with mines, extra space and replaceable cups, they use one type of ballistic missiles - Trident II D-5 instead of the original Trident I C-4. In terms of the number of missiles and their number, the Ohio is superior to both the Soviet Sharks and the Russian Borei.

"Ohio", in contrast to Project 941 "Shark", are intended for combat duty in the open ocean in warm latitudes, in the case where "Sharks" are often on duty in the Arctic, while being in the relatively shallow waters of the shelf and, in addition, under a layer of ice, which has a significant impact on boat design. In particular, for Sharks, sea temperatures above +10 °C can cause significant mechanical problems. Among US Navy submariners, diving in shallow waters under the Arctic ice is considered very risky.

The predecessors of the "Sharks" - submarines of projects 667A, 670, 675 and their modifications, were nicknamed "roaring cows" by the American military due to their increased noise; their combat duty areas were located off the coast of the United States - in the coverage area of ​​​​powerful anti-submarine formations, moreover they had to overcome the NATO anti-submarine line between Greenland, Iceland and Great Britain.
In the USSR and Russia, the main part of the nuclear triad consists of ground-based rocket troops strategic purpose.
After the acceptance of strategic submarines of the Akula type into service in the USSR Navy, the United States agreed to sign the proposed SALT-2 treaty, and the United States also allocated funds under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program for the disposal of half of the Akulas with a simultaneous extension service life of their American “peers” until 2023-2026.
On December 3-4, 1997, in the Barents Sea, during the dismantling of missiles under the START-1 treaty by shooting from the Akula nuclear submarines, an incident occurred: while the US delegation was observing the shooting from aboard a Russian vessel, a multi-purpose nuclear submarine of the type Los Angeles maneuvered near the nuclear submarine Akula, approaching at a distance of up to 4 km. The US Navy boat left the firing area after warning detonation of two depth charges.

Construction of heavy nuclear-powered strategic missile cruisers of Project 941 “Akula” ( international classification"Typhoon") was a kind of response to the construction of US nuclear submarines of the " Ohio", armed with 24 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In the USSR, the development of a project for a new class of submarines began later than the Americans. The designers were faced with a difficult technical task - to place 24 missiles weighing almost 100 tons each on board. After many studies, it was decided to place the missiles between two durable hulls. As a result, the first Akula submarine was built in record time - in 5 years.

In September 1980, unusually large soviet submarine the height of a nine-story building and the length of almost two football fields touched the water for the first time. Delight, joy, fatigue - the participants in that event experienced different feelings, but everyone was united by one thing - pride in a great common cause. Mooring and sea trials were carried out in record time. The tests took place not only in the White Sea, but also in the area North Pole. There were no operational failures during the period of missile firing. During construction nuclear submarines class " Typhoon“The latest achievements in the creation of shipborne radio-electronic equipment and noise reduction were applied. Submarines of this project are equipped with a pop-up rescue chamber designed for the entire crew.

heavy nuclear-powered strategic missile cruiser "Akula"

Interestingly, the total underwater displacement submarine "Shark""is about 50,000 tons. Moreover, exactly half of this weight is ballast water, which is why it was dubbed a “water carrier.” This is the price of the transition from liquid hot to solid fuel, which has not been fully thought out for the Russian submarine fleet. As a result, the project Shark" became the largest submarine in the world and is included in the Guinness Book of Records. For the construction of nuclear submarines, a new workshop was specially built at the Northern Engineering Enterprise - the largest indoor boathouse in the world. The first Project 941 submarine code "TK-208" was laid down at the shipyard of the shipbuilding enterprise in 1976, launched on September 23, 1980, and entered service at the end of 1981. Then five more submarines were built and one of them was nuclear submarine « Dmitry Donskoy». Nuclear submarine"TK-210", laid down in 1986, was never put into operation and was dismantled in 1990 due to the high cost of the project.

dates of laying, launching and commissioning of Project 941 submarines

Design Project 941 submarine made according to the “catamaran” type: two separate durable hulls are located in a horizontal plane parallel to each other. In addition, there are two separate sealed capsule compartments - a torpedo compartment and a control module located between the main buildings in the center plane, which houses the central post and the radio-technical weapons compartment located behind it. The missile compartment is located between the pressure hulls at the front of the ship. Both housings and capsule compartments are connected to each other by transitions. The total number of waterproof compartments is nineteen. The central post compartment and its light fencing are shifted towards the stern nuclear submarine. The robust hull, central post and torpedo compartment are made of titanium alloy, and the lightweight hull is made of steel (its surface is coated with a special hydroacoustic rubber coating, which increases stealth submarines). Submarine "Shark""has a developed stern tail. The front horizontal rudders are located in the bow of the hull and fold. The cabin is equipped with powerful ice reinforcements and a rounded roof, which serves to break the ice during ascent.

Conditions of increased comfort have been created for the boat crew. The officers were placed in relatively spacious two- and four-berth cabins with washbasins, televisions and air conditioning, while the sailors and petty officers were housed in small cockpits. Submarine « Shark“received a gym, swimming pool, solarium, sauna, relaxation room, “living corner” and other premises.

According to domestic press reports, existing plans for the development of strategic nuclear forces Russia envisages modernization Project 941 nuclear submarines with the replacement of the D-19 missile system with a new one. If this is true, submarine "Shark""has every chance of remaining in service until 2010. In the future, it is possible to convert part of the 941 project into transport nuclear submarines designed for the transportation of goods along transpolar and cross-polar routes, the shortest route connecting Europe, North America and other countries. The cargo compartment built in place of the missile compartment will be capable of accepting up to 10,000 tons of cargo.

the largest submarine in the world photo

nuclear submarine "Shark" parked

on a barrel

submarine "Shark" on a combat mission

submarine "Shark" on the surface

During cold war, in the 70s, another race began between the USSR and the USA to see who would be the first to master a nuclear submarine fleet. Having something like this would give a significant advantage to one side or the other. And it was precisely thanks to the tenacity of the designers, driven by military forces, that the largest submarine.

The Americans established their position with the help of a nuclear-powered missile cruiser called the Ohio, which had about 24 missiles with nuclear warheads. This forced Russian craftsmen to take on a more powerful project, called 941 “Shark”, but foreign media dubbed it “Typhoon”.

Until now, the submarine, which has become the largest in the world, is considered the most successful and large-scale project that has ever been implemented on the territory of the USSR. It had 19 compartments, each of which was accessible to visitors. It was even possible to ascend in incredibly cold conditions, that is, from under the ice, which explains the powerful sealing of the cabin and its well-thought-out protection.

It is not for nothing that the largest nuclear submarine received such a title, because its length is over 173 meters. Most a shining example, given for the size ratio, is a football field. In length, "Typhoon" occupies two such sports grounds. But she also managed to impress with her displacement - more than 50 thousand tons, which is twice as much as that of the Ohio, created by American craftsmen.

They were comparable only in speed - both submarines could develop 24 knots at their maximum efforts. There is no exact data regarding the autonomy of the Ohio, but the Russian creation could remain in the waters of the world’s oceans for at least six months, without refueling or the need to replenish provisions. Everything was included and provided.

The Typhoon was set in motion only thanks to two nuclear reactors, which generated the necessary energy for the turbines corresponding to each of them. The crew serving the ship consisted of 150 people, a significant part of whom were officers. Were created for them best conditions– spacious cabins for two or four persons. The sailors had their own small cubicles and rooms. It is worth considering that even in them, each had its own washbasins and televisions. The crew spent most of their time on watch, and during free periods they had the opportunity to go to the gym, visit the sauna or swimming pool, which was equipped inside the submarine.

In the event of an alarm and instructions received that fighting allowed, the enemy could feel the successive explosion of two dozen nuclear missiles, which would easily turn several coastal American states. It is because of this that the “Shark” was once renamed “Typhoon”. It is worth considering that in addition to missiles, the steel-clad boat also had at its disposal about three dozen torpedoes.

Exactly six such underwater structures were manufactured within the framework of Project 941, from 1976 to 1988, each of which is still suitable for action. Three are in use, two are in reserve and one allows testing of new weapons being developed.