Today - March 19 - submariners celebrate their professional holiday - people who know firsthand what real trust, the shoulder of a friend and mutual assistance are.
The holiday was established about twenty one years ago. On June 15, 1996, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral of the Fleet Felix Nikolayevich Gromov, signed order No. 253, in accordance with which a professional holiday was established - the Day of the Submariner.
March 19 was chosen as the date of the holiday, because on this day in 1906, Emperor Nicholas II introduced a new class of warships - submarines - into the navy. In the same year, 10 submarines were included in the Russian fleet. Thus, Russia was one of the first countries in the world to acquire a submarine fleet. Moreover, the fleet, which soon the Russian Empire had to test in the course of real war conditions.
In 1912, the implementation of a program for the construction of a series of submarines, called "Bars", was launched. The chief designer of the submarines of that project was the remarkable ship engineer and mathematician Ivan Bubnov.
Under his leadership, the production of submarines itself was launched - at the plant of the Noblessner society in Reval (now Tallinn) and at the Baltic plant in St. Petersburg.
The submarines created at the Baltic shipyard received the following names: "Bars", "Vepr", Wolf "," Cheetah "," Snake "," Unicorn. "And the last two - for the Far East. - "Lioness", "Tiger", "Caguar", "Tour", "Ide", "Leopard", "Jaguar", "Panther", "Ruff", "Trout", "Lynx", "Eel". Here for the Far East - the last four, the rest - for operation in the Baltic.
The displacement of each of the submarines was 650 tons (surface) and 780 tons (underwater). Maximum diving depth - 100 m. Crew - 34 people. Submarines took part in the events of the First World War. In particular, they were used for reconnaissance purposes, to cover the mine-barrage operations of the surface fleet.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the 4 fleets of the USSR had 212 submarines. This war for the Soviet submarine fleet became a real test of "strength".
Soviet submariners had to fight in very harsh conditions. The complexity of the conduct of hostilities for submariners often consisted in the lack of the necessary support and effective combat training. There was also an acute shortage of professional staff. However, when performing combat missions, the crew members showed high skill and loyalty to the oath, which made it possible to perform sometimes the most unthinkable combat missions. In addition to destroying enemy ships, submariners conducted reconnaissance, laid minefields, participated in escorting ships of the USSR and the allies.
A lot of literature has been written about the heroism of Soviet submariners. However, despite this, many secrets of the battles with the participation of Soviet submariners during the war years still remain secrets - for a variety of reasons: from a banal lack of information to finding this very information under the heading "secret".
Twenty-three sailors of the Soviet submarine fleet received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their exploits during the war, thousands of submariners were awarded orders and medals.
The power of the submarine fleet has increased many times since the beginning of the atomic era. Submarines received new power plants, the ability to carry on board and nuclear weapons, which turned them into real masters of the deep sea.
The domestic fleet is one of the largest in the world, with a wide potential for carrying out combat and reconnaissance missions. The Russian Navy's submarine fleet includes: diesel submarines, nuclear-powered multipurpose submarines, missile submarines, and special-purpose submarines.
Modern submarines of Russia: Project 955 "Borey" and Project 885 "Ash" began to be part of the Russian Navy in 2013.
According to the statement of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Navy will receive 24 new submarines by 2020. Such ships of different projects and classes will help to update and raise the combat potential of the fleet to a new qualitative level.
The RF Ministry of Defense has a clear plan for the development of the submarine navy. For reasons of secrecy, its details are not made public, it is only known that it is planned to completely replace outdated submarines with samples of the fourth generation and create new projects of the fifth generation, as well as the possible implementation of a project for modular assembly of submarine ships.
Only a large and highly developed military-technical power can afford to have a truly effective submarine fleet. To maintain its position, the domestic fleet must be developed and modernized. And this work is being done.
At all times, submariners were the real elite of the Russian Navy. That is why the prestige of military service on submarines is growing in our time. In order to be in service on a submarine, sailors must pass a series of tests, intensive courses and psychological tests. The service of a submariner requires excellent health and physical fitness, good education and the highest professional training, since only highly qualified specialists can cope with the most complex technical systems in a confined space and increased psychological stress.
Voennoye Obozreniye congratulates all those involved, including veterans of the submarine fleet of the USSR and Russian Navy, on the holiday!
