In the second half of the forties, aircraft designers from leading countries began to create new aircraft with jet engines. The new type of power plant made it possible to significantly improve the characteristics of aircraft. The emergence and active development of jet aircraft has become a cause for concern for the designers of anti-aircraft systems. The newest and promising anti-aircraft guns could no longer effectively deal with high-speed high-altitude targets, which required a different approach to the creation of air defense means. The only way out of this situation was guided missiles.
Transport-loading vehicles of the S-25 anti-aircraft missile system with B-300 missiles at the parade in Moscow
The military and political leadership of the USSR was well aware of the risks associated with the development of bomber aviation, which resulted in the corresponding resolution of the Council of Ministers. The document of August 9, 1950 required, as soon as possible, to create an anti-aircraft missile system capable of providing effective air defense of a large city. The first protected object was to be Moscow, and in the future it was supposed to deploy the air defense system of Leningrad. The main executor of the work was the Special Bureau No. 1 (SB-1), now GSKB "Almaz-Antey". S. L. Beria and P. N. Kuksenko. According to the first letters of the names of the leaders, the project was named "Berkut". To develop various elements of a promising air defense system, several other organizations were involved in the project.
In accordance with early versions of the project, the Berkut air defense missile system should have included several basic elements. At a distance of about 25-30 and 200-250 km from Moscow, it was proposed to place two rings of the radar detection system. The Kama station was to become the basis of this system. To control anti-aircraft missiles, two B-200 guidance radar rings were to be used. It was supposed to hit enemy aircraft with the help of B-300 guided missiles. The launching positions of the missiles were to be located near the radar guidance stations.
According to available data, the Berkut complex was supposed to include not only a missile, but also an aviation component. For some time, the development of an interceptor aircraft based on the Tu-4 bomber was carried out. The interceptor was supposed to carry G-300 air-to-air missiles. The development of the aviation component of the Berkut system was discontinued at the early stages of the project. According to some reports, on the basis of the Tu-4, it was also supposed to create an aircraft for early warning radar. Apparently, this project remained at the preliminary research stage.
Radar guidance B-200 system S-25
In accordance with the terms of reference, the Berkut air defense missile system was supposed to provide the defense of Moscow from a massive raid by enemy aircraft. The maximum number of aircraft participating in the raid was set at 1000 units. The missiles of the complex were supposed to hit targets flying at speeds up to 1200 km / h at ranges up to 35 km and altitudes of 3-25 km. Fulfillment of such requirements made it possible to guarantee the protection of the capital from any massive raid using modern and promising long-range bombers of a potential enemy.
The "Berkut" air defense missile system was to include a V-300 guided missile. The development of this ammunition was entrusted to OKB-301 under the leadership of S. A. Lavochkin. The terms of reference required the creation of a missile with a launch weight of no more than 1000 kg, capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 30 km and at altitudes up to 25 km. Already the first calculations showed that the existing level of development of science and technology will not allow meeting such requirements. With a miss of about 50-75 meters (such were the capabilities of the proposed control equipment), a warhead weighing at least 250-260 kg was required. The equipment weighed another 170 kg, which is why a little more than 500 kg remained on the structural elements of the rocket, engine and fuel. All this did not allow fulfilling the specified requirements for the range and height of target destruction.
The guaranteed compliance of the rocket with the requirements was ensured only with a launch weight of over 3.5 tons. Having received approval, OKB-301 employees began developing two versions of the B-300 rocket. The first option provided for the creation of a single-stage rocket with a launch weight of 3.4 tons and a flight duration of 60 seconds. In addition, a two-stage rocket with a solid-propellant booster (1, 2 tons) and a sustainer stage weighing about 2.2 tons was proposed. Based on the comparison results, the option with one stage was chosen.
The finished V-300 rocket (factory index "product 205") had a total length of about 11, 45 m, a body with a diameter of 650 mm and a launch weight of 3, 58 tons. In the nose of the rocket there were X-shaped air rudders, in the middle - X-shaped wings with ailerons. In the tail of the rocket, additional gas rudders were provided, necessary for control in the first seconds of flight. The liquid engine for the V-300 rocket was developed at OKB-2 NII-88 under the leadership of A. I. Isaeva. The engine developed a thrust of up to 9000 kg. To simplify the design of the rocket, the engine was equipped with a displacement fuel supply system with an air pressure accumulator.
The missile of the air defense missile system "Berkut" was equipped with a radio command control system. The ground elements of the complex were supposed to monitor the movement of the target and missile, process the information received and develop commands for guided ammunition. The B-300 missile was equipped with an E-600 high-explosive fragmentation warhead capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 70-75 meters. The warhead was equipped with a non-contact radio detonator. It is known about the development of a cumulative warhead.
B-300 missiles at launch positions
The rocket was supposed to be launched vertically using a special launcher. The launch pad for guided missiles was a relatively simple metal structure with a set of rocket mounts. Ground equipment and the rocket were connected by a cable through a quick-release connector. The rocket was to be installed on the launch pad using a special transport trolley with a lifting mechanism.
Any radar stations available in the troops could be used to detect air targets. Target tracking and missile guidance was to be carried out using the B-200 radar. Polygonal antennas have become a characteristic feature of the B-200 station. The antennas consisted of two triangular beamformers. The B-200 radar was equipped with two such antennas: azimuth and elevation. The first of them had a width of 8 m, the second - 9 m. Constantly rotating, each of the antennas scanned a sector with a width of 60 °. The beam width was 1 °.
The B-200 radar was also designated by the abbreviation TsRN - "Central guidance radar", since it was intended to control an anti-aircraft missile. The CPR had 20 firing channels, each of which was made in the form of a separate block of calculating and decisive equipment. The firing channels of each B-200 radar were combined into four groups, each of which was equipped with its own command transmission antenna.
At the end of July 1951 - a little less than a year after the start of work - the first launch of the B-300 rocket took place at the Kapustin Yar test site. Experimental products were launched in an upright position from the launch pad. The first three test launches were intended to test the operation of the rocket systems in the early stages of flight. Three times in a row, the experimental rockets normally rose from the launch pad, dropped the gas rudders in a timely manner, and also showed characteristics that corresponded to the calculated ones. The next five test runs were intended to test the declination system in the vertical plane using gas rudders. In this series, only the second launch took place without any problems.
A study of the results of test launches made it possible to establish that rocket equipment and ground cable lines were the culprits of four test failures. At the end of August and the beginning of September of the 51st year, the B-300 missile systems were tested at the plant's stand No. 301, which made it possible to resume flight tests soon. From September 19 to October 5, 10 more test launches were carried out. In November-December, the last series of test launches of the first stage of flight tests were carried out. Of the 12 missiles launched, 4 carried a full set of equipment, and 2 were equipped with radio fuses. A series of 12 launches went without serious problems, but the development of the rocket continued.
The fourth, fifth and sixth series of launches, carried out in 1952, were aimed at testing various elements of rocket equipment, primarily electronic systems. Until the end of the 52nd year, two more series of launches were carried out, in which the B-200 guidance radar was used. In the ninth and tenth series of test launches (1953), rockets produced by serial factories were used. The result of ten series of test launches was a recommendation to start serial production of a new missile and other elements of the new Berkut anti-aircraft complex.
Serial production of B-300 missiles was carried out at factories No. 41, No. 82, and No. 464. By the end of 1953, the industry had managed to produce over 2,300 missiles. Soon after the appearance of the order to start serial production, the Berkut project received a new designation - C-25. The new project manager was A. A. Raspletin.
In the late spring of 1953, new tests were carried out, the purpose of which was to determine the real characteristics of the anti-aircraft missile system. Converted Tu-4 and Il-28 aircraft were used as targets. When attacking targets of the Tu-4 type, anti-aircraft gunners fired at two targets at the same time. One of the converted bombers was hit by the first missile, and the second exploded next to a burning target. The destruction of the other three aircraft required one to three missiles. When firing at Il-28 targets, one aircraft was destroyed by one missile, three others by two.
Deploying Moscow's air defense system based on the S-25 air defense system turned out to be an extremely difficult task. To ensure the most efficient operation of the system, it was decided to create two defense rings around the capital: one 85-90 km from the center of Moscow, the other 45-50 km. The outer ring was intended to destroy the bulk of the attacking enemy aircraft, and the inner one was supposed to shoot down the bombers that had broken through. The construction of positions for the S-25 air defense system was carried out from 1953 to 1958. Two ring roads and an extensive road network were built around Moscow to serve anti-aircraft systems. In total, 56 anti-aircraft missile regiments were deployed around Moscow: 22 on the inner ring and 34 on the outer.
The positions of each of the 56 regiments made it possible to deploy 60 launchers with anti-aircraft missiles. Thus, 3360 missiles could be on duty at the same time. When using three missiles on one target, the S-25 air defense system was capable of repelling the attack of thousands of enemy aircraft. According to some reports, each regiment had three B-300 missiles with a special warhead with a capacity of 20 kilotons. Such a missile could guaranteed to destroy all enemy aircraft within a radius of 1 km from the point of detonation and seriously damage those located at a greater distance.
In the mid-sixties, the S-25 air defense system underwent a major modernization, as a result of which the letter "M" was added to its name. The B-200 central guidance radar has undergone the largest modifications. All electromechanical devices used on it were replaced by electronic ones. This had a positive effect on the characteristics of the guidance radar. In addition, the S-25M air defense missile system received an updated missile with new electronic equipment. The new missile could hit targets at ranges of up to 40 km and an altitude of 1.5 to 30 km.
On November 7, 1960, the B-300 rocket was first shown to the general public. Several products of this type were transported on tractors across Red Square. Until the mid-eighties, B-300 missiles were present at every military parade. For more than two decades, more than 32 thousand B-300 missiles were delivered to the air defense regiments that defended Moscow. For a long time, these products remained the most widespread type of guided missiles in the USSR.
The creation of the S-25 "Berkut" complex and the deployment of an air defense system in Moscow on its basis was the first successful domestic project in the field of anti-aircraft missile systems, and the V-300 missile became the first Soviet serial product of its class. Like any first development, the S-25 air defense system had some drawbacks. First of all, doubts were caused by the stability of the complex to the means of electronic warfare, which appeared soon after it was put into service. In addition, the even distribution of missiles around Moscow without taking into account the increased risks of an attack from the north and west was a controversial decision. Finally, deploying an air defense system for the country's largest city was an extremely expensive project. Initially, it was planned to build two air defense systems based on the S-25 complex: around Moscow and around Leningrad. Nevertheless, the colossal cost of the project ultimately led to the fact that only one such system took over the duty, and the construction of the second was canceled.
B-300 missiles and their modifications protected the skies of Moscow and the Moscow region until the eighties. With the advent of new S-300P complexes, outdated systems began to be gradually removed from duty. By the mid-eighties, all air defense regiments in Moscow switched to new equipment. The greater efficiency of new radar stations and anti-aircraft systems, as well as the development of air defense throughout the country, made it possible to provide more effective protection of the capital and surrounding areas.
