The post-war transition in aviation to the use of jet engines led to qualitative changes in the confrontation between air attack and air defense means. A sharp increase in the speed and maximum flight altitude of reconnaissance aircraft and bombers reduced the effectiveness of anti-aircraft artillery to almost zero. At the end of the 40s of the XX century, the Soviet Union required comprehensive protection of Moscow from possible massive air attacks. So, in the country, one of the most complex and expensive projects at that time began to create an air defense missile system controlled by a radar network. The decision to create this system was made in August 1950.
The organization of work on the "Berkut" system was entrusted to the Third Main Directorate (TSU) under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. It was supervised by L. P. Beria.
The task of developing the system was entrusted to the Moscow KB-1, headed by the Deputy Minister of Armaments K. M. Gerasimov and chief designers S. L. Beria (son of L. P. Beria) and P. N. Kuksenko. A. Raspletin was the deputy chief designer. At the same time, OKB-301, headed by S. Lavochkin, was entrusted with the development of single-stage B-300 missiles, and already in June 1951, test launches of B-300 missiles were carried out.
The 10-centimeter range radar station was assigned the B-200 index. The complex of structures with the B-200 radar in the design documentation was named TsRN (central guidance radar), in the military documentation - RTC (radio technical center). Each station, having twenty firing channels, was supposed to provide simultaneous observation of twenty targets and direct up to twenty missiles at them.
CRN B-200
On September 20, 1952, a prototype B-200 was sent to the Kapustin Yar training ground for firing tests with B-300 missiles. On May 25, 1953, a Tu-4 target aircraft was first shot down by a guided missile.
Soviet long-range bomber Tu-4-copy, American B-29
In 1953, at the insistence of a group of military men, who pointed out the excessive complexity of the system's operation and its low efficiency, comparative tests of anti-aircraft artillery and the Berkut system were carried out. Only after these comparative firing did the gunners no longer have any doubts about the effectiveness of anti-aircraft guided missile weapons.
100-mm anti-aircraft gun KS-19, which, together with 85-mm anti-aircraft guns, formed the basis of air defense in the 50s
In accordance with Stalin's instructions, the Moscow air defense system was supposed to have the ability to repel a massive enemy air raid with the participation of up to 1200 aircraft. Calculations showed that this would require 56 multichannel anti-aircraft missile systems with sector-wide radar and missile launchers located on two rings. On the inner ring, at a distance of 45-50 kilometers from the center of Moscow, it was planned to place 22 complexes, on the outer ring, at a distance of 85-90 kilometers - 34 complexes. The complexes were supposed to be located at a distance of 12-15 kilometers from each other, so that the sector of fire of each of them overlapped the sectors of the complexes located on the left and right, creating a continuous field of destruction.
The layout of the positions of the S-25 air defense missile system around Moscow
Such military units were rather large facilities, served by a large number of personnel. The main type of camouflage for military units of the C-25 was the location in the forest, the crowns of trees which hid entire streets of military units from prying eyes.
TTX SAM S-25 model 1955:
Target speed 1500 km / h
Height of defeat 500m-20000m
Range 35 km
Number of targets hit 20
The number of missiles 60
There is no possibility of hitting a target in interference
Rocket shelf life
On PU 0, 5 years
In stock 2, 5 years
Modernization 1966:
Target speed 4200 km / h
The height of the defeat is 1500m-30000m
Range 43 km
Number of targets hit 20
The number of missiles 60
The possibility of hitting a target in interference is
Rocket shelf life
On PU 5 years
In stock 15 years
Later, the areas of responsibility of all C-25 regiments were divided into four equal sectors, each of which contained 14 anti-aircraft missile regiments of near and long-range echelons. Every 14 regiments formed a corps.
Four corps made up the 1st Special Purpose Air Defense Army.
Serial samples of missiles were tested in 1954, 20 targets were intercepted simultaneously.
On May 7, 1955, by a decree of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the S-25 system was put into service. Thus, becoming the first adopted for service in the USSR and the first operational-strategic air defense system in the world, the first multi-channel air defense system with vertically launched missiles.
Largely thanks to the construction of capital concrete structures of the S-25 complexes, the Moscow Ring Road appeared.
The V-300 missile used in the S-25 air defense missile system is single-stage, with liquid-propellant rocket engine, vertical launch. Made according to the "duck" scheme, the rudders were placed in the bow of the hull in two mutually perpendicular planes, in front of the two wings. The launch mass of the rocket was about 3500 kg. LRE thrust - 9000kg. The high-explosive fragmentation warhead was automatically detonated at the command of the RV and hit the enemy aircraft from a distance of up to 75 m. The missile was escorted by a signal from the on-board radio responder. The command method was used to guide the missile to the target.
The launching (launching) table - a metal frame with a conical flame diffuser and a device for leveling, was installed on a concrete base. The rocket was attached to the launch pad in a vertical position with four clips located on the bottom cut around the liquid-propellant engine nozzle. Power supply to the rocket board during inspections and prelaunch preparation was supplied by cable through a quick-release onboard connector. Until the beginning of the 60s, the B-300 rocket was modernized many times. The changes mainly concerned the engine with the fuel supply system and the warhead. In OKB-301, a large amount of work was done to ensure long-term storage of missiles in a fueled state, including means of protection against aggressive propellants, so that the missiles could remain on alert for a long time. In the course of many years of operation, missiles "205", "207", "217", "219" of various variants developed by OKB-301 and MKB "Burevestnik" were created and used in the S-25 system and its modifications.
Comparative performance characteristics of missiles:
"205" "207A" "217"
Overall length with gas rudders, mm. 11816 12125 12333
Overall length without gas rudders, mm. 11425 11925 -
Diameter, mm. 650 650 650
Wing area, sq.m. 4, 65 4, 65 -
Air rudders area, sq.m. 0.895 0.899 -
Starting weight, kg. 3582, 5 3404, 5 3700, 0
Empty weight, kg. 1518, 0 1470, 0 -
Fuel mass, kg. 1932, 0 1882, 3 2384 (*)
Warhead weight, kg. 235, 0 320, 0 300 (285)
Gas rudders weight, kg. 61, 5 10, 4 -
Target engagement altitudes, km up to 25 3-25 20-25
Launch range, km up to 30 up to 30 up to 30
Warhead range, m. 30 50-75
Flight speed
maximum, m / s 1080 1020
average at Н = 30 km, m / s 545 515 700-750
Overload max. (H = 3-25km.) 4-2 6-3
In the mid-60s, the S-25 air defense system of Moscow was modernized and received the designation S-25M. The equipment for guiding missiles at targets and calculating devices of the modified version of the B-200 station were carried out purely electronic without the use of electromechanical elements.
The 217M missiles were developed for the modernized S-25M.
In connection with the growth of the rocket engine thrust (up to 16-20 tons), it was necessary to strengthen the launch pads and ground launching devices.
The layout of the "217M" missile defense system was very different from its predecessors. The hull became somewhat longer, the aerodynamic configuration of the "duck" was reborn into a "triplane": an additional cruciform tail appeared in the tail section, the wings and front rudders were modified.
In the late 50s, the possibility of using special (nuclear) warheads as an alternative to conventional warheads was considered.
It should be noted that in those years they tried to implement this in almost all classes of guided and unguided missiles, from ballistic missiles to air-to-air missiles. It was not without such experiments with the B-300 family of missiles. As possible targets were considered group targets and high-altitude aircraft flying on "ceilings" for more than 23 km. The missile was in service.
At the turn of the 50s and 60s at the Kapustin Yar test site, real tests of the S-25 air defense system with a missile defense system equipped with a nuclear warhead were carried out. During the launch, two radio-controlled targets flying at a distance of 2 km were destroyed. from each other at an altitude of about 10 km.
The S-25 system stood in the defense of Moscow for more than 30 years, and, fortunately, did not participate in hostilities.
Complexes of the C-25M system were removed from combat duty in 1982 with the replacement of the complexes of the C-300P system. Some of the former positions of the S-25 complexes are still used to base the air defense systems of the S-300 family and the Moscow anti-missile defense system A-135. A significant part of the withdrawn from service SAMs of the S-25 complex have been converted and used as radio-controlled targets. To provide combat training in the air defense forces.
