The results of nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll were exaggerated in order to preserve the environment of nuclear weapons as an all-destructive agent. In fact, the newest superweapon turned out to be a "paper tiger". The victims of the first explosion of "Able" were only 5 out of 77 attacked ships - only those who were in the immediate vicinity of the epicenter (less than 500 meters).
It should be noted that the tests were carried out in a shallow lagoon. In the open sea, the height of the base wave would be less, and the destructive effect of the explosion would be even weaker (by analogy with tsunami waves, which are almost imperceptible far from the coast).
The crowded arrangement of ships at the anchorage also played a role. In real conditions, when following in an anti-nuclear warrant (when the distance between the ships is at least 1000 meters), even a direct hit of a bomb or missile with nuclear warheads on one of the ships would not be able to stop the squadron. Finally, it is worth considering any lack of struggle for the survivability of ships, which made them an easy victim of fires and the most modest holes.
It is known that the victims of the underwater explosion "Baker" (23 kt) were four of the eight participating in the tests of submarines. Subsequently, they were all raised and returned to service!
The official point of view refers to the resulting holes in their solid hull, but this is contrary to common sense. Russian writer Oleg Teslenko draws attention to the discrepancy in the description of damage to boats and methods of lifting them. To pump out the water, you must first seal the compartments of the sunken ship. Which is unlikely in the case of a submarine that has a lightweight hull on top of a strong hull (if an explosion crushed a solid hull, then the light hull should turn into a solid mess, isn't it? And how then can you explain their quick return to service?) In turn, the Yankees refused from lifting with the help of pontoons: divers would have to put their lives in danger, washing channels under the bottoms of submarines for winding cables and standing for hours in radioactive silt.
It is known for certain that all the sunken boats were submerged during the explosion, therefore, their buoyancy margin was about 0.5%. At the slightest imbalance (~ 10 tons of water inflow), they immediately fell to the bottom. It is possible that the mention of the holes is fiction. Such an insignificant amount of water could enter the compartments through the glands and seals of the retractable devices - drop by drop. A couple of days later, when the rescuers reached the boats, they had already sunk to the bottom of the lagoon.
If the attack with the use of nuclear weapons took place in real combat conditions, the crew would immediately take measures to eliminate the consequences of the explosion and the boats could continue the voyage.
The above arguments are confirmed by calculations according to which the force of the explosion is inversely proportional to the third power of the distance. Those. even with the use of semi-megaton tactical ammunition (20 times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Bikini), the radius of destruction will increase by only 2 … 2, 5 times. Which is clearly not enough for shooting "in areas" in the hope that a nuclear explosion, wherever it occurs, will be able to harm the enemy squadron.
The cubic dependence of the force of the explosion on the distance explains the combat damage to the ships received during the tests on the Bikini. Unlike conventional bombs and torpedoes, nuclear explosions could not break through the anti-torpedo protection, crush thousands of structures and damage internal bulkheads. At a distance of one kilometer, the force of the explosion decreases a billion times. And even though a nuclear explosion was much more powerful than an explosion of a conventional bomb, given the distance, the superiority of nuclear warheads over conventional weapons was not obvious.
Soviet military specialists came to approximately the same conclusions after conducting a series of nuclear tests on Novaya Zemlya. The sailors placed a dozen warships (decommissioned destroyers, minesweepers, captured German submarines) at six radii and detonated a nuclear charge at shallow depth, which was equivalent in design to the SBC of the T-5 torpedo. For the first time (1955), the power of the explosion was 3.5 kt (however, do not forget about the cubic dependence of the force of the explosion on the distance!)
On September 7, 1957, another explosion with a yield of 10 kt thundered in Chernaya Bay. A month later, a third test was carried out. As in the Bikini Atoll, the tests were carried out in a shallow basin, with a large congestion of ships.
The results were predictable. Even the unfortunate pelvis, among which were the minesweepers and destroyers of the First World War, demonstrated an enviable resistance to a nuclear explosion.
"If there were crews on the submarines, they would easily eliminate the leak and the submarines would retain their combat capability, however, with the exception of the S-81."
- Retired Vice-Admiral (at that time captain of the 3rd rank) E. Shitikov.
The members of the commission came to the conclusion that if the submarine attacked a convoy with the same composition with a torpedo with an SBS, then at best it would have sunk only one ship or ship!
B-9 hung on pontoons after 30 hours. Water penetrated inside through damaged oil seals. She was raised and after 3 days brought into combat readiness. The C-84, which was on the surface, suffered minor damage. 15 tons of water got into the bow compartment of the S-19 through an open torpedo tube, but after 2 days it was also put in order. The "Thundering" rocked great with a shock wave, dents appeared in the superstructures and the chimney, but part of the launched power plant continued to work. The damage to the Kuibyshev was minor; "K. Liebknecht" had a leak and was driven aground. The mechanisms were almost not damaged.
It should be noted that the destroyer “K. Liebknecht "(type" Novik ", launched in 1915) already had a leak in the hull BEFORE testing.
On the B-20, no serious damage was found, only water got inside through some pipelines connecting the light and durable hulls. The B-22, as soon as the ballast tanks were blown through, safely surfaced, and the C-84, although it survived, was out of order. The crew could cope with the damage to the S-20 light hull, the S-19 did not need to be repaired. At "F. Mitrofanov" and T-219, the shock wave damaged the superstructure, "P. Vinogradov" suffered no damage. The destroyers' superstructures and chimneys again crumpled, as for the "Thundering", its mechanisms were still working. In short, shock waves affected the "test subjects" most of all, and light radiation - only on dark paint, while the detected radioactivity turned out to be insignificant.
- Test results on September 7, 1957, explosion on a tower on the shore, power 10 kt.
On October 10, 1957, another test took place - a T-5 torpedo was launched from the new S-144 submarine into the Chernaya Bay, which exploded at a depth of 35 m. 218 (280 m) followed him. On the S-20 (310 m), the stern compartments were flooded, and she went to the bottom with a strong trim; at the C-84 (250 m), both hulls were damaged, which was the reason for her death. Both were in positional position. Delivered 450 m from the epicenter, the "Furious" suffered quite badly, but sank only 4 hours later. … The battered "Thundering" got a trim on the bow and a roll to the left side. After 6 hours, he was towed to the sandbank, where he remains to this day. B-22, lying on the ground 700 m from the explosion site, remained combat-ready; the minesweeper T-219 has also survived. It is worth considering that the most damaged ships have been hit by "all-destroying weapons" for the third time, and the "novik" destroyers have already been pretty worn out for almost 40 years of service.
- Magazine "Technics - for youth" No. 3, 1998
Destroyer "Thundering", top photo was taken in 1991
"The living Dead". Radiation Effects on Crew
Airborne nuclear explosions are considered "self-cleaning" because the main part of the decay products is carried away into the stratosphere and, subsequently, is dispersed over a large area. From the point of view of radiation contamination of the terrain, an underwater explosion is much more dangerous, however, this also cannot pose a danger to the squadron: moving in a 20-knot course, the ships will leave the dangerous zone in half an hour.
The greatest danger is the outbreak of a nuclear explosion itself. A short-term pulse of gamma quanta, the absorption of which by the cells of the human body leads to the destruction of chromosomes. Another question - how powerful should this impulse be to cause a severe form of radiation sickness among the crew members? Radiation is undoubtedly dangerous and harmful to the human body. But if the destructive effects of radiation appear only after a few weeks, a month, or even a year later? Does this mean that the crews of the attacked ships will not be able to continue the mission?
Just statistics: during tests at at. Bikini a third of the experimental animals became direct victims of a nuclear explosion. 25% died from the impact of the shock wave and light radiation (apparently, they were on the upper deck), about 10% more died later, from radiation sickness.
The statistics of tests on Novaya Zemlya show the following.
There were 500 goats and sheep on the decks and compartments of the target ships. Of those who were not instantly killed by the flash and shock wave, severe radiation sickness was noted in only twelve artiodactyls.
It follows from this that the main damaging factors in a nuclear explosion are light radiation and a shock wave. Radiation, although it poses a threat to life and health, is not capable of leading to the rapid mass death of crew members.
This photo, taken on the deck of the cruiser Pensacola, eight days after the explosion (the cruiser was 500 m from the epicenter), shows how dangerous radiation contamination and neutron activation of the steel structures of ships are.
These data were used as the basis for a harsh calculation: the "living dead" will be at the helm of the doomed ships and lead the squadron on the last voyage.
The corresponding requirements were sent to all design bureaus. A prerequisite for the design of ships was the presence of anti-nuclear protection (PAZ). Reduction of the number of holes in the hull and excess pressure in the compartments, which prevents radioactive fallout from entering the aircraft.
Having received data on nuclear tests, the headquarters began to stir. As a result, such a concept as "anti-nuclear warrant" was born.
Doctors have had their say - special inhibitors and antidotes (potassium iodide, cystamine) were created that weaken the effect of radiation on the human body, bind free radicals and ionized molecules, accelerating the process of removing radionuclides from the body.
Now, an attack with the use of nuclear warheads will not stop the convoy delivering military equipment and reinforcements from New York to Rotterdam (in accordance with the well-known scenario of the Third World War). The ships that broke through the nuclear fire will land troops on the enemy coast and provide them with fire support with cruise missiles and artillery.
The use of nuclear warheads is unable to resolve the issue with the lack of target designation and does not guarantee victory in a naval battle. To achieve the desired effect (inflicting heavy damage), it is required to detonate the charge in the immediate vicinity of the enemy ship. In this sense, nuclear weapons differ little from conventional weapons.
