Titanium is an element of the periodic table of chemical elements of D. I. Mendeleev, with atomic number 22. A light metal of a silvery hue with a density that is two times less than that of iron, and a melting point of + 1660 ° C. Titanium is used for the manufacture of durable and high-quality things - reactor fittings, structural elements of aviation and space technology, body armor and cases of expensive watches, dental implants and special tools.
And the Soviet Union was so cool and rich that it "sculpted" submarine hulls entirely of titanium!
The unique submarine K-162 (Project 661 "Anchar") is a record that was not reported by TASS. The nuclear-powered missile cruiser K-162 could accelerate to a depth of 44.85 knots (≈83 km / h). Special capabilities required special technical solutions - for the first time in the history of world shipbuilding, the K-162 hull was completely made of titanium.
A series of submarines with titanium hulls of the project 705K (code "Lira") - seven high-speed underwater killers, capable of developing a 41-node course under water. The Lyrae could pursue any naval enemy and just as easily evade pursuit. It took them about 1 minute to accelerate to full speed, and circulation with a 180 ° turn was performed in just 42 seconds! Outstanding speed and maneuverability allowed the Project 705K boats to evade fired enemy torpedoes and attack the enemy from an unexpected direction.
"Submarine fighters" of Project 705K often became the object of criticism for their excessive complexity and poor choice of power plant - a reactor with a liquid metal coolant, despite its high power density, every second posed a mortal threat to the crew of the boat. Even in the base, the reactor with liquid metal fuel constantly required external heat supply - the slightest accident on the heating main could lead to a catastrophe. Nevertheless, "Lyra", in spite of all "probable opponents", honestly served in the Soviet Navy. Despite a number of serious accidents, none of the Lear was lost. And not a single person died in the struggle for their survivability.
Another record holder is "The Elusive Mike". This is what American sailors called the Soviet experimental submarine K-278 "Komsomolets" (project 685 "Fin") with a maximum immersion depth of more than 1 kilometer. The light and durable titanium hull withstood the monstrous water pressure - in August 1985, Komsomolets set an absolute world record for submarine diving depths - 1027 meters! Sinking into the cold, impenetrable haze, the K-278 became absolutely undetectable to the enemy's anti-submarine weapons. At the same time, already at a depth of 800 meters, while still remaining undetectable and invulnerable, Komsomolets could use its torpedo weapon
Titanium alloys were used in the manufacture of durable hulls of the gigantic "Sharks" (Project 941 SSBNs). Around the same time, the industry of the Soviet Union began the serial construction of multipurpose nuclear submarines of the third generation with titanium hulls according to the project 945 (code "Barracuda") and, a little later, according to the improved project 945A (code "Condor").
Unique boats are still of considerable value and the next intrigue of 2013 is connected with their existence.
According to a statement published in early March, the Russian Ministry of Defense and JSC Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center signed a contract to restore technical readiness by means of overhaul and modernization of two nuclear submarines with titanium hulls B-239 Karp and B-276 Kostroma (formerly K -276 "Crab") project 945. In the future, B-336 Pskov and B-534 Nizhniy Novgorod, Project 945A nuclear submarines, will undergo similar modernization.
Upgrading titanium submarines should take their combat capabilities to the next level. The boats will be equipped with a new modification of the OK-650 reactor (a unified power plant for all Russian nuclear-powered ships of the 3rd and 4th generations), the sonar complex of submarines will be replaced, and missiles of the Caliber family will appear in the arsenal. Radio electronics will be radically updated, active noise suppressors will appear, instead of the usual periscope, it is possible to install a multipurpose mast with video cameras and laser rangefinders - everyone present in the central post will be able to observe the situation on the surface on the monitor, and not only the officer at the periscope eyepiece.
New technologies in a robust "Soviet-hardened" titanium case should turn the modernized Condors and Barracudas into a thunderstorm of the seas; in terms of their totality of characteristics, the old nuclear-powered ships will not be inferior to the submarines of the new, fourth generation.
“This decision of the Main Command of the Navy, supported by the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, seems to be justified, since it is about twice as fast to repair and modernize existing submarines, including titanium ones, than to build new ones. This will require less financial costs"
- Ministry of Defense source
The representative of the Ministry of Defense stressed that the decision to return titanium submarines to the permanent readiness forces of the Navy was made back in January, and the first stage of work on the modernization of the B-239 Karp nuclear submarine will begin in the summer of 2013. It was noted that the Russian Ministry of Defense returned to the idea of restoring four titanium submarines in connection with the problems of saturating the Navy with new ships. First of all, this concerns delays in the construction of fourth generation multipurpose nuclear submarines of project 885 Yasen.
Multipurpose nuclear submarine B-239 "Karp" (ex. K-239) Project 945 "Barracuda" (Sierra-I according to NATO classification)
Designed to search and track submarines and surface ships of a potential enemy, strike at sea targets.
Bookmark - 1979, launching - 1981, commissioning - 1984;
Crew: 60 people;
Surface / underwater displacement - 6000/9600 tons;
Length along the constructive waterline (KVL) - 107, 16 m;
Double-hull construction, robust titanium case, 6 compartments;
Power plant: 1 reactor OK-650A, thermal power 180 MW, 4 steam generators, 2 turbine generators, 2 battery groups, 2 diesel generators DG-300 750 hp each. with a fuel supply for 10 days, 1 main propeller, 2 trolling motors of 370 kW each, two trolling propellers.
Maximum submerged speed - 35 knots;
Working immersion depth - 480 meters;
Maximum immersion depth - 550 meters;
Armament:
- 2 torpedo tubes of 650 mm caliber, ammunition load of 12 "long" torpedoes and PLUR;
- 6 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, 28 torpedoes ammunition, PLUR "Waterfall" and high-speed rocket torpedoes "Shkval";
- MANPADS for self-defense.
"Barracuda" and "Condor" ships are not simple - the titanium hull opened up absolutely amazing prospects for Soviet submariners. First of all, the high strength and low density of titanium made it possible, with the usual ratio of load items (hull weight - about 40% of the standard displacement of the submarine), to achieve almost twice the strength. As a result, the "Barracuda" had a 1.5-2 times greater working depth of immersion than any of the Soviet boats of the previous generation and promising foreign analogs - it could dive into the abyss to a depth of half a kilometer, while maintaining the possibility of using torpedo weapons in the entire range working depths and speeds! The Condor sank even deeper - up to 600 meters.
By comparison, their peers, the American Los Angeles-class multipurpose submarine, rarely operated at depths greater than 250 meters. The maximum depth for an American submarine is said to be within 450 meters.
Of course, the combat capabilities of modern boats are determined not only by the speed and depth of immersion, but the magnificent combination of great working depths and high underwater speeds of the Soviet "Kondors" and "Barracudas" is worthy of all praise.
Separately, it should be said about reliability and durability - titanium does not corrode, titanium cases of 30-year-old "Barracudas" still retain their original "shine" under a layer of decayed sound-absorbing rubber coating.
Finally, another important advantage of the titanium hull is the radical reduction in the boat's magnetic field.
There is only one drawback - the high price and the complexity of the titanium case manufacturing … but, fortunately, we no longer face such a problem. The Soviet industry was engaged in the manufacture of titanium hulls, superboats were built many years ago - which means that you just need to change the "stuffing" and thank the USSR for its great legacy.
The strength of these nuclear submarines is best described by the incident near Kildin Island, which occurred in February 1992: the Russian submarine K-276 Kostroma (the same titanium project 945) accidentally collided with the American submarine Baton Rouge, which was patrolling in the Barents Sea (USS Baton Rouge SSN-689). At that moment, when "Baton Rouge" was at periscope depth, she suddenly fell under the ramming blow of a pop-up Soviet submarine - "Kostroma" struck with her wheelhouse directly into the center of the American spy's corps.
In surprise, both submarines jumped to the surface, the American sailors got cold sweat - if Kostroma had gone a meter higher, it would have hit the American with its bow. By all accounts, the Russian boat was supposed to break through the flimsy side of the Baton Rouge with its titanium hull, drowning the “probable enemy” right at the entrance to the Kola Bay.
However, Russian submariners were not at all attracted by such prospects - a strong blow to the bow of the boat could lead to detonation of the torpedo warheads, destroying both opponents.
The ending of the tragicomedy is obvious: "Kostroma" has healed its lacerated wounds and again returned to fulfilling its tasks in the ocean. "Baton Rouge" independently reached its home base, but the damage received (first of all, microcracks and internal stresses in the hull) made the boat repair inexpedient. Baton Rouge remained in reserve for a couple of years until it was finally decommissioned in 1995. Evil tongues claim that at the time of the collision a fire broke out on board the Baton Rouge, possibly there were human casualties.
The international conflict was resolved quickly: the Americans declared that at the time of the collision, Baton Rouge was in neutral waters outside the 12-mile zone of the territorial waters of the Russian Federation. On this they agreed. And on the wheelhouse of the nuclear-powered ship "Kostroma" a five-pointed star appeared with the number "1" inscribed in it - this is how submariners kept account of their victories during the Great Patriotic War.
Multipurpose nuclear submarine B-336 "Pskov" (formerly K-336 "Okun") Project 945A "Condor" (Sierra-II according to NATO classification)
Designed to search and track submarines and surface ships of a potential enemy, strike at sea targets.
Bookmark - 1989, launching - 1992, commissioning - 1993.
Crew: 60 people;
Surface / underwater displacement - 6500/10400 tons;
Length along the constructive waterline (KVL) - 110.5 m;
Double-hull construction, robust titanium case, 6 compartments;
Power plant: 1 reactor OK-650B thermal power 190 MW, 4 steam generators, 2 turbine generators, 2 battery groups, 2 diesel generators DG-300 750 hp each. with a fuel supply for 10 days, 1 main propeller, 2 trolling motors of 370 kW each, two trolling propellers.
Maximum submerged speed - 35 knots;
Working immersion depth - 520 meters;
Maximum immersion depth - 600 meters;
Armament:
- 2 torpedo tubes of 650 mm caliber, ammunition load of 8 "long" torpedoes and PLUR;
- 4 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber, 32 torpedoes ammunition, PLUR "Waterfall" and high-speed rocket torpedoes "Shkval";
- MANPADS for self-defense.
