The trap was set in the most insidious way. Two aircraft carriers launched a surprise attack on the US Navy base Dutch Harbor on Umaknak Island (Aleutian Ridge), while Admiral Yamamoto's unit was secretly advancing towards Midway Atoll 1200 miles south. Capturing a strategically important piece of land will force the cowardly Yankees to send all their ships to the aid of the Midway garrison. There, in the open ocean, 4 aircraft carriers of the Imperial Navy will be waiting for them: 248 aircraft will take to the air and torn to pieces the American squadron. If one of the American cowards manages to escape the downpour of fire, he will be finished off by a combination of cruisers and battleships. Somewhere under the surface of the water, Japanese submarines are moving invisibly, and in the quiet coves of the island of Guam, the main forces of the invasion are waiting for a conditional signal - 100 warships and 5,000 airborne troops.
Multidirectional strikes, several formations of ships, barriers from submarines - Admiral Yamamoto's plan was so complicated that the stupid Yankees, in theory, did not have to understand where and where the main blow was being delivered and what was the purpose of the entire operation. The only thing that Admiral Yamamoto did not take into account was that the Americans broke the Japanese JN-25 code and read the "top-secret plans" of the Japanese General Staff with a smile.
Three aircraft carriers - "Enterprise", "Yorktown" and "Hornet" in advance took a position northwest of Midway Atoll. Three aircraft carriers against four Japanese. Madness!
"Enterprise" of the first generation.
And everything happened as it should have happened - the Japanese were fools, suddenly finding the American fleet under their noses, and the first six American attacks failed - the Japanese aces shot down inexperienced American reservists like chickens. The captain of the 3rd rank Waldron was especially "distinguished": none of the 15 torpedo bombers of his squadron returned.
The attack of Clarence McCluskey's group turned out to be surprisingly effective - 30 "lost" bombers "Dontles" from the aircraft carrier "Enterprise" accidentally discovered a Japanese formation and quite accidentally attacked just at the moment when the Japanese planes, tired of endless American attacks, returned from the sortie - the decks were littered with refueling hoses, ammunition and equipment. "Dontles" dived, and, as in a parade, bombed the ships. In a few minutes, the Japanese lost three attack aircraft carriers and two thousand crew members.
Further - a matter of technology: in the evening American aircraft carriers "overwhelmed" the remaining Japanese aircraft carrier "Hiryu". Left without aircraft carriers, Admiral Yamamoto canceled the operation - the artillery ships were powerless in front of the carrier-based aircraft. In support of these words, the next day, American pilots sank the cruiser Mikuma, losing one plane. I remember when attacking aircraft carriers, the alignment was 15: 0. The axiom sounds like this: on the high seas there is no more reliable means of covering the squadron than a deck wing.
In chess, there is the concept of "tempo". You sacrifice a piece (usually one or two pawns in the opening), but in return you get a specific superiority: your attack is in full swing, you have developed pieces and a threat has been created in the right direction. The opponent "swallowed" a pawn, but his position is worse, his pieces are unsuccessful and it will take a couple of moves to improve the situation. These two saving moves are your winnings. Attack, create threats while the enemy solves his pressing problems. The main thing is not to lose the pace!
In the battle at Midway Atoll, the Americans acted in the best samurai traditions: as soon as the scout spotted the Japanese squadron, all the pilots rushed into battle. An uncoordinated attack by small groups of aircraft resulted in heavy casualties, but the battle was won.
The Japanese, on the contrary, acted in an American way: prudently, strictly according to instructions. But while they were exchanging bombs for torpedoes, and torpedoes for bombs, they suddenly found themselves at the bottom.
SOVIET "ENTERPRISE"
Eight reactors. Who quickly? (the motto of "Enterprise")
The atomic attack aircraft carrier Enterprise has changed all ideas about the tactics of naval combat; it can be put on a par with the legendary warships of the twentieth century - the battleship "Dreadnought" or the first nuclear submarine "Nautilus".
The amazing ship was launched in September 1960 and now, for more than 50 years, it has been in the active composition of the fleet. The Enterprise's service record will be enough for more than a dozen ordinary ships: its very first combat mission - the naval blockade of Cuba in October 1962, brought the world to the brink of the Apocalypse. "Big E", as the American sailors affectionately call it, made six military campaigns to the coast of Vietnam and carried out a rescue operation on about. Mauritius badly hit by a tropical hurricane (at least one good deed!).
In the 80s, the aircraft carrier took an active part in the "tanker war", escorted tankers in the Persian Gulf, and in 1988, the Enterprise entered into battle with the Iranian naval ships.
90s, the old "sea wolf" is back on the move: "Enterprise" helped to suppress the uprising in the Philippines, secured "no-fly zones" over Yugoslavia and Iraq, conducted Operation Desert Fox. In 2001, its aircraft flew 700 sorties against targets in Afghanistan, in 2003, the Enterprise supported the invasion of Iraq. Finally, on April 9, 2012, the rusty ship returned to the Persian Gulf again, threatening to strike Iranian territory. And, in case of failure, to arrange eight Chernobyls, making the Strait of Hormuz unnavigable for hundreds of years. Yes, dear reader, eight (!) Westinghouse A2W nuclear reactors set in motion the American wunderwaffe.
In addition to real military campaigns, in which deck pilots poured 2520 tons of ammunition on the enemy's head (this is the capacity of the aircraft carrier's cellars), the Enterprise took part in dozens of numerous exercises, set records, and went around the world without stopping. tested new technology and demonstrated his "muscles" around the world … It is not surprising that the reactor core of the aircraft carrier burned out in two years instead of the planned 13 years of operation.
Brief technical reference
Nuclear strike aircraft carrier "Enterprise". Flight deck length - 331.6 meters. Full displacement - 93 thousand tons. The crew is 4,800 people. The speed is over 33 knots.
Armament: 70-80 aircraft. Typical composition of the wing (for 1975): 24 F-14 Tomcat carrier-based fighters, 24 light attack aircraft A-7 "Corsair", 12 attack aircraft A-6 "Intruder", 4 early warning aircraft E-2 "Hawkeye", 4 EA-6B Prowler electronic suppression aircraft, 4 KA-6D tankers, 3 RA-5C Viglente tactical reconnaissance aircraft, a squadron of S-3 Viking anti-submarine aircraft (up to 10 units), 8 SH transport and anti-submarine helicopters -3 Sea King.
The names of the planes are simply gorgeous: "Intruder" ("impostor"), "Prowler" ("marauder"), "Viglente" ("vigilante"). And also "Corsair" and "Hawkeye". The F-14, like all planes of the Grummam corporation, received the "cat" nickname - "Tomcat" (slang. "Huge fat cat").
Admittedly, the nuclear super-aircraft carrier has lived up to its name given to it in honor of the aircraft carrier Enterprise, which won the battle at Midway Atoll. The American sailors made the most of the new ship, and the United States got the maximum political and military dividends from the Enterprise project. All this pleasure was worth $ 450 million in 1960 prices. The price of "Enterprise" frightened the Pentagon - America refused to build nuclear aircraft carriers for 10 years.
But the Navy of the Soviet Union did not know fear of any threats. Soviet sailors were not afraid of the ocean depths and violent storms. In 1962, on four diesel submarines, our heroes went to break the American blockade without fear of the Enterprise. Against the backdrop of such ups and downs, funding problems seem like just a minor embarrassment. A problem that can be solved for money is not a problem.
Submarine aircraft
On December 28, 1963, the Soviet Union began building its super-response to the Enterprise. On this day, the cruising submarine K-162 of project 661 Anchar was laid down at the Sevmash plant, which received the nickname “Goldfish” among sailors. High-speed boat of a new generation, with a titanium hull, an improved nuclear power plant and with the ability to launch cruise missiles from a submerged position.
When designing the boat, by decision of the management, it was forbidden to use any already mastered devices, automation and equipment, a whole industry was created - never before had titanium been used as a structural material in shipbuilding. Working with the titanium "shell" of the submarine was a hassle - the already formed hull was dismantled several times on a slipway and reassembled.
Six years later, the Soviet miracle ship entered service; December 18, 1970 "Goldfish" set a world speed record underwater - 44, 7 knots (82 km / h)! An unrivaled result so far.
In the fall of 1971, the K-162 made a trip to the entire autonomy in the region of the Brazilian Basin, having risen to the surface of the ocean only once in two months. During its famous raid, K-162 staged a brutal pursuit of an aircraft carrier strike group of the US Navy. The aircraft carrier "Saratoga", despite all the numerous attempts, could not break away from the Soviet boat within 24 hours and, having decided that a whole squadron of submarine assassins was pursuing it, returned to its previous course. He categorically refused to further participate in the race and no longer paid attention to the presence of K-162. The commander of the nuclear submarine Golubkov wrote … "For the first time I felt a real opportunity to take any position I needed with respect to an aircraft carrier …".
The main weapon of the "Golden Fish" is the P-70 "Amethyst" anti-ship complex ("Starbright" - "starlight" according to NATO classification), 10 launchers on board in the bow, in the space between the light and durable hull. "Amethyst" for the first time allowed launching anti-ship missiles from under water, which sharply increased the combat stability of the boat. In technical terms, "Amethyst" is a subsonic missile, cruising speed - 0.9M. The design flight height is 80 meters above the water surface. The length of each rocket is 7 meters, the launch weight is 3.5 tons. As a warhead, a conventional charge (530 kg of explosives) or a special warhead with a capacity of 200 kilotons was used. The entire ammunition load could be fired with two volleys of 5 missiles at an interval of 3 minutes.
In addition to anti-ship missiles, the K-162 submarine was armed with a complex of torpedo weapons - 4 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber and 12 torpedoes for them, which somewhat expanded its capabilities. Hydroacoustic complex MGK-300 "Rubin" ensured the detection of noisy targets with simultaneous automatic tracking of two of them with data output to the missile and torpedo weapon control systems.
No one used these weapons in real combat conditions, but most experts believe that in the early 70s, the P-70 Amethyst anti-ship missiles no longer posed a significant threat to the naval forces of the NATO countries. First, the short firing range - 65 kilometers on average - did not allow the boat to strike from a safe distance. Secondly, even this range could not be provided without the use of external target designation means (as a rule, long-range Tu-95RTs scouts), which, in turn, put the Tupolev's crew in a dangerous position - for deck interceptors it is not difficult to shoot down a slow single plane.
Especially many questions were aroused by the fact that the "Goldfish" had an increased acoustic signature: at full speed in the central post, the noise level reached 100 decibels. In such conditions, the Soviet submarine was heard at the other end of the ocean. Despite all its excellent high-speed characteristics, the K-162 was completely devoid of the main property of any submarine - stealth, which called into question the feasibility of the program for the construction of such "super-high-speed" submarines. It makes no sense to compete in speed with anti-submarine aircraft. As a result, instead of the planned series of 10 nuclear submarines of pr.661 "Anchar", only one K-162 was built.
K-162 (since 1978, the tactical number has been changed to K-222) made several more trips and took part in the Ocean-75 global exercise. The unique submarine served under the flag of the USSR Navy for about 15 years and was decommissioned in 1984. Disposed of in 2010.
When the zombie boy starts whining about the "poverty" of the Soviet Union, and the admirals, whitened with gray hair, once again tell the tale of "asymmetric answers" and the search for "simple and cheap solutions", I feel sad. The construction of the super-high-speed titanium submarine K-162 cost the USSR 240 million rubles. Considering that in the 60s 90 kopecks were given for one dollar, the K-162 nuclear submarine cost as much as 2/3 of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Enterprise!
It is not for nothing that the boat was called "Goldfish". Its unique titanium case cost as much as if it were cast in solid gold. I'm only for it if "the armor is strong and our boats are fast", but when the submarine stands like a giant aircraft carrier … it doesn't look very reasonable. The only task that the K-162 could perform was the fight against the aircraft carriers of the US Navy (and even here there are a lot of doubts about the feasibility of the task).
"You don't count the cost of the wing!" - the attentive reader will be outraged. That's right, 80 planes and helicopters cost half an aircraft carrier. But the "Goldfish" is not the only weapon of Soviet sailors to fight aircraft carriers. That is only the Maritime Space Reconnaissance and Targeting System! I give this example in almost every article - the cost of operating the guidance system for the excellent P-700 Granit missiles is a billion dollars a year! What can be said about an "asymmetric response" if the cost of the annual operation of the Legend-M MCRC is comparable to the cost of the annual operation of two aircraft carrier groups of the US Navy? And how much did ekranoplanes and other "Caspian monsters" cost, for example?
Sometimes the cost of AUG is mistakenly included in the cost of escort ships. This is fundamentally wrong. Frigates, destroyers and submarines are essential components of any real fleet. The trick is that the US Navy ships rarely go alone, usually from them are formed "aircraft carrier strike groups" - as a result of this decision, each ship acquires additional capabilities, increasing the efficiency of the entire system as a whole. AUG is not a material object, it is a tactic of using naval forces. The aircraft carrier receives anti-missile and anti-submarine defense in the near zone, in turn, escort cruisers receive air cover at the distant lines. And, as you know, there is no more reliable air defense system than deck interceptors.
So why did it take to "reinvent the wheel" if it is clear from the time of Midway what type of ship is the master of the ocean. The Soviet Union was really lucky - the invaluable experience of using carrier-based aircraft was not obtained with our blood. The Japanese and Americans have tried and tested everything in battle. Works great! Why then?
Americans would not be Americans if they did not make a bright, colorful show out of an aircraft carrier.
To distract readers from sad thoughts, I propose to answer a simple question: you can imagine if in the courtyard of your house (331x78 meters - these are the dimensions of the Enterprise's flight deck) instead of a night parking there is an airfield. And instead of cars - 30 … 40 real planes. All this technique is constantly moving, sometimes accelerating to 200 km / h! Airfield tractors and special equipment scurry around, four catapults are wrapped in a ferry, the cables of aircraft finishers are pulled and helicopter blades flash. At the same time, the aircraft carrier itself moves at a speed of 60-70 km / h, there is a real hurricane from the wind on the decks, and the exhaust of working jet engines threaten to "blow off" you from a 20-meter height of the flight deck into the sea. Rumble, whistle, plumes of smoke. Still can't imagine how dangerous working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is? Then I suggest watching some funny video clips.
Here you are, the sailors from the "final checkers" roll around the deck like peas. The question is: what have these freaks forgotten under the belly of a plane taking off? It is their job - "final checkers" - to see if the plane is mounted on the catapult, if there are any breakdowns, fluid leaks, etc. after the plane has traveled across the deck to the starting position. They check: suddenly the plane somewhere "struck" on the wing of another car and something fell off. Very often the "inspectors" fall under the hot jet of a jet engine and are dragged across the deck. And sometimes he throws it overboard.
The next video - $ 50 million flew away in an unknown direction. The situation is as follows: the Intruder attack aircraft missed the landing and did not have time to go around. When the plane lost speed and there was a danger of its fall into the water, Airboss (chief air traffic controller) gave the order "Eject" ("Eject!"). The pilots obediently jumped out (in a 7-mile zone from the ship, they unquestioningly carry out all the dispatcher's commands). The empty plane refused to fall, lifted its nose and flew away behind the clouds.
Finally, a violent video. Children, pregnant women and persons with an unstable psyche are prohibited from viewing. The sailor was completely sucked into the jet engine (surprisingly, after that he is alive and well). Night flight, 20-year-old Sergeant Bridges hooks the nose landing gear of the Intruder to the catapult, the engines roar, the plane is ready for takeoff. The sailor forgets the safety rule, gets up to full height, gets into the suction zone and … disappears into the air intake (watch - 00:58). Crerosin gushes from the stalled engine …
