Previous articles in a series of materials about domestic anti-ship cruise missiles were devoted to coastal and air-based complexes. Read below about the missile systems that submarines are armed with.
Project 651
In 1955, work began on the creation of a new submarine, project 651. Initially, the development of a submarine for this project was to be based on project 645. However, in this case, it was possible to place four containers with P-5 missiles, but reserves for placing equipment, which was required for the P-6 missiles, was not. There were other reasons why the original idea had to be abandoned. Strict requirements for unification with previous projects were canceled.
Depth of application of four torpedo tubes of normal caliber less than 100 m. More important was the defensive armament, which consisted of 4 torpedo tubes of 400 mm caliber, which had a large ammunition reserve and were used at a depth of 200 m. The containers in which the P-6 missiles were located were located in high superstructure of the hull. If you look at the left, you can clearly see the cutouts behind the containers, designed for the outflow of rocket engine jets.
The missile carrier pr. 651 is the largest diesel-electric submarine in the domestic shipbuilding industry. They tried to bring such a large ship to the level of a nuclear-powered ship, but the practical results did not always correspond to the plan. Installation of diesel engines 1D43, 4000 hp each. and electric motors PG-141 with a capacity of 6000 hp. made it possible to reach a speed of 16 knots when surfaced and 18.1 knots when submerged. Here are just new diesels, not fully worked out in bench conditions, often refused.
The story with the power plant was even more interesting. In order to further increase the submerged range, the designers replaced the lead-acid batteries with silver-zinc ones. The problem that arose was not related to the fact that a tenth of the batteries of the first boat failed, the main problem was the shortage of silver. It is the deficit, not its cost. Therefore, only three boats with silver-zinc batteries were built. The option of using atomic energy was also considered, but these developments were not particularly successful.
The construction of the lead boat was started in 1960, the first launching took place on July 31, 1962. Sea trials were carried out in the Baltic in the same year. Missile weapons were tested only in the spring of next year. At the same time, it turned out that the jet of fuel combustion products from the rocket engine drowns out the rocket engine behind. The experiments have shown that the optimal launch of missiles will be in a checkerboard pattern, that is, 1-4-2-3, the minimum intervals between launches should be 6, 26 and 5 seconds, respectively. The main shooting took place during state tests, when the boat was transferred to the Northern Fleet. All three P-6 missiles fired on November 21, 1963, reached their target. Firing P-5 missiles gave a strange result: "the missile reached the battlefield, but the coordinates of the fall could not be determined."
In the mid-1960s, Project 651 was given the name "Kasatka", while in the navy these submarines were called "irons".
Most of the "irons" served in the North, two boats - in the Pacific Ocean. Ten years after the ships were withdrawn from the fleet, one of them ended up as a museum exhibit in the American city of St. Petersberg, the other in the German Peenemünde.
Project 675
Three years after the start of work on project 651, a decree was issued on the creation of project 675 with the maximum possible level of unification with project 659. It was supposed to reduce the development time due to the rejection of the project documentation. The basis of the technical project was not a tactical and technical assignment, but an addition to the sailors' requirements for project 659. Time has shown that it was not possible to develop the boat faster due to this. Consideration of the draft design revealed that to accommodate the Argument control system for the P-6, while maintaining the Sever system racks required for the P-5, an increase in the hull diameter by 1, 2 m was required. Then it was revealed that an increase in the hull length by 2, 8 m will help to place not 6 containers with missiles, but 8. An innovation was the addition of the Kerch hydroacoustic complex. The compartments were rearranged, the number of 400-mm torpedo tubes was halved, and, accordingly, their ammunition. And the weapons of normal caliber were left unchanged. The submarine of project 675 developed a speed of up to 22.8 knots, which is quite acceptable for a missile carrier.
Initially, the P-6 missile system was designed for 4 missiles of the boat of project 659. In project 675, the number of missiles increased to 8, but the possibility of a salvo from more than four missiles did not appear. As a result, the second four missiles could be fired only after half an hour, and not after 12-18 minutes, when the second salvo became already unlikely due to the deadly threat to the submarine, which had been on the surface for so long.
There was also a problem with the placement of P-5 and P-6 missiles at the same time. In two of the eight containers, the P-5 missiles could not be accommodated at all, there were other difficulties, as a result of which the P-5 missiles began to be removed from service altogether.
The lead boat was laid down in May 1961 and launched on September 6, 1962. The first tests in June 1963 were unsuccessful: only one of the five missiles hit the target. They also showed that, thanks to the high superstructure, it was possible to launch missiles at a speed of eight to ten knots with a sea state of up to 5 points. The boat was finished. As a result of the following tests, which took place on October 30, two missiles hit the target, the third flew over the target and self-destructed after 26 km. The very next day, the submarine was commissioned.
Project 675 "Shark" was the only type of domestic nuclear-powered ships in the mid-1960s. The name did not catch on. Later it was applied to project 941. The boat of project 675 was actively engaged in combat service as a means of fighting enemy aircraft carriers. They served in the fleet until 1989-95, long and intensive service was often accompanied by accidents.
Even before the laying of the first submarine, project 675, work was underway to modernize the missile carriers. It was planned to create a boat of project 675M, armed with 10-12 P-6 missiles, with two reactors, autonomy of 60 days, capable of reaching speeds of up to 28-30 knots and diving to a depth of 400 m. An additional pair of missiles, an increase in speed by six to seven knots and immersion depth of 100 m could not justify the increase in the power of the power plant and the increase in displacement by one and a half times. The shortcomings of the project 675 also remained uncorrected. When the P-6 missiles were launched, the submarine had to be on the surface for 24 minutes, the salvo was limited to 4 P-6 missiles or 5 strategic P-7 missiles.
P-70 "Amethyst"
Any submarine that appears on the surface is easily detected by enemy radar and becomes the prey of enemy aircraft and ships. In addition, it takes at least 6-15 minutes from surfacing to launching the missile, which the enemy uses to intercept the missile. Therefore, submariners have long dreamed of launching rockets from under the water.
In 1959, a decree was issued on the development of a cruise missile with an underwater launch. There were simply no world analogues at that time. In the same year, the preliminary design was completed. In the period August-September 1960, the missile was subjected to drop tests. At the first stage, 10 launches were made from the submersible stand "Amethyst" in Balaklava. On June 24, 1961, a dimensional and weight model was launched, which had only one starting unit from the standard equipment. The test results were good - the model adhered to the calculated trajectory under water and came to the surface normally.
In 1963-1964, the S-229 submarine under the 613AD project was converted into the carrier of the Amethyst missiles. In the second half of 1964, 6 single launches were made from its side, there were three direct hits of missiles on the target. In March 1965 - September 1966, tests were carried out in the Black Sea, 13 launches carried out were mostly successful.
The missile carrier for "Amethyst" was a submarine, project 661, created to fight enemy aircraft carriers. With a long submerged course, the boat developed a speed of up to 37-38 knots, that is, 5-7 knots more than its intended production. Along the sides of the bow of the hull, 10 Amethyst missiles were housed in containers. The main disadvantage of the missile carrier was that for launching all missiles, it was required to fire two salvoes with an interval of three minutes, which significantly reduced the effect of a missile attack.
The next missile carrier was Project 670 submarines. The first such submarine entered service in 1967. Eight container launchers were placed outside the hull in front of the boat. Two Amethyst missiles were equipped with nuclear weapons, the other six were conventional. The shooting was carried out in two volleys of four missiles at a boat speed of up to 5, 5 knots at a depth of up to 30 m. In this case, the sea swell should be within 5 points.
The launch was made from a container that was pre-filled with seawater. After leaving the container, the rocket spread its wings, the starting engines and underwater engines were turned on. When reaching the surface, the starting engines of the air trajectory were triggered, then the main engine. The flight continued at an altitude of 50-60 m at a subsonic speed, which greatly impeded the interception of an air defense missile of enemy ships. A short firing range (40-60 km or 80 km) made it possible to carry out target designation by means of a submarine. The Amethyst missiles were equipped with the Tor autonomous on-board control systems implementing the “fire and forget” principle.
Tests of missiles "Amethyst" from the submarine pr. 670 A took place in October-November 1967 in the Northern Fleet. There were 2 single launches, 2 double and one launch of four missiles at once. The results can be judged at least by the fact that in 1968 the Amethyst missile system received the secret P-70 index and was put into service.
The main disadvantages of this type of missile are a small firing range, low noise immunity and selectivity of the on-board control system. In addition, the rocket was not universal, the launch could be carried out exclusively from a submarine and from under the water.
One of the submarines armed with Amethyst missiles, from the beginning of 1988 to 1991, was in the Indian Navy, having spent about a year in autonomous voyages, all firing ended with direct hits on the target. India offered to extend the lease or buy out a similar boat, however, under pressure from the United States, the leadership of the Russian Federation refused to continue cooperation in this direction.
P-120 Malachite
In 1963, a decree was issued on the development of a unified anti-ship missile system for use from submarines and surface ships, in particular, in order to replace the P-70 on submarines of the project 670A. The preliminary design of the Malachite rocket was completed in February 1964, the first samples were made four years later. In 1972, P-120s were put into service for surface small missile ships "Gadfly", project 1234, and in 1973, for equipping submarines "Chaika", project 670M, work on which was started in the late 1960s.
The P-120 rocket had a folding wing and outwardly strongly resembled its predecessor, the P-70. The warhead of the rocket was high-explosive fragmentation (840 kg) or nuclear (200 kt). The flight speed of the rocket corresponded to M = 1, and the range reached 150 km. An innovation was the use of a universal launch unit, which made it possible to start both from a submerged submarine and from a surface ship. The APLI-5 onboard control system was very different from the one that was installed on the P-70.
Project 670 M submarines were equipped with 8 SM-156 launchers, which, in combination with the Rubicon hydroacoustic complex (detection range over 150 km), made it possible to use the Malachite complex at maximum range without external target designation. KSU "Danube-670M" simultaneously tested all eight missiles and prepared them for launch, while the preparation time was reduced by 1, 3 times compared to the "Amethyst" complex. The missiles were launched at a depth of 50 m from a container filled with seawater. There were six such boats in total, they served 25 years - their established service life. And they were safely withdrawn from the Navy.
Late 1975 - mid 1980 - the period of modernization of the P-120. During this time, significant progress has been made. The operation of the on-board control system has become more reliable with regard to the seeker, its sensitivity, immunity from interference and selectivity have been increased. The generation of commands in the shipborne control system "Danube-1234" and the entry of data into the BSU of the rocket were accelerated. And the design of the three-container launchers and the loading device has changed for the better.
P-700 "Granite"
Work on a new anti-missile system based on the P-700 Granit missile, which has an underwater launch capability, was completed in 1981. Two years later, the anti-ship missiles were adopted by the submarines of Project 949, the nuclear cruiser of Project 11442 and the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, Project 11435.
The P-700 has a sustainer turbojet engine, develops a supersonic flight speed of up to 4M, a range of up to 500 km. Autonomous throughout the flight, the missile has a multivariate attack program and an increased level of noise immunity, therefore it is used to defeat groups of surface targets.
The on-board control system is capable of easily understanding the jamming environment, rejecting false targets and highlighting true ones.
Shooting can be carried out in a salvo from all missiles or in rapid fire mode. In the second case, a gunner rocket rises over several low-trajectory missiles. There is an exchange of information about the targets, their distribution, classification according to the degree of importance, as well as the tactics of the attack and the plan for its implementation. If the gunner is shot down, another missile takes his place. The on-board computer, among other things, has data on countering modern electronic warfare, as well as techniques for evading enemy air defense weapons. It is almost impossible to shoot down such a missile. Even if an anti-missile missile hits it, thanks to its speed and mass, the Granite will reach the target.
The P-700 is in service with 12 Project 949A nuclear submarines of the Antey type, with 24 anti-ship missiles each. 4 heavy nuclear cruisers of project 1144 have 20 missiles in underdeck launchers SM-233. TAVKR "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov" (project 1143.5) is equipped with 12 anti-ship missiles.
Club-S
The first launch of the Club-S missile systems developed and created in Yekaterinburg took place in March 2000 from a nuclear submarine in the Northern Fleet, and in June from a diesel submarine. The shooting results were considered successful.
The missile system is based on the Alpha missiles, which began development in 1983 and were first shown to the public in 1993. In the same 1993, the missiles were put into service. This missile system consists of combat assets (missiles for various purposes, a universal control system and launchers), as well as a complex of ground equipment that solves the problems of technical support.
Complex "Club-S" uses several types of missiles. The first is the submarine-based anti-ship missile system ZM-54E, which is designed to destroy different classes of surface ships individually or in groups, subject to active opposition. The seeker of the missile has a range of 60 km, operates in rough seas up to 5-6 points and is well protected from interference. The components of the rocket are the launching booster, a low-flying subsonic sustainer stage and a supersonic detachable penetrating warhead. The two-stage subsonic anti-ship missile system ZM-54E1 is used for the same purposes, differs in shorter length, twice the mass of the warhead and 1.4 times the range.
Ballistic guided missile 91RE1 is used against enemy submarines. The missile's warhead can be both the MPT-1UME high-speed anti-submarine torpedo and the APR-3ME underwater missile with a sonar homing system. The rocket can be launched at a carrier speed of up to 15 knots.
The purpose of the underwater-based two-stage cruise missile ZM-14E is to defeat ground targets, the appearance, dimensions and propulsion system are similar to the ZM-54E1 anti-ship missile, some similarities are observed with the RK-55 "Granat". The subversive part is already high-explosive, and not penetrating, the detonation is carried out in the air to cause the greatest damage to the object. The missile is equipped with an active seeker, the performance indicators of which are superior to foreign counterparts. The launch weight is 2000 kg, the warhead weight is 450 kg. At a flight speed of up to 240 m / s, the missile hits targets at a distance of up to 300 km.
There are practically no weather-climatic and physical-geographical restrictions for the use of the Club-S missile system. The unified naval part of the missiles makes it easy to change the composition of the ammunition in connection with a specific task. There are no world analogues of "Club-S", therefore the presence of this missile system can turn even a weak fleet into a serious enemy.
The last, fourth article in the series devoted to anti-ship cruise missiles will be about ship complexes.
