Gourt Home::Gourt :: Typhoon class submarine
| Career | Naval Ensign of Russia.svg|
|---|---|
| Ordered: | ? |
| Laid down: | March 3, 1977 |
| Launched: | September 23, 1980 |
| Commissioned: | December 12 1981 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | |
| Draft: | |
| Displacement: | Surfaced: 23,200-24,500 tonnes Submerged: 33,800-48,000 tonnes |
| Propulsion: | 2×OK-650 pressurized-water nuclear reactors → each 2×VV-type steam turbines → each 2 propellers |
| Complement: | 163 men |
| Armament: | 1×9K38 Igla SAM | 4×650 mm torpedo tubes
| Speed: | Surfaced: Submerged: |
| Maximum depth: | |
The Typhoon class submarine was a type of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine deployed by the Soviet Navy in the 1980s. With a maximum displacement of 48,000 tonnes, Typhoons are the largest class of submarine ever built. The NATO reporting name stems from the use of the word "typhoon" (тайфун) by Leonid Brezhnev in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine. The Typhoon class was developed under Project 941 as the Russian Akula class (Акула), meaning shark. It is sometimed mixed up with other submarines, as Akula is the name NATO uses to designate the Russian Project 971 Shooka-B (Щука-Б) class attack submarines.
Typhoon submarines are one of the quietest sea vessels in operation, being quieter and yet more maneuverable than their predecessors. This is partly due to the vessels' large size, which allows them to minimize noise caused by water. Besides their missile armament, the Typhoon class features six torpedo tubes; two are designed to handle RPK-2 (SS-N-15) missiles or Type 53 torpedoes, and the other four are designed to launch RPK-7 (SS-N-16) missiles, Type 65 torpedoes, or mines. A Typhoon class submarine can stay submerged for periods up to 180 days in normal conditions, and potentially more if necessity arises (e.g. nuclear war).
Typhoon class submarines feature multiple pressure hulls that simplify internal design while making the vessel much wider than a normal submarine. In the main body of the sub, two Delta class titanium pressure hulls lie parallel with a third, smaller pressure hull above them (which protrudes just below the sail), and two other pressure hulls for torpedoes and steering gear. This also greatly increases their survivability - even if one pressure hull is breached, the crew members in the other are safe and there is less potential for flooding. High internal volume also allows Typhoon class submarines to provide good conditions for their crews, including sport facilities, sauna, swimming pool and a smoking room.
Six Typhoon class submarines were built, with each carrying 20 R-39 missiles (SS-N-20) with a maximum of 10 MIRV nuclear warheads each. Originally, the submarines were designated by hull numbers only. Names were later assigned to the four vessels retained by the Russian Navy, which were sponsored by either a city or company. The construction of an additional vessel (hull number TK-210) was cancelled and never completed. Only the first of these submarines to be constructed, the Dmitry Donskoi, is still in service with the Russian Navy, serving as a test platform for the Bulava (SS-NX-30) missile currently under development. All the R-39 missiles have been retired. The Typhoons are slated to be replaced with the Borei class starting in 2007.
Vessels
| # | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned |
|---|---|---|---|
| TK-208 | March 3, 1977 | September 23, 1980 | December 12, 1981 |
| TK-202 | October 1, 1980 | April 26, 1982 | December 28, 1983 |
| TK-12 | April 27, 1982 | December 17, 1983 | December 27, 1984 |
| TK-13 | January 5, 1984 | February 21, 1985 | December 29, 1985 |
| TK-17 | February 24, 1985 | August 1986 | November 6, 1987 |
| TK-20 | January 6, 1987 | June 1988 | September 1989 |
| TK-210 | Cancelled | ||
Typhoon-based cargo vessel
The Submarine Cargo Vessel is a proposed idea by the Rubin Design Bureau where a Typhoon has its missile launchers removed and replaced with cargo holds. The projected cargo capacity of this configuration is 15,000 tonnes.
Typhoon class submarines in fiction
A fictional Typhoon class submarine called Красный Октябрь (Red October), with enlarged size and fictional silent propulsion system using a Magnetohydrodynamic drive, is the subject of the Tom Clancy novel and movie The Hunt for Red October.
Typhoon submarines are also the subject of a fictional novel, Typhoon, written by Mark Joseph, which is about an attempted takeover of the Soviet Union by rebellious officers using Typhoon submarines to threaten nuclear missile launches on their own country of Russia.
Typhoon class submarines are available as naval units when playing the Soviet faction in the Red Alert 2 strategy game - however these were armed only with torpedoes, and were not ballistic missile submarines.
A fictional Typhoon class submarine named the Nikodim is mentioned in The Arctic Incident as the drop zone for Artemis Fowl senior on the Kola Peninsula, although this submarine is one of over a hundred in the stretch of coast near Sevoromorsk.
The Typhoon class submarines are the largest and best armed in the shareware game SinkSub Pro. *
See also
- Intercontinental ballistic missile
- Submarine-launched ballistic missile
- Nuclear warfare
- Nuclear strategy
- Submarine Cargo Vessel
- Ohio-class submarine
External links
- National Geographic: Typhoon class
- NATO Code Names for submarines and ships
- Federation of American Scientists: Typhoon
- Haze Gray
- NRDC Nuclear Notebook - Russian Nuclear Forces, 2005
- Rubin official site
- Wikimapia satellite image of three Typhoon class submarines
Notes
- Only 20 torpedoes and/or AShMs can be loaded.
- TK-208 received the name Dmitri Donskoi.
- TK-12 received the name Simbirsk in 2001.
- TK-17 received the name Arkhangelsk on November 18, 2002.
- TK-20 received the name Severstal.
Russian and Soviet navy submarine classes | Submarine classes
Typhoon-Klasse | Classe Typhoon | タイフーン級原子力潜水艦 | Classe Typhoon | Подводные лодки проекта 941 «Акула»
"Typhoon class submarine"