In the 1996 the decision was taken to put the "TK-12 Simbirsk" out of service, followed in the 1997 by the "TK-13" and in the 1999 by the "TK-202". This decision had a deadly impact on the career of the "Typhoon" because with the complete elimination of the "R-39 Rif" they found themselves deprived of their only strategic offensive weapon. Of particular importance in this case was Russia's decision to completely eliminate the "R-39 Rif" missiles with their multiple nuclear warheads and not to replace them with any new missiles of the same category. In line with the new Russian practice of renaming naval units with the name of cities or important personalities, the first, third, fifth and sixth submarines respectively became the "TK-208 Dmitry Donskoy", "TK-12 Simbirsk "," TK-17 Arkhangelsk "and" TK-20 Severstal "while the" TK-202 "and the" TK-13 "kept the original name.ĭespite the excellent technical characteristics, the "Typhoons" fell victims of the arms reduction plans sanctioned by the end of the "Cold War". The other 6 boats, however, remained in active service and, given the fundamental importance of the new Russian Federation in the strategic forces, they continued to carry out a sustained cycle of cruises and operational deployments while maintaining a level of readiness and efficiency well above that of the rest of the then decrepit Russian armed forces. The initial program involved the construction of 10 units but only 7 received a formal name, respectively: "TK-208", "TK-202", "TK-12", "TK-13", "TK-17", " TK-20 ”and“ TK-210 ”, (where TK stands for“ Тяжёлая Крейсерская ”-“ Heavy Cruiser ”, a name used to confuse foreign secret services), however the end of the“ Cold War ”and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the cancellation of the last planned 3 units and to the dismantling of the "TK-210", still incomplete and unusable on the naval ports. Their fame also involved the general public after the publication, on October 1, of Tom Clancy's book "Hunt for the Red October" ("The Great Escape of the Red October" in Italian) from which it was later taken in the 1984 also a lucky film with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin in the role of protagonists.Īlthough they were armed with Type 53 conventional torpedoes, Viyuga RPK-2 nuclear warhead anti-submarine cruise missiles and even an 9k38 Igla anti-air defense system (SA-18 Grouse in NATO code), the real "claws" of the "Typhoons" were the 20 intercontinental ballistic missiles "R-39 Rif" ("SS-N-20 Sturgeon" in NATO code), the most massive ballistic missiles ever created, launched from the wells "D-19" placed in the bow of the boats.Ĭonsidering the fact that each of the "R-39 Rif" missiles was able to accommodate 10 automatically steerable nuclear warheads, the entire "Typhoon" flotilla deployed by the Soviet Union in the 80 years of the last century had an overall capacity of 1200 nuclear warheads not only, given the particular construction characteristics and extreme stability, the "Typhoons" were the only ballistic missile submarines capable of launching their own arsenals even when they were moored at naval docks, a possibility that further increased the value of "weapons of strategic deterrence ”from the potentially immediate use. Made of titanium and characterized by the presence of multiple reinforced hulls to increase their chances of survival even when directly hit by both torpedoes and enemy depth bombs, the "Typhoons" are still the largest submarines ever deployed by a any of the great powers. Officially named "Project 941 Akula" ("Shark" in Russian), the "Typhoons" were designed and built at the end of the 70 years and over the years 80 as a Soviet response to the introduction of the "Ohio class" by of the US Navy. Among the numerous military vehicles deployed by the great powers during the so-called "Cold War" which captured the collective imagination more than any other, effectively representing the fears of an entire era, the Soviet ballistic missile submarines of the "Typhoon class" they certainly deserve a first-rate position.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |