Representation ImageĪt present, of the six vessels, three have been effectively discharged from naval service one is still in operation while the last two are expected to re-furbished and re-outfitted to suit the contemporary Russian requirements.Īrmed with nuclear weaponry, the Typhoon Class submarines did not face any major wartime action. However on account of several constraints, only six submarines were able to be put into operation and the construction of the seventh vessel was abruptly abandoned. The original plan was to construct a fleet of seven of these naval vessels. Up to 160 people could be housed within a Typhoon Class submarine during its active operational duty extending up to three-to-five months.The submarines measured 175 metres lengthwise, 23 metres breadth wise with a draft of 12 metres and at speeds ranging up to 27 knots.The maximum displacement offered by each of the six nuclear submarine is around 48,000 tonnes.Equipped with ballistic projectiles, the six submarines were propelled through two nuclear reactors, generating almost 200 megawatts (MW) of power each.At the time of their construction, the submarines were intended to be the Soviet answer to the United States’ Ohio Class submersibles. As compared to the then-conventional submarine designing of narrower-heads, the Russian submarines were broader which added to their overall subtle movements while on water. The typhoon class submarines’ hulls were multiply covered in order to enable feasibility for longer underwater sustenance and to provide for the crew’s basic comforts. However the most important feature of the submarines was the sturdiness of the vessel’s hull. The submarines could attack any approaching vessel under the cover of the ice without having to worry about damages to their torso or to the naval crew inhabiting it. The Russian submarines were well advanced for their time and intended to be the absolute retaliatory vessels especially in the Northern oceanic areas prone to sub-zero temperatures. But in fact it is this aspect that makes the largest submarine so important in contemporary parlance. Representation ImageĪt first, this appears to be quite contradictory with the hugeness of the vessel. Built in the Severodvinsk shipbuilding yard in the 80s, the biggest submarine is known for its complete stealth and soundlessness while moving under water. Though referred to as Typhoon in English, they are known as Akula (shark) in native Russian. One of the last remaining vestiges of the former Soviet Union, they are the biggest submarines ever designed and built. The Typhoon Class submarines merits an honorary mention, in this context. Such an engine would allow the sub to stealthily linger off the East Coast of the United States with first-strike capability.Maritime history charts several unique submarine vessels that have played important parts in shaping today’s present – both positively as well as negatively. The Typhoon itself was popularized in the Tom Clancy novel-turned-film, The Hunt for Red October, which featured a super-Typhoon equipped with additional missile capabilities and nearly-silent pump-jet propulsion. In such an instance, the Typhoon – which was designed to hide beneath the thick ice of the Arctic Circle and thus under the cover of Soviet naval forces – would utilize its reinforced hull to break through the ice and rise for a launch. These multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles ( MIRVs ) could travel up to 8,300 kilometers and would be launched in the event of an outbreak of nuclear hostilities between the Soviet Union and the United States. With news of the Ohio-class’ ability to pack up to 192 nuclear warheads on its set of Trident ballistic missiles -and given the serious attention in the Cold War paid to warhead numbers-the Soviets built the Typhoon to carry twenty R-39 Rif ballistic missiles, each equipped with ten one-hundred kiloton nuclear warheads and each able to seek individual targets within a range of the original missile’s strike location. Mostly a Cold War relic, this underwater behemoth was developed and built in the 1970s in an attempt to match the then-nascent Ohio-class subs being built by the United States. Despite being close in length to the United States’ Ohio-class submarine at around 175 meters, the Typhoon is significantly wider: Ohio-class subs come in at roughly thirteen meters wide, with the Typhoon with a beam of twenty-three meters. The Russian Typhoon-class nuclear-powered submarine, also known as the “ Akula,” is the largest submarine ever built.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |