Comparison of the submarine fleet of Russia and the United States: whose is stronger?

Between America and Russia has long been fighting in virtually all areas of activity. The arms race is a constant companion to the rivalry of countries. Absolute leader to identify and failed for many years. Leadership in the military industry sector is constantly moving from one state to another. In such a specific industry as the submarine fleet, at the moment the United States takes the first place.

However, this was not always the case, during the Soviet era, the domestic manufacturer kept the palm tree. Thanks to the powerful base created by Soviet designers, even at this stage in the base of the Russian fleet there are such exceptional specimens, which have no analogues in the whole world. So all the same, whose submarine fleet is stronger - Russia or the United States? Who is the winner in the race - Russian exclusivity or American technicality.

The first design of the submarine

Comparison, whose submarine fleet is stronger (Russia or the United States), has begun since the eighteenth century. Then the subject of the dispute was the first military submarine. For a long time they could not decide who had become the first developer of such a device.

The designer and test of the first underwater vessel was Cornelius Drebbel. He is a physicist and mechanic from Holland. Testing his development, he spent on the River Thames. The ship was a boat. Her skin was skin soaked with oil. Management and movement was carried out thanks to the oars. They protruded a short distance into the underwater space. The crew could include three officers and twelve oarsmen. According to historical data, King James I was present during the tests. The technical characteristics of the constructed vessel allowed him to stay in the underwater space for several hours. The limit of the depth of immersion was five meters.

But further development interrupted the death of Drebbel. His follower and continuer of ideas was another scientist from France who wrote a practical guide to the construction of submarine vessels. According to his recommendations, the boat should be made of metal (mostly copper), it should resemble fish, but the edges should be pointed. It is not necessary to improve this device in the dimensional plan.

Developments of rival countries

Comparison of the submarine fleet of Russia and the United States begins with the first vehicles. In addition, they were built with a difference of half a century. This gives us the right to say that the beginning of the history of the submarine fleet is approximately the same for both countries.

The modern submarine fleet of Russia owes much to its compatriot Efim Nikonov, whose ship began the development of technologies and methods for constructing submarines. It was a simple carpenter from the Pokrovskoye village outside Moscow. He wanted to translate his development into practice and sent a petition to Peter I, in which he proposed a draft submarine. The idea of a secret ship, which would be able to smash enemy ships, attracted the king very much. On his orders, Nikonov came to St. Petersburg and proceeded to construct the apparatus. The project was implemented in three years. At the first trials personally attended by Peter I. Soon, while improving and improving the project, the talented carpenter adapted to the ship powder flamethrowers. The king, seeing such successes, suggested starting the construction of a similar vessel of greater configuration. But the prospect in this matter was seen only by Peter I and after his death the development of the underwater space ceased. So the boat that was not finished rotted in the shed.

Perfection of processes in production

Comparison of the submarine fleet of Russia and the United States is impossible without mentioning the achievements of scientists and engineers, the development of which has become the basis of modern activity. For the first time this project was put into production in the thirty-fourth year of the nineteenth century. The head of the project was K. A. Schilder, who was a military engineer by education.

The structure of the vessel included special paddles, by means of which the vehicle was moved under water. When they were developed, the principle of bionics was taken, that is, the laws of nature were taken into account for the creation of technical equipment. In this case, the engineer drew attention to the structure of crow's feet. Such devices were placed in pairs on both sides of the body. In order to run such "paws", it was necessary to make efforts of sailors-paddlers. It was very inconvenient, because with the incredible efforts of the crew the speed was not too impressive. It could develop up to a maximum of half a kilometer per hour. In order to improve this process and make it more productive and efficient at lower costs, the project manager planned to use electrical devices. But the development of this industry was going on in leaps and bounds, and this hampered the introduction of new ideas.

The boat was a military model. On its armament there were rocket launchers. Numerous problems brought to naught the given idea, and work on the modernization of the ship was stopped.

The use of an engine in a submarine fleet

The next stage in the development of the submarine fleet is the introduction of engines into the design of the ships. The inventor IF Aleksandrovsky came first to such a decision. To implement his idea, he chose a motor running on compressed air. The inventor put his idea into practice. According to his design, a boat was made. But the project itself was not particularly successful, as productivity still left much to be desired. The engine allowed to swim at a speed of one and a half knots only three miles.

Success in the implementation of this idea was achieved only by another Russian inventor SK Dzhevetsky. Comparison of the submarine fleet of Russia and the United States gives the right to say that at this stage the Russian inventors made a breakthrough, because Dzhevetsky installed on his boat an engine that powered the battery. At that time in the world there was no analogue to such a ship, which could move from electricity. In this case, the device could develop a speed of four nodes.

According to the project of the same inventor, the boat "Zapadniy" was built. Its main feature, which when comparing the submarine fleet of Russia and the United States again gives leadership to the Russians (there was no such vessel anywhere else in the world at that time), is a single engine. The only drawback of the device is the trace in the form of bubbles, which it leaves behind. That is, because of the low level of disguise, it can not be used for military purposes.

At that time in the given branch development and introduction of power installations actively went. It was at that time that such schemes and principles were developed that are used in the design of boats to this day. Developments were also carried out in the armaments sector. Dzhevetski designed torpedo tubes that were in service with the submarine fleet for a long period of time. But the backwardness of such industries as electrical engineering and the motor industry, did not allow to create a full-fledged combat ship.

Submarine Dolphin

Compare the submarine fleet of the Russian Federation and the United States can be on this device. The ship was erected in the early twentieth century by the Bubnov and Goryunov project by the Baltic plant in St. Petersburg. The motor system consisted of two parts. The first was a motor running from gasoline, and the second was an electric motor. The development was so powerful and non-standard that the technical characteristics surpassed the American device "Fulton".

Since that moment, the development of the Russian Federation submarine fleet has gone very fast. Qualified staff were trained. Of the design developments, this industry has become a reliable type of the country's combat troops. The government strongly supported this sector. And after the introduction of a special breastplate for submarine officers, the desire to serve in these troops has increased, as has the authority of the sphere as a whole.

The current composition of the Russian Navy

At the moment, the Navy of the Russian Federation includes five divisions. Each of them consists of surface and submarine forces. Allocate the following components of this unit of the army:

1. The Baltic Fleet. The main base of this component is in Baltiysk. The flagship is the destroyer "Persevere". Underwater forces of the Baltic are characterized by three diesel boats. By the way, a comparison of the submarine fleet of Russia and the United States (2016) suggests that this type of vehicle exists only on Russian territory. In the United States, the production of this kind of vessel has long been abandoned.
2. The Northern Fleet. The main base of this component is in Severomorsk. The flagship is the heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great. The Northern Submarine Fleet of Russia is distinguished by a great variety of technical means. On the basis of this unit there are three heavy missile submarine cruisers and eight strategic missile submarines. Submarines of the northern fleet of Russia are represented by models with cruise missiles (3 units), multipurpose atomic (12 units), diesel (8 units), special purpose (2 units).
3. Black Sea Fleet. The main base of this component is in Sevastopol. The flagship is the Moscow missile cruiser. Submarine component is represented by two diesel submarines.
4. Pacific Fleet. The main base of this component is in Vladivostok. The flagship is the Varyag rocket cruiser. The submarine forces have on balance 5 missile submarine cruisers, 6 nuclear submarines with cruise missiles, 7 multi-purpose nuclear submarines and 8 diesel models.
5. The Caspian Flotilla. The main base of this component is in Astrakhan. The flagship is the patrol ship "Tatarstan". This unit does not have underwater forces.

Multipurpose devices

Comparison of the submarine fleet of Russia and the USA (in 2016, as well as other years, did not bring significant breakthroughs in this sphere) allows to assess the potential of the naval forces as a whole. One of the most important vehicles that are equipped with the technical equipment of the army of any powerful naval power are the boats facing operational-tactical tasks. The purpose of such vessels is the destruction of the enemy's surface targets and the destruction of the shoreline. As a weapon, cruise missiles and torpedoes are used. Depending on the type of weapons, submarines are:

• With cruise missiles;
• With torpedoes;
• With cruise missiles and torpedoes.

The US Navy's submarine fleet has a large number of operational-tactical submarines. It is on such vessels that the general military concept of America is aimed. If we take another classification criterion, such as quality, then we can not single out an obvious leader. This is due to the high technical potential of both countries.

Operational-tactical boats of the USA

What is dangerous is the US submarine fleet, so it's exactly this kind of submarine. On the basis of the US naval forces there are fifty-nine models of this type. Most of them (and this is thirty-nine ships) came into balance already in the seventy-sixth year of the last century. They are called "Los Angeles" and belong to the third generation. According to the type of armament, they belong to a mixed type. They include anti-ship missiles Harpoon and torpedoes. In the future, it is planned to gradually remove these vessels from circulation and replace them with newer models. It is planned to carry out such modernization until the thirties.

The bet is made on boats of the fourth generation. They are going to replace "Los Angeles". These include models such as "Virginia" and "Sea Wolf". The latter was developed in the nineties. Its construction costs four and a half billion dollars. But the price is justified by technical parameters. It is equipped with a powerful complex of cruise missiles and torpedoes. Also, its peculiarity is the low level of published noise. With the release of each model, the boat is becoming more and more perfect. However, a comparison of the submarine fleet of Russia and the United States (2017) gives the right to say that the domestic "Ash" is in no way inferior to the "Sea Wolf" of the first series.

American advantage

The submarine fleet of the USA and Russia for 2016 differs not only in quantitative composition, but also in generations of models. The American Virginia submarine was designed much later than the Sea Wolf. But despite this, according to technical characteristics, "Sivulf" is much ahead of its follower. If we compare both these American models with the domestic "Ash", then it is somewhere in between. A distinctive feature and advantage of the Russian submarine is the quality of weapons. The cruise missiles Caliber are much more effective than the American Tomahawk.

Among the Russian models at the level of the best American boats is only "Severodvinsk". But he is only one, although the project provides for the construction of three more. But by the time they are built, America will move to a new stage of development.

Diesel models

Underwater fleet of Russia (photo below) is represented by a powerful complex of diesel models. This is how the domestic sector differs from the American one. In the United States, the release of boats of this type was abandoned in the middle of the last century. In Russia, such submarines are not only not going to be removed from the balance, but continue to actively produce and improve them. Most of the vessels of this type are the modernized model "Varshavianka". By their technicality they are inferior to nuclear-powered boats, but in armament - not at all.

In the long term, the launch of the Kalina diesel ship is planned. Its difference is an engine that operates without oxygen. Such a model can be in the underwater space for about a month, and it will not need to surface.

So, the US Navy is now at the peak of development. The Russian navy is somewhat behind in the qualitative sense, although active research is being carried out in several areas. True, it is not yet known which development will be the most successful.