"Varshavyanka" is a submarine. Submarine of the class "Varshavianka"

The middle of the twentieth century went down in history as a time of revolutionary technological breakthroughs in all fields of technology, science and even culture. As soon as this period is not called: the century of cybernetics, the era of cosmonautics and even the era of rock and roll. In the USSR, the world's first nuclear power plant was commissioned back in the late 1940s, four years after Hiroshima. The icebreaker with a nuclear power plant was also built in the USSR (1957). And three years earlier, the Nautilus nuclear submarine was solemnly launched into the US. The era of the nuclear submarine fleet began. It was thought that diesel submarines were forever a thing of the past. But it turned out that in some cases, there is no substitute for them. An example is the world's quietest submarine project 877 Varshavianka.

NPS - advantages and disadvantages

The advantages of submarines with an atomic power plant are obvious. They do not need to regularly surface to recharge the batteries, the radius of operational use is almost unlimited, as well as the time at depth. It is only necessary to load food into the holds and pump drinking water into the tanks (however, there are also desalination plants). Inside the compartments is spacious, the living conditions of the crew are quite comfortable, and the combat capabilities are such that one unit is enough to arrange dozens of Hiroshima. But there are some problem points. The reactor can be silenced only in the event of an accident, so the boat is constantly noisy. Practically "lie down on the bottom" and quietly sit out is impossible.

Whatever the safe power installation, but the cooling of the thermal circuits requires pumping seawater, which then, though weakly, but "fonite", and on this trail the ship can be "calculated" with the help of sensitive instruments. In addition, any nuclear submarine (nuclear submarine) is of considerable size, and therefore there are restrictions on walking in the shallow waters of the World Ocean.

Why did you need a diesel submarine

After the advent of the armed fleets probable opponents of these invisible cruisers on the surface, similar ships began to be built for the Soviet Navy. Soon it turned out that the samples of domestic nuclear submarines differ from foreign ones, and not for the better. Acoustic means of detecting them quite quickly were detected by the noise of propellers and engines. This problem was solved later, and in the late sixties and early seventies external threats were decided to give an asymmetric answer. In 1974, KB "Rubin" received from the Commander of the Navy SG Gorshkov TZ, which listed the main requirements for the new ship: low visibility, a wide range of functions and a reduced number of crew members. Four years later the first "Varshavianka" descended from the slipways in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The submarine met all the requirements of the terms of reference, and by many indicators even surpassed the parameters specified in it.

The design of the submarine

Submarines consist of two bodies, one in the other (according to the "matryoshka" principle).

The light shell serves as a fairing, under which the so-called CGB (main ballast cisterns) and the CWC (auxiliary) are hidden. The main ballast is designed to create positive or negative buoyancy, that is, it ensures the ascent and dipping of the ship. Auxiliary tanks create a trim (that is, a longitudinal horizontal inclination of the body) on the nose or stern, and also serve to balance the heel.

The crew, armament, all the necessary machines, including the electric motor, batteries, the equipment of the GKP (main command post), the galley and many other things are enclosed in a strong case divided into compartments. The "Varshavianka" is not an exception. The submarine is divided into six compartments. Usually the first and last of them are called torpedoes, but the ships of Project 877 have this weapon only in the bow, along with a hydroacoustic post equipped with a special retractable (down) shaft. But on this, the design features are not exhausted.

Constructive unusualness

The general designer of KB "Rubin" Yuri Kormilitsin gave the shape of the ship the outlines, characteristic for the nuclear missile carrier. In the cross section, it is almost circular, unlike other diesel counterparts, flattened along the sides. The frames, which, according to the classical scheme, were located inside the rugged hull, moved into the mezhkopusnoe space, due to this original solution a lot of space was freed up, which allowed to significantly improve the living conditions for the crew and put the equipment in the most rational way. The Varshavyanka submarine became the most modern ship of the Soviet Navy in the aspect of automation, mechanization and cybernetics, which reduced the load on the crew - with its smaller numbers - and leveled the notorious human factor in many situations.

Low visibility

Sonar operates on the same principle as a conventional radar. Sonar emits short pulses of audio frequency, which, reflected from underwater objects, create a picture of the situation. As in the "Stells" system, the means for reducing the visibility of submarines are mainly based on the reduction of the reflectivity of the surface. This special material protects the "Varshavianka". The submarine is covered with a special sound-absorbing layer, which reduces the noise emanating from the vehicles and mechanisms of the ship, and simultaneously absorbs the signals of the hostile sonar.

Turbulence and cavitation, which inevitably occur near the rudders, prompted the designers of the Rubin to shift them closer to the midshippangout (center of the hull).

But to ensure low visibility it is not enough to be a "black hole" (as the project 877 called the hydroacoustics of NATO fleets). After all, not for idle walks on the sea was created "Varshavianka". The submarine itself must hunt enemy ships, and for this it needs "eyes" and "ears". Detect the enemy before he can see you, that's the main task of the crew. There are two kinds of sonar: active and passive. The former emit acoustic impulses, they act at a greater distance, but at the same time they unmask the ship. The second use the results of the work of other sonar and sea noise, they are more difficult to use, but more secure. A submarine of the class "Varshavianka" has both types of sonar and, in addition to them, a perfect system for processing the information obtained on the basis of an on-board computer. The technology of the "acoustic tunnel" is applied, which reduces the side radiation of the sonar.

Chassis

To recharge the batteries, this submarine does not need to float to the surface, it is enough to raise the RDS (also called snorkels) to provide access to the outside air and remove the combustion products of the fuel. Diesel is used malodymny, which reduces the visibility of the ship in the open sea.

Used and other innovations. The main diesel (5,500 hp) does not serve to propel the ship, its purpose is only to drive the rotor of the battery charging generator. In the above-water position, the stroke is provided by an economical motor (130 hp), and two (102 hp each) are back-and-forth shunting. The kinematic scheme is such that all three engines run on one screw. It is also special, a six-bladed one, which allows it to rotate at a lower speed (250 rpm), producing, respectively, less noise.

Living conditions

Conditions of service on a diesel boat were always considered heavy. In addition to psychological stress, the crew experienced a large number of inconveniences associated with space deficits and limited autonomy. Submarines such as "Varshavianka" differ from other ships of this class by much better conditions. To sleep on the torpedoes the crew members do not have to, for this there are comfortable cabins. There are also showers, a cinema and an outpatient clinic.

"Varshavyanka" today, the 636th draft

Despite the considerable age of the project, the need for Varshavianka class boats remains vital, besides, the ship has a considerable export potential. The Indian Navy has a dozen of these submarines in service, two go under the Algerian flag, they also have the Polish fleet. China buys them for its naval forces. After the destruction of the world socialist system, the Warsaw Treaty on Collective Security ceased to function (in honor of which the project was named), many samples of Soviet technology, including the most modern, found themselves in the arsenals of NATO countries. In order to maintain the potential of the submarine forces at the proper level, an urgent modernization of the material part of the fleet was required. Since the general layout and concept of the ship are considered successful, no significant changes were made to the overall design. The Novorossiysk submarine of the Varshavianka project of a new model was laid in St. Petersburg at the Admiralty Shipyards in August 2010, marking the beginning of a series of upgraded project that received the 636 index. In the coming years it is planned to launch five more such ships. Next will be "Rostov-on-Don" and "Stary Oskol", the remaining submarines will also be named in honor of cities of military glory. New units are designed to strengthen the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Their design takes into account the entire experience of shipbuilding and applies the latest achievements of navigation, acoustic and computer technology. Submarines of project 636 "Varshavianka" will be armed with cruise missiles "Caliber" with a combat radius of up to 2,500 km.

Technical data and armament

The total displacement of the "Varshavianka" in the submerged state is 3,036 tons, in the above-water position it is 2300 tons. Like nuclear-powered boats, underwater it goes faster, up to 17 knots (against 10 under the diesel engine). Ultimately the substrates of Project 636 can be immersed for 300 meters. The length of the ship is almost 73 meters, width - 10. In the above-water position, the sediment, depending on the load, is from 6.2 to 6.6 meters. The crew consists of 52 people, autonomous navigation is maintained for 45 days. The boat is armed with six torpedoes of caliber 533 and four cruise missiles.