Typhoon class submarine

The Typhoon class submarine is a type of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine deployed by the Soviet Navy in the 1980s. With a maximum displacement of 33,800 tons, the Typhoons are the largest class of submarine ever built,[6] large enough to accommodate decent living facilities for the crew, when the submarine remained submerged for months on end.[7] The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it is often claimed to be related to the use of the word "typhoon" (тайфун) by Leonid Brezhnev in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine. In its day it was one of the most feared weapons of mass destruction ever made. Although technically able to successfully deploy their long-range nuclear missiles while moored at their docks,[8] Soviet doctrine for these vessels was to have them attack North America while submerged under the arctic circle, avoiding the traversal of the GIUK gap to remain safe from enemy attack submarines and anti-submarine forces.
Description and history

The Typhoon class was developed under Project 941 as the Russian Akula class (Акула), meaning shark. It is sometimes confused with other submarines, as Akula is the name NATO uses to designate the Russian Project 971 Shchuka-B (Щука-Б) class attack submarines.

Typhoon submarines are among the quietest Russian sea vessels in operation,[citation needed] being quieter and yet more maneuverable than their predecessors. Besides their missile armament, the Typhoon class features six torpedo tubes; four are designed to handle RPK-2 (SS-N-15) missiles or Type 53 torpedoes, and the other two are designed to launch RPK-7 (SS-N-16) missiles, Type 65 torpedoes, or mines[citation needed]. A Typhoon class submarine can stay submerged for periods up to 180 days[citation needed]in normal conditions, and potentially more if deemed necessary (e.g., in the case of a 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 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.

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 order for an additional vessel (hull number TK-210) was canceled and never completed. Only the first of these submarines to be constructed, the Dmitriy Donskoy, is still in active service with the Russian Navy, serving as a test platform for the Bulava (SS-NX-30) missile which is currently under development. The Arkhangelesk (TK-17) and Severstal (TK-20) remain commissioned, though not currently active with the Russian fleet. All the R-39 missiles have been retired. The Typhoons are slated to be replaced by the Borei class starting in 2009.

In late December 2008, a senior Navy official announced that the two Akula-class submarines, the TK-17 and TK-20, that are in reserve would not be rearmed with the new Bulava SLBM missile system. They could however be modified to carry cruise missiles or to lay mines, or could be used in special operations.[9] In late June 2009, the Navy Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky told reporters that the two submarines would be reserved for possible future repairs and modernization.[10]
[edit] Satellite photos

Satellite maps are updated from time to time. As of Jan 2010, five Typhoon class submarines have been seen on (at least) Wikimapia at the following coordinates:

One visible in the waters of the Zapadnaya Litsa naval base on the Kola peninsula

* 69°26′09″N 32°21′07″E / 69.4359°N 32.352°E / 69.4359; 32.352

Four visible in the waters of the naval base/submarine manufacturing base of Severodvinsk, Russia

* One at 64°34′48″N 39°48′23″E / 64.580°N 39.8065°E / 64.580; 39.8065 (note the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, undergoing refurbishment for delivery to the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya, a few metres north and east of this submarine)
* Two side-by-side at 64°34′30″N 39°46′12″E / 64.5751°N 39.7701°E / 64.5751; 39.7701
* One, either under maintenance or being scrapped, at 64°35′09″N 39°49′05″E / 64.5858°N 39.818°E / 64.5858; 39.818

[edit] Vessels
Typhoon class — significant dates # Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
TK-208[2] Dmitriy Donskoy June 30, 1976 September 27, 1980 December 29, 1981[11] In service
TK-202 April 22, 1978 September 23, 1982 December 28, 1983[11] Withdrawn from active service in June 1999, scrapped 2003-2005
TK-12,Simbirsk April 19, 1980 December 17, 1983 December 26, 1984[11] Withdrawn from active service in 1996, scrapped 2006-2008
TK-13 February 23, 1982 April 30, 1985 December 26, 1985[11] Withdrawn from active service in 1997, scrapped 2007-2009 [12]
TK-17[4] Arkhangelsk August 9, 1983 December 12, 1986 December 15, 1987[11] In reserve as of 2009, main armament inactive
TK-20[5] Severstal August 27, 1985 April 11, 1988 December 19, 1989[11] In reserve as of 2009, main armament inactive
TK-210 1986 1990 (scrapped on the ways)[11]
[edit] 834 TK 208 Dmitriy Donskoy

Typhoon-#1

* 9 February 1982: Entered 18th division (Zapadnaya Litsa), NOR.
* December 1982: Transferred from Severodvinsk to Zapadnaya Litsa.
* 1983-1984: Tests of D-19 missile complex. Commanders: A.V.Olkhovikov (1980-1984).
* 3 December 1986: Entered Navy Board of the Winners of the Socialist Competition.
* 18 January 1987: Entered MoD Board of Glory.
* 20 September 1989–1991: Repairs and refit at Sevmash to Project 941U. 1991 refit cancelled.
* 1996: Returned to 941U refit.
* 2002: Named Dmitriy Donskoy.
* 26 June 2002: End of refit.
* 30 June 2002: Start of testing.
* 26 July 2002: Entered sea trials, Re-entered fleet, without missile system.
* December 2003: Sea trials; refitted to carry a new Bulava missile system. New missile system expected to be operational by 2005.
* 9 October 2005: Successfully launched SS-NX-30 Bulava SLBM from surface.
* 21 December 2005: Successfully launched SS-NX-30 Bulava SLBM from submerged position on move.
* 7 September 2006: Test launch of the Bulava missile failed after several minutes in flight due to the problems in the flight control system. The missile fell into the sea about a minute after the launch. The sub was not affected and was returning to Severodvinsk base submerged. Later reports blamed the engine of the first stage for the failure.
* 25 October 2006: Test launch of the Bulava-M missile in the White Sea failed some 200 seconds after liftoff due to the apparent failure of the flight control system.
* 28 August 2008: Undergone successful testing at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast. More than 170 men are currently working with the Dmitriy Donskoy, hundred of them employees at the Sevmash plant and 70 from other involved companies.

[edit] 830 TK 17 Arkhangelsk

Typhoon-#5

* 19 February 1988: Entered 18th division (Zapadnaya Litsa) NOR.
* 8 January–9 November 2002: Refit at Sevmash.
* In July 2002, crew petitioned Main Navy Headquarters to adopt the name Arkhangel'sk (renamed on 18 November 2002).
* Commander: 2002-2003 V.Volkov.
* 17 February 2004: Took part in military exercises with President Vladimir Putin aboard.
* Could be modified to carry cruise missiles or to lay mines, or could be used in special operations.

[edit] TK 20 Severstal

Typhoon-#6

* 28 February 1990: Entered 18th division (Zapadnaya Litsa), NOR.
* 25 August 1996: Successfully launched SLBM
* November 1996: Successfully launched SLBM from North Pole.
* 24 July 1999: Took part in parade on Navy Day in Severomorsk, NOR.
* November–December 1999 - distant cruise.
* 2001: named to Severstal.
* June 2001–December 2002: Repairs at Sevmash.
* Commander: A.Bogachev (2001).

[edit] Typhoon-based cargo vessel
Main article: Submarine 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 (15,000 long tons).
[edit] Notable popular culture
Typhoon class submarine, covered with ice

Probably the most well-known fictional Typhoon class was the stealth submarine Red October. It is the subject of the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October and the movie adaptation of that book.

In the novel, the Red October used a drive system consisting of long shafts cut through the hull with impellers inside them, called a tunnel drive or caterpillar drive. In the movie, the caterpillar drive was instead said to be a magnetohydrodynamic drive. In both the novel and the movie, the drive was said to be near-silent; this made the Red October a perfect platform for launching depressed-trajectory ballistic missiles at the United States.

One well-known scene from the book involves a gun battle inside the submarine in the missile room where two characters take potshots at each other peeking from behind ballistic missile tubes. Typhoon class submarines are not designed this way; the missile silos are between the two pressure hulls and are inaccessible to personnel.[citation needed] It is, however, the way the US Navy configures the launch tubes for Polaris ballistic missiles, and Clancy likely assumed at the time (1984) that the Russian submarine was designed in the same manner. (This being still a time of the Soviet Union's existence, there was no way for him to have obtained the information.)

A Rubin Typhoon-based cargo vessel plays a key role in the 2009 Clive Cussler novel, Medusa.

In the animated series Blue Submarine No. 6 an unnamed Typhoon-class submarine was shown in the third and final episode.

In the computer games Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge, the Typhoon is a Soviet naval unit, but unlike its real counterpart, it is an attack submarine and can only hit other naval units.

Soviet Designation 941 Akula
US-Designation Typhoon
Development began December 1973
Design Bureau Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering "Rubin"
Chief designer S.H. Kovalev
Builders Nr. 402 Severodvinsk
Construction and Outfit March 1977-September 1989
Service time December 1981-
Number of ships 6
Armament D-19 launch system with
20 R-39 missiles
2-650mm torpedo tubes
4-533mm torpedo tubes
Power Plant 2 pressurized water reactors, 190 MW each
2 steam turbines, 50.000 hp each
Propellers 2×7 blade fixed-pitch shrouded
Length 170-172 meters
Beam 23-23.3 meters
Draft 11-11.5 meters
Displacement 23,200-24,500 tons Surfaced
33,800-48,000 tons Submerged
Maximum diving depth 500 meters
Speed 12-16 knots Surface
25-27 knots Submerged
Crew 150 men (50 officers)
Endurance 90-120 days