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 48,000 tonnes, Typhoons are the largest class of submarine ever built. The
NATO reporting name stems from the use of the word "typhoon" (тайфун) by
Leonid Brezhnev in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine. The Typhoon class was developed under
Project 941 as the Russian
Akula class (
Акула), meaning
shark. It is sometimed mixed up with other submarines, as Akula is the name NATO uses to designate the Russian Project 971
Shooka-B (
Щука-Б) class attack submarines.
Typhoon submarines are one of the quietest sea vessels in operation, being quieter and yet more maneuverable than their predecessors. This is partly due to the vessels' large size, which allows them to minimize noise caused by water. Besides their missile armament, the Typhoon class features six
torpedo tubes; two are designed to handle
RPK-2 (SS-N-15) missiles or
Type 53 torpedoes, and the other four are designed to launch
RPK-7 (SS-N-16) missiles,
Type 65 torpedoes, or
mines. A Typhoon class submarine can stay submerged for periods up to 180 days in normal conditions, and potentially more if necessity arises (e.g.
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 titanium 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. High internal volume also allows Typhoon class submarines to provide good conditions for their crews, including sport facilities, sauna, swimming pool and a smoking room.
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 of an additional vessel (hull number TK-210) was cancelled and never completed. Only the first of these submarines to be constructed, the
Dmitry Donskoi, is still in service with the Russian Navy, serving as a test platform for the
Bulava (SS-NX-30) missile currently under development. All the R-39 missiles have been retired. The Typhoons are slated to be replaced with the
Borei class starting in 2007.
Typhoon class — significant dates| # | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | | TK-208 | March 3, 1977 | September 23, 1980 | December 12, 1981 |
| TK-202 | October 1, 1980>April 26, 1982 | December 28, 1983 |
| TK-12 | April 27, 1982 | December 17, 1983 | December 27, 1984 |
| TK-13 | January 5, 1984 | February 21, 1985 | December 29, 1985 |
| TK-17 | February 24, 1985 | August 1986 | November 6, 1987 |
| TK-20 | January 6, 1987 | June 1988 | September 1989 |
| TK-210 | Cancelled |
|
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.
|
Typhoon class submarine, covered with ice |
A fictional Typhoon class submarine called
Красный Октябрь (Red October) 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 catepillar drive. In the movie, the catepillar drive was instead said to be a
Magnetohydrodynamic drive. In both the novel and the movie, the drive was said to be all but silent; this made the
Red October a perfect platform for launching depressed-trajectory ballistic missiles at the United States. The book claims such launches would have minimal warning times and be extremely difficult to intercept, making the
Red October highly dangerous and causing its captain to attempt to defect to the US.
Typhoon submarines are also the subject of a fictional novel,
Typhoon, written by Mark Joseph, which is about an attempted takeover of the Soviet Union by rebellious officers using Typhoon submarines to threaten nuclear missile launches on their own country of Russia.
Typhoon class submarines are available as naval units when playing the Soviet faction in the
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 strategy game - however these were armed only with torpedoes, and were not ballistic missile submarines.
A fictional Typhoon class submarine named the
Nikodim is mentioned in
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident as the drop zone for Artemis Fowl senior on the Kola Peninsula, although this submarine is one of over a hundred in the stretch of coast near Sevoromorsk.
The Typhoon class submarines are the largest and best armed in the
shareware game
SinkSub Pro. [
1]
A Typhoon class submarine also plays a part in the Japanese animated
OVA series
Blue Submarine No. 6. The Typhoon class submarine with a complement of 20 nuclear missiles was salvaged and intended to be used for the final strike against
Zorndyke.
*
Intercontinental ballistic missile*
Submarine-launched ballistic missile*
Nuclear warfare*
Nuclear strategy*
Submarine Cargo Vessel*
Ohio-class submarine*
National Geographic: Typhoon class*
NATO Code Names for submarines and ships*
Federation of American Scientists: Typhoon*
Haze Gray*
NRDC Nuclear Notebook - Russian Nuclear Forces, 2005*
Rubin official site*
Wikimapia satellite image of three Typhoon class submarines
