Submarine is a separate class of ships that can dive to great depths and stay under water for a long time. Today, submarines are the main tactical weapon of the navy of any state. Their main advantage is ste alth. This makes submarines indispensable in martial law.
History of Creation: Beginning
For the first time, Leonardo da Vinci gave a practical answer to the question of what a submarine is. He described its military-tactical advantages and for a long time worked on the model of the device, but eventually burned all his models, fearing for irreversible consequences.
In 1578, the English scientist W. Bourne in his report identified a certain submarine was seen by him in the depths of the Black Sea. The described submarine is nothing more than the first submarine made in Greenland from leather and sealskins. The vessel had ballast tanks, and an exhaust pipe acted as a navigator. Such a submarine could not be under water for a long time, but even then it showed amazing results.
The official project for the creation of submarines was made public only in 1620. Construction approval given by EnglishKing James I. The Dutch engineer K. Drebbel undertook to design a submarine. Soon the boat was successfully tested in London. The UK's first submarine was row-powered.
In Russia, the idea of creating a hidden fleet was initiated by Peter I. However, with his death, the project died in the bud. In 1834, the first all-metal submarine appeared. Its inventor was the Russian engineer K. Schilder. Propellers were propellers. The tests were successful, and at the end of the year, the world's first underwater missile launch was carried out.
The US Navy could not stand aside. In the 1850s, a project was launched under the leadership of L. Hanley. The boat was controlled from a separate compartment. A large screw was used as the engine, which was spun by seven sailors. Observation went through small ledges in the body. In 1864, Hunley's first brainchild sank an enemy ship. Subsequently, Russia and France could boast of similar successes.
During World War I, submarines were equipped with diesel and electric engines. Russian engineers played a major role in the design of new generation submarines. During the war, 600 deep-sea vessels took part in the fighting, which eventually sank about 200 ships and destroyers.
Creation story: new era
By the start of World War II, the USSR had the most submarines on its balance sheet (211 units). In second place was the flotilla of Italy - 115 submarines. Next came the USA, France, Britain, Japan and only then Germanywith 57 deep-sea vessels. It is worth noting that the submarine was considered the main combat unit of the fleet during the war. This is also proved by the fact that the USSR dominated the sea surface and under it until the end of World War II. The culprit was the submarines, which sank a total of more than 400 enemy ships.
At that time, submarines could dive up to 150 meters, being under water for several hours. The average speed was about 6 knots. The revolution in underwater engineering was made by the famous scientist W alter. He designed a streamlined body and an engine powered by hydrogen peroxide. This allowed the submarines to overcome the speed barrier of 25 knots.
Submarines today
A modern submarine is a deep-sea vessel that uses nuclear plants to obtain the necessary energy. Also, the power sources of the submarines are batteries, diesel engines, Stirling engines and other fuel cells. At the moment, the flotillas of 33 countries are rich in such combat units.
Back in the 1990s, 217 ships were in service with NATO, including SSBNs and SSBNs. At that time, Russia had a little less than 100 units on its balance sheet. In 2004, the Russian Federation ordered in Italy the creation of a small non-nuclear submarine. The project was named S1000. However, in 2014 it was frozen by mutual consent.
Today, hydrogen submarines are considered one of the fastest and most versatile submarines. These are U-212 class deep-sea vessels, which have recently begunproduced in Germany. Such boats are powered by hydrogen, due to which the maximum noiselessness of movement is achieved.
Classification of submarines
Submarines are usually divided into groups according to categories:
1. By type of energy source: nuclear, diesel, combined cycle, fuel, hydrogen.
2. Purpose: multipurpose, strategic, specialized.
3. By dimensions: cruising, medium, small.
4. By type of weapons: torpedo, ballistic, missile, mixed.
The most common deep-sea unit is a nuclear submarine. This type of submarine has its own classification:
1. SSBN - nuclear submarines with ballistic weapons.
2. SSGN - nuclear submarines with cruise missiles.
3. MPLATRK - multi-purpose missile and torpedo submarines, the main source of energy for which is a nuclear reactor.
4. DPLRK - diesel submarines with missile and torpedo weapons.
Design basics
Submarines consist of 2 hulls: light and durable. The first is designed to give the ship improved hydrodynamic properties, and the second - to protect against high water pressure. The robust case is mounted from alloy steel, but titanium alloys are also common.
The submarine has special tanks to control trim and ballast. Diving is carried out using hydroplanes. Ascent is determined by displacementwater with compressed air from ballast tanks. The vessel is driven by diesel or nuclear power plants. Small submarines run on batteries and electricity. For recharging, special diesel generators are used. Propellers are used as the engine.
Types of weapons
The purpose of submarines is to perform certain tasks:
- destruction of warships, - liquidation of multi-purpose ships, - destruction of strategic enemy targets.
B depending on the targets, appropriate types of weapons are installed on the submarines: mines, torpedoes, missiles, artillery installations, radio electronics. For defense, many deep-sea ships use portable anti-aircraft systems.
Russian submarines
The Halibut submarines were among the last to enter service with the Russian Navy. The construction of 24 units lasted about 20 years, from 1982. Today, Russia has 18 Halibut submarines at its disposal. The boats were built as part of project 877. These deep-sea ships became the prototypes of the so-called "Varshavyanka".
In 2004, a new generation submarine "Lada" was born, operating on an electric diesel installation. The ship is designed to destroy any enemy objects. These Russian submarines have gained popularity due to the minimum level of noise. Due to the high cost, the project was quickly curtailed.
The main striking force of the Russian flotilla is the nuclear submarine "Pike-B". The project continuedover 20 years until 2004. Today, there are 11 submarines of this type in service with the Russian Federation. "Pike-B" is capable of reaching a speed of 33 knots, diving to 600 m and being in autonomous navigation for up to 100 days. Capacity - 73 people. The construction of one unit cost the treasury about 785 million dollars.
Also in the arsenal of the fleet are such Russian nuclear submarines as Shark, Dolphin, Barracuda, Kalmar, Antey and others.
The latest submarines
In the near future, the Russian Navy will be replenished with new units of the Varshavyanka series. These will be the newest submarines Krasnodar and Stary Oskol. The boats will enter service in the second half of 2015. The deep-sea ships Kolpino and Veliky Novgorod are at the docks, but their construction will be completed only by the end of 2016. As a result, the Black Sea Fleet will have 6 units of the Varshavyanka project on its balance sheet.
Representatives of this series are designed to counter enemy attacks, that is, to protect naval bases, communications, coasts. Submarines "Varshavyanka" are classified as silent. They operate on an electric diesel engine.
The length of such a submarine is 74 m, and the width is 10 m. Under water, the ship can reach a speed of 20 knots. Dive threshold - 300 m. Swimming time - up to 45 days.
Missing and sunken submarines
Until the 1940s, submarines kept getting lost in the depths of the seas and oceans. The reasons for this were design flaws, and oversights of the commanders, and secret military operations.opponents.
After the Second World War, the missing submarines are counted in units. Over the past 50 years, engineering has reached its peak. Since the early 1950s, submarines were no longer considered dangerous to the life of the crew, and any contact with the enemy is immediately recorded by the military base. That is why there have been so few lost submarines in recent decades.
The most famous missing ships are the Scorpio (USA), Dakkar (Israel) and Minerva (France). It is noteworthy that all 3 sunken submarines crashed under strange circumstances within 2 weeks of 1968. In the reports of all 3 disasters, an unidentified object was mentioned, after contact with which contact with the crew was lost forever.
In total, over the past 60 years, 8 sunken nuclear submarines have been officially recorded, including 6 Russian and 2 American. The first ship was the Thresher (USA), with 129 people on board. The disaster occurred as a result of an enemy attack in 1963. The entire crew died.
The fate of the Kursk submarine is the most notorious and tragic. In the summer of 2000, due to a torpedo explosion in the first compartment, the ship sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea. As a result, 118 people died.
