Nuclear Submarines - 2nd Generation
The second generation of nuclear submarines (projects 667, 670, 671, 705) became a serious step forward. Since their building, the Soviet submarine building industry occupied the leading position in the world both in qualitative (especially in the areas of usage of titanium technologies, liquid metals heat carriers and automation on the submarines of project 705) and quantitative aspects (during the 70s the USSR built three times more submarines than the USA). But still, the Soviet submarines emitted more noise than the American ones.
The accumulated experience in the development and operation of nuclear submarines convinced the shipbuilders and the command of the Navy in the ability and safety of using nuclear energy in scuba diving, which made it possible to start building more advanced ships of the new generation. For this stage was characterized by the final understanding of the submarine as a purely underwater ship, performing its tasks without surfacing on the surface. Another distinctive feature that determined the sum of priorities among the combat qualities and appearance of the second-generation atomic torpedo boats was their reorientation to the solution of antisubmarine missions. Therefore, the features of development in the period under review were:
- further improvement of propulsive qualities;
- increased attention to acoustic stealth and consistent reduction of underwater noise levels during serial construction;
- building search capabilities;
In the US, the second generation nuclear-powered nuclear submarines entered service from 1959 to 1975. The torpedo submarines were created in three series, forming a single evolutionary chain. These were the ships of the types "Skipjack" (SSN-585, 6 units, 1959-1961), "Thresher" (SSN-593, 13 units, 1961-1967) and "Sturgeon" (SSN-637, 37 units, 1967-1975). All of them had a similar architectural appearance, which was gradually improved in accordance with the general directions of development of the submarine.
This period was characterized by equalization in speed with the Soviet submarines (the achievement of a full underwater speed of about 30 knots) and the "conservation" of the achieved level. The highest priority was the desire to achieve separation by the level of acoustic secrecy, which from 1958 to 1973 decreased by 23-25 dB (14-25 times). at the same time, active measures were taken to improve hydroacoustic equipment to ensure proactive detection of the enemy.
For the purpose of on-the-spot testing of technical solutions, in parallel with the serial, in the USA, experienced submarines were built: “Tullibee” (SSN597, 1960) - anti-submarine with full electric propulsion and positioning TA at an angle to the DP; Jack (SSN605, 1967) - with a direct-acting turbine and coaxial propellers; "Narwhal" (SSN671, 1969) - with a reactor operating in the natural circulation mode.
In the Soviet Union, submarines of the second generation began to be created and put into operation at a later date. The main boats joined the Navy in 1967, and these were ships of three specialized types: torpedo anti-submarine (project 671), with anti-ship missiles (project 670) and with the ballistic platform (project 667).
The orientation of the creation of Russian torpedo submarines was decisively influenced by the deployment of the SSBNs of the Polaris-Poseidon system in the United States when, from 1959 to 1967, 41 missile carriers entered service. Torpedo boats Pr. 671 (Chief Designer - GP Chernyshev), Pr 705 (Chief Designer - MG Rusanov, Scientific Director - Academician AP Alexandrov) were created by the SKB-143 as anti-submarine ships. this American SSBN. A total of 55 second-generation torpedo submarines were built in the Soviet Union: 15 units. 671 (1967-1974), 7 items 671RT pr. (1972-1978), 26 units. 671RTM Ave. (1977-1992), 7 items Ex. 705 and 705K (1973-1981).
The second generation of nuclear powered ships is characterized by a complete rejection of the compromise of providing surface and underwater navigation qualities - a clear choice was made in favor of submarines. This made it possible to develop solutions for the shape of the hull, which have not fundamentally changed to the present, and are essentially classical. These solutions are as follows:
- a body in the form of a body of revolution with a relative elongation of 8.0–9.5 (“airship” form);
- the nose of the body in the form of an ellipsoid of rotation, the completeness of which is determined by the dimensions of the hydroacoustic antennas and the placement of the TA;
- the stern in the form of a cone with an arcuate generatrix, the shape of which is determined by the optimal operating conditions of the propeller.
This form of the aft hull became possible only with the transition to a single-shaft scheme of the power plant. In the American submarine fleet from the second generation, this was accepted both for torpedo boats and missile carriers, and in the Soviet installation the scheme was implemented only for multi-purpose submarines. The length of the cylindrical insert of the hull ranged from 25% for ships of the type “Skipjack” and so on. 671 to 35% for the type “Sturgeon”. And at the boats pr. 705, with the most perfect contours, the cylindrical insert is practically absent.
Under the conditions of reducing resistance and hydrodynamic noise, the poorly streamlined parts were completely removed from the cases, special shields were used to close the cutouts on the outer case.
The aft plumage of the submarine also acquired a “classic” look. Both in the USA and in the USSR, cruciform plumage was adopted, which was optimal both in terms of hydrodynamic characteristics and simplicity and reliability of control (unlike the X-shaped, used on the Albacore experimental boat AGSS-569). A feature of the American boats was the use of full-fledged tail (balancing vertical rudders) and vertical washers at the ends of the horizontal tail (type "Sturgeon"). A distinctive feature of the Soviet nuclear submarines p. 671PTM is placed on the top vertical stabilizer of the nacelle towed sonar antenna. For the first time in the practice of submarine-building on ships of the type “Skipjack”, American designers used rudder steering wheels, refusing horizontal bows. This decision was caused by the desire to remove the rudders from the nose hydroacoustic antennas and reduce hydrodynamic interference. However, due to a decrease in the shoulder, the area of the rudders increases. The impossibility of their retracting at elevated speeds leads to a loss of speed of 0.8-1.2 knots, and during operations in the Arctic, it was necessary to reorder the rudder arms 90 degrees to ascend with ice breaking.
On the Soviet torpedo submarines, the well-proven retractable nose and horizontal rudders, retained from the location of the hydroacoustic antennas, remained.
In applying the forms of fencing logging multi-purpose submarines, both sides went their own ways. Pa American-style boats finally established the pterygoid type of the minimum width of the barrier (up to 2 m), and on the Soviet torpedo - limousine. This option reflected the views of the constructor SPMBM "Malachite" on the optimal shaping of the fencing of the felling according to the conditions of minimal resistance to movement, influence on the dynamic properties of submarines during maneuvering and equipment placement. A distinctive feature of the submarine of the project 705 was the volumetric shape of the barrier with a smooth connection of its walls with the hull, this was due to the need to place in the barrier a pop-up chamber to rescue the crew in case of an accident. In the longitudinal section, the logging barrier retained the limousine shape.
The development of the second-generation NPS design and structural type began to exert an increasing influence (factors related to the need to reduce noise. All American ships had a mixed architectural-design type with a share of single-hull sections about 50% of the length. A characteristic feature of the newly developed superstructure If the “Skipjack” type still had a minimal superstructure - a fairing of pipelines, then since “Thresher” there is no superstructure on the multipurpose boats and the hull has circular erechnye section. This architectural constructive type it possible to obtain the lowest possible total underwater displacement by reducing the permeable parts.
The reduction in the total submerged displacement allowed the power of the EI to be reduced and reduced the intensity of the propeller at low noise speeds and its noise emission. The rejection of the superstructure, in turn, also reduced the distortion of the stream flowing onto the propeller, and reduced its noise emission.
The Soviet nuclear submarines still had a double-hull architectural design type. This decision was preceded by a tense discussion. Designers of SKB-143 in the development process of the project 671 and especially the project 705 achieved the realization of a single-body type. The development of the single-package variant of the project 705 was brought to the technical project stage. However, after weighing all the positive and negative sides of this decision, the command of the Navy made the final decision to maintain the double-hull type on the Russian nuclear submarines and ensure the single-outlet standard is unsinkable.
In terms of the overall layout, second-generation American boats were significantly different from the first submarines, despite maintaining the hull layout. The entire stern of the robust hull was allocated for the placement of the power plant and auxiliary machinery. Living quarters and the main posts for controlling the ship were located only in the bow half of a solid hull.
A fundamentally new step was the provision of a nasal tip for placement of a large-sized spherical hydroacoustic antenna. Torpedo armament moved from the I to the II compartment, and the TA was pulled out through the cone of the solid hull at an angle of about 10 degrees to the DP. Such a mutual arrangement of the main sonar antennas and TAs was first used on the Tullibee experimental submarine, and then on the Tresher submarine and all subsequent ones.
The layout of the Soviet nuclear-powered second generation also changed. A scheme was developed for compact placement of TAs in the nasal tip in two tiers, together with a large-sized sonar antenna cylindrical shape. Another new solution was the concentration in the same compartment of the nuclear submarine of Project 705 dwellings and all control posts of the ship, its armament and technical equipment.
This was made possible thanks to the widespread introduction of automation and a drastic reduction in crew size. This approach created the conditions for ensuring the safety of the crew at a qualitatively new level. The control compartment was distinguished by high-strength spherical bulkheads, and above it a pop-up rescue chamber was installed in the fencing of the felling. In the event of an accident and the threat of submarine destruction, the entire crew, concentrated in one compartment, passed into the chamber, which separated and floated to the surface. Thus, the main factors determining the architecture of the second-generation multi-purpose submarines are:
- increased attention to noise reduction;
- refusal to combine surface and underwater nautical qualities in favor of the latter;
- transition to a single-shaft scheme and making the submarine hull an axisymmetric shape;
- the preservation of the action of a single-deck standard of surface flooding for Russian ships;
- creating favorable conditions for the operation of sonar antennas.
Torpedo submarines, which later became multipurpose, had torpedo tubes as launchers for torpedoes and KR. This made it possible to have the simplest configuration of a robust housing consisting of cylinders and cones.
The appearance of anti-ship missiles located in inclined off-shore mines along the ship’s sides in the Soviet submarine fleet necessitated the creation of a solid hull in the area of the G-8 weapon (Ex. 661) or even the Double-Eight (Ex. 670). Such forced layout solutions gave rise to rather complex structural problems that were successfully solved, but led to a significant weighting of the structures of a solid hull. But they allowed to keep external streamlined contours of the body of revolution. The preservation of the cylindrical shape of a robust hull in the presence of outboard inclined containers with the CU leads to a sharp increase in the width of the ship and elliptical in cross section of the contours (Ex. 949).
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