Military

P-6 / R-7 Progress - SS-N-3 SEPAL / SHADDOCK

The P-6 [SS-N-3a Shaddock] is a more accurate cruise missile later developed for targeting US Aircraft carriers. This radar-homing missile is launched from Echo II and Juliett submarines and flies to a maximum range of 220 nm at a cruise speed of Mach 1.2. A 2200-lb conventional or nuclear warhead is estimated for the SS-N-3a. In its antiship version, the Echo depended on prior cueing by a radar-equipped maritime patrol aircraft and terminal homing by a radar seeker on the SS-N-3 itself. The high altitude, relatively slow SS-N-3 was vulnerable to air defenses in flight, and its radar seeker was vulnerable to jamming and deception measures.

The P-7 missile was intended to destroy "coastal and concentrated naval targets." The development of the P-7 led OKB-52 according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of June 19, 1959. The range of the missile's firing was increased to 1000 km, and the flight altitude was reduced to 100 m. The inertial control system, in addition to the AP-71 autopilot, was equipped with a Doppler velocity measurement system and angle of demolition "Sail". The missile received a new more economical turbojet propulsion system, the weight of the rocket increased to 6.6 tons. The P-7 launcher was unified with a launcher for P-5 and P-5D missiles.

The P-7 (SS-N-3c) (A -7) - the antiship missile of sea (PL) basing. Launch is above-water. Guidance system - inertial. Engines: cruise - VRMD (it is suspended from below the fuselage), starting - SPRD. The airframe is a high wing monoplane, all-metal, riveted construction. Front fairing is radio-transparent, honeycomb construction. Fuselage has complex aerodynamic outline. The tank is large-dimension, is riveted. Rocket underwent testing, but not it was accepted to the armament, since start with PL was above-water.

For missile production A-7 were organized the shop for the production of details from the nonmetals, the shop of aggregate assembling. Shifting test bench of articles was designed and inculcated. The production of flexible tanks was mastered. But in 1962 the panel assembling of tanks was inculcated. At the end of 1960 with the mastery of article A -7 began the introduction of the new technology of the production of large-dimension casting from the magnesium alloys. Such the complex and large dimensions of casting shop # 12 never yet carried out - complex frames, niche for the board sockets, the beam of sphere- balloons, etc. some details had a wall thickness to 4 mm.

The arrangement of orders on the casting of main batch at the specialized foundry- mechanical plant did not meet with success: they refused to accept this large-dimension and complex thin-walled casting without subsequent machining. The mastery of this casting became difficult examination for the workers of shop # 12. General foreman was at that time Victor Nikolayevich Lezhenin.

Many experimental castings were carried out for the purpose of finalizing model rigging. In this case it was necessary to completely re-equip shop earthen laboratory and to conduct the reorganization of the section of the molding of magnesium casting. By this time because of the squeezed conditions the need for the isolation of smithy from the building, where foundry production was located ripened. Technical requirements for the new smithy were comprised and is given out Giproaviapromu task for its design.

Work on the mastery of magnesium castings was conducted twenty-four hours a day, but with the piece-payment system, all directly participated in the mastery of casting. New technological process were completely mastered toward the end of March of 1961, and fifteen complete sets of these complex castings were returned in time, also, without the defects. Then in the shop # 13 was organized the impregnation of magnesium and aluminum casting with the sealing varnish. In 1962 a new housing was put into use, the production of shop # 12 is transferred into the new housing, and over the freed areas of shop was organized extended section of large-dimension magnesium casting for the articles A -7, X -22, X -20, etc.

Structurally, the P-6 missile was in many respects similar to the P-5. Both missiles had identical aerodynamic schemes, launch accelerators and launch canisters. The launch weight of the rocket was about 6 tons, and the weight of the warhead is 800-1000 kg. The length of the rocket was 10.2 m. The speed of the flight is a bit more than the speed of sound. The control system "Antey" for P-6 missiles was developed by the Ministry of Justice's Research and Development Institute-49. The P-6 missile was equipped with a 4G-48 high-explosive warhead, developed at NII-6, and a special combat unit.

The first stage of the P-6 flight tests took place at the 4A site near Balaklava from December 23, 1959 to July 1960. In total, 5 missile launches without radio equipment were carried out. In general, the tests were successful. The second stage of the P-6 flight tests was conducted from July to December 1960 at the Northern Range some 30 km west of Severodvinsk on the Dvinskaya Bay. Launches were made from the shore stationary, and then from the rocking container. A total of 6 launches have been made, the results are unsatisfactory due to failures of the Antey control system.

After the revision of the control system, until December 6, 1961, another 7 launches of P-6 missiles were made. The first stage of joint flight tests took place from May to December 1962 in Nenoksa from a rocking stand. Of the 13 launches, only 7 were completely successful.

From July 22 to July 25, 1962, the "Kasatka" event was held in the Northern Fleet near Severodvinsk, during which the top leadership of the country demonstrated the launches of the P-5D, P-35 and P-6 naval missiles. July 22 in Nenoks NS. Khrushchev was shown the launch of P-6 from the stand. That day there was a fever + 30 ° C. Khrushchev said V.N.Chelomei: "The weather is like in Sochi, and you are still complaining about the climate of the landfill." I had no choice but to say: "The weather is good only for the sake of your arrival."

The second stage of the joint flight tests P-6 was held from July to October 1963 on the submarine project 675U. A total of 5 launches have been made, of which, in two cases, direct hits were detected in the target, which sank. The third stage of the joint flight tests took place from October to December 1963. During the tests, three successful launches were made from the diesel submarine of Project 651 and 9 launches from the nuclear submarine of Project 675, 7 of which were direct hits.

By decision of the Council of Ministers of June 23, 1964, the P-6 complex was adopted for the development of submarines of projects 651 and 675. By that time, 46 rocket launches had been conducted.

Flight tests of the P-7 were carried out from April to July 1962 in Balaklava at pad 4A. The first launch took place on April 21, 1961. The missile started from the container SM-49 and, due to malfunctions, exploded in flight. In total, from the stand 4A, 10 missiles were launched. For the testing of the P-7 complex, the submarine C-158 of project 644 was converted in accordance with the project 644-7 in such a way that it could be fired with both P-7 missiles and P-5D missiles. The boat received a unified STS "Start", which produced data for firing P-7 and P-5D.

The stage of joint flight tests of P-7 missiles in the volume of 11 launches was carried out from October 1962 to 1963 in the White Sea on the submarine S-158. The tests were generally successful. Two more successful launches were carried out during the control tests in November 1964. In total, up to August 1965, 23 launches of P-7 missiles were conducted at various stages of the tests.

But according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of August 2, 1965, all work on the P-7 stopped. All work on naval cruise missiles designed to destroy ground targets was curtailed altogether. Such a decision was justified by the successes in the development of marine ballistic missiles.