667A YANKEE I - Design
The submarine of project 667A in terms of displacement and dimensions significantly surpassed all previously built boats. Outwardly, this boat, having a deckhouse fence with horizontal rudders advanced to the bow, a slight elevation of the rocket deck and a protruding stern stabilizer, was very harmoniously folded and beautiful. The nuclear submarine of project 667A housed 16 missiles. This ensured the fastest build-up of nuclear potential with the adopted technology for the serial construction of submarines.
The American name of the Project 667A submarines is Yankee, the coincidence of the number of missiles with the number of them on the US submarines of the George Washington type could suggest that the Soviet submarines are a copy of the American ones. This is not true. Not only the design, but also the conceptual approach to the creation of submarines in the USSR and the USA were different due to long-term traditions and different operating conditions. So, for example, single-shaft and single-reactor American missile carriers were based and operated mainly in warm climates and during patrols, if necessary, could use the bases of other countries.
Soviet missile carriers were based and operated in harsh climatic conditions and were focused on patrolling in the ice of the Arctic, having no other bases. except for your own. Therefore, they were designed as two-reactor and two-shaft. The buoyancy reserve of the Soviet boats, 2 times greater than that of the US missile carriers, provided the possibility of surfacing in difficult ice conditions and the use of missile weapons from the Arctic, which the US missile carriers could not do. Thus, the Soviet submarine missile carriers of the 667A project were fundamentally different from the American ones.
Lightweight body is streamlined and made of steel SW. The pressure hul ["robust housing"] has a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 9.4 m, is made of magnetic steel AK-29 40 mm thick. Frames are made of welded symmetric Tauri . The bulkheads are made of steel AK-29 12 mm, designed for a pressure of 10 atmospheres and share robust housing.
The external contours of the submarine were designed to achieve minimal resistance when operating under water. Unlike previous submarines, the horizontal hydroplanes were arranged on the sail. The cylinder-shaped pressure hull is divided into 10 compartments and has an exterior diameter of 9.4m.
The SSBN 667A is equipped with the D-5 launch system and 16 R-27 missiles with a range of about 2400 km. They are arranged in two rows in the fourth and fifth compartments. In addition to the new extended range missile R-27U (SS-N-6 Mod2 / 3) carrying multiple warheads "scattering" type, equipped with three warheads of 200 kilotons, without a system of individual guidance or conventional warhead monoblock. The missiles can be launched from a depth of 40-50 meters below the surface, while the submarine is moving at a speed of up to 3-4 knots. The missiles are fired in four salvos each comprising four missiles. The time needed for pre-launch preparation is 8 minutes, and within a salvo the missiles are fired at intervals of 8 seconds. After each salvo the submarine needs three minutes return to the launching depth and between the second and third salvo it takes 20-35 minutes to pump water from the tanks into the launching tubes.
Torpedoes were 6 bow torpedo tubes, including 4 533 mm for firing torpedoes and anti-caliber 450 mm 2 for firing anti-submarine torpedoes. The total ammunition was 22 torpedoes, including two torpedoes with nuclear warheads. In special cases, additional torpedo ammunition can be admitted to the premises converted wardroom.
The primary propulsion machinery includes two self-contained units [port and starboard], each of which consists of a pressurized water reactor reactor, and an independent turbogear assembly. The maximum speed when submerged is 27 knots. The auxiliary propulsion motors can be used for torpedo firing, to maintain electric power during emergency and provide for stand-by capability of the boat while on the surface.
To reduce the noise of the submarine special propellers were created, the pressure hull was covered with sound-absorbing rubber and the external hull was covered with a antihydroacoustic coating. The footings under the main and auxiliary propulsion systems are also isolated by a layer of rubber.
The 667A SSBNs were equipped with the "Cloud" battle management system which could receive signals up to a depth of 50 meters with the help of the towed antenna "Paravan." The first four 667A Yankee submarines employed the "Sigma" navigation system whereas the follow-on ships were equipped with the "Tobol" -- the first Soviet navigational system that used a satellite navigation system. This system provided reliable navigation in the Arctic Region and in the Pacific Ocean and also sustained the operational capability of the missiles at high latitudes down to 85 degrees.
