« When detecting unknown underwater objects near
detachments of US Navy warships to force them to surface.
Otherwise, use weapons to kill»
(from US Navy directive)
Rendezvous with Mr. Eisenhower
The Mediterranean Sea was soaked with death - NATO anti-submarine weapons constantly scanned the water column, the air hummed from the base patrol aircraft. The Americans were clearly preparing for some important event.
But the Soviet diesel-electric submarine S-360 had its own task - to reach Gibraltar in a submerged position, secretly penetrate the combat maneuvering area of the Roosevelt aircraft carrier, determine the composition of its security ships and, after successfully completing the task, return safely to the base in Vlora Bay ( Albania). The opinion of the NATO anti-submarine forces of the Soviet sailors was not interested.
We got to Gibraltar normally - part of the time we moved on batteries, and when the situation allowed, we surfaced to the periscope depth and “striped” on the surface with a snorkel. Diesels were chirping, greedily swallowing precious air, the battery was being charged in order to power the submarine at great depths all the next day. They spotted an aircraft carrier, turned back. On the 18th day of the campaign, they received a radiogram: a squadron headed by the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, the heavy cruiser Des Moines, was coming towards them. Be alert. Good luck!
There was a revival at the C-360 Central Post - according to all calculations, it was impossible to avoid a meeting. Maybe we can get as close to the Des Moines as the situation allows, and record the background noises of the cruiser?
S-189 is the same type S-360, diesel-electric submarine of project 613. Created on the basis of captured German boats of type XXI
In reality, everything turned out differently: skillfully maneuvering between escort ships, the boat, according to acoustic data, reached the distance of a torpedo attack, another second - and a torpedo salvo would overturn a 20,000-ton cruiser into the depths of the sea ... The commander of the S-360 submarine wiped cold sweat from his forehead - the noise of propellers Des Moines (CA-134) was quiet somewhere in the distance… And if you really had to?
The Americans obviously felt something was wrong - an hour later, the destroyers abandoned to search spotted the S-360, an exhausting chase began. S-360 commander Valentin Kozlov later recalled: “ If I were in command of a nuclear-powered ship, I would give thirty knots - and disappear into the sea without a trace. But I had a diesel-electric submarine with a four-node course. For three days they pursued the S-360, bombarded us with explosives and sonar pulses, forcing us to surface. Only in the area of the island of Lampedusa did they manage to break away ... When they returned to the base, they could not peel off the upper wheelhouse hatch. For a month of being in salt water, he became so "addicted" to the coaming that he had to work with a sledgehammer».
The reason for the fury of the Americans, with which they pursued the lone diesel, became clear later: US President Dwight Eisenhower was on board Des Moines (CA-134).
On board the heavy cruiser Des Moines
The crew of the USS Des Moines greet President Eisenhower, November 1959
Rendezvous with Miss Enterprise
Task for suicide bombers. At that time, the Soviet “roaring cow” K-10, a nuclear submarine with first-generation cruise missiles, was thrown across the American aircraft carrier group. Rumbles so that you can hear on the other side of the ocean. The situation was complicated by the lack of accurate target designation: the data on the coordinates of the target transmitted to the boat were out of date by a day. A storm was raging over the Pacific Ocean and there was no way to clarify the position of the AUG. The boat had problems in the turbine compartment - the K-10 could not maintain full speed for more than 36 hours. And yet it was decided to go ...
In the South China Sea, Soviet sailors were waiting for the unsurpassed Miss Enterprise - a nuclear super-aircraft carrier with 80 aircraft on board, accompanied by their "fighting girlfriends" - the nuclear missile cruisers Long Beach, Bainbridge, Trakstan. A first-class squadron that, 4 years before the events described, completed a non-stop circumnavigation through all the oceans of the Earth.
Captain Nikolai Ivanov led his nuclear-powered ship in complete ignorance of what awaits them at the calculated point of intersection of courses. Maybe a splash of heavy waves, or maybe a fiery flurry of anti-submarine torpedoes from AUG ships. It was 1968, just a month ago, the Soviet submarine K-129 disappeared without a trace in the Pacific Ocean. You can't circle over the grave of your comrades and not think about it...
K-10 was helped by chance - even a hundred miles before the supposed “rendezvous” point of the electronic intelligence system, the submarines spotted the desperate negotiations of the Americans - the commanders of the cruisers and destroyers continuously reported to the flagship about how the tropical typhoon Diana was tearing and crippling their ships. 10-meter waves rage on the surface, even here, at a depth, the powerful breath of the ocean was felt. Ivanov understood: this is their chance!
The 115-meter steel "Pike" boldly rushed to the target, focusing on the sounds of sonar American ships. AUG reduces speed to 6 knots! - this means that the boat will not have to develop high speed, therefore, its noise will decrease. Moving at six knots, the Soviet "roaring cow" will become undetectable to AUG anti-submarine defenses. Anti-submarine aviation, too, can not be feared - not a single aircraft will be able to rise from the deck of the Enterprise in such weather.
They completed the task. As if mocking the super-aircraft carrier, Soviet sailors walked under its bottom for 13 hours. If there was an order to destroy, the “roaring cow” could shoot the aircraft carrier and its escort point-blank, and then disappear as suddenly as it appeared.
The central post of the nuclear submarine of project 675 - one of the first-born of the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet
The nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise, escorted by the nuclear cruisers Long Beach and Bainbridge. Sea Orbit circumnavigation, 1964.
Gold fish. Three last wishes
- A Russian submarine has been detected, bearing one hundred and twenty, distance forty-seven!
- Contact lost!
“Another submarine, bearing one hundred and fifty, range thirty-two.
- Contact lost!
- Oh shit! Third, bearing seventy, distance fifty-five.
October 1971 on the calendar. A "wolf pack" of Soviet submarines pursues the American aircraft carrier "Saratoga" in the North Atlantic.
- All ships of the formation, increase the speed to full!
— The frigate Knox! Bearing to noise. Full move. Fulfill!
- There is a complete one.
The anti-submarine frigate breaks formation and tries to drive away the invulnerable Soviet nuclear-powered ship. But where is the clumsy "Knox" with its 27 knots to the "Goldfish"! The boat circulates at 40 knots and is already on the other side of the aircraft carrier ...
- The second Russian submarine is on the port side!
USS Saratoga (CV-60)
The American sailors did not understand that they were being pursued by a single submarine K-162 - a high-speed underwater killer of project 661 (code "Anchar"). By the end of the day, the carrier group stopped all attempts to break away from the pursuit and returned to its previous course. The "goldfish" "circled" a little more around the aircraft carrier and melted without a trace in the water column. The fate of the Saratoga aircraft carrier hung in the balance at that moment - if the Soviet boat had an order to destroy, it would have “decided” all the AUG ships in a couple of minutes and sped off into the distance at 44 knots of its full speed.
K-162 - nuclear submarine of project 661 "Anchar". She set the hitherto unbroken underwater speed record of 44.85 knots. (≈83 km/h)! Titanium case, experimental reactor with metal coolant. Armament - 10 Amethyst supersonic anti-ship missiles, 4 TA caliber 533 mm. The cost of the boat was 2 billion rubles in 1968 prices. A real goldfish!
Antenna theft
October 31, 1983, US Navy training ground in the Sargasso Sea. The McCloy anti-submarine frigate glides along the waves, and a secret antenna of a TASS (Towed Array Surveillance System) hydroacoustic station is dragged behind it on a kilometer cable, capable of detecting Soviet submarines within a radius of hundreds of miles.
Under the bottom of the McCloy frigate, the Soviet nuclear-powered ship K-324 has been following for 14 hours, Soviet sailors are studying with interest the characteristics of the new US Navy anti-submarine system. Everything is going as usual, but suddenly the McCloy changes course...
The Central Post K-324 received a report about the increased vibration of the strong hull of the boat. The emergency protection of the turbine worked, the K-324 lost its course. Quickly surfaced, looked around. The horizon is clear. The weather is rapidly deteriorating. Behind the stern of the boat stretches a piece of some long cable ... It seems that something has wound around the propeller. An attempt to get rid of the damned cable ended in failure - the cable turned out to be so strong that not a single tool could take it.
Meanwhile, the commander of the frigate "McCloy" was tearing his hair out. The damned storm cut off the TASS antenna! But then they will ask him.
In the morning, the floating boat was discovered by American destroyers. To their surprise, behind the stern of the emergency Soviet K-324 dangled a secret sonar that had gone missing the day before. The commander of the destroyer "Peterson" contacted the Russian submarine via VHF, offering assistance in freeing the coiled cable, but received a categorical refusal: to allow a potential enemy on board? It's out of the question!
That “Antenna Episode”! Standing idle K-324, escorted by USS Peterson. Between the two warships is a Soviet communications vessel (reconnaissance) SSV-506 "Nakhodka"
Having received a refusal, the destroyers moved on to active operations: maneuvering dangerously around a stationary submarine, they tried to chop off the ill-fated cable with screws all day. Naturally, they didn't succeed. Realizing that the Americans could take the boat by storm, the K-324 crew prepared the nuclear-powered ship for an explosion just in case.
The next day, the second part of the “Marleson ballet” began: trying to remove the secret sonar, the American nuclear submarine Philadelphia “dipped” under the unfortunate K-324 - a couple of awkward movements - and part of the cable caught on the steering wheel of the Philadelphia. Two irreconcilable opponents were bound by one chain! After a day of forced joint navigation, the armored cable-rope finally burst and the Philadelphia joyfully sailed away, carrying a piece of cable with a secret sonar capsule on its hull. Alas, the 400 meters of the low-frequency antenna were still tightly wound around the K-324 screw.
When the sea rescuer Aldan, who arrived at the scene, started the towing cable, shots rang out - in impotent anger, the Americans began to shoot the cable from machine guns. The nuclear-powered ship was towed to Havana, where a secret antenna cable was removed using a special tool. That same night, a military transport aircraft with fragments of the American TASS antenna flew to Moscow.
Who you are? Name yourself!
The last salvos of the NATO naval exercises have died down, the satisfied admirals gathered in the wardrooms, preparing to celebrate the results achieved “in combat”. The navies of the Western countries showed brilliant training and high combat capability. The personnel of the ships acted boldly and decisively, during the exercises they showed personal courage and courage. All air, surface and underwater targets of the “probable enemy” were discovered, taken for escort and conditionally destroyed. For success, gentlemen!
What? Alarm in the combat control center. An unidentified ship got in touch, it looks like it wants something. But, damn it, where could he even come from in the middle of a NATO naval exercise area?
The nuclear submarine K-448 "Tambov" of the Russian Navy is requesting help - there is a patient on board. As it turns out during the dialogue, one of the submariners has complications after the removal of appendicitis, an urgent operation is required.
A smooth black "Pike" proudly floats among the ships of the NATO navies. With great care, the injured sailor is taken aboard the British destroyer Glasgow, from where he is sent by helicopter to land to the hospital. The Russian "Pike" politely says goodbye to the whole honest company, sinks, and ... contact is lost!
It happened on February 29, 1996. The British press burst into a stream of caustic irony against Her Majesty's fleet, some analysts compared the K-448 Tambov with the German submarine U-47, which, 55 years before the events described, boldly broke into the British naval base of Scapa Flow and committed a cruel pogrom.
Cable in the Sea of Okhotsk
One of the most mystical joint operations of the CIA and the US Navy is considered to be the “hacking” of an underwater communication cable at the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk, which connected the Krashenikovo submarine base and the Kura missile range with the mainland - the Americans were very interested in the results of tests of Soviet ballistic missiles, as well as accurate information about the combat service of the Soviet submarine fleet.
In October 1971, the Khelibat nuclear submarine with equipment for special operations quietly penetrated the territorial waters of the USSR. Slowly moving along the coast of Kamchatka, the Americans examined the signs on the coast and, finally, good luck - they noticed a sign prohibiting any underwater work in this place. A controlled underwater robot was immediately released, with the help of which it was possible to see a thick 13-centimeter cable at the bottom. The boat moved away from the shore and hung over the cable line - four divers fixed the information retrieval equipment. Having received the first interception data, the Khalibat headed for Pearl Harbor.
USS Halibut was launched in 1959 as an underwater carrier of cruise missiles. In 1965, she underwent a conversion, turning into a boat for special operations. She examined sunken ships and submarines, looked for fragments of Soviet ballistic missiles at the bottom of the ocean, and "hacked" underwater communication lines. Fierce baby!
A year later, in August 1972, the Khalibat returned to the Soviet shores again. This time on board was a special device "Cocoon" weighing six tons with a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Now the Americans could "take" data from a secret communication cable on the seabed for years. In the summer of 1980, the same "bug" appeared on a cable in the Barents Sea. The Americans “burned out” quite by accident - during the next trip to the “object” in the Sea of Okhotsk, the submarine mistakenly fell on the ground with its entire hull and crushed the cable.
That's what they are, submarines! The most invulnerable and destructive naval weapon in the history of naval warfare. Trust in submarines is so great that they are entrusted with the "honorable" role of the gravediggers of Mankind: a nuclear submarine can operate covertly in the depths of sea waters for months, and its weapons are capable of incinerating all life on several continents.
Until now, there are no reliable systems to counter these "sea devils" - with proper crew training, a modern nuclear submarine can slip unnoticed through all security systems and perform any task right under the nose of an unsuspecting enemy. If the nuclear submarine went into battle, the enemy can safely buy brooms and order a coffin for himself. As they say, the ascent will show!
“If unknown underwater objects are found near detachments of US Navy warships, force them to surface. Otherwise, apply to defeat "
from a US Navy directive
Rendezvous with Mr. Eisenhower
The Mediterranean Sea was soaked with death - NATO anti-submarine weapons constantly scanned the water column, the air hummed from the base patrol aircraft. The Americans were clearly preparing for some important event.
But the Soviet diesel-electric submarine S-360 had its own task - to reach Gibraltar in a submerged position, secretly penetrate the combat maneuvering area of the Roosevelt aircraft carrier, determine the composition of its security ships and, after successfully completing the task, return safely to the base in Vlora Bay ( Albania). The opinion of the NATO anti-submarine forces of the Soviet sailors was not interested.
We got to Gibraltar normally - part of the time we moved on batteries, and when the situation allowed, we surfaced to the periscope depth and “striped” on the surface with a snorkel. Diesels were chirping, greedily swallowing precious air, the battery was being charged in order to power the submarine at great depths all the next day. They spotted an aircraft carrier, turned back. On the 18th day of the campaign, they received a radiogram: a squadron led by the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, the heavy cruiser Des Moines, was coming towards them. Be alert. Good luck!
There was a revival at the C-360 Central Post - according to all calculations, it was impossible to avoid a meeting. Maybe we can get as close to the Des Moines as the situation allows, and record the background noises of the cruiser?
S-189 is the same type S-360, diesel-electric submarine of project 613. Created on the basis of captured German boats of type XXI
In reality, everything turned out differently: skillfully maneuvering between escort ships, the boat, according to acoustic data, reached the distance of a torpedo attack, another second - and a torpedo salvo would overturn a 20,000-ton cruiser into the depths of the sea ... The commander of the S-360 submarine wiped cold sweat from his forehead - noise propellers Des Moines (CA-134) died away somewhere in the distance ... And if you really had to?
The Americans obviously felt something was wrong - an hour later, the destroyers abandoned to search spotted the S-360, an exhausting chase began. The commander of the S-360, Valentin Kozlov, later recalled: “If I commanded a nuclear-powered ship, I would give thirty knots and disappear into the sea without a trace. But I had a diesel-electric submarine with a four-node course. For three days they pursued the S-360, bombarded us with explosives and sonar pulses, forcing us to surface. Only in the area of the island of Lampedusa did they manage to break away ... When they returned to the base, they could not peel off the upper hatch. For a month in salt water, he got so attached to the coaming that he had to work with a sledgehammer.
The reason for the fury of the Americans, with which they pursued the lone diesel, became clear later: US President Dwight Eisenhower was on board Des Moines (CA-134).
On board the heavy cruiser Des Moines
The crew of the USS Des Moines greet President Eisenhower, November 1959
Rendezvous with Miss Enterprise
Task for suicide bombers. At that time, the Soviet “roaring cow” K-10, a nuclear submarine with first-generation cruise missiles, was thrown across the American aircraft carrier group. Rumbles so that you can hear on the other side of the ocean. The situation was complicated by the lack of accurate target designation: the data on the coordinates of the target transmitted to the boat were out of date by a day. A storm was raging over the Pacific Ocean and there was no way to clarify the position of the AUG. The boat had problems in the turbine compartment - the K-10 could not maintain full speed for more than 36 hours. And yet it was decided to go ...
In the South China Sea, Soviet sailors were waiting for the unsurpassed Miss Enterprise - a nuclear super-aircraft carrier with 80 aircraft on board, accompanied by their "fighting girlfriends" - the nuclear missile cruisers Long Beach, Bainbridge, Trakstan. A first-class squadron that, 4 years before the events described, completed a non-stop circumnavigation through all the oceans of the Earth.
Captain Nikolai Ivanov led his nuclear-powered ship in complete ignorance of what awaits them at the calculated point of intersection of courses. Maybe a splash of heavy waves, or maybe a fiery flurry of anti-submarine torpedoes from AUG ships. It was 1968, just a month ago, the Soviet K-129 disappeared without a trace in the Pacific Ocean. You can't circle over the grave of your comrades and not think about it...
K-10 was helped by chance - even a hundred miles before the supposed “rendezvous” point of the electronic intelligence system, the submarines spotted the desperate negotiations of the Americans - the commanders of the cruisers and destroyers continuously reported to the flagship about how the tropical typhoon Diana was tearing and crippling their ships. 10-meter waves rage on the surface, even here, at a depth, the powerful breath of the ocean was felt. Ivanov understood: this is their chance!
The 115-meter steel "Pike" boldly rushed to the target, focusing on the sounds of sonar American ships. AUG reduces speed to 6 knots! - this means that the boat will not have to develop high speed, therefore, its noise will decrease. Moving at six knots, the Soviet "roaring cow" will become undetectable to AUG anti-submarine defenses. Anti-submarine aviation, too, can not be feared - not a single aircraft will be able to rise from the deck of the Enterprise in such weather.
They completed the task. As if mocking the super-aircraft carrier, Soviet sailors walked under its bottom for 13 hours. If there was an order to destroy, the “roaring cow” could shoot the aircraft carrier and its escort point-blank, and then disappear as suddenly as it appeared.
The central post of the nuclear submarine of project 675 - one of the first-born of the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet
The nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise, escorted by the nuclear cruisers Long Beach and Bainbridge. Sea Orbit circumnavigation, 1964
Gold fish. Three last wishes
A Russian submarine has been detected, bearing one hundred and twenty, distance forty-seven!
- Contact lost!
- Another submarine, bearing one hundred and fifty, distance thirty-two.
- Contact lost!
- Oh shit! Third, bearing seventy, distance fifty-five.
October 1971 on the calendar. A "wolf pack" of Soviet submarines pursues the American aircraft carrier "Saratoga" in the North Atlantic.
All ships of the formation, increase the speed to full!
- The frigate "Knox"! Bearing to noise. Full move. Fulfill!
- There is a complete one.
The anti-submarine frigate breaks formation and tries to drive away the invulnerable Soviet nuclear-powered ship. But where is the clumsy "Knox" with its 27 knots to the "Goldfish"! The boat circulates at 40 knots and is already on the other side of the aircraft carrier ...
The second Russian submarine is on the port side!
USS Saratoga (CV-60)
The American sailors did not understand that they were being pursued by a single submarine K-162 - a high-speed underwater killer of project 661 (code "Anchar"). By the end of the day, the carrier group stopped all attempts to break away from the pursuit and returned to its previous course. The "goldfish" "circled" a little more around the aircraft carrier and melted without a trace in the water column. The fate of the Saratoga aircraft carrier hung in the balance at that moment - if the Soviet boat had an order to destroy, it would have “decided” all the AUG ships in a couple of minutes and sped off into the distance at 44 knots of its full speed.
K-162 - nuclear submarine of project 661 "Anchar". She set the hitherto unbroken underwater speed record of 44.85 knots. (≈ 83 km/h)! Titanium case, experimental reactor with metal coolant. Armament - 10 Amethyst supersonic anti-ship missiles, 4 TAs of 533 mm caliber. The cost of the boat was 2 billion rubles in 1968 prices. A real goldfish!
Antenna theft
October 31, 1983, US Navy training ground in the Sargasso Sea. The McCloy anti-submarine frigate glides along the waves, and a secret antenna of a TASS (Towed Array Surveillance System) hydroacoustic station is dragged behind it on a kilometer cable, capable of detecting Soviet submarines within a radius of hundreds of miles.
Under the bottom of the McCloy frigate, the Soviet nuclear-powered ship K-324 has been following for 14 hours, Soviet sailors are studying with interest the characteristics of the new US Navy anti-submarine system. Everything is going as usual, but suddenly the McCloy changes course...
The Central Post K-324 received a report about the increased vibration of the strong hull of the boat. The emergency protection of the turbine worked, the K-324 lost its course. Quickly surfaced, looked around. The horizon is clear. The weather is rapidly deteriorating. Behind the stern of the boat stretches a piece of some long cable ... It seems that something has wound around the propeller. An attempt to get rid of the damned cable ended in failure - the cable turned out to be so strong that not a single tool could take it.
Meanwhile, the commander of the frigate "McCloy" was tearing his hair out. The damned storm cut off the TASS antenna! But then they will ask him.
In the morning, the floating boat was discovered by American destroyers. To their surprise, behind the stern of the emergency Soviet K-324 dangled a secret sonar that had gone missing the day before. The commander of the destroyer "Peterson" contacted the Russian submarine via VHF, offering assistance in freeing the coiled cable, but received a categorical refusal: to allow a potential enemy on board? It's out of the question!
That "Antenna Episode"! Standing idle K-324, escorted by USS Peterson. Between the two warships is a Soviet communications vessel (reconnaissance) SSV-506 "Nakhodka"
Having received a refusal, the destroyers moved on to active operations: maneuvering dangerously around a stationary submarine, they tried to chop off the ill-fated cable with screws all day. Naturally, they didn't succeed. Realizing that the Americans could take the boat by storm, the K-324 crew prepared the nuclear-powered ship for an explosion just in case.
The next day, the second part of the "Marleson ballet" began: trying to remove the secret sonar, the American nuclear submarine Philadelphia "dipped" under the unfortunate K-324 - a couple of awkward movements - and part of the cable caught on the steering wheel of the Philadelphia. Two irreconcilable opponents were bound by one chain! After a day of forced joint navigation, the armored cable-rope finally burst and the Philadelphia joyfully sailed away, taking away a piece of cable with a secret sonar capsule in its hull. Alas, 400 meters of low-frequency antenna were still tightly wound on the K-324 propeller.
When the sea rescuer Aldan, who arrived at the scene, started the towing cable, shots rang out - in impotent anger, the Americans began to shoot the cable from machine guns. The nuclear-powered ship was towed to Havana, where a secret antenna cable was removed using a special tool. That same night, a military transport aircraft with fragments of the American TASS antenna flew to Moscow.
Who you are? Name yourself!
The last salvos of the NATO naval exercises have died down, the satisfied admirals gathered in the wardrooms, preparing to celebrate the results achieved “in combat”. The navies of the Western countries showed brilliant training and high combat capability. The personnel of the ships acted boldly and decisively, during the exercises they showed personal courage and courage. All air, surface and underwater targets of the “probable enemy” were discovered, taken for escort and conditionally destroyed. For success, gentlemen!
What? Alarm signal in the combat control center. An unidentified ship got in touch, it looks like it wants something. But, damn it, where could he even come from in the middle of a NATO naval exercise area?
The nuclear submarine K-448 "Tambov" of the Russian Navy is requesting help - there is a patient on board. As it turns out during the dialogue, one of the submariners has complications after the removal of appendicitis, an urgent operation is required.
A smooth black "Pike" proudly floats among the ships of the NATO navies. With great care, the injured sailor is taken aboard the British destroyer Glasgow, from where he is sent by helicopter to land to the hospital. The Russian "Pike" politely says goodbye to the whole honest company, sinks, and ... contact is lost!
It happened on February 29, 1996. The British press burst into a stream of caustic irony against Her Majesty's fleet, some analysts compared the K-448 Tambov with the German submarine U-47, which, 55 years before the events described, boldly broke into the British naval base of Scapa Flow and committed a cruel pogrom.
Cable in the Sea of Okhotsk
One of the most mystical joint operations of the CIA and the US Navy is considered to be the “hacking” of an underwater communication cable at the bottom of the Sea of Okhotsk, which connected the Krashenikovo submarine base and the Kura missile range with the mainland - the Americans were very interested in the results of tests of Soviet ballistic missiles, as well as accurate information about the combat service of the Soviet submarine fleet.
In October 1971, the Khelibat nuclear submarine with equipment for special operations quietly penetrated the territorial waters of the USSR. Slowly moving along the coast of Kamchatka, the Americans examined the signs on the coast and, finally, good luck - they noticed a sign prohibiting any underwater work in this place. A controlled underwater robot was immediately released, with the help of which it was possible to see a thick 13-centimeter cable at the bottom. The boat moved away from the shore and hung over the cable line - four divers fixed the information retrieval equipment. Having received the first interception data, the Khalibat headed for Pearl Harbor.
USS Halibut was launched in 1959 as an underwater carrier of cruise missiles. In 1965, she underwent a conversion, turning into a boat for special operations. She examined sunken ships and submarines, searched for fragments of Soviet ballistic missiles at the bottom of the ocean, "hacked" underwater communication lines. Fierce baby!
A year later, in August 1972, the Khalibat returned to the Soviet shores again. This time on board was a special device "Cocoon" weighing six tons with a radioisotope thermoelectric generator. Now the Americans could "take" data from a secret communication cable on the seabed for years. In the summer of 1980, the same "bug" appeared on a cable in the Barents Sea. The Americans “burned out” quite by accident - during the next trip to the “object” in the Sea of Okhotsk, the submarine mistakenly fell on the ground with its entire hull and crushed the cable.
That's what they are, submarines! The most invulnerable and destructive naval weapon in all wars at sea. Trust in submarines is so great that they are entrusted with the "honorable" role of the gravediggers of Mankind: a nuclear submarine can operate covertly in the depths of sea waters for months, and its weapons are capable of incinerating all life on several continents.
Until now, there are no reliable systems to counter these "sea devils" - with proper crew training, a modern nuclear submarine can slip unnoticed through all security systems and perform any task right under the nose of an unsuspecting enemy. If the nuclear submarine went into battle, the enemy can safely buy wreaths and order a coffin for himself. As they say, the ascent will show!
Navy of the USSR (Navy of the USSR)- the navy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that existed from 1918 to 1992, created on the basis of after the October Revolution. In 1918-1924 and 1937-1946 it was called Workers 'and Peasants' Red Fleet (RKKF); in 1924-1937 and 1950-1953 - Naval Forces of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (Navy of the Red Army).
Creation of a fleet
The Soviet Navy was created from the remnants of Russian imperial fleet, which was almost completely destroyed as a result of the October Revolution and the Civil War.
During the revolution, sailors left their ships en masse, and officers were partially repressed or killed, partially joined the White movement or resigned. Work on the construction of ships was stopped.
The basis of the naval power of the Soviet fleet was to be battleships type "Soviet Union", and the construction of a modern fleet was one of the priority tasks of the USSR, but the beginning of the Great Patriotic War prevented the implementation of these plans.
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet took part in Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, which was reduced mainly to artillery duels between Soviet ships and Finnish coastal fortifications.
The Second World War
In 1941, as a result of the attack of the army of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, the army of the Soviet Union suffered huge losses, many sailors were transferred to the ground forces, and naval guns were removed from ships and turned into coastal ones. The sailors played a particularly important role on land in the battles for Odessa, Sevastopol, Stalingrad, Novorossiysk, Tuapse and Leningrad.
Submarine type M.
Composition of the Red Fleet in 1941
Soviet Navy on the eve of the Great Patriotic War
By 1941, the Navy of the Soviet Union included the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets.
In addition, it included the Danube, Pinsk, Caspian and Amur flotillas. The combat power of the fleet was determined by 3 battleships, 7 cruisers, 44 leaders and destroyers, 24 patrol ships, 130 submarines and more than 200 ships of various classes - gunboats, monitors, torpedo boats, auxiliary vessels ... .. 1433 aircraft totaled naval aviation ....
The forces of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet consisted of 2 battleships, 2 cruisers, 2 leaders, 17 destroyers, 4 minelayers, 71 submarines and more than 100 smaller class ships - patrol boats, minesweepers, torpedo boats and others. The aviation assigned to the fleet consisted of 656 aircraft.
The Northern Fleet, formed in 1933, by 1941 had 8 destroyers, 7 patrol ships, 2 minesweepers, 14 submarine hunters, a total of 15 submarines. The Fleet Air Force had 116 aircraft at its disposal, but half of them were obsolete seaplanes. There were 28,381 personnel on ships and in parts of the fleet.
By the beginning of World War II, a well-equipped fleet for that time was created in the Black Sea, consisting of 1 battleship, 5 cruisers, 3 leaders and 14 destroyers, 47 submarines, 2 brigades of torpedo boats, several divisions of minesweepers, patrol and anti-submarine boats, the Air Force of the Fleet (St. 600 aircraft) and strong coastal defense. The Black Sea Fleet included the Danube (until November 1941) and the Azov military flotilla, created in July 1941.
The Pacific Fleet included: 2 leaders of destroyers - "Baku" and "Tbilisi", 5 destroyers, 145 torpedo boats, 6 patrol ships, 5 minelayers, 18 minesweepers, 19 submarine hunters, 86 submarines, about 500 aircraft.
With such forces, the fleet met the news of the beginning of the Second World War.
In August 1941, after the attack of the Nazis, 791 civilian ships and 251 border guard ships were "seconded" to the Navy, having undergone appropriate re-equipment and armament. For the needs of the Red Banner Fleet, 228 coastal defense batteries, 218 anti-aircraft batteries and three armored trains were formed.
The Red Fleet in 1941 included:
- 7 cruisers(including 4 Kirov-class light cruisers)
- 59 destroyers(including 46 Wrathful and Sentry class ships)
- 22 patrol ships
- a number of smaller ships and vessels
Another 219 ships were under construction in varying degrees of readiness, including 3 battleship, 2 heavy and 7 light cruisers , 45 destroyers and 91 Submarine.
During the years of World War II, the United States and Great Britain transferred ships, boats and ships with a total displacement of 810,000 tons to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program.
Fleet combat
After the capture of Tallinn by the German army Baltic Fleet was blocked by minefields in Leningrad and Kronstadt. However, surface ships continued to play an important role in the defense of Leningrad - they actively participated in the air defense of the city and fired at German positions from their main battery guns. One example of the heroism of sailors is the actions battleship "Marat", which continued to fight and fire from main battery guns until the end of the war, despite the fact that on September 23, 1941, as a result of an attack by German Ju-87 dive bombers, the ship was actually broken into two parts and was in a semi-flooded state.
The submarines of the Baltic Fleet managed to break through the naval blockade and, despite the losses, they made a great contribution to the destruction of the enemy's sea lanes in the Eastern European theater of operations.
cold war
By the mid-1940s, the military potential of the United States was enormous. Their armed forces included 150 thousand different aircraft and the largest fleet in the world, which had over 100 units alone aircraft carriers. In April 1949, at the initiative of the United States, the military-political bloc of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created, after which two more blocs were organized - CENTO and SEATO. The goals of all these organizations were directed against the socialist countries.
The international situation dictated the need to counter the combined forces of the capitalist countries with the combined might of the socialist states. To this end, on May 14, 1955 in Warsaw, the heads of government of the Socialist. countries signed a collective allied Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which went down in history as the Warsaw Pact.
Development of the Soviet Navy after World War II
In the very first post-war years, the Soviet government set the task of accelerating the development and renewal of the Navy. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the fleet received a significant number of new and modern cruisers, destroyers, submarines, patrol ships, minesweepers, submarine hunters, torpedo boats, and pre-war ships were modernized.
At the same time, much attention was paid to improving the organization and raising the level of combat training, taking into account the experience of the Great Patriotic War. The existing charters and training manuals were revised and new ones were developed, and the network of naval educational institutions was expanded to meet the increased personnel needs of the fleet.
Equipment and armament of the USSR Navy at the end of the 1980s
Aircraft carriers Riga and Tbilisi.
A. S. Pavlov gives the following data on the composition Soviet Navy at the end of the 1980s: 64 nuclear and 15 diesel-powered ballistic missile submarines, 79 cruise missile submarines (including 63 nuclear submarines), 80 multi-purpose nuclear torpedo submarines (all submarine data as of January 1, 1989), four aircraft carriers, 96 cruisers, destroyers and missile frigates, 174 patrol and small anti-submarine ships, 623 boats and minesweepers, 107 landing ships and boats. A total of 1380 warships (excluding auxiliary vessels), 1142 combat aircraft (all data on surface ships as of July 1, 1988).
In 1991, shipbuilding enterprises of the USSR built: two aircraft carriers (including one nuclear), 11 nuclear submarines with ballistic missiles, 18 multi-purpose nuclear submarines, seven diesel submarines, two missile cruisers (including one nuclear), 10 destroyers and large anti-submarine ships, etc.
Organization
As of the end of the 1980s, the USSR Navy organizationally consisted of the branches of forces:
- underwater
- surface
- naval aviation
- coastal missile and artillery troops
- marines
The fleet also included special forces units and units, ships and vessels of the auxiliary fleet, as well as various services. The main headquarters of the Soviet Navy was in Moscow.
The composition of the Soviet Navy included the following naval formations:
- Red Banner Northern Fleet
After the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War Soviet Navy was divided among the former Soviet republics. The main part of the fleet passed to Russia and on its basis was created Navy of the Russian Federation.
Due to the ensuing economic crisis, a significant part of the fleet was scrapped.
Locations
Over the years, the USSR Navy by foreign logistic support points (PMTO of the USSR Navy):
- Porkkala Udd, Finland (1944–1956);
- Vlora, Albania (1955-1962);
- Surabaya, Indonesia (1962);
- Berbera, Somalia (1964-1977);
- Nokra, Ethiopia (1977–1991);
- Victoria, Seychelles. (1984-1990);
- Cam Ranh, Vietnam (1979-2002)
And this is only a small part of the basing system of the Soviet fleet - the Soviet Navy managed to "light up" in many other places:
- Naval Base (Navy) Cienfuegos and Naval communications center "Priboy" in the town of El Gabriel, Cuba);
- Rostock, GDR;
- Split and Tivat, Yugoslavia;
- Swinoustie, Poland;
- Hodeida, Yemen;
- Alexandria and Marsa Matruh, Egypt;
- Tripoli and Tobruk, Libya;
- Luanda, Angola;
- Conakry, Guinea;
- Bizerte and Sfax, Tunisia;
- Tartus and Latakia, Syria;
- Marine Corps training ground on about. Socotra in the Arabian Sea, Yemen.
In addition, the Soviet Navy used listening stations in Poland (Svinouste), Germany (Rostock), Finland (Porkkala-Udd), Somalia (Berbera), Vietnam (Kamran), Syria (Tartus), Yemen (Hodeida), Ethiopia (Nokra), Egypt and Libya.
Prefix of ships and ships
Ships and vessels belonging to the Soviet Navy did not have prefixes in their names.
Flags of ships and vessels
The naval flag of the USSR was a rectangular white panel with an aspect ratio of 2:3, with a narrow blue stripe along the bottom edge. A red star was depicted above the blue stripe on the left side of the flag, and a red hammer and sickle on the right side. The flag was adopted on May 27, 1935 by the resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR No. 1982/341 "On the naval flags of the USSR."
Insignia
see also
Notes
Literature
- Ladinsky Yu.V. On the fairways of the Baltic. - War Memoirs. - Moscow: Military publishing house of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, 1973. - 160 p.
- Achkasov V. I., Basov A. V., Sumin A. I. and others. Battle path of the Soviet Navy. - Moscow: Military Publishing House, 1988. - 607 p. - ISBN 5-203-00527-3
- Monakov M.S. Commander-in-Chief (Life and work of Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union S. G. Gorshkov). - M.: Kuchkovo field, 2008. - 704 p. - (Library of the club of admirals). - 3500 copies. -
If you yourself are a scientist or just an inquisitive person, and you often watch or read the latest news in the field of science or technology. It is for you that we have created such a section, which covers the latest world news in the field of new scientific discoveries, achievements, as well as in the field of technology. Only the latest events and only trusted sources.
In our progressive time, science is moving at a fast pace, so it is not always possible to keep up with them. Some old dogmas are crumbling, some new ones are being put forward. Mankind does not stand still and should not stand still, but the engine of mankind is scientists, scientists. And at any moment a discovery can occur that can not only amaze the minds of the entire population of the globe, but also radically change our lives.
A special role in science is allocated to medicine, since a person, unfortunately, is not immortal, fragile and very vulnerable to all kinds of diseases. Many people know that in the Middle Ages people lived on average 30 years, and now 60-80 years. That is, at least doubled life expectancy. This was influenced, of course, by a combination of factors, but it was medicine that played a big role. And, for sure, 60-80 years for a person is not the limit of average life. It is possible that someday people will cross the mark of 100 years. Scientists from all over the world are fighting for it.
In the field of other sciences, developments are constantly underway. Every year, scientists from all over the world make small discoveries, slowly moving humanity forward and improving our lives. Places untouched by man are being explored, first of all, of course, on our home planet. However, work is constantly taking place in space.
Among technology, robotics is especially rushing forward. An ideal intelligent robot is being created. Once upon a time, robots were an element of fantasy and nothing more. But already at the moment, some corporations have real robots in their staff, which perform various functions and help optimize labor, save resources and perform dangerous activities for a person.
I would also like to pay special attention to electronic computers, which even 50 years ago occupied a huge amount of space, were slow and required a whole team of employees for their care. And now such a machine, in almost every home, is already called more simply and briefly - a computer. Now they are not only compact, but also many times faster than their predecessors, and anyone can figure it out. With the advent of the computer, mankind has opened a new era, which many call "technological" or "information".
Remembering the computer, do not forget about the creation of the Internet. It also gave a huge result for humanity. This is an inexhaustible source of information, which is now available to almost everyone. It connects people from different continents and transmits information with lightning speed, it was impossible to even dream of such a thing 100 years ago.
In this section, you will certainly find something interesting, exciting and informative for yourself. Perhaps even someday you will be one of the first to know about a discovery that will not only change the world, but will turn your mind upside down.
