Soviet Cruise Missile Submarines of the Cold War (New Vanguard) by Edward Hampshire

Author:Edward Hampshire [Hampshire, Edward]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781472825001
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2018-07-25T23:00:00+00:00

PAPA CLASS (PROJECT 661)

Design development

The Soviet naval leadership was well aware of the vulnerabilities of those submarines carrying P6 cruise missiles. The vessels had to surface in order to launch their missiles, which made them intensely vulnerable to enemy aircraft and surface ships. In addition, their relatively low underwater speed and diving depth meant that they would have problems both keeping up with their warship targets and escaping from enemy vessels after conducting attacks. As a result, a Council of Ministers decree of 28 August 1958 ordered the development of a new generation of nuclear-powered submarines that had considerably greater underwater speed and diving depth, and a new generation of cruise missiles that could be launched from below the water. These were ambitious targets and were made more so by the decision to combine all of these innovations into a single submarine design, which became the Project 661. That the Soviet naval design bureaus succeeded in achieving all of this is testament to their skill and ingenuity against the odds, as well as the enormous resources that were directed towards the project.

A range of different design options were developed, though none fulfilled every one of the design targets. In July 1959, the State Committee for Shipbuilding approved the fastest variant, a relatively small design armed with Ametist. The technical design specification was completed in December 1960 and over 400 different organizations and state enterprises were involved in the design and construction of the boat. To provide the necessary speed, two VM-5 pressurized water reactors were selected, driving two turbines that produced a total of 80,000 horsepower, a then unprecedented amount for a submarine. The boat, named K-162, was laid down on 28 December 1963 but not completed until 13 December 1969, the long period of time reflecting the complexity and difficulties faced in producing her, many of which stemmed from the decision to build both her inner and outer hull out of titanium. This metal was both strong and light but was also expensive and difficult to use in manufacturing.

Ten Ametist cruise missiles were housed in inclined containers side-by-side in front of the conning tower. A missile could be launched from a depth of up to 30 metres and from an opened and pre-flooded container. All ten missiles could be launched in two salvos, with a gap of three minutes between each five-missile launch. K-162 also included the powerful new Rubin sonar, which automatically transferred data to missile and torpedo systems for targeting purposes.

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