David
Sat January 3, 2004 10:24pm
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Alpha Class Nuclear Attac
Function: Nuclear powered attack submarine.
History: The K.377 class (or zolotaya ruba, meaning "Golden Fish") nuclear attack submarine (SSN) was initiated in 1957 as a purpose built carrier battle group "interceptor." Designated Project 705, the Lyra was built to wait in port until offshore sensors detected the approach of enemy carrier battlegroups, at which time the crew would board the submarine and, vectored toward the approaching enemy fleet by ground controllers, make a high speed attack run using 53cm torpedoes. To meet these requirements, the submarine had to be fast, which in turn, required it to be small and powerful. To this end, everything was sacrificed in the name of reducing the hull's "wetted" area (that portion of the submarine in contact with the water), displaced weight and maximizing the its power output. To save on weight the reactor was designed to run automatically and sealed off from the rest of the ship by a single bulkhead. To increase power, a design cooled by liquid metal (sodium) was selected over a more conventional water cooled model. Because the Pr. 705 would not be used for extended patrols at sea, many of its systems were automated, and the crew was slashed to 29-43 officers. Lastly, in order to improve diving depth and reduce weight, a revolutionary titanium alloy was used in constructing the hull.
Unfortunately, the technology required to fabricate titanium on such a scale did not exist at the time and it was not until 1965 that the design was ready for production. Furthermore, by the time the Pr. 705 submarines were ready for production, the primary threat to the Soviet Union, and the whole reason for the class' existence, had shifted from the carrier battlegroup to the ballistic missile submarine. Nonetheless, production continued and eventually 7 submarines were built. Hated by the Soviet Navy as well as the crews aboard them, the 705's were so obsolete by the time they entered service that there was never any serious indication that they would ever be deployed. Because their automated systems were susceptible to damage by exposure to radiation the reactor systems were unreliable and it is believed that 4 of the 7 suffered reactor failures. Eventually the submarines were deemed to dangerous to be tolerated and all were pulled from service by 1995. Roughly equivalent to the American 1957 USS Seawolf (the only American submarine to use a liquid metal reactor) in design philosophy, by the time they were launched the Lyra I class submarines were hopelessly outclassed by current American SSNs.
General Characteristics, Lyra I Class
Builders:
Admiralty Yard, Leningrad Sevmashpredpriyatiye, Severodvinshk
Power Plant:
One BM-40A or OK.550 rated at 155 Megawatts, one OK.7 steam turbine, one shaft with one VRSh-5 controllable pitch screw, 47,000 shaft horsepower
Length, Overall:
260.8 feet (79.5 meters)
Beam:
31.2 feet (9.5 meters)
Draft:
22.6 feet (6.9 meters)
Displacement:
4,320 tons submerged
Speed:
43 knots submerged
Crew:
29 - 43 Officers
Maximum Safe Diving Depth:
1,150 feet
Armament:
Six bow mounted 53cm torpedo tubes
53-65K torpedoes
SET-65 torpedoes
Sensors:
Accord combat direction system
Leningrad-705 fire control system
Radar:
One MRK.50 Topol surface search radar
One Sozh navigation radar
Sonar:
One Okean active/passive sonar suite
One MG-24 Luch mine detection sonar
Countermeasures:
Bukhta ESM/ECM system
Two MG-74 Korund noise simulation decoys
One Yenisei sonar intercept reciever
Khrom-KM IFF system
Ships:
K.377, commissioned 1972, suffered reactor accident during sea trials, dismantled immediatly thereafter.
K.316, commissioned 1979, reactor destroyed in 1982 when coolant solidified. Dismantled in 1985.
K.373, commissioned in 1978, suffered reactor meltdown. Hull cut in half and forward half used as experimental test bed.
K.123, launched in 1977, liquid metal coolant contaminated engine compartment in 1982. New engine compartment installed and submarine was finally comissioned in 1991. Redesignated B.123, served as a floating pier until decommissioned in 1995.
K.432, commissioned in 1982, struck a whale during sea trials. Repairs completed in 1988 but never recommissioned. Dismantled in 1993.
K.463, commissioned in 1982, suffered unspecified reactor accident. Engine compartment decontaminated and a VM-4 conventional water cooled plant from a Pr. 671B submarine installed sometime after 1986. Served as a test bed until scrapped in 1994.
K.493, commissioned in 1983, was re-engined with a VM-4 conventional water cooled plant and served as a training ship for submariners. Reactor has since been removed and hull is awaiting scrapping in St. Petersburg.
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