Typhoon-class submarine

This article is about the Soviet/Russian ballistic missile submarine class with NATO reporting name "Typhoon", but with native name "Akula". For the submarine class with NATO reporting name "Akula", see Akula-class submarine. For other uses, see Typhoon (disambiguation).

Typhoon class
Typhoon-class SSBN profile
Typhoon class
Typhoon-class submarine TK-17 Arkhangelsk under way
Class overview
NameTyphoon class
BuildersSevmash, designed by Rubin
Operators
Preceded byDelta class
Succeeded byBorei class
Built1976–1989
In service1981–2023
Planned7
Completed6
Cancelled1
Laid up3[1][2]
Retired6
General characteristics
TypeBallistic missile submarine
Displacement
  • 23200 t (22830 long tons) surfaced
  • 48000 t (47240 long tons) submerged
Length175 m (574 ft 2 in)
Beam23 m (75 ft 6 in)
Draught12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × OK-650 pressurized-water nuclear reactors, 190 MWt each, HEU <= 45%[3]
  • 2 × geared steam turbines, 50000 SHP each
  • 2 shafts with 7-bladed shrouded screws
Speed
  • 22.22 knots (41.15 km/h; 25.57 mph) surfaced
  • 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) submerged
Endurance120+ days submerged[4]
Test depth400 m (1,300 ft)
Complement160 persons[4]
Armament

The Typhoon class, Soviet designation Project 941 Akula (Russian: Акула, meaning "shark", NATO reporting name Typhoon), was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. With a submerged displacement of 48000 tonnes,[4] the Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built,[7] able to accommodate comfortable living facilities for the crew of 160 when submerged for several months.[8] The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it is often claimed to be related to the use of the word "typhoon" ("тайфун") by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev of the Communist Party in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, as a reaction to the United States Navy's new Ohio-class submarine.[9]

The Russian Navy cancelled its Typhoon modernization program in March 2012, stating that modernizing one Typhoon would be as expensive as building two new Borei-class submarines.[10] A total of six boats of the Typhoon class had been built and a seventh was started but never finished.[11] Three boats were decommissioned in the 1990s and were scrapped in the 2000s, another two were decommissioned during the 2000s and are currently inactive. With the announcement that Russia has eliminated the last R-39 Rif (SS-N-20 Sturgeon) SLBMs in September 2012, only one Typhoon remained in service, Dmitriy Donskoi, which was refitted with the more modern RSM-56 Bulava SLBM for testing. She continued to serve until February 2023, when she was decommissioned.

  1. ^ "Russia Announces Decommissioning of the Last Typhoon". Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference navyrecognition was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Lobner, Peter. "Marine Nuclear Power: 1939 – 2018 - Part 3A: Russia" (PDF).
  4. ^ a b c Apalkov, Yu.V. (2002). "Podvodnye Lodki [Submarines]". Корабли ВМФ СССР [Ships of the Soviet Navy]. Sankt-Peterburg: Галея Принт. ISBN 5-8172-0069-4.
  5. ^ "Подводные лодки. Проект 941".
  6. ^ "Подводные лодки. Проект 941".
  7. ^ "World's Largest Submarines - 1981: Typhoon Class (Soviet and Russian)". National Geographic. 12 December 1981. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
  8. ^ Waller, Douglas C. (March 2001). "Essay - The Hunt for Big Red" (PDF). Wake Forest Magazine. 48 (3): 28–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
  9. ^ Hitchens, Theresa (2001). "Get a policy, please". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 57 (2001): 21–23. doi:10.2968/057001008.
  10. ^ "Russian Navy Abandons Akula Modernization Project". Russian Navy. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference USNI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).