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Russian submarine Severstal

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NameSeverstal (since 2000)
NamesakeSeverstal
BuilderSevmash
Laid down6 January 1987
LaunchedJuly 1988
Commissioned22 December 1989
Out of service2004
StatusDecommissioned, awaiting dismantling
General characteristics
Class & typeTyphoon-class submarine
Displacement
  • 23,200 t (22,800 long tons) surfaced
  • 48,000 t (47,000 long tons) submerged
Length175 m (574 ft 2 in)
Beam22.8 m (74 ft 10 in)
Draft12.2 m (40 ft 0 in)
Installed power2 × nuclear reactors
Propulsion2 × steam turbines; 2 × shafts
Speed
  • 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced
  • 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) submerged
Test depth1,312 ft (400 m)
Complement160 officers and sailors
Armament

Severstal (TK-20; Russian: ́Северста́ль ТК-20) is a retired submarine of the Project 941 Akula (NATO reporting name Typhoon) class of the Russian Navy and formerly the Soviet Navy. The boat was laid down on 6 January 1987, launched in July 1988, and commissioned on 22 December 1989, with the designation TK-20. It spent its entire career in the Northern Fleet, and received the name Severstal in 2000.

Severstal was designed to operate in the Arctic Ocean and to carry R-39 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, with each of them capable of holding several nuclear warheads. As part of the country's nuclear deterrent, its main armament consisted of twenty missile tubes. The submarine conducted training missions at the North Pole multiple times, and during some of them it launched all twenty of its rockets at the same time. Severstal carried out a total of eight missions and 55 missile launches during its career. In 2004 it was laid up and placed in the reserve as Russia retired the R-39 missile. Since then it has remained docked in Severodvinsk, next to its sister ship Arkhangelsk. Despite some reports that they could be modernized and restored to active service, by March 2015 they had been decommissioned, and as of 2019 they are waiting to be scrapped.

Design and construction

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Work on the third generation of Soviet nuclear-powered submarines was accelerated in response to the development of the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by the United States. At their summit meeting in November 1974 in Vladivostok, Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev told U.S. President Gerald Ford that the Soviet Union would build a new strategic missile submarine if the U.S. continued its development of the Trident.[1] Brezhnev reportedly used the word typhoon ("тайфун") to refer to the new submarine, which later became its NATO code-name.[2] It became a counter to the Ohio-class submarine of the United States Navy,[3] which was built to carry Trident nuclear missiles.[4] The Project 941 Akula (Russian: Акула, lit. 'shark', NATO reporting name: Typhoon-class) was designed by the engineer Sergey Kovalyov at the Rubin Design Bureau, which began developing it in 1972. The R-39 missile that the submarine would carry was being worked on at the same time.[1]

The Typhoon-class has a unique design that uses two main pressure hulls, one on each side of the submarine, instead of a single pressure hull. The living quarters for the crew, the propulsion machinery, and other equipment are located in them. Each of the main pressure hulls is divided into eight compartments, and has a length of 149 metres (488 ft 10 in) and a diameter of 7.2 metres (23 ft 7 in).[5] The starboard hull includes a recreation area for the crew consisting of a gym, a swimming pool, a sauna, and an aviary.[6][7] Twenty missile silos are placed in between the main pressure hulls, in front of the sail.[5] In total the submarine has five pressure hulls:[3] its control room is located in a pressure hull directly below the sail, between the two main hulls;[5] a fourth hull contains the torpedo tubes and is located on the bow; and a fifth is located behind the control room and connects the two main hulls.[3] There is an escape chamber above each of the main hulls, allowing for the entire crew of 160 officers and sailors to be taken to the surface.[6]

Severstal and the other vessels of its class are the largest submarines ever built.[1] It has a displacement of 23,200 tonnes (22,800 long tons) while surfaced and 48,000 tonnes (47,000 long tons) while submerged. It also has a large reserve buoyancy of 48%, meaning that almost half of its submerged displacement is water in its ballast tanks, which contributes to its ability to break through ice while surfacing.[5] The submarine has a length of 175 metres (574 ft 2 in), a beam of 22.8 metres (74 ft 10 in), and a draft of 12.2 metres (40 ft 0 in).[8][9] Its power source are two OK-650 nuclear reactors, one in each main hull, and propulsion is provided by two steam turbines, producing 50,000 horsepower (37,000 kW) for each of the two propeller shafts.[6][9] It also has a diesel generator.[6] The propellers are both covered by shrouds to prevent damage from ice when it surfaces.[3][6] It has a speed of up to 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) while surfaced[10] and 27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph) while submerged.[11] The submarine carried 20 R-39 SLBMs, with up to 200 nuclear warheads in total.[8][9] Each missile weighed 90 tons[3] and had a range of 8,300 kilometres (5,200 mi).[6] Its armament also includes six 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, which can hold regular torpedoes or anti-submarine missiles.[9] The submarine's test depth is 1,312 ft (400 m).[12]

The twin-hull design of the Typhoon class was necessary for it to carry R-39 missiles. It was much larger than previous Soviet SLBMs and required large missile tubes that a single pressure hull design could not accommodate.[3][6] It was also the first Soviet submarine designed to operate in the Arctic.[3][13] The Sevmash shipyard at Severodvinsk was expanded with an additional building hall specifically for the Typhoon class, which is the largest covered shipway in the world.[14][15] TK-20[a] was laid down on 6 January 1987, launched in July 1988,[9] and commissioned on 22 December 1989.[16] It was the sixth and last ship of its class to be built, because one more that was under construction and another that was planned were cancelled.[9][14]

History

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TK-20 entered service in the Northern Fleet of the Soviet Navy[17] and was part of the 18th Submarine Division [ru],[18] which included all six boats of the Typhoon class from 1989.[14] The division was stationed at the Zapadnaya Litsa naval base in the Kola Peninsula.[14] The purpose of the submarines was to go on long patrols in the Arctic Ocean as part of the Soviet Union's nuclear deterrent.[9][19][13] TK-20 traveled to the North Pole to practice surfacing through ice and firing missiles several times, and carried out a total of eight missions and 55 missile launches during its career.[20][21] During an exercise on 25 August 1995, under the command of Captain 1st rank Aleksandr Bogachyov [ru], TK-20 fired several missiles at targets in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. Days before that, on 21 August, the submarine received a dent on its outer hull while practicing breaking through ice.[21] It carried out a similar exercise in November 1996[20][22] and another in 1997 during which it launched all twenty of its missiles at once.[16] After the 1997 mission it was recognized as the best submarine in the Northern Fleet.[21] TK-20 became known as the most combat experienced boat of the Typhoon class, because it launched all of its missiles more than once.[16][20]

During the 1990s three of the six boats of the Typhoon class were decommissioned, leaving TK-20, TK-208 (later renamed Dmitry Donskoy), and TK-17 (later renamed Arkhangelsk) in active service.[10][14] In December 1998 the United States announced it will assist Russia in scrapping all six of the Typhoon-class submarines,[3] but in January 2000 it was reported that three boats will remain in service to test new missiles and maintain the Navy's strategic force structure.[10] Also that year TK-20 received the name Severstal, after the company.[21] There was some indication that Severstal and Arkhangelsk would undergo modernization to carry a new ballistic missile, just as Dmitry Donskoy had received around that time, and would stay in active service until 2010–2012.[14] The phasing out of the R-39 missile, which the submarine was built to carry, occurred in the early 2000s.[23] Severstal was laid up in 2004 and placed in the reserve, along with Arkhangelsk.[24][23] Since then both vessels have been docked in Severodvinsk.[24] There is still a technical crew onboard to oversee its basic maintenance.[16]

In April 2009 Severstal was visited by the head of the Accounts Chamber of Russia, Sergey Stepashin, where he discussed the possibility of bringing both it and Arkhangelsk back into service with the head of the Sevmash shipyard.[25] The commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, said in May 2010 that the two Typhoon-class submarines will remain in the Navy until 2019, and that they were looking into their potential modernization.[26] In May 2013 sources in the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Severstal and Arkhangelsk will be decommissioned and scrapped within six years, citing the high financial cost of modernizing them.[27] In March 2015, the head of the Rubin Design Bureau said that both submarines had been decommissioned and will be scrapped at some future date.[28] However, in November 2016 a spokesman of the United Shipbuilding Corporation said that a final decision has not been made yet.[29] In January 2018 a source in Rosatom said that the company will scrap the decommissioned Severstal and Arkhangelsk after 2020.[30] As of 2019, they were waiting to be scrapped, according to head of the Sevmash shipyard.[16]

Notes

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  1. ^ ТК stands for "Тяжелый Крейсер" in Russian, meaning "heavy cruiser".

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Polmar & Moore 2003, p. 193.
  2. ^ Polmar & Noot 1991, pp. 198–199.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Friedman 1999.
  4. ^ Polmar & Moore 2003, pp. 189–191.
  5. ^ a b c d Polmar & Moore 2003, p. 194.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Polmar & Moore 2003, p. 195.
  7. ^ Yemelyanenkov 2021.
  8. ^ a b Cole 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Gardiner & Chumbley 1995, p. 408.
  10. ^ a b c Pike 2000.
  11. ^ Polmar & Noot 1991, p. 306.
  12. ^ Weichert 2025.
  13. ^ a b Polmar & Noot 1991, p. 200.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Polmar & Moore 2003, pp. 195–196.
  15. ^ Polmar & Noot 1991, pp. 199, 330.
  16. ^ a b c d e Azanov 2019.
  17. ^ Polmar & Noot 1991, p. 307.
  18. ^ Zen News 2022.
  19. ^ Polmar & Moore 2003, p. 196.
  20. ^ a b c Azanov 2021.
  21. ^ a b c d Alimov 2016.
  22. ^ Mizokami 2016.
  23. ^ a b Kozachenko 2022.
  24. ^ a b Nilsen 2018.
  25. ^ Nilsen 2009.
  26. ^ Nilsen 2010.
  27. ^ RBK News 2013.
  28. ^ TASS 2015.
  29. ^ RIA Novosti 2016.
  30. ^ RIA Novosti 2018.

Sources

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Books

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  • Gardiner, Robert & Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
  • Polmar, Norman & Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-570-1.
  • Polmar, Norman; Moore, K. J. (2003). Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945–2001. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books Inc. ISBN 1-57488-594-4.

Websites

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