Welcome to our forums. For the best in R/C submarine kits, components and accessories, be sure to visit the Nautilus Drydocks

**greenman407** · 03-17-2011, 12:24 PM

Victor, project 671. There were three versions , identified as Victor I, II , and III. The purpose of the Victors from the start was to protect Soviet surface fleets and to go after American Ballistic Missile Submarines. There were 16 Victor Is. The distinction between an Cruise missle submarine and a attack submarine began to blur. Here as early as 1967 these subs were able to fire both the SS-N-15 cruise missile and their normal torpedo from the same sub. However they were all fired from the torpedo tubes and not from a dedicated cruise missle silo. The Victor IIs only numbered 7 boats because the Russian spy network at this time revealed that the noise of the boats was making it easy to track them. So, out came the VictorIIIs. They finally numbered 25 with extra attention being paid to quieting. The Victor IIIs were the first boats to have the passive towed sonar arrays stowed in a pod on top of the Rudder. They had twin Water reactors and used two electric slow speed manuevering thrusters as well as two Additional thrusters mounted on the stern planes in the inboard position.
Sorry, this is not a victor but a Charlie and I cant delete it so I shrunk it.

**greenman407** · 03-17-2011, 12:29 PM

**greenman407** · 03-18-2011, 09:52 AM

On to the hotrod of the seas, ALPHA project 705. It was designed to be a Interceptor of ships. The idea was to have them hot and ready to go at a moments notice. It would then race out to the fray. Well the problem with that is obvious. The alpha was fast but not that fast. It could achieve burst speeds of 43 to 45 knots but only for short periods. Its sustained maximum was 41 knots. Thats not fast enough to cover thousands of miles in a short time, in fact thats only slightly faster than many Battlegroups. It was designed using a titanium hull and a liquid metal lead bismuth reactor that was low on shielding and of short lifespan. To refuel one was of enormous complexity. Kinda like Ford and Chevrolet. They build the car first, then they let you worry about the difficulty of repairing it. The lead bismuth was another problem. That material would freeze and congeal at 257 degrees Fahrenheit. If you shut down the reactor, you needed superheated steam to keep it hot enough to stay liquid, but then you couldnt work on it. There were seven units built, four of which were retired after the reactors frooze up from the poor conditions at some of their ports. Because of the use of a high degree of automation the crew size was small and they were restricted to the central compartment only while underway. The lessons learned from this sub were incorperated in the Akula. The noise that it generated at high speed has been compared to an underwater freight train by sonar operators that were on the opposing side. Its tactical speed was comparible to a Sturgeon. It operationally has always been easy to track. Its not the deepest diver or the fastest submarine that the Russians built but it did cause quite a stir. It caused the Western world to move ahead with torpedo upgrades such as the American ADCAP and I believe the British Spearfish. Its acceleration and manueverability were to such a point that it could outmanuever and evade existing Russian Torpedos as it did on several training missions. All have been withdrawn from service.

**greenman407** · 03-18-2011, 12:46 PM

**greenman407** · 03-18-2011, 12:49 PM

OOOPPS! Not an Alpha but an Akula in a box.

**greenman407** · 03-19-2011, 12:11 PM

We come now to the Mike class.Project 685 Plavnik (Fin). The K-278 was given the honorary title of "Komsomolets" named after a political party. There was only one produced. I am mentioning it here only because it was so well known. To not mention it because of only one being produced would cause confusion. It was a double hull submarine with the inner hull being of titanium. In addition its center section was triple strengthened to form a well protected area. It was also equipped with a escape pod(unreliable I might add). Its strong suit was its deep diving capability. It recieved a special award for achieving 3345 ft.(1020 meters). Its crush depth was 1500 meters. It came equipped with a solid fuel gas generating system for rapid emergency surfacing. It was designed around a single propellor shaft with two, fixed four blade props on the same shaft. It , like the Victor, was designed to fire torpedos as well as cruise missiles out of the torpedo tubes. It was destroyed by fire on 4-7-89 and sank, killing 47.

**greenman407** · 03-21-2011, 11:58 AM

Here are a few more.

**greenman407** · 03-21-2011, 12:25 PM

Then we have Sierra I and Sierra II. There were two of each. The Sierra II had a five foot longer sail with a blunt leading edge and contained two escape pods as opposed to one in the Sierra I. They were constructed of Titanium and were capable of 34 knots. They were powered by one PWR nuclear reactor with one propellor shaft but two props. The Sierra II towed sonar array is bigger in dia. than the Sierra I. Heres some more info:http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/945.htm

**greenman407** · 03-21-2011, 12:27 PM

**greenman407** · 03-21-2011, 01:15 PM

http://www.armscontrol.ru/subs/collisions/db080693.htm Heres some interesting reading about a collision between a 688 and a Sierra.

**greenman407** · 03-22-2011, 09:30 AM

One of the most well known of the modern Soviet Nuclear boats is the project 971 AKULA. There were 15 built, divided up into three types so far as I can tell. The original Akula, then Akula I, then Akula II. Because of the massive costs involved in Titanium hull construction it was decided to make this model out of all steel construction. The first Akula was laid down in 1980. It was K-284 "Karp". It was launched on July 16 1984 and commisioned on dec. 30 1984. This was only three months after the first Sierra went into service. It spent several years undergoing trials before series production began. The VEPR , the first of the Akula II version is said to be Quieter at slow speeds than the latest 688I. Many wondered over the myriad of external sensors that was in evidence such as between the masts, on the front of the sail and above the bowplanes. These measure temperature, radioactivity, turbulance and other phenomena(there not going to spill the beans). The Last Akula made K-335 Gepard is distinctive in that its sail is about five feet longer and its passive sonar pod mounted on top of the rudder is notably smaller than all the others. The Akula also was armed with cruise missiles fired from the torpedo tubes. It was the SS-N-21 Sampson. Because of its resemblance to the American Tomahawk, it was referred to as the "Tomahawkskii".