Project 949 "Granit" and Project 949A "Antei" are cruise missile launcher nuclear submarines (SSGN), better known by their NATO designations, Oscar-I and Oscar-II respectively. They are considered to be “cruisers”, more specifically “first rank nuclear submarine cruisers” (Atomnie Podvodnie Kreysery 1 Ranga – APKR), built by the USSR in the late 1970s. -third generation sailors.
The 949 and 949A projects were designed in the 1970s by the Rubin design office. These are among the most secret projects of the former USSR. The specifications called for a state-of-the-art missile attack submarine capable of carrying 24 SS-N-19 anti-ship missiles with a range of 550 km.
Design and construction
Their submerged tonnage of 23,860 tons places them among the largest submarines in the world. There are many design similarities between project 949 and 941 (Typhoon class) both in the type of machinery and in the living and relaxation areas. There is a gym, a solarium, a smoking area and a swimming pool of 2 m × 4 m × 2.5 m whose water is pumped when the submarine has reached a depth greater than 250 m. This water is renewed every six hours.
Resulting from the know-how accumulated thanks to the lessons of projects 661 (Papa class) and 670 (Charlie class), project 949 represents the culmination of the doctrine in vogue in the USSR "Destroy aircraft carriers by all means before an offensive .
The classroom buildings have a double shell:the outer shell, made of steel enriched with nickel and chromium, is highly stainless and its magnetic signature is very weak; the inner hull, 5 cm thick, makes it "unsinkable" (at least in theory, see the sinking of the K-141 Kursk). It is separated into nine compartments, the last of which is a “refuge compartment”. Its two nuclear reactors ??-650b ensure a top speed of 32 knots when diving, and it can evolve up to 300 m deep.
The Oscars feature six panels, on either side of the gazebo, with two missiles per panel. As the SS-N-19's nine meters make it too tall to house the missile vertically, the missiles are housed in honeycombs (one in the upper right corner and the other in the lower left corner), angled upwards. forward by about 45°.
The SS-N-19 can carry a conventional load of 750 kg, or a nuclear warhead of 500 kt at 550 kilometers. It is particularly intended to destroy aircraft carriers and carrier battle groups.
Since the START I and II agreements on the non-proliferation and reduction of nuclear weapons, the armament of the Oscar-class submarines has been replaced by conventionally charged missiles.
Like all Russian nuclear submarines, the Oscar-class submarines have two gangways:a "bathtub" at the top of the massive, and just below a gangway protected from the elements.
List of ships
Two Oscar-I, built in Severodvinsk, assigned to the Soviet Northern Fleet:
K-525 Arkhangelsk, built in 1978, armed in 1980;
K-206 Murmansk (ex-Minski Komsomolets), armed in 1981, renamed Murmansk in 1993.
Twelve Oscar-IIs were built in Severodvinsk.
Six + one replacement have been assigned to the Northern Fleet:
K-148 Krasnodar, armed in 1986;
K-119 Voronezh, armed in 1988;
K-410 Smolensk, armed in 1990;
K-266 Orel, ex-Severodvinsk, armed in 1992;
K-186 Omsk, launched May 8, 1993, armed October 27, 1993;
K-141 Kursk, built in 1992, launched in 1994, armed in December 1994, accidentally sunk on August 12, 2000;
K-139 Belgorod (ru), armed in 2007 replacing the K-141 Kursk.
Five were assigned to the Pacific Fleet:
K-132 Irkutsk, armed in 1987;
K-173 Krasnoyarsk, armed in 1989;
K-442 Chelyabinsk, armed in 1990;
K-150 Tomsk, armed in 1991; Vilyuchinsk naval base in 2008;
K-456 Vilyuchinsk (ex-Kasatka), armed in 1991, assigned to the Northern Fleet, transferred to the Pacific Fleet in September 1993.
Oscar Class Project 949
Technical characteristics
Type Nuclear cruise missile submarine
Length 134 m (I), 154.8 m (II)
Maître-bau 18.2 m
Draught 9 m
Displacement 13,900 t on the surface, 18,300 t underwater
Propulsion 2 pressurized water reactors OK-650b
Power 98,000 hp
Speed 35 knots submerged
Military specifications
Armament 4 tubes of 533 mm and 2 of 650 mm, 24 missiles (nuclear or conventional); currently, 24 conventional P-700 Granit (SS-N-19).
Other features
Crew 130 men
Served in Soviet Navy Russian Navy
Construction period 1975-1996
Period of service 1981 still in service
Vessels built 13
Planned ships 20
Ship in operation 3 (in 2013)
Lost Ships 1 (Kourks)