![]() The Russian government simply couldn't afford to keep fielding the largest missile submarines they (or any other country in the world) had ever built. Of the seven planned Typhoons, six were built throughout the 1980s and retired less than 10 years later in the 1990s. Televisions (a luxury in the Soviet Navy) were also set up throughout the boat, playing Soviet movies, television shows and propaganda for the crew's entertainment.īut just as these behemoth war machines entered service with the Soviet Navy, their time rapidly began to wind down. You didn't misread that - Typhoons were actually built with small two-foot-deep swimming pools to improve crew morale on long deployments, along with saunas and a lounge area with plush rocking chairs. Unlike any other submarine ever built, each Typhoon also came with a unique and somewhat enviable feature - a lounge for sailors, including a swimming pool and a sauna. Instead of utilitarian steel furniture with minimal padding, a Typhoon's interior features wooden-paneled walls, comfortable padded chairs, raised ceilings and full-sized doorways, and a fully-stocked gym. Instead of constantly traversing the world's oceans, Typhoons were built to sit under the Arctic Circle for months at a time, waiting to punch through the ice in order to launch their deadly payloads of nuclear-tipped missiles.īecause of their designated operating locations, these subs could often escape harassment by American and British hunter/killer submarines constantly prowling around the Atlantic Ocean looking for Soviet warships to mess with.īecause of the length and duration of their missions, Typhoons were designed with crew comfort in mind. In fact, the accommodations aboard a Typhoon were so luxurious that sailors in the Soviet (and later, Russian) navy nicknamed these gargantuan vessels "floating Hiltons." Two nuclear reactors give these warships the power they need to operate, allowing for a maximum speed of around 27 knots underwater (31 mph). Typhoons carry their missiles in front of their gigantic (and almost comically oversized) sail instead of behind it, as Delta-class and American Ohio-class boats do. Should a breach occur - whether by collision or attack - the crew inside the other pressure hulls would be safe and the sub would still be operational. On the 14 th June 1982 the white flag was flying over Stanley, the Argentines had surrendered, the Falklands once again were British territory and in no small part thanks to the actions of HMS Conqueror.Inside the Typhoon's hulking mass existed a pair of longer pressure hulls from older Delta-class ballistic missile submarines and three more smaller hulls placed around the boat to protect other critical points like engineering spaces and the torpedo rooms. Two of the torpedoes would find their mark and sink her in one of the most controversial actions of the Falklands War.Ĭonqueror was slightly smaller than Nautilus at 285 feet long 33 feet wide with 4,000 ton displacement, but she still packed a huge punch and showed that even though the British Navy was in decline the Empire could certainly strike back. Fondly known as The Conks, she unleashed 3 MK-8 world war two vintage torpedoes against the equally vintage ARA General Belgrano. On the 2 nd of May 1982, the HMS Conqueror would become the first and only nuclear-powered submarine to engage and sink an enemy vessel. Wasn’t unique in design, but, she has one awesome achievement that stands to HMS Conqueror wasn’t the first submarine of its type and she United States USS Nautilus – First and Finest Keeping its 16 Polaris missiles constantly at the ready for defensive purposes. Tubes however attack was not its mission, the boat was to “hide with pride” It could fire most torpedos from its 21-inch torpedo George Washington was 382 feet long, 33 feet wide andĭisplaced 9,000 tons. The George Washington layout is the layout used all over the world (the exception being Typhoon class) and even China has adopted this practical layout. ![]() Capable of launching 16 Polaris missiles and critically, being able to do this submerged! Unlike the Soviet subs which had to surface and only carried two or three missiles. The George Washington was the first true SSBN (ballistic missile submarine) as we know them today and a quantum leap beyond what the Soviets had in service. The Russians also had submarine-launched missiles in the very early 50’s with the Zulu IV class, so why does this boat make my list? Those who know their history will be quick to point out that the Americans were not the first nation to put missiles in submarines, in fact, that whole plan goes right back to Nazi Germany in World War Two (unrealized concept).
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