Project 611

Project 611

Ship data country  Soviet Union Shipyard Shipyard 196 in Leningrad Shipyard 402 in Severodvinsk Construction period 1951 to 1957 Decommissioning 1980s to 1990s Units built 26th

Ship dimensions and crew length 90.5 m ( Lüa ) width 7.5 m Draft Max. 5.14 m displacement surfaced: 1831 t submerged: 2300 t   crew 75 men

Machine system machine 3 × Type 37D diesel engines 2,000  hp 2 × PG-101 electric motors 1,350 PS 1 × PG-102 electric motor 2,700 PS propeller 2 × three-leaf 1 × four-leaf

Mission data submarine Diving depth, normal 170 m Immersion depth, max. 200 m Top speed submerged 16 kn Top speed surfaced 17 kn

Armament 6 × torpedo tubes (bow) ∅ 533 mm 4 × torpedo tubes (stern) ∅ 533 mm 1 × 57 mm deck gun SM-24-ZIF 1 × 25mm 2M-8 Ammunition: 22 torpedoes or 32 mines

Project 611 ( NATO code name Zulu class ) was a class of diesel-electric powered submarines of the Soviet Navy , of which 26 units were built.

history

The development and construction of a class of submarines with long-range was already foreseen in 1944, but was by the Soviet leadership shortly after the Second World War, decided in the form of project 611th The shape of the hull of the new project was outwardly similar to the German submarine class XXI , but the concept itself differed in many areas from the German design. The plans were drawn up by Leningrad Development Bureau number 16.

The boats were designed for about 60 days of deployment and had the main task of carrying out attacks on shipping routes in the event of war. Possible scenarios for attacks on US coastal cities with nuclear torpedoes are suspected but have not been confirmed.

The first of a total of 26 boats in the class was launched in 1951. The technical orientation and mission of the boats clearly originated from World War II thinking, but were later converted to carry new systems such as ballistic missiles, making them the first second-strike weapons of the Soviet Union, which in the event of a nuclear war would also be part of the United States could cause serious damage from their nuclear weapons.

Machine systems

The submarines were equipped with three Type 37D marine diesel engines, each with an output of 2000 HP (1471 kW). These engines provided propulsion energy by burning fuel oil and oxygen from the ambient air. This system only worked when sailing overwater or snorkeling . In this way, 18 knots could be reached on the surface.

For diving at greater depths, electric motors were necessary, which obtained their energy from lead-acid batteries. Two PG-101 motors, each with 1350 HP (993 kW), drove the two outer shafts during the dive , the middle one was driven by a PG-102 electric motor with 2700 HP (1985 kW). The middle shaft could alternatively be driven by a PG-104 electric motor with 140 PS (103 kW), which consumed much less electricity than the PG-102 motors and was much quieter.

Range

At 9.2 knots cruising speed, the boats of Project 611 were able to cover 22,000 nautical miles with their diesel engines before the fuel they carried was used up. Submerged, the battery capacity was enough for 15 nautical miles at 15.1 knots. After removing the artillery armament, the drag decreased and the range increased to 16 nautical miles.

Sensors and communication systems

Bridge tower with periscope and radar antenna

Project 611 was designed for conventional torpedo attacks on ship targets, as they had taken place during the war, and accordingly received sensor equipment that was based on findings from the war. The periscope of the commander of type C-2 came from German production and was supplemented by an Luftzielperiskop on some boats. The Tamir 5LS and NEL-4 sonar and echo sounder systems were available for underwater use . Furthermore, every boat received antennas for active and passive radar systems , a friend-foe detection system and antennas for long and shortwave radio systems.

Armament

Drawing of the starboard side of Project 611 without machine weapons. The noticeable crack in the keel below the fore section of the boats marks the position of the Tamir 5LS sonar system .

Deck gun

The boats were initially equipped with an SM-24-SIF deck gun. The double-barreled weapon was installed in front of the tower and fired 57 mm fragmentation high-explosive grenades, which were primarily suitable for air defense. The ammunition was supplied via loading strips that held three cartridges and the rate of fire was 100-150 rounds per minute. The weapon had been developed from 1947, was essentially based on the Army's S-60 anti-aircraft cannon from the Second World War and was able to fight air targets up to 6,000 meters away.

This type of weapon had numerous weaknesses and was removed from boats by 1956. The underwater speed of the boats increased by one knot due to the now lower flow resistance when driving underwater.

Machine guns

The anti-aircraft defense was to be further strengthened by installing a 25-mm twin automatic cannon 2M-8, derived from the 2M-3 , on the tower of the boats. The weapon was installed at the rear edge of the tower with a field of fire to the aft under a splinter protection and could not be directed towards the bow because of the installation of antennas and periscopes in the center of the tower.

These weapons were removed again during the service life of the submarines to make room for an improved snorkel system in the rear part of the tower.

Torpedoes

The boats of Project 611 had six bow and four stern torpedo tubes with a diameter of 533 mm. Up to twelve reserve torpedoes could be carried in the two torpedo rooms, so that with the ten torpedoes in the tubes a total capacity of 22 weapons was achieved. Alternatively, 32 sea ​​mines of the type AMD-1000 could be carried.

modification

Project 611 was used as a carrier for several novel systems in the course of his service, with the equipment of six boats with ballistic missiles being the most notable measure.

W-611

A Project 611 boat in 1988, according to the picture description a Zulu IV boat. There is no armament to be seen on deck or on the tower and the holder for the snorkel is located on the rear edge of the tower.

A boat from Project 611, B-67, was converted into a test carrier for launching a single R-11FM missile (ship-based variant of the R-11 ) in 1954 and on September 16, 1955, it was the first submarine to fire a ballistic missile. The boat was named Project W-611 (Russian: В-611). The water displacement changed to 1875 tons on the surface and 2387 tons when diving, the speed fell to 16.5 knots when sailing above and 13 knots when sailing underwater.

AW-611

Six boats (B-62, B-67, B-73, B-78, B-79 and B-89) were rebuilt in Severodvinsk between 1956 and 1967 to carry R-11FM missiles. To do this, the tower of the boats was lengthened aft and two vertical pipes, each with a rocket, were built into the tower that was extended in this way. The boats were given the designation Project AW-611 (Russian: АВ-611). The water displacement changed to 1890 tons on the surface and 2,415 tons when diving, the speed dropped to 16.5 knots when sailing above and 12.5 kn when driving underwater.

The range of the rocket was quite low at around 150 km, the launch process was complicated and could only be carried out on the surface of the water. The rocket had to betanktem state to the storage tubes are stored, which meant that they be replaced every three months had to stop, that the nitric acid of rocket fuel consumed by the tanks. Before take-off, the boats had to emerge and open the hatch over the missile shaft. The R-11FM was then lifted out of the bearing tube with a lifting device to a point where the exhaust gases of the rocket motor could escape to the side after its start. It took five minutes for the submarine to be on the surface before the first rocket was launched. Since the second rocket would have been damaged by the hot exhaust gases from the first one when it was launched, it could only be lifted into the launch position after it had been launched, so that another five minutes had to be spent on the surface for the second rocket to deploy.

Once launched, the missile's chance of being hit was extremely low. The spread of the sea-based R-11FM is assumed to be around 7 km around the target point, so that the weapon with a conventional warhead had little tactical use and could only work safely against the targeted target with its 50 kt nuclear warhead.

PW-611

Project PW-611 (Russian: ПВ-611) was a test vehicle for underwater missile launch.

Further conversions took place on single boats to test radar and sonar equipment.

Designations

NATO called the boats the Zulu class or Z-class for short and differentiated the various designs according to the order of their own observations. The named variants are:

• Zulu I - Project 611 with 2M-8 anti-aircraft gun
• Zulu II - Project 611 with SM-24 SIF deck gun and 2M-8 anti-aircraft gun
• Zulu III - Project 611 without machine guns, but with snorkel attachment at the rear of the tower
• Zulu IV - Project W-611 (Russian: В-611 ) a prototype with a launch tube for an R-11 missile
• Zulu V - Project AW-611 (Russian: АВ-611 ) with two launch tubes for R-11 missiles
• Zulu VI - Project PW-611 (Russian: ПВ-611 ), boat B-67 was converted in 1959 as a test carrier for underwater launches of missiles.

units

B-80 Foxtrot in the port of Amsterdam, 2008

26 boats from Project 611 were laid down between 1951 and 1957. A selection:

B-61

B-61 was laid down in Severodvinsk on January 10, 1951 and launched on July 26 of that year. In 1952, the B-61 was repaired in Leningrad to rectify construction errors and served in the Baltic fleet until 1960 . After relocating to the Northern Fleet , it was docked in 1963 for repairs after damage to the flood valves. In 1964 it was relocated back to the Baltic Sea and decommissioned in June 1980.

B-62

The boat was laid down in Leningrad on September 6, 1951 and launched on April 29, 1952. In 1958 it was modernized to the AW-611 project and served in the Pacific Fleet . In 1968 the diesel engines failed during a patrol south of the Aleutian Islands and the boat had to be towed in. Modernized in 1969 to project AW-611ts, B-62 was transferred to reserve in 1974 and scrapped in 1996.

B-63

B-63 was laid down in Leningrad on February 6, 1952 and, after its launch in 1954, transferred to the 182nd Submarine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet. Before it was retired in 1985, the tactical number was changed twice: first to B-863, then BS-863 and later to TschTS-578.

B-64

The boat was laid down on May 15, 1952 in Leningrad. After its commissioning in 1954, it was assigned to the Northern Fleet and converted into a test carrier for radar systems between 1956 and 57. It was launched in 1974 after the project was canceled.

B-65

The boat was laid down at the Leningrad shipyard 196 on July 24, 1952 and launched on March 21, 1953. The boat was used in the Baltic Fleet until 1960 and was then transferred to the Northern Fleet. In 1981 the B-65 was decommissioned and from 1982 onwards it was scrapped near Murmansk.

B-66

B-66 was laid down on December 15, 1952 in Leningrad under hull number 635 and was launched on June 30, 1953. It entered service on December 29, 1954 and was probably deleted from the fleet list in the 1980s.

B-67

The boat was laid down on March 26, 1953 in Leningrad under hull number 636 and was launched on September 5, 1953. It entered service on June 30, 1956 and was upgraded to project AW-611 during its service in Severodvinsk. It was the first boat that was regularly equipped with R-11FM missiles.

B-69

B-69 was laid down in Leningrad on September 14, 1953 and launched on April 18, 1954. After its commissioning in 1956, it was assigned to the Northern Fleet. In 1957 it was supposed to refuel B-75 near Bear Island and lost a sailor in heavy seas. In 1964 it drove as far as Cuba during a 74-day patrol . The ventilation systems on board were inadequate for tropical waters and there was another failure of the crew. The boat was decommissioned in April 1990, capsized on the pier and was finally scrapped in the late 1990s.

B-80

B-80 was laid down in Severodvinsk on February 1, 1956 and launched on January 16, 1957. It did its service in the Northern Fleet and carried out missions as far as the coast of South America. In 1992 the boat was sold to a Dutch investor. At first it was apparently planned to make the boat accessible as a museum ship. However, it was ultimately sold on and the interior was largely cannibalized to make room for visitors. The boat, now renamed Foxtrot , lies in the Amsterdam harbor and is not open to the public, but could be rented for events.

B-88

The boat was laid down in Severodvinsk on August 17, 1956 and launched on July 4, 1957. It was assigned to the Northern Fleet and undertook in October 1959 with the B-90 a 150-day 23,000-nautical-mile journey from the Kola Bay to the south around Africa and Australia to Vladivostok. B-88 was taken out of service in the 1980s.

B-90

B-90 was laid down in Severodvinsk on October 25, 1956 and launched on August 17, 1957. 150-day sea voyage, together with B-88. The boat was taken out of service in the 1980s.

Evidence and references

Remarks

1. ↑ Polmar and Noot, on the other hand, describe the Zulu III in Submarines of the Russian and Soviet navies, 1718-1990 as a boat without deck guns and possibly with a modified anti-aircraft cannon
2. ↑ Alexander Schirokorad lists B-65 in Soviet post-war submarine structures on p. 53 as the only boat that was built at shipyard 195, but this could not be supported by any other source.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Oleg Bukharin, Pawel L. Podwig: Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. P. 262.
2. ↑ Norman Polmar, Jurrien Noot: Submarines of the Russian and Soviet navies, 1718-1990. P. 148.
3. ↑ Christoph Bluth: The collapse of Soviet military power. P. 131.
4. ↑ submarines.narod.ru, viewed July 7, 2011
5. ↑ ZIF-24 at navweaps.com, viewed July 6, 2011
6. ^ ^{A b} Steven J. Zaloga : Scud Ballistic Missile and Launch Systems 1955-2005. P. 10.
7. ↑ ^{a b} A. B. Shirokorad : Soviet submarine post-war structures. P.56.
8. ↑ Norman Polmar, Jurrien Noot: Submarines of the Russian and Soviet navies, 1718-1990. P. 149.
9. ^ Oleg Bukharin, Pawel L. Podwig Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. P. 285.
10. ↑ B-66 on submarines.narod.ru, viewed July 6, 2011
11. ↑ B-80 in Amsterdam on private website, viewed July 6, 2011
12. ↑ Usenko, Kotow, Redanski, Kulitschkow: When the nuclear submarine fleet of the Soviet Union was created. P. 270.

literature

• А.Б. Широкорад: Советские подводные лодки послевоенной постройки. (AB Shirokorad: Soviet Post-War Submarine Buildings . ) Moscow 1997, ISBN 5-85139-019-0 .
• Н.В. Усенко, П.Г. Котов, В.Г. Реданский, В.К. Куличков: Как создавался атомный подводный флот Советского Союза. (NW Usenko, PG Kotow, WG Redanski, WK Kulitschkow: When the Soviet Union's nuclear submarine fleet came into being. ) Saint Petersburg 2004, ISBN 5-89173-274-2 .
• Norman Polmar, Jurrien Noot: Submarines of the Russian and Soviet navies, 1718–1990. US Naval Institute Press, 1991, ISBN 0-87021-570-1 .
• Oleg Bukharin, Pawel L. Podwig: Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. The MIT Press, 2004, ISBN 0-262-66181-0 .
• Christoph Bluth : The collapse of Soviet military power. Dartmouth Pub Co, 1995, ISBN 1-85521-482-2 .
• Steven J. Zaloga: Scud Ballistic Missile and Launch Systems 1955-2005. Osprey Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1-84176-947-9 .
• Paul E. Fontenoy: Submarines: an illustrated history of their impact. ABC-CLIO, 2007, ISBN 978-1-85109-563-6 .

Web links

Commons : Project 611  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Article on ship class at legion.wplus.net (Russian)
• Single boat listing on submarines.narod.ru (Russian)