Home Science Little-known facts about the first nuclear power submarine of the Soviet Union

Little-known facts about the first nuclear power submarine of the Soviet Union

This ‘undersea monster’ became the most powerful submarine of the Soviet Union and was the first submarine to break 2.5 meters thick ice in the Arctic.
The Cold War that began shortly after the end of World War 2 divided the world into two opposing forces: the Soviet Union and the United States. Each side actively creates the most powerful weapons to prepare for the possibility of a “hot war”, which can remove their enemies from the surface of the Earth. In some cases, the Soviet Union is the leading country, but there are also cases where the United States is the leading country.

The K-3 was the first nuclear-powered submarine of the Soviet Union. Photo: RBTH The Leninsky Komsomol K-3 nuclear-powered submarine was one of the special cases in which the Soviet Union had to find a way to catch up with the United States. The reason the Soviet Union decided to have nuclear energy submarines In 1945, the United States showed the world the destructive power of new nuclear weapons. However, deploying a nuclear bomb by air (as it did when bombing Japan) also comes with significant risks. At the time, the United States believed that the only “safe” way to deploy nuclear weapons at that time was by means of submarines, which could secretly reach enemy coasts and unleash. the decisive blow. The first nuclear-powered submarine project of the US is implemented in secret. The decision to build the first ship was made in 1951 and on June 14, 1952, the construction of the ship called “Nautilus” officially took place. At the same time, the Soviet Union began building its own nuclear-powered submarines. Russia started the construction of the K-3 submarine in Severodvinsk on September 24, 1955. If the US Nautilus submarines still use the same body frame as diesel-electric submarines and the only difference is that there is an additional nuclear reactor, the K-3 submarine of the Soviet Union has a complete design difference in order to be able to operate under water optimally. Therefore, the nuclear power submarine K-3 of the Soviet Union has a faster speed than the Nautilus. The K-3 submarine has a maximum displacement of more than 3,000 tons when floating and 4,750 tons when diving, and can travel at speeds of more than 50 km / h even though the reactor is not operating at full capacity. The ship was originally designed to attack enemy coastal naval bases with just a massive (1.5 meter) caliber thermonuclear probe. However, this approach was ineffective and too expensive, so it was canceled. Instead, the Soviet Union switched to using torpedoes capable of carrying nuclear warheads. A special feature of the K-3 submarine To increase the stealth level of the K-3, the Soviet Union used special mechanisms to reduce the noise of the interior components, special coating for the entire ship, and low-noise propellers. Some of the special features of the K-3 are that it does not have anchors, does not carry any defense weapons, and does not have an emergency diesel reactor. The K-3 is the first submarine to break 2.5 meters of ice in the Arctic. Photo: Sputnik Later, those who were on the K-3 submarine said that the interior of the ship was like a work of art. Each room is painted a different color and uses bright tones to create a pleasant eye feel. Some of the ship’s bulkheads are made to look like a picture, while others look like a large mirror. All of the equipment on board is made of precious woods and is specially designed to be used in an emergency situation, not just for its original purpose. For example, the large hall table in the lobby can be easily converted into something under certain circumstances. In July 1962, the Soviet nuclear submarine Leninsky Komsomol successfully sailed to the Arctic, four years after a similar American achievement on the Nautilus submarine in 1958. Submarines K-3 also marked the first time in the history of the Soviet Union and later Russia, having a long journey under the ice in the Arctic and twice passing through the northernmost point of the Earth./.

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