Russian submarine Arkhangelsk (K-525)

For other ships with the same name, see Russian ship Arkhangelsk.

Arkhangelsk (K-525, Russian: К-525 «Архангельск») was the lead ship of the Project 949 Oscar-class of nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines of the Russian Navy and formerly the Soviet Navy. Arkhangelsk was one of the two Oscar I variant submarines, along with Murmansk. The vessel was laid down on 25 July 1975 at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, launched on 3 May 1980, and commissioned on 30 December 1980 as K-525. It entered service with the Northern Fleet on 24 January 1981.

Oscar I-class submarine in 1987, either Arkhangelsk or Murmansk
History
→ Soviet Union → Russia
Name	K-525 Arkhangelsk
Namesake	Arkhangelsk
Builder	Sevmash
Laid down	25 July 1975
Launched	3 May 1980
Commissioned	30 December 1980
In service	24 January 1981
Out of service	1996
Fate	Scrapped from January 2004 to February 2005
General characteristics
Class & type	Oscar-class submarine
Displacement	12,500 t (12,300 long tons) surfaced 22,500 t (22,100 long tons) submerged
Length	122 m (400 ft 3 in)
Beam	18.2 m (59 ft 9 in)
Draft	9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Installed power	2 × nuclear reactors
Propulsion	2 × steam turbines; 2 × shafts
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) surfaced 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph) submerged
Test depth	600 m (1,968 ft 6 in)
Complement	94 officers and sailors
Armament	24 × missile silos 6 × torpedo tubes

K-525 later received the name Arkhangelsk and remained in the Navy until it was decommissioned in 1996. Both of the two Oscar I-class submarines were to be scrapped. The process of dismantling Arkhangelsk and Murmansk began in 2004 and was completed in 2005.

Design

The Project 949 (NATO reporting name Oscar) class was part of the third generation of Soviet nuclear-powered submarines. In 1967 work began on the P-700 Granit anti-ship missile, a long-range cruise missile designed to target NATO carrier battle groups. The development of a submarine that would carry the missile was started by the Rubin Design Bureau in 1969.^[1][2]

The Oscar class has a double hull, with twelve missile silos on each side in between the outer hull and the pressure hull. In total it holds 24 Granit missiles.^[1][3] As a result the submarine had a broad beam of 18.2 m (59 ft 9 in),^[1] along with a length of 144 m (472 ft 5 in)^[4] and a draft of 9 m (29 ft 6 in).^[5] It had a surface displacement of 12,500 tonnes (12,300 long tons)^[5] and a submerged displacement of 22,500 tonnes (22,100 long tons).^[1] By displacement, the Oscar-class boats were the second largest submarines in the world at the time, after the Soviet Project 941 Typhoon-class.^[1] By length they were the third largest, after the Typhoon and the United States Navy's Ohio-class.^[3][4]

The pressure hull was divided into nine compartments.^[4] It also had an escape chamber that can carry its entire crew to the surface.^[6] The submarine's power source were two OK-650 pressurized water reactors,^[3][4] and its propulsion included two steam turbines, which provided 100,000 horsepower to drive the two propeller shafts.^[3] This gave it a top speed of 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) while on the surface and 32 kn (59 km/h; 37 mph) while submerged.^[6][7] Its armament also included four 533 mm (21.0 in) and two 650 mm (26 in) torpedo tubes on the bow,^[7] which could fire torpedoes or missiles.^[4] The Oscar-class submarines have an antenna that allows them to receive targeting information from satellites.^[6] It had a test depth of 600 m (1,968 ft 6 in),^[6] and the crew consisted of 94 officers and sailors.^[7]

History

K-525, the lead ship of the Project 949 Oscar-class, was laid down on 25 July 1975 at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, launched on 3 May 1980, and commissioned on 30 December 1980. It entered service in the Northern Fleet of the Soviet Navy on 24 January 1981.^[7] Besides K-525 only one other Project 949 submarine was made, K-206, and after it was complete the next vessels of the class were given upgrades, becoming the Project 949A (Oscar II).^[6][8][9]

In 1987 and 1988 K-525 won the prize of the Navy commander-in-chief for successful missile launches.^[7] At some point it received the name Arkhangelsk.^[10] In 1996 Arkhangelsk was decommissioned, despite the fact that it was reported to be in good condition and had only served half of its expected service life. Both it and its sister ship, K-206 (renamed Murmansk), were to be removed from service and scrapped, on order of commander-in-chief, Admiral of the Fleet Feliks Gromov.^[11] After its decommissioning, the name Arkhangelsk was given to the Typhoon-class submarine TK-17.^[10]

From 1998 the two submarines awaited dismantling in Severodvinsk. In January 2004, the process of breaking up Arkhangelsk and Murmansk began, and was completed in February 2005, with funding from the United Kingdom. Their empty reactor compartments were moved to the Sayda Bay storage facility.^[12]