- Papa class submarine
The
Soviet Union 's Project 661 "Anchar" nuclear-poweredattack submarine design is known in the west by itsNATO reporting name "Papa" class. Only one vessel of this class was built: K-162, which was later renamed K-222.The Papa class was designed as an extremely fast attack submarine equipped with anti-shipping
cruise missile s. Its design included tenSS-N-9 missiles (P-120 Malakhit in Russian) in individual tubes forward of the sail, between the inner and outer hulls. It is regarded as a predecessor to theAlfa class submarine , and the single submarine of the Papa class may have tested technologies which were later used in the Alfa class.K-222 was laid down on
December 28 ,1963 , and commissioned onDecember 31 ,1969 , atSeverodvinsk . She was assigned to theSoviet Red Banner Northern Fleet for the duration of her career. She was the world's fastest submarine, reaching a record speed of 44.7 knots (82.8 km/h) on trials. However, that speed came at the price of high costs during construction, and both excessive noise and significant damage to hull features when used.On
September 30 ,1980 , one of the nuclear reactors of the K-222 was damaged during maintenance in the shipyard. By 1988 the submarine was placed in reserve storage, moored at the Belomorsk Naval Base inSeverodvinsk . The boat will be dismantled atSevmash , the only facility capable of handling the titanium hull.Papa class in fiction
The sole Papa class submarine appears in the
Tom Clancy novel "Red Storm Rising" where she engages in a cat and mouse chase with the USNfrigate Reuben James before ultimately being sunk.External links
* [http://www.bellona.no/en/10106.html Project 661 (Anchar)] at Bellona.no
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