Narwhal nuclear submarine. United States Navy An excerpt characterizing the Los Angeles-class submarines
The history of Los Angeles-class atomic killers began in 1906, when a family of emigrants from Russian Empire Abraham, Rachel and their six-year-old son Chaim. The kid was not a blunder - when he grew up, he entered the Naval Academy and became a four-star admiral in the US Navy. In total, Hyman Rickover served in the Navy for 63 years and would still have served if he hadn’t been caught taking a bribe of 67 thousand dollars (Rickover himself denied it to the end, stating that this “nonsense” did not influence his decisions in any way).
In 1979, after a major accident on nuclear power plant"Three Mile Island" Hyman Rickover, as an expert, was called before Congress to testify. The question sounded prosaic: “One hundred nuclear submarines of the US Navy are moving in the depths of the oceans - and not a single accident with the reactor core in 20 years. And here, standing on the shore, collapsed new nuclear power plant. Maybe Admiral Rickover knows some magic word?
The answer of the aged admiral was simple: there are no secrets, you just need to work with people. Personally communicate with each specialist, immediately remove fools from work with the reactor and expel them from the fleet. To all high ranks who, for some reason, interfere with the training of personnel in accordance with these principles and sabotage the implementation of my instructions, declare a merciless war and also expel them from the fleet. Ruthlessly "gnaw" contractors and engineers. Safety and reliability are the main areas of work, otherwise even the most powerful and modern submarines will be drowned in packs in peacetime.
The principles of Admiral Rickover (safety and reliability above all) formed the basis of the Los Angeles project - the largest series in the history of the nuclear submarine fleet, consisting of 62 multi-purpose nuclear submarines. The purpose of the "Los Angeles" (or "Moose" - the nickname of the boats in the Soviet fleet) is to fight enemy surface ships and submarines, cover aircraft carrier groups and deployment areas for strategic submarine missile carriers. Covert mining, reconnaissance, special operations.
If we take as a basis only tabular characteristics: “speed”, “depth of immersion”, “number of torpedo tubes”, then against the background of domestic “Typhoons”, “Anteev” and “Pike”, “Los Angeles” looks like a mediocre trough. A single-body steel coffin, divided into three compartments - any hole will be fatal for him. For comparison, the robust hull of the domestic multi-purpose nuclear submarine pr. 971 "Pike-B" is divided into six sealed compartments. And the giant Project 941 Akula missile carrier has 19 of them!
There are four torpedo tubes in total, located at an angle to the diametrical plane of the hull. As a result, the "Moose" cannot shoot at full speed - otherwise the torpedo will simply be broken by the oncoming flow of water. For comparison, "Pike-B" has 8 bow TAs and is able to use its weapons in the entire range of operating depths and speeds.
The operating depth of the Los Angeles dive is only 250 meters. A quarter of a kilometer - is that really not enough? For comparison, the working depth of the "Pike-B" is 500 meters, the maximum is 600!
Canonical image submarine type"Los Angeles"
Boat speed. Surprisingly, everything is not so bad for the American here - in a submerged position, the Los is capable of accelerating up to 35 knots. The result is more than worthy, only six knots less than the incredible Soviet "Lira" (project 705). And this is without the use of titanium cases and terrible reactors with metal coolants!
On the other hand, high maximum speed never been the most important parameter submarine - already at 25 knots of acoustics, boats stop hearing anything due to the noise of incoming water and the submarine becomes “deaf”, and at 30 knots the boat rumbles so that it can be heard on the other side of the ocean. High speed- useful, but not too important quality.
The main weapon of any submarine is stealth. This parameter contains the whole meaning of the existence of the submarine fleet. Stealth is determined primarily by the level of the submarine's own noise. The inherent noise level of the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine did not just meet world standards. The Los Angeles-class submarine itself set world standards.
There were several reasons for the exceptional low noise "Moose":
Single body construction. The area of the wetted surface decreased, and, as a result, the noise from friction against the water when the boat was moving.
Screw quality. By the way, the manufacturing quality of the propellers of the third-generation Soviet nuclear submarines also increased (and their noise level decreased) after a detective story with the purchase of Toshiba high-precision metal-cutting machines. Having learned about the secret deal between the USSR and Japan, America threw such a scandal that the poor Toshiba almost lost access to the American market. Late! Pike-B with new propellers has already entered the expanses of the World Ocean.
Some specific points, such as rational placement of equipment inside the boat, depreciation of turbines and power equipment. The reactor circuits have a high degree of natural circulation of the coolant - this made it possible to abandon high-capacity pumps, and, consequently, to reduce the noise level of Los Angeles.
It is not enough for a submarine to be fast and secretive - for successful implementation tasks, it is necessary to have a specific idea of the environment, learn to navigate in the water column, find and identify surface and underwater targets. For a long time, the only means of external detection were a periscope and a hydroacoustic post with an analyzer in the form of an acoustic sailor's ear. Well, another gyrocompass showing where the North is under this damn water.
In Los Angeles, everything is much more interesting. American engineers played all-in - they dismantled all equipment from the bow of the boat, including torpedo tubes. As a result, the entire bow of the hull is occupied by a spherical antenna of the AN / BQS-13 hydroacoustic station with a diameter of 4.6 meters. Also, the submarine's hydroacoustic complex includes a conformal side-scan antenna consisting of 102 hydrophones, an active high-frequency sonar for detecting natural obstacles (underwater rocks, ice fields on the water surface, mines, etc.), as well as two towed passive antennas of length 790 and 930 meters (including cable length).
Other means of collecting information include: equipment for measuring the speed of sound at various depths (an indispensable tool for exact definition distance to the target), AN / BPS-15 radar and system electronic intelligence AN / WLR-9 (for surface operation), general vision periscope (type 8) and attack periscope (type 15).
However, no cool sensors and sonars helped the San Francisco nuclear submarine - on January 8, 2005, a boat running at 30 knots (≈55 km / h) crashed into an underwater rock. One sailor was killed, another 23 were injured, and the chic antenna in the bow was smashed to smithereens.
USS San Francisco (SSN-711) after hitting an underwater obstacle
The weakness of the Los Angeles torpedo armament is to some extent compensated by a wide range of ammunition - in total, there are 26 remotely controlled Mk.48 torpedoes (caliber 533 mm, weight ≈ 1600 kg), SUB-Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SUBROC anti-submarine missile torpedoes, cruise missiles on board the boat "Tomahawk" and "smart" mines "Captor".
To increase combat effectiveness, in the bow of each "Los Angeles", starting from the 32nd boat, they began to install 12 more vertical launch silos for storing and launching "Tomahawks". In addition, some of the submarines are equipped with a Dry Deck Shelter container for storing combat swimmers' equipment.
The modernization was carried out not "for show", but based on real combat experience - "Los Angeles" are regularly involved in strikes against coastal targets. "Moose" in blood up to the very horns - in the lists of destroyed targets Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya ...
USS Greeneville (SSN-772) with Dry Deck Shelter attached to her hull
The last 23 boats were built according to the modified "Improved Los Angeles" project. Submarines of this type were specially adapted for operations in high latitudes under the ice dome of the Arctic. The boats dismantled wheelhouses, replacing their retractable rudders in the bow. The screw was enclosed in a profiled ring nozzle, which further reduced the noise level. The electronic "stuffing" of the boat has undergone partial modernization.
The last boat of the Los Angeles series, called the Cheyenne, was built in 1996. At the time when the last boats of the series were completed, the first 17 units, having served their due date, were already being scrapped. Elks still form the backbone of the US submarine fleet; as of 2013, 42 submarines of this type are still in service.
Returning to our initial conversation - what did the Americans get anyway - a worthless tin "tub" with underestimated characteristics or a highly effective underwater combat complex?
Purely from the point of view of reliability, Los Angeles has set a hitherto unbeaten record - for 37 years of active operation on 62 boats of this type, not a single serious accident with damage to the reactor core has been recorded. The Hyman Rickover tradition is still alive today.
As for the combat characteristics, the creators of the "Moose" can be praised a little. The Americans managed to build a generally successful ship with an emphasis on the most important characteristics(stealth and means of detection). The boat was undoubtedly the best in the world in 1976, but by the mid-1980s, with the advent of the first multi-purpose nuclear submarines of project 971 "Pike-B" in the Soviet Navy, the American submarine fleet again found himself in the position of "catching up". Realizing some inferiority of the “Los” in front of the “Pike-B”, the development of the SeaWolf project began in the States - a formidable submarine cruiser at a price of $ 3 billion dollars apiece (the construction of three SeaWolfs was mastered in total).
In general, talking about boats like "Los Angeles" is not so much talking about technology, but talking about the crews of these submarines. Man is the measure of everything. It was thanks to the preparation and careful maintenance of equipment that American sailors managed not to lose a single boat of this type in 37 years.
Post scriptum. In April 1984, retired Admiral Hyman Rickover received a cool gift for his 84th birthday - a 7,000-ton Los Angeles-class combat submarine named after him.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Los Angeles class | ||
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| USS "Los Angeles" (SSN-688), lead project | ||
| Main characteristics | ||
| ship type | PLAT | |
| Project designation | 688, 688i (improved) | |
| NATO codification | Los Angeles | |
| Speed (surface) | up to 17 knots | |
| Speed (underwater) | 30 knots (full), 35 knots (maximum, short term) | |
| Operating depth | 250-280 m | |
| Maximum immersion depth | 450 m | |
| Crew | 14 officers, 127 junior ranks | |
| Price | ~ $220 million | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Surface displacement | 6082-6330 t | |
| Underwater displacement | 6927-7177 t | |
| Maximum length (according to design waterline) | 109.7 m | |
| Hull width max. | 10.1 m | |
| Average draft (according to design waterline) | 9.4 m | Power point |
| for project 688i NPP S6G ("General Electric"), for project 688 NPP S5W ("Westinghouse Electric Corp") two turbines, two Fairbanks-Morse diesel generators 7-blade propeller |
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| Armament | ||
| Torpedo- mine armament |
4 533-mm torpedoes designed for firing Mk.46, Mk.48 torpedoes, as well as Harpoon missiles (6-8 missiles) | |
| Missile weapons | starting from SSN-751 San-Juan 12 vertical silos for launching Harpoon and Tomahawk missiles (688i only) |
Category at Wikimedia Commons |
Operators
USA- a total of 62 nuclear submarines were built.
Series Composition
Currently in the US Navy is 39 submarines type "Los Angeles":
| № | Name | Shipyard | Laid down | Launched | In service | decommissioned | Home port |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | SSN-688 "Los Angeles" | NNSB | 08.01.1972 | 06.04.1974 | 13.11.1976 | 23.01.2010 | |
| 2. | SSN-689 "Baton Rouge" | NNSB | 18.11.1972 | 26.04.1975 | 25.06.1977 | 13.01.1995 | |
| 3. | SSN-690 "Philadelphia" | GDEB | 12.08.1972 | 19.10.1974 | 25.06.1977 | 25.06.2010 | |
| 4. | SSN-691 "Memphis" | NNSB | 23.06.1973 | 03.04.1976 | 17.12.1977 | 01.04.2011 | |
| 5. | SSN-692 "Omaha" | GDEB | 27.01.1973 | 21.02.1976 | 11.03.1978 | 05.10.1995 | |
| 6. | SSN-693 "Cincinnati" | NNSB | 06.04.1974 | 19.02.1977 | 11.03.1978 | 29.07.1996 | |
| 7. | SSN-694 Groton | GDEB | 03.08.1973 | 09.10.1976 | 08.07.1978 | 07.11.1997 | |
| 8. | SSN-695 "Birmingham" | NNSB | 26.04.1975 | 29.10.1977 | 16.12.1978 | 22.12.1997 | |
| 9. | SSN-696 "New York City" | GDEB | 15.12.1973 | 18.06.1977 | 03.03.1979 | 30.04.1997 | |
| 10. | SSN-697 "Indianapolis" | GDEB | 19.10.1974 | 30.07.1977 | 05.01.1980 | 22.12.1998 | |
| 11. | SSN-698 Bremerton | GDEB | 08.05.1976 | 22.07.1978 | 28.03.1981 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 12. | SSN-699 "Jacksonville" | GDEB | 21.02.1976 | 18.11.1978 | 16.05.1981 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 13. | SSN-700 "Dallas" | GDEB | 09.10.1976 | 28.04.1979 | 18.07.1981 | Groton | |
| 14. | SSN-701 "La Jolla" | GDEB | 16.10.1976 | 11.08.1979 | 30.09.1981 | 03.02.2015 | |
| 15. | SSN-702 "Phoenix" | GDEB | 30.07.1977 | 08.12.1979 | 19.12.1981 | 29.07.1998 | |
| 16. | SSN-703 "Boston" | GDEB | 11.08.1978 | 19.04.1980 | 30.01.1982 | 19.11.1999 | |
| 17. | SSN-704 "Baltimore" | GDEB | 21.05.1979 | 13.12.1980 | 24.07.1982 | 10.07.1998 | |
| 18. | SSN-705 City of Corpus Christi | GDEB | 04.09.1979 | 25.04.1981 | 08.01.1983 | Guam | |
| 19. | SSN-706 "Albuquerque" | GDEB | 27.12.1979 | 13.03.1982 | 21.05.1983 | Preparation for write-off | |
| 20. | SSN-707 "Portsmouth" | GDEB | 08.05.1980 | 18.09.1982 | 01.10.1983 | 10.09.2004 | |
| 21. | SSN-708 "Minneapolis-Saint Paul" | GDEB | 20.01.1981 | 19.03.1983 | 10.03.1984 | 28.08.2008 | |
| 22. | SSN-709 Hyman Rickover | GDEB | 24.07.1981 | 27.08.1983 | 21.07.1984 | 14.12.2006 | |
| 23. | SSN-710 Augusta | GDEB | 24.07.1981 | 21.01.1984 | 19.01.1985 | 11.02.2009 | |
| 24. | SSN-711 "San Francisco" | NNSB | 26.05.1977 | 27.10.1979 | 24.04.1981 | San Diego | |
| 25. | SSN-712 "Atlanta" | NNSB | 17.08.1978 | 16.08.1980 | 06.03.1982 | 16.12.1999 | |
| 26. | SSN-713 "Houston" | NNSB | 29.01.1979 | 21.03.1981 | 25.09.1982 | Guam | |
| 27. | SSN-714 Norfolk | NNSB | 01.08.1979 | 31.10.1981 | 21.05.1983 | 11.12.2014 | |
| 28. | SSN-715 "Buffalo" | NNSB | 25.01.1980 | 08.05.1982 | 05.11.1983 | Guam | |
| 29. | SSN-716 "Salt Lake City" | NNSB | 26.08.1980 | 16.10.1982 | 12.05.1984 | 15.01.2006 | |
| 30. | SSN-717 Olympia | NNSB | 31.03.1981 | 30.04.1983 | 17.11.1984 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 31. | SSN-718 "Honolulu" | NNSB | 10.11.1981 | 24.09.1983 | 06.07.1985 | 02.11.2007 | |
| 32. | SSN-719 "Providence" | GDEB | 14.10.1982 | 4.08.1984 | 27.07.1985 | Groton | |
| 33. | SSN-720 "Pittsburgh" | GDEB | 15.04.1983 | 08.12.1984 | 23.11.1985 | Groton | |
| 34. | SSN-721 "Chicago" | NNSB | 05.01.1983 | 13.10.1984 | 27.09.1986 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 35. | SSN-722 "Key West" | NNSB | 06.07.1983 | 20.07.1985 | 12.09.1987 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 36. | SSN-723 Oklahoma City | NNSB | 04.01.1984 | 02.11.1985 | 09.07.1988 | Norfolk | |
| 37. | SSN-724 "Louisville" | GDEB | 24.09.1984 | 14.12.1985 | 08.11.1986 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 38. | SSN-725 "Helena" | GDEB | 28.03.1985 | 28.06.1986 | 11.07.1987 | San Diego | |
| 39. | SSN-750 Newport News | NNSB | 03.03.1984 | 15.03.1986 | 03.06.1989 | Norfolk | |
| 40. | SSN-751 "San Juan" | GDEB | 09.08.1985 | 06.12.1986 | 06.08.1988 | Groton | |
| 41. | SSN-752 Pasadena | GDEB | 20.12.1985 | 12.09.1987 | 11.02.1989 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 42. | SSN-753 "Albany" | NNSB | 22.04.1985 | 13.06.1987 | 07.04.1990 | Norfolk | |
| 43. | SSN-754 Topeka | GDEB | 13.05.1986 | 23.01.1988 | 21.10.1989 | San Diego | |
| 44. | SSN-755 "Miami" | GDEB | 24.10.1986 | 12.11.1988 | 30.06.1990 | 08.08.2013 | |
| 45. | SSN-756 "Scranton" | NNSB | 29.08.1986 | 03.07.1989 | 26.01.1991 | Norfolk | |
| 46. | SSN-757 "Alexandria" | GDEB | 19.06.1987 | 23.06.1990 | 29.06.1991 | Groton | |
| 47. | SSN-758 Asheville | GDEB | 09.01.1987 | 24.02.1990 | 28.09.1991 | San Diego | |
| 48. | SSN-759 "Jefferson City" | NNSB | 21.09.1987 | 17.08.1990 | 29.02.1992 | San Diego | |
| 49. | SSN-760 "Annapolis" | GDEB | 15.06.1988 | 18.05.1991 | 11.04.1992 | Groton | |
| 50. | SSN-761 "Springfield" | GDEB | 29.01.1990 | 04.01.1992 | 09.01.1993 | Groton | |
| 51. | SSN-762 "Columbus" | GDEB | 09.01.1991 | 01.08.1992 | 24.07.1993 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 52. | SSN-763 "Santa Fe" | GDEB | 09.07.1991 | 12.12.1992 | 08.01.1994 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 53. | SSN-764 Boise | NNSB | 25.08.1988 | 23.03.1991 | 07.11.1992 | Norfolk | |
| 54. | SSN-765 Montpellier | NNSB | 19.05.1989 | 23.08.1991 | 13.03.1993 | Norfolk | |
| 55. | SSN-766 "Charlotte" | NNSB | 17.08.1990 | 03.10.1992 | 16.09.1994 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 56. | SSN-767 Hampton | NNSB | 02.03.1990 | 03.04.1992 | 16.11.1993 | San Diego | |
| 57. | SSN-768 "Hartford" | GDEB | 22.02.1992 | 04.12.1993 | 10.12.1994 | Groton | |
| 58. | SSN-769 "Toledo" | NNSB | 06.05.1991 | 28.08.1993 | 24.02.1995 | Groton | |
| 59. | SSN-770 "Tucson" | NNSB | 15.08.1991 | 20.03.1994 | 18.08.1995 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 60. | SSN-771 "Columbia" | GDEB | 21.04.1993 | 24.09.1994 | 09.10.1995 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 61. | SSN-772 "Greenville" | NNSB | 28.02.1992 | 17.09.1994 | 16.02.1996 | Pearl Harbor | |
| 62. | SSN-773 "Cheyenne" | NNSB | 06.07.1992 | 16.04.1995 | 13.09.1996 | Pearl Harbor |
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Notes
see also
Links
- Encyclopedia of ships / Multi-purpose submarines / Los Angeles.
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An excerpt characterizing the Los Angeles-class submarines
At such moments, a feeling akin to the pride of the victim gathered in the soul of Princess Marya. And suddenly, at such moments, in her presence, this father, whom she condemned, either looked for glasses, feeling near them and not seeing, or forgot what was happening just now, or made a wrong step with weakened legs and looked around to see if anyone had seen him weakness, or, worst of all, at dinner, when there were no guests to excite him, he would suddenly doze off, letting go of his napkin, and leaning over the plate, his head shaking. “He is old and weak, and I dare to condemn him!” she thought with self-loathing at such moments.In 1811, a French doctor, who quickly became fashionable, lived in Moscow, huge in stature, handsome, amiable, like a Frenchman and, as everyone in Moscow said, a doctor of extraordinary art - Metivier. He was received in the homes of high society not as a doctor, but as an equal.
Prince Nikolai Andreevich, who laughed at medicine, Lately, on the advice of m lle Bourienne, he admitted this doctor to him and got used to him. Metivier visited the prince twice a week.
On Nikolin's day, on the prince's name day, all of Moscow was at the entrance to his house, but he ordered no one to be received; but only a few, a list of which he handed over to Princess Mary, he ordered to be called to dinner.
Metivier, who arrived in the morning with congratulations, as a doctor, found it decent de forcer la consigne [to break the ban], as he said to Princess Mary, and went in to the prince. It so happened that on this birthday morning the old prince was in one of his worst moods. He spent the whole morning walking around the house, finding fault with everyone and pretending that he did not understand what was said to him, and that they did not understand him. Princess Mary was firmly aware of this state of mind of quiet and preoccupied grouchiness, which was usually resolved by an outburst of rage, and as before a loaded, cocked gun, she walked all that morning, waiting for the inevitable shot. The morning before the doctor's arrival had gone well. Missing the doctor, Princess Marya sat down with a book in the living room by the door, from which she could hear everything that was going on in the study.
At first she heard one voice of Metivier, then the voice of her father, then both voices spoke together, the door flew open and appeared on the threshold, frightened, beautiful figure Metivier with his black crest, and the figure of a prince in a cap and robe with a face disfigured by rage and lowered pupils of the eyes.
- Do not understand? - shouted the prince, - but I understand! French spy, Bonaparte slave, spy, get out of my house - get out, I say - and he slammed the door.
Metivier, shrugging his shoulders, went up to Mademoiselle Bourienne, who had come running at a cry from the next room.
“The prince is not quite well,” la bile et le transport au cerveau. Tranquillisez vous, je repasserai demain, [bile and congestion to the brain. Calm down, I'll come tomorrow,] - said Metivier and, putting his finger to his lips, hurriedly left.
Footsteps in shoes were heard outside the door and shouts: “Spies, traitors, traitors everywhere! There is no moment of peace in your house!”
After the departure of Metivier, the old prince called his daughter to him and all the strength of his anger fell upon her. It was her fault that a spy was allowed to see him. .After all, he said, he told her to make a list, and those who were not on the list should not be allowed in. Why did they let this bastard go! She was the cause of everything. With her he could not have a moment of peace, he could not die in peace, he said.
- No, mother, disperse, disperse, you know it, know it! I can't do it anymore," he said and left the room. And as if afraid that she might not be able to somehow console herself, he returned to her and, trying to assume a calm look, added: “And don’t think that I said this to you in a moment of my heart, but I am calm, and I thought it over; and it will be - disperse, look for a place for yourself! ... - But he could not stand it, and with that anger that only a person who loves can have, he, apparently suffering himself, shook his fists and shouted to her:
“And if only some fool would marry her!” - He slammed the door, called m lle Bourienne to him and fell silent in the office.
At two o'clock the chosen six persons gathered for dinner. The guests - the famous Count Rostopchin, Prince Lopukhin with his nephew, General Chatrov, the old, comrade of the prince, and young Pierre and Boris Drubetskoy - were waiting for him in the living room.
The other day, Boris, who came to Moscow on vacation, wished to be introduced to Prince Nikolai Andreevich and managed to win his favor to such an extent that the prince made an exception for him from all the unmarried young people whom he did not accept.
The prince's house was not what is called "light", but it was such a small circle, which, although it was not heard in the city, but in which it was most flattering to be accepted. Boris realized this a week ago, when in his presence Rostopchin told the commander-in-chief, who called the count to dine on Nikolin's day, that he could not be:
- On this day, I always go to venerate the relics of Prince Nikolai Andreevich.
“Oh, yes, yes,” answered the commander-in-chief. - What he?..
The small society, gathered in the old-fashioned, high, with old furniture, drawing room before dinner, looked like a solemn meeting of the council of the court. Everyone was silent, and if they spoke, they spoke quietly. Prince Nikolai Andreevich came out serious and silent. Princess Mary seemed even more quiet and timid than usual. The guests were reluctant to address her, because they saw that she had no time for their conversations. Count Rostopchin alone kept the thread of the conversation, talking about the latest urban or political news.
Lopukhin and the old general occasionally took part in the conversation. Prince Nikolai Andreevich listened as the supreme judge listened to the report that was being made to him, only occasionally stating in silence or in a short word that he took note of what was being reported to him. The tone of the conversation was such that it was understandable that no one approved of what was being done in political world. Events were recounted, apparently confirming that things were going from bad to worse; but in every story and judgment, it was amazing how the narrator stopped or was stopped each time at the border where the judgment could relate to the face of the Emperor.
At dinner, the conversation turned to the last political news, about the seizure of the possessions of the Duke of Oldenburg by Napoleon and about the Russian note hostile to Napoleon sent to all European courts.
“Bonaparte treats Europe like a pirate on a conquered ship,” said Count Rostopchin, repeating a phrase he had already spoken several times. - You are only surprised at the patience or blindness of sovereigns. Now it comes to the pope, and Bonaparte no longer hesitates to overthrow the head of the Catholic religion, and everyone is silent! One of our sovereign protested against the seizure of the possessions of the Duke of Oldenburg. And then ... - Count Rostopchin fell silent, feeling that he stood at the point where it was no longer possible to condemn.
“They offered other possessions instead of the Duchy of Oldenburg,” said Prince Nikolai Andreevich. - Just as I resettled the peasants from the Bald Mountains to Bogucharovo and Ryazan, so he dukes.
- Le duc d "Oldenbourg supporte son malheur avec une force de caractere et une resignation admirable, [The Duke of Oldenburg endures his misfortune with remarkable willpower and resignation to fate,] said Boris, respectfully entering into a conversation. He said this because he was passing through from Petersburg had the honor of introducing himself to the duke. Prince Nikolai Andreevich looked at young man as if he would like to tell him something about this, but changed his mind, considering him too young for that.
“I read our protest about the Oldenburg case and was surprised at the bad wording of this note,” said Count Rostopchin, with the casual tone of a person judging a case he is well acquainted with.
Pierre looked at Rostopchin with naive surprise, not understanding why he was worried about the bad wording of the note.
“Isn’t it all the same how the note is written, Count?” he said, “if its content is strong.
- Mon cher, avec nos 500 mille hommes de troupes, il serait facile d "avoir un beau style, [My dear, with our 500 thousand troops it seems easy to be expressed in a good style] - said Count Rostopchin. Pierre understood why Count Rostopchin was worried about the editorial note.
“It seems that the scribbler is quite divorced,” said the old prince: “everything is written there in St. Petersburg, not only notes, but new laws are being written. My Andryusha wrote a whole volume of laws for Russia there. Everything is being written! And he laughed unnaturally.
The conversation was silent for a minute; the old general drew attention with a cough.
- Deigned to hear about latest event at a show in St. Petersburg? how the new French envoy showed himself!
- What? Yes, I heard something; he said something awkwardly in front of His Majesty.
“His Majesty drew his attention to the grenadier division and the ceremonial march,” continued the general, “and it was as if the envoy did not pay any attention and as if he allowed himself to say that we in France do not pay attention to such trifles. The sovereign did not deign to say anything. At the next review, they say, the sovereign never deigned to turn to him.
Everyone fell silent: no judgment could be made on this fact, which applied personally to the sovereign.
- Daring! - said the prince. Do you know Metivier? I kicked him out today. He was here, they let me in, no matter how I asked not to let anyone in, ”said the prince, looking angrily at his daughter. And he told his whole conversation with the French doctor and the reasons why he was convinced that Metivier was a spy. Although these reasons were very insufficient and not clear, no one objected.
Champagne was served for the roast. The guests rose from their seats, congratulating the old prince. Princess Mary also approached him.
He looked at her with a cold, angry look and offered her a wrinkled, shaven cheek. The whole expression of his face told her that he had not forgotten the morning conversation, that his decision had remained in its former force, and that it was only thanks to the presence of guests that he did not tell her this now.
When they went into the drawing-room for coffee, the old men sat down together.
Prince Nikolai Andreevich became more lively and expressed his way of thinking about the upcoming war.
He said that our wars with Bonaparte would be unhappy as long as we seek alliances with the Germans and meddle in European affairs into which the Peace of Tilsit has drawn us. We didn't have to fight for Austria or against Austria. Our policy is all in the east, but in relation to Bonaparte there is only one thing - armament on the border and firmness in politics, and he will never dare to cross the Russian border, as in the seventh year.
- And where are we, prince, to fight the French! - said Count Rostopchin. - Can we take up arms against our teachers and gods? Look at our youth, look at our ladies. Our gods are French, our kingdom of heaven is Paris.
He began to speak louder, obviously so that everyone could hear him. “French costumes, French thoughts, French feelings!” You've kicked out Metivier in your neck, because he's a Frenchman and a scoundrel, and our ladies are crawling after him. Yesterday I was at the evening, so out of five ladies, three are Catholic and, with the permission of the pope, they sew on canvas on Sunday. And they themselves are sitting almost naked, like signs of trading baths, if I may say so. Oh, look at our youth, prince, I would take the old club of Peter the Great from the Kunstkamera, but in Russian I would break off the sides, all the nonsense would jump off!
Everyone fell silent. The old prince looked at Rostopchin with a smile on his face and shook his head approvingly.
“Well, goodbye, Your Excellency, don’t get sick,” said Rostopchin, rising with his usual quick movements and holding out his hand to the prince.
- Farewell, my dear, - the harp, I will always listen to him! - said the old prince, holding his hand and offering him a kiss for a cheek. Others rose with Rostopchin.
Princess Mary, sitting in the drawing room and listening to these talk and gossip of the old people, did not understand anything from what she heard; she only thought about whether all the guests noticed her father's hostile attitude towards her. She did not even notice the special attention and courtesies that Drubetskoy, who had been in their house for the third time, had shown her throughout this dinner.
Princess Mary with an absent-minded, questioning look turned to Pierre, who, the last of the guests, with a hat in his hand and with a smile on his face, approached her after the prince had left, and they were left alone in the living room.
- Can I sit still? - he said, with his thick body falling into an armchair near Princess Marya.
“Oh yes,” she said. "Didn't you notice anything?" said her look.
Pierre was in a pleasant state of mind after dinner. He looked ahead of him and smiled softly.
“How long have you known this young man, Princess?” - he said.
- What?
- Drubetskoy?
No, recently...
- What do you like about him?
- Yes, he is a pleasant young man ... Why are you asking me this? - said Princess Mary, continuing to think about her morning conversation with her father.
- Because I made an observation - a young man usually comes from St. Petersburg to Moscow on vacation only with the aim of marrying a rich bride.
You have made this observation! - said Princess Mary.
“Yes,” Pierre continued with a smile, “and this young man now keeps himself in such a way that where there are rich brides, there he is.” I read it like a book. He is now undecided whom he should attack: you or Mademoiselle Julie Karagin. Il est tres assidu aupres d "elle. [He is very attentive to her.]
Does he visit them?
- Very often. And do you know a new way of courting? - Pierre said with a cheerful smile, apparently being in that cheerful spirit of good-natured mockery, for which he so often reproached himself in his diary.
“No,” said Princess Mary.
- Now, to please the Moscow girls - il faut etre melancolique. Et il est tres melancolique aupres de m lle Karagin, [one must be melancholic. And he is very melancholy with m elle Karagin,] - said Pierre.
Atomic killers of the Los Angeles type began in 1906, when a family of emigrants from the Russian Empire entered the hall of the Immigration Service of Ellis Island (New Jersey) - Abraham, Rachel and their six-year-old son Chaim. The kid was not a blunder - when he grew up, he entered the Naval Academy and became a four-star admiral in the US Navy. In total, Hyman Rickover served in the Navy for 63 years and would still have served if he hadn’t been caught taking a bribe of 67 thousand dollars (Rickover himself denied it to the end, stating that this “nonsense” did not influence his decisions in any way).
In 1979, after a major accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, Hyman Rickover, as an expert, was called to testify by Congress. The question sounded prosaic: “One hundred nuclear submarines of the US Navy are moving in the depths of the oceans - and not a single accident with the reactor core in 20 years. And here a new nuclear power plant standing on the shore collapsed. Maybe Admiral Rickover knows some magic word?
The answer of the aged admiral was simple: there are no secrets, you just need to work with people. Personally communicate with each specialist, immediately remove fools from work with the reactor and expel them from the fleet. To all high ranks who, for some reason, interfere with the training of personnel in accordance with these principles and sabotage the implementation of my instructions, declare a merciless war and also expel them from the fleet. Ruthlessly "gnaw" contractors and engineers. Safety and reliability are the main areas of work, otherwise even the most powerful and modern submarines will be drowned in packs in peacetime.
The principles of Admiral Rickover (safety and reliability above all) formed the basis of the Los Angeles project - the largest series in the history of the nuclear submarine fleet, consisting of 62 multi-purpose nuclear submarines. The purpose of the "Los Angeles" (or "Moose" - the nickname of the boats in the Soviet fleet) is to fight enemy surface ships and submarines, cover aircraft carrier groups and deployment areas for strategic submarine missile carriers. Covert mining, reconnaissance, special operations.
If we take as a basis only tabular characteristics: “speed”, “depth of immersion”, “number of torpedo tubes”, then against the background of domestic “Typhoons”, “Anteev” and “Pike”, “Los Angeles” looks like a mediocre trough. A single-body steel coffin, divided into three compartments - any hole will be fatal for him. For comparison, the robust hull of the domestic multi-purpose nuclear submarine pr. 971 "Pike-B" is divided into six sealed compartments. And the giant Project 941 Akula missile carrier has 19 of them!
There are four torpedo tubes in total, located at an angle to the diametrical plane of the hull. As a result, the "Moose" cannot shoot at full speed - otherwise the torpedo will simply be broken by the oncoming flow of water. For comparison, "Pike-B" has 8 bow TA and is able to use its own in the entire range of operating depths and speeds.
The operating depth of the Los Angeles dive is only 250 meters. A quarter of a kilometer - is that really not enough? For comparison, the working depth of the "Pike-B" is 500 meters, the maximum is 600!
Canonical image of the Los Angeles-class submarine
Boat speed. Surprisingly, everything is not so bad for the American here - in a submerged position, the Los is capable of accelerating up to 35 knots. The result is more than worthy, only six knots less than the incredible Soviet "Lira" (project 705). And this is without the use of titanium cases and terrible reactors with metal coolants!
On the other hand, high maximum speed has never been the most important parameter of a submarine - already at 25 knots the acoustics of the boat stop hearing anything due to the noise of the incoming water and the submarine becomes “deaf”, and at 30 knots the boat rumbles so that it heard on the other side of the ocean. High speed is a useful, but not too important quality.
The main weapon of any submarine is stealth. This parameter contains the whole meaning of the existence of the submarine fleet. Stealth is determined primarily by the level of the submarine's own noise. The inherent noise level of the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine did not just meet world standards. The Los Angeles-class submarine itself set world standards.
There were several reasons for the exceptional low noise "Moose":
Single body construction. The area of the wetted surface decreased, and, as a result, the noise from friction against the water when the boat was moving.
Screw quality. By the way, the manufacturing quality of the propellers of the third-generation Soviet nuclear submarines also increased (and their noise level decreased) after a detective story with the purchase of Toshiba high-precision metal-cutting machines. Having learned about the secret deal between the USSR and Japan, America threw such a scandal that the poor Toshiba almost lost access to the American market. Late! Pike-B with new propellers has already entered the expanses of the World Ocean.
Some specific points, such as rational placement of equipment inside the boat, depreciation of turbines and power equipment. The reactor circuits have a high degree of natural circulation of the coolant - this made it possible to abandon high-capacity pumps, and, consequently, to reduce the noise level of Los Angeles.
It is not enough for a submarine to be fast and secretive - in order to successfully complete tasks, it is necessary to have a specific idea of the environment, learn how to navigate in the water column, find and identify surface and underwater targets. For a long time, the only means of external detection were a periscope and a hydroacoustic post with an analyzer in the form of an acoustic sailor's ear. Well, another gyrocompass showing where the North is under this damn water.
In Los Angeles, everything is much more interesting. American engineers played all-in - they dismantled all equipment from the bow of the boat, including torpedo tubes. As a result, the entire bow of the hull is occupied by a spherical antenna of the AN / BQS-13 hydroacoustic station with a diameter of 4.6 meters. Also, the submarine's hydroacoustic complex includes a conformal side-scan antenna consisting of 102 hydrophones, an active high-frequency sonar for detecting natural obstacles (underwater rocks, ice fields on the water surface, mines, etc.), as well as two towed passive antennas of length 790 and 930 meters (including cable length).
Other means of collecting information include: sound velocity measurement equipment at various depths (an indispensable tool for accurately determining the distance to the target), AN / BPS-15 radar and AN / WLR-9 electronic intelligence system (for surface operation), periscope general view (type 8) and attack periscope (type 15).
However, no cool sensors and sonars helped the San Francisco nuclear submarine - on January 8, 2005, a boat running at 30 knots (≈55 km / h) crashed into an underwater rock. One sailor was killed, another 23 were injured, and the chic antenna in the bow was smashed to smithereens.
USS San Francisco (SSN-711) after hitting an underwater obstacle
The weakness of the Los Angeles torpedo armament is to some extent compensated by a wide range of ammunition - in total, there are 26 remotely controlled Mk.48 torpedoes (caliber 533 mm, weight ≈ 1600 kg), SUB-Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SUBROC anti-submarine missile torpedoes, cruise missiles on board the boat "Tomahawk" and "smart" mines "Captor".
To increase combat effectiveness, in the bow of each "Los Angeles", starting from the 32nd boat, they began to install 12 more vertical launch silos for storing and launching "Tomahawks". In addition, some of the submarines are equipped with a Dry Deck Shelter container for storing combat swimmers' equipment.
The modernization was carried out not "for show", but based on real combat experience - "Los Angeles" are regularly involved in strikes against coastal targets. "Moose" in blood up to the very horns - in the lists of destroyed targets Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya ...
USS Greeneville (SSN-772) with Dry Deck Shelter attached to her hull
The last 23 boats were built according to the modified "Improved Los Angeles" project. Submarines of this type were specially adapted for operations in high latitudes under the ice dome of the Arctic. The boats dismantled the cutting rudders, replacing them with retractable rudders in the bow. The screw was enclosed in a profiled ring nozzle, which further reduced the noise level. The electronic "stuffing" of the boat has undergone partial modernization.
The last boat of the Los Angeles series, called the Cheyenne, was built in 1996. At the time when the last boats of the series were completed, the first 17 units, having served their due date, were already being scrapped. Elks still form the backbone of the US submarine fleet; as of 2013, 42 submarines of this type are still in service.
Returning to our initial conversation - what did the Americans get anyway - a worthless tin "tub" with underestimated characteristics or a highly effective underwater combat complex?
Purely from the point of view of reliability, Los Angeles has set a hitherto unbeaten record - for 37 years of active operation on 62 boats of this type, not a single serious accident with damage to the reactor core has been recorded. The Hyman Rickover tradition is still alive today.
As for the combat characteristics, the creators of the "Moose" can be praised a little. The Americans managed to build a generally successful ship with an emphasis on the most important characteristics (stealth and means of detection). The boat was undoubtedly the best in the world in 1976, but by the mid-1980s, with the appearance of the first multi-purpose nuclear submarines of project 971 "Pike-B" in the Soviet Navy, the American submarine fleet was again in the "catching up" position. Realizing some inferiority of the “Los” in front of the “Pike-B”, the development of the SeaWolf project began in the States - a formidable submarine cruiser at a price of $ 3 billion dollars apiece (the construction of three SeaWolfs was mastered in total).
In general, talking about boats like "Los Angeles" is not so much talking about technology, but talking about the crews of these submarines. Man is the measure of everything. It was thanks to the preparation and careful maintenance of equipment that American sailors managed not to lose a single boat of this type in 37 years.
Post scriptum. In April 1984, retired Admiral Hyman Rickover received a cool gift for his 84th birthday - a 7,000-ton Los Angeles-class combat submarine named after him.
USAtwo turbines, two Fairbanks-Morse diesel generators
7 blade propeller
mine armament
"Los Angeles"- a series of multi-purpose nuclear submarines of the US Navy. Currently, the US Navy has 46 of the 62 built Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines. The first nuclear submarine of the series entered service in the city, the last - USS "Cheyenne" was completed in the city. The ships were built by Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics Electric Boat Division.
Nine Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines were involved in the Gulf War (1991), during which Tomahawk missiles were launched from two of them.
Links
- ship.bsu.by Encyclopedia of ships / Multi-purpose submarines /Los Angeles.
| Type nuclear submarines "Los Angeles" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sub-series I |
Los Angeles Baton Rouge Philadelphia Memphis Omaha Cincinnati Groton Birmingham New York City Indianapolis Bremerton Jacksonville Dallas La Jolla Phoenix Boston Baltimore City Of Corpus Christi Albuquerque Portsmouth Minneapolis-St. Paul Hyman G. Rickover Augusta San Francisco Atlanta Houston Norfolk Buffalo Salt Lake City Olympia Honolulu |
|
| Sub-series II. NPS Los Angeles VLS |
||
| Subseries III. "Improved Los Angeles" |
San Juan Pasadena Albany Topeka Miami Scranton Alexandria Asheville Jefferson City Annapolis Springfield Columbus Santa Fe Boise Montpelier Charlotte Hampton Hartford Toledo Tucson Columbia Greenville Cheyenne |
|
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See what "Los Angeles (PL)" is in other dictionaries:
- (Los Angeles), a city and port on the south Pacific coast of the United States, California. 3.5 million inhabitants (1994, with suburbs over 7 million inhabitants). Los Angeles stretches from north to south for more than 80 km. international Airport. Chief economic ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Atomic killers of the Los Angeles type began in 1906, when a family of emigrants from the Russian Empire entered the hall of the Immigration Service of Ellis Island (New Jersey) - Abraham, Rachel and their six-year-old son Chaim. The kid was not a blunder - when he grew up, he entered the Naval Academy and became a four-star admiral in the US Navy. In total, Hyman Rickover served in the Navy for 63 years and would still have served if he hadn’t been caught taking a bribe of 67 thousand dollars (Rickover himself denied it to the end, stating that this “nonsense” did not influence his decisions in any way).
In 1979, after a major accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, Hyman Rickover, as an expert, was called to testify by Congress. The question sounded prosaic: “One hundred nuclear submarines of the US Navy are moving in the depths of the oceans - and not a single accident with the reactor core in 20 years. And here a new nuclear power plant standing on the shore collapsed. Maybe Admiral Rickover knows some magic word?
The answer of the aged admiral was simple: there are no secrets, you just need to work with people. Personally communicate with each specialist, immediately remove fools from work with the reactor and expel them from the fleet. To all high ranks who, for some reason, interfere with the training of personnel in accordance with these principles and sabotage the implementation of my instructions, declare a merciless war and also expel them from the fleet. Ruthlessly "gnaw" contractors and engineers. Safety and reliability are the main areas of work, otherwise even the most powerful and modern submarines will be drowned in packs in peacetime.
The principles of Admiral Rickover (safety and reliability above all) formed the basis of the Los Angeles project - the largest series in the history of the nuclear submarine fleet, consisting of 62 multi-purpose nuclear submarines. The purpose of the "Los Angeles" (or "Moose" - the nickname of the boats in the Soviet fleet) is to fight enemy surface ships and submarines, cover aircraft carrier groups and deployment areas for strategic submarine missile carriers. Covert mining, reconnaissance, special operations.
If we take as a basis only tabular characteristics: “speed”, “depth of immersion”, “number of torpedo tubes”, then against the background of domestic “Typhoons”, “Anteev” and “Pike”, “Los Angeles” looks like a mediocre trough. A single-body steel coffin, divided into three compartments - any hole will be fatal for him. For comparison, the robust hull of the domestic multi-purpose nuclear submarine pr. 971 "Pike-B" is divided into six sealed compartments. And the giant Project 941 Akula missile carrier has 19 of them!
There are four torpedo tubes in total, located at an angle to the diametrical plane of the hull. As a result, the "Moose" cannot shoot at full speed - otherwise the torpedo will simply be broken by the oncoming flow of water. For comparison, "Pike-B" has 8 bow TA and is able to use its own in the entire range of operating depths and speeds.
The operating depth of the Los Angeles dive is only 250 meters. A quarter of a kilometer - is that really not enough? For comparison, the working depth of the "Pike-B" is 500 meters, the maximum is 600!
Canonical image of the Los Angeles-class submarine
Boat speed. Surprisingly, everything is not so bad for the American here - in a submerged position, the Los is capable of accelerating up to 35 knots. The result is more than worthy, only six knots less than the incredible Soviet "Lira" (project 705). And this is without the use of titanium cases and terrible reactors with metal coolants!
On the other hand, high maximum speed has never been the most important parameter of a submarine - already at 25 knots the acoustics of the boat stop hearing anything due to the noise of the incoming water and the submarine becomes “deaf”, and at 30 knots the boat rumbles so that it heard on the other side of the ocean. High speed is a useful, but not too important quality.
The main weapon of any submarine is stealth. This parameter contains the whole meaning of the existence of the submarine fleet. Stealth is determined primarily by the level of the submarine's own noise. The inherent noise level of the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine did not just meet world standards. The Los Angeles-class submarine itself set world standards.
There were several reasons for the exceptional low noise "Moose":
Single body construction. The area of the wetted surface decreased, and, as a result, the noise from friction against the water when the boat was moving.
Screw quality. By the way, the manufacturing quality of the propellers of the third-generation Soviet nuclear submarines also increased (and their noise level decreased) after a detective story with the purchase of Toshiba high-precision metal-cutting machines. Having learned about the secret deal between the USSR and Japan, America threw such a scandal that the poor Toshiba almost lost access to the American market. Late! Pike-B with new propellers has already entered the expanses of the World Ocean.
Some specific points, such as rational placement of equipment inside the boat, depreciation of turbines and power equipment. The reactor circuits have a high degree of natural circulation of the coolant - this made it possible to abandon high-capacity pumps, and, consequently, to reduce the noise level of Los Angeles.
It is not enough for a submarine to be fast and secretive - in order to successfully complete tasks, it is necessary to have a specific idea of the environment, learn how to navigate in the water column, find and identify surface and underwater targets. For a long time, the only means of external detection were a periscope and a hydroacoustic post with an analyzer in the form of an acoustic sailor's ear. Well, another gyrocompass showing where the North is under this damn water.
In Los Angeles, everything is much more interesting. American engineers played all-in - they dismantled all equipment from the bow of the boat, including torpedo tubes. As a result, the entire bow of the hull is occupied by a spherical antenna of the AN / BQS-13 hydroacoustic station with a diameter of 4.6 meters. Also, the submarine's hydroacoustic complex includes a conformal side-scan antenna consisting of 102 hydrophones, an active high-frequency sonar for detecting natural obstacles (underwater rocks, ice fields on the water surface, mines, etc.), as well as two towed passive antennas of length 790 and 930 meters (including cable length).
Other means of collecting information include: sound velocity measurement equipment at various depths (an indispensable tool for accurately determining the distance to the target), AN / BPS-15 radar and AN / WLR-9 electronic intelligence system (for surface operation), periscope general view (type 8) and attack periscope (type 15).
However, no cool sensors and sonars helped the San Francisco nuclear submarine - on January 8, 2005, a boat running at 30 knots (≈55 km / h) crashed into an underwater rock. One sailor was killed, another 23 were injured, and the chic antenna in the bow was smashed to smithereens.
USS San Francisco (SSN-711) after hitting an underwater obstacle
The weakness of the Los Angeles torpedo armament is to some extent compensated by a wide range of ammunition - in total, there are 26 remotely controlled Mk.48 torpedoes (caliber 533 mm, weight ≈ 1600 kg), SUB-Harpoon anti-ship missiles, SUBROC anti-submarine missile torpedoes, cruise missiles on board the boat "Tomahawk" and "smart" mines "Captor".
To increase combat effectiveness, in the bow of each "Los Angeles", starting from the 32nd boat, they began to install 12 more vertical launch silos for storing and launching "Tomahawks". In addition, some of the submarines are equipped with a Dry Deck Shelter container for storing combat swimmers' equipment.
The modernization was carried out not "for show", but based on real combat experience - "Los Angeles" are regularly involved in strikes against coastal targets. "Moose" in blood up to the very horns - in the lists of destroyed targets Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Libya ...
USS Greeneville (SSN-772) with Dry Deck Shelter attached to her hull
The last 23 boats were built according to the modified "Improved Los Angeles" project. Submarines of this type were specially adapted for operations in high latitudes under the ice dome of the Arctic. The boats dismantled the cutting rudders, replacing them with retractable rudders in the bow. The screw was enclosed in a profiled ring nozzle, which further reduced the noise level. The electronic "stuffing" of the boat has undergone partial modernization.
The last boat of the Los Angeles series, called the Cheyenne, was built in 1996. At the time when the last boats of the series were completed, the first 17 units, having served their due date, were already being scrapped. Elks still form the backbone of the US submarine fleet; as of 2013, 42 submarines of this type are still in service.
Returning to our initial conversation - what did the Americans get anyway - a worthless tin "tub" with underestimated characteristics or a highly effective underwater combat complex?
Purely from the point of view of reliability, Los Angeles has set a hitherto unbeaten record - for 37 years of active operation on 62 boats of this type, not a single serious accident with damage to the reactor core has been recorded. The Hyman Rickover tradition is still alive today.
As for the combat characteristics, the creators of the "Moose" can be praised a little. The Americans managed to build a generally successful ship with an emphasis on the most important characteristics (stealth and means of detection). The boat was undoubtedly the best in the world in 1976, but by the mid-1980s, with the appearance of the first multi-purpose nuclear submarines of project 971 "Pike-B" in the Soviet Navy, the American submarine fleet was again in the "catching up" position. Realizing some inferiority of the “Los” in front of the “Pike-B”, the development of the SeaWolf project began in the States - a formidable submarine cruiser at a price of $ 3 billion dollars apiece (the construction of three SeaWolfs was mastered in total).
In general, talking about boats like "Los Angeles" is not so much talking about technology, but talking about the crews of these submarines. Man is the measure of everything. It was thanks to the preparation and careful maintenance of equipment that American sailors managed not to lose a single boat of this type in 37 years.
Post scriptum. In April 1984, retired Admiral Hyman Rickover received a cool gift for his 84th birthday - a 7,000-ton Los Angeles-class combat submarine named after him.