Back Typhoon-klas duikboot Afrikaans تايفون (فئة غواصات) Arabic Проект 941 „Акула“ Bulgarian Projekt 941 Akula Czech Typhoon-klassen Danish Projekt 941 German Proyecto 941 «Akula» Spanish Akula-klassi allveelaev Estonian زیردریایی کلاس تایفون Persian Projekti 941 Finnish
 Typhoon-class SSBN profile
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 Typhoon-class submarine TK-17 Arkhangelsk under way
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Typhoon class |
| Builders | Sevmash, designed by Rubin |
| Operators | |
| Preceded by | Delta class |
| Succeeded by | Borei class |
| Built | 1976–1989 |
| In commission | 1981–2023 |
| Planned | 7 |
| Completed | 6 |
| Cancelled | 1 |
| Active | 0 |
| Laid up | 3[1][2] |
| Retired | 6 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ballistic missile submarine |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 175 m (574 ft 2 in) |
| Beam | 23 m (75 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 12 m (39 ft 4 in) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed |
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| Endurance | 120+ days submerged[4] |
| Test depth | 400 m (1,300 ft) |
| Complement | 160 persons[4] |
| Armament |
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The Typhoon class, Soviet designation Project 941 Akula (Russian: Акула, meaning "shark", NATO reporting name Typhoon), was a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. With a submerged displacement of 48,000 tonnes,[4] the Typhoons were the largest submarines ever built,[7] able to accommodate comfortable living facilities for the crew of 160 when submerged for several months.[8] The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it is often claimed to be related to the use of the word "typhoon" ("тайфун") by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev of the Communist Party in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, as a reaction to the United States Navy's new Ohio-class submarine.[9]
The Russian Navy cancelled its Typhoon modernization program in March 2002, stating that modernizing one Typhoon would be as expensive as building 100 new Borei-class submarines.[10] Three boats of the Typhoon class were decommissioned in the 1990s and were scrapped in the 2000s, another two were decommissioned during the 2000s and are currently inactive. With the announcement that Russia has eliminated the last R-39 Rif (SS-N-20 Sturgeon) SLBMs in September 2012, only one Typhoon remained in service, Dmitriy Donskoi, which was refitted with the more modern RSM-56 Bulava SLBM for testing. She continued to serve until February 2023, when she was decommissioned.
- ^ "Russia Announces Decommissioning of the Last Typhoon".
- ^ Lobner, Peter. "Marine Nuclear Power: 1939 – 2018 - Part 3A: Russia" (PDF).
- ^ a b c Apalkov, Yu.V. (2002). "Podvodnye Lodki [Submarines]". Корабли ВМФ СССР [Ships of the Soviet Navy]. Sankt-Peterburg: Галея Принт. ISBN 5-8172-0069-4.
- ^ "Подводные лодки. Проект 941".
- ^ "Подводные лодки. Проект 941".
- ^ "World's Largest Submarines - 1981: Typhoon Class (Soviet and Russian)". National Geographic. 12 December 1981. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- ^ Waller, Douglas C. (March 2001). "Essay - The Hunt for Big Red" (PDF). Wake Forest Magazine. 48 (3): 28–31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2009.
- ^ Hitchens, Theresa (2001). "Get a policy, please". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 57 (2001): 21–23. doi:10.2968/057001008.
- ^ "Russian Navy Abandons Akula Modernization Project". Russian Navy. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2012.