Cruise missile P-15, P-15U, P-15M ("PIP", "Termite", PC-51)
The P-15 rocket is the first independent development of the OKB-155 branch. It was carried out with the direct participation of A.Ya. Bereznyak.
The complex of jet armament of the P-15 system is intended for attacking warships and enemy transports. The creation of this complex affirms the importance of combat boats, missile-carriers as an effective strike means in the Navy system for the destruction of ships, the fight against amphibious vehicles and the protection of the coasts. The advantages of P-15 missiles:
- the smaller radar reflective surface of the missile-carrying boats equipped with the jet armament of the P-15 system, at a range of 35 kilometers, makes it possible to detect and hit the cruiser by about 15 minutes earlier;
- the probability of a missile P-15 in a light cruiser 10 in times more likely to hit torpedoes;
- the attack time of the P-15 missiles is 75 seconds, and, moreover, from a zone inaccessible to the ship artillery, the total time of a torpedo attack from 20-30 kilometers will last about 45 minutes thousands of shells of quick-fire artillery from the attacked warship);
- the cost of the missile carrier boat is 40 times less than the cost of the destroyer and 200 times the cost of the cruiser;
- the high mobility of the missile-carrying boats allows, with a sufficiently large autonomy of navigation - up to 800 miles for boats of the 205 project - to concentrate them in the shortest possible time in the desired operational area.
Flight altitude range, m 150-300
Maximum flight range, km 40
flight speed, km / h 1150
The export appeal of the rocket consisted of high accuracy, reliability and ease of operation. At various times, it was delivered to more than twenty countries of the world. At the end of the 50-ies, the documentation for the production of the P-15 missiles was transferred to China.
The high combat effectiveness of the P-15 armament complex was confirmed in practice - the complex was used by the opposing sides in regional military conflicts. In the Indo-Pakistani conflict, a raid on the port of Karachi of the Indian boat division led to the defeat of Pakistani vessels stationed in the raid. In addition, the P-15 missiles fired at the coastal radio-contrast target, an oil refinery with ground storage tanks for oil tanks was completely burned, as a result of which Pakistani military equipment lost its fuel reserves. In this case, Indian sailors creatively appreciated the possibilities of their weapons: they used the P-15 missiles at a ground target, the firing of which was not provided for with instructions and instructions.
Rocket P-15 performed by the aircraft scheme with a wing of small elongation. For the first time, a three-speed axisymmetric tail assembly with identical surfaces was implemented, which made it possible to conveniently place the starting engine on a rocket. The use of a sustainer engine, a dual-regime rocket engine, on the rocket, made it possible to improve the dynamic characteristics of the rocket in flight. The design of the rocket was made of aluminum alloys.
The problem of fastening the starting engine with the help of one front node and two rear adjustable nodes was originally solved, which made it possible to reduce the value of disturbing moments from the thrust of the starting engine to acceptable values. And what is most remarkable, the separation of the starting engine took place under the influence of its own weight and oncoming air flow after burning the powder charge. The starting engine attachment mechanism was recognized as an invention.
When creating the P-15 missile systems, completely new technical tasks were solved, namely:
- obtaining the minimum dimensions of a cruise missile, necessary for placing it on a boat;
- ensuring the operability of weapons when exposed to significant shock and vibration loads for a long time sailing boats;
- rocket launch from short guides in pitching conditions with simultaneous impact of significant vertical and lateral shock overloads;
- high accuracy of the exit of the boat to the combat course and its retention during the launch;
- protection of ship structures and personnel of the boat against the impact of a gas jet and a sound shock wave when the rocket launch engine is activated;
- autonomy of a cruise missile and a missile carrier boat after launch.
When developing the P-15 rocket, the “Basic data for strength analysis” was first compiled, which served as the basis for creating separate strength standards for cruise missiles.
For the P-15 missiles, the wing was first developed and manufactured by extrusion casting. This work at ENEA in 1960 was awarded a large silver medal.
The P-15 complex was far ahead of its time and served as the beginning of the birth of a new type of ship armament - strike missile systems.
WINGED ROCKET P-15U
The P-15У cruise missile is a modification of the P-15 rocket and differs from it by folding wing consoles. The main flight characteristics of the P-15U rocket did not differ from those of the P-15 rocket.
The missile was used in the armament complex of boats of 205U projects equipped with container launchers. Preserved the possibility of using missiles from boats projects 183Р and 205.
The P-15U rocket was the first to deploy the wing in flight for cruise missiles. This was done by a special mechanism at the start after the passage of the ship’s superstructures by a rocket. The main part of the wing folding mechanism was the power cylinder, the rod with which the plunger moved along the vertically positioned guide. Intermediate thrusts and rockers are connected with the plunger, with the help of which the wing consoles are rotated. Folding wing consoles reduced the lateral dimensions of the rocket. This made it possible to improve the transportation conditions of the missiles, reduce the size and increase the rigidity of the launcher container, improve the architecture of the boat, reduce its windage and radar visibility and, accordingly, reduce (by 40%) the space for storing and preparing missiles. Instead of plug-in tanks were implemented tanks-compartments for the oxidizer.
Bold design solutions for folding the wing, laid A. A. Bereznyak in the P-15U rocket marked the beginning of the design school established in the Raduga Design Bureau, which widely uses the concept of changing the geometry of the aircraft in order to minimize the dimensions of the rocket. Such solutions create the conditions for improving launchers and reducing the required volume of launch vehicles designed to house ammunition.
WINGED ROCKET П-15М (“PUM”, “Termite”, PC-51)
The P-15M rocket is a modification of the P-15 rocket in terms of increasing the firing range, reducing the flight altitude, increasing the combat effectiveness of the complex and increasing the noise immunity of the control system.
Flight altitude range, m 25, 50
Maximum flight range, km 80
flight speed, km / h 1150
According to the aerodynamic scheme and aerodynamic characteristics, the P-15M rocket differs little from the P-15U missiles.
The increase in the range of the missile’s flight to 80 km was obtained due to a larger amount of fuel filled and the use of a new starting engine with an increased total momentum. For the P-15M rocket, a high-explosive, high-efficiency, high-performance explosive warhead was developed.
Reducing the height of a cruise flight to 25m was implemented by equipping the rocket with a low-altitude radio altimeter instead of a statoscope used on П-15 and П-15У missiles.
The fuselage of the P-15M rocket is a solid metal welded structure made of sheet AMG-6 instead of a riveted structure made of aluminum alloys of the P-15U rocket. The wing, tail section with plumage and the mechanism for folding the wing are borrowed from the P-15U rocket without changes.
There were other modifications of the P-15 rocket.
Information