The long road to the "Triton" How to create a super-small submarine — transporter of combat swimmers "Triton-1M"
Every year in October, Russian naval special forces celebrate the next anniversary of their existence in the ranks of the Russian Navy. fleet. It is generally accepted that his story October 22 begins on 1938, when a planned training exercise was conducted in the Pacific Fleet, during which the submarine saboteurs were landed through a torpedo tube of the Sh-112 diesel-electric submarine. According to the scenario, the combat swimmers came out through the torpedo submarine, which brought them to their destination, and then cut off the anti-submarine network that protected the entrance to Ulysses Bay, and then secretly took to the shore, where they conducted a demonstrative sabotage action. After that, the special forces returned to the submarine, waiting for them on the ground, and went to the base.
HOWEVER, unfortunately, such a mode of action of combat swimmers did not receive widespread use in our fleet at that time. And the “people-frogs” from the special purpose company of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet during the Great Patriotic War went on mission, as they say, on their own two. Dressed in hydro-overalls, they simply walked along the bottom of the sea or pond, which, of course, severely limited their capabilities. They were not even called commandos, but simply called “underwater infantrymen”.
After the war, a few special forces of the Navy was disbanded - "as unnecessary". And even when the leadership of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs in the middle of 1946, addressed the command of the Navy with a proposal to transfer all the trophy documents, educational and other literature, as well as the captured German specialists of the underwater sabotage and anti-sabotage war in the camps, Admiral Ivan Isakov refused.
The argument was "iron". According to the future Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, firstly, the use of combat swimmers is possible only occasionally in limited cases. Secondly, their use is supposedly inefficient. Thirdly, it is easy enough to fight the swimmers-bombers of the enemy, and therefore the enemy will be easy enough to detect and destroy our own underwater saboteurs. And finally, fourthly, recent developments in the field of hydroacoustics and radar will make it difficult to covertly deliver combat swimmers to the area of operation and conduct special actions by them.
At the same time, the highly successful experience of the use of units of underwater special forces by naval forces of foreign states during the Second World War was completely ignored. Recall that Italian combat swimmers in September 1941 on the Algeciras roadstead undermined an armed motor ship and two tankers, and in December of that year, in the harbor of the English naval base in Egyptian Alexandria, the crews of three underwater carriers of the type “Mayan-2” undermined the linkors “ Veliant and Queen Elizabeth, and also blew up the Sagona tanker with a displacement of about seven and a half thousand tons. Repair of the first battleship will be completed in July 1942 of the year, and the second - only in July of the 1943 year.
Revival
Only at the beginning of the 1950-s, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the command of the Navy of the Soviet Union began to reconstruct special forces, otherwise - special forces of naval intelligence. Thus, a subdivision of saboteurs, the first commander of which was the captain of 24 rank E. V. Yakovlev, was formed as a directive of the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Navy on 1953 June 1, as part of the Black Sea Fleet. In October of the following year, a similar special purpose unit was created, or more precisely, recreated in the Baltic. The commander of the new combat unit was appointed captain 1 rank G.V. Potekhin, who had previously performed the duties of chief of staff of the detachment in the Black Sea Fleet. Other fleets followed: March 1955 of the year - Pacific (squad commander - Captain 2 rank P. P. Kovalenko), November 1955 of the year - Northern Fleet (squad commander - Captain 1 Rank E. Belyak).
However, it soon became clear that it was only half the battle to recruit capable fighters and prepare them accordingly. The personnel of special purpose groups must also be properly armed. At the same time, the achievement of special tasks by combat swimmers in the performance of special tasks should also be played by underwater special-purpose means of movement, which will allow the special forces to secretly and quickly approach the area of attack themselves and deliver the necessary cargo to the destination. But at that time there was no such means of movement for the Soviet Navy. Naturally, the question of the need to design and build those was on the agenda of both the fleet and industry.
Initially, the command of the Soviet Navy tried to solve this problem on its own, that is, in fact, in an artisanal way. Thus, the Design Bureau for the design of tugboats was given the task of designing a prototype model of a super-small submarine, the construction of which was entrusted to the Leningrad factory Gatchina Metalworker. Such a move by the naval command causes great bewilderment, since in those years in the Soviet Union more than one design bureau already existed, specializing in the design of underwater vehicles for various purposes.
Failure again
After the collapse of Nazi Germany, a sufficiently large number of various types of captured weapons, military and special equipment fell into the hands of Soviet military and engineers. Thus, for example, the advancing Soviet troops captured several Seefund-type SMPLs. According to the calculations of the Americans, the Soviet Union took 18 as ready trophies and 38 uncompleted SMPLs, and Russian documents and the specialists and amateurs of naval history who investigated this issue, in particular shipbuilding engineer A. B. Alikin and historian of naval history Spetsnaz of various countries of the world, A. M. Chikin, argue that in the USSR only two "babies" and technical documentation for this sample of naval equipment were taken out of the occupation zone. But the figure voiced to the author by an American researcher and enthusiast of the history of the Seekhund type Peter the Great, and according to his data drawn from the American and trophy German archives, the Red Army captured and removed for thorough study in the USSR six unfinished ultra-small figures. Seehund-type submarines that were in varying degrees of readiness.
The task of conducting research and testing captured "seekhund" was assigned to the Leningrad plant number 196 ("Sudomekh"), now it is the company "Admiralty Shipyards" (St. Petersburg). The plant in those years built for the Soviet Navy 15-series submarines.
2 November 1947 of the year was launched the mini-submarine of the Seekhund type, already adapted to the needs of the USSR Navy, and its mooring trials were successfully completed by November 5. After that, the sea trials immediately began, which lasted until 20 November 1947.
However, due to the fact that the cold snap and freeze-up came, further tests were suspended, the mini-sub was lifted onto the plant wall, partially dismantled and mothballed for the winter. In the spring of next year, the works were carried out at the plant, and then the mooring tests of the Soviet "seal" were carried out. The range of navigation, the speed of immersion, autonomy, the duration of a continuous stay under water, according to A. B. Alikin, were not determined during the tests.
Then the mini-submarine was transferred to trial operation of the diving team stationed in Kronstadt. The squad personnel, as far as can be judged by the scarce data from domestic sources, used Seekhund rather intensively - mainly to study the capabilities of ultra-small submarines as one of the means of warfare at sea in modern conditions.
Naturally, to such a "strange" for our fleet arms showed interest and leaders created special forces. However, the leadership of special forces and measures to create their own funds. So, for example, according to the recollections of the service of the naval officers that took place in the special forces, the pilot plant located in Zhukovsky near Moscow carried out for them, according to a design issued by the TTZ, an ultra-small submarine designed for reconnaissance and sabotage operations:
“We had complete creative freedom and complete freedom to attract anyone,” recalls one of them. - Well, for example, the 12 plant-institute located in Zhukovsky made us a super-small submarine. And when we began to accelerate, they made us a super-small submarine for sabotage purposes on 30 tons for our TTZ. They even made her a mock-up sample, that is, a boat prepared for testing. We asked the command - give us a leave of absence, so that at least we could experience this “super-small”. The boat can then be destroyed, but the test documents will be preserved and will come in handy someday. However, we were not allowed, and later I became aware that not only the boat was destroyed, but even the project itself — the documentation — was burned and destroyed. ”
Brothers "Tritons"
The problem of equipping special forces with necessary underwater equipment was partially resolved after the Sirena double transporter of a torpedo configuration, designed by the head of its professor A. I. Shevelo, a reputable torpedo engineer, was ordered by the headquarters of the headquarters of the Soviet Navy of the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute. "And single towers" Proteus-1 "(mounted on the chest) and" Proteus-2 "(mounted on the back). The latter, however, for a number of reasons, did not take root in the Soviet Navy.
Everything took its place only in 1966, when the order of the First Deputy Minister of the USSR Shipbuilding Industry, M. V. Egorov, all work on the ultra-small submarine project (SMPL), called "Triton-2 M", was transferred to the Central Design Bureau (TsBB) ) "Wave", and the construction of these devices was entrusted to the Novo-Admiralteisky plant located in Leningrad.
In the end, in 1967, the prototype model of the six-seater SMPL "Triton-2 M" was completed and tested, the results of which were used to design the leading model of the ultra-small submarine - the Triton-2 type transporter and the new device "Triton-1" M, designed for two people.
B. I. Gavrilov was appointed as the main observer for the Triton-1 M project, who was later replaced by Yu. I. Kolesnikov. The work on both programs was carried out by a group of specialists from the Volna TsPB under the guidance of the chief designer Ya. E. Evgrafov. Looking ahead, since 6 on April 1970, the responsibilities of chief designer for the work aimed at creating means of transporting combat swimmers began to be performed by B. V. Podsevalov, who replaced Yevgrafov who retired.
The draft design of the SMPL “Triton-1 M” was developed in 1968, and in the same year V.S. Spiridonov was appointed deputy chief designer. At the same time, work was also being conducted with contractors on the creation of various hardware for new devices. Thus, according to the tactical and technical specifications issued by the Volna bureau, the counterparties in the shortest possible time developed technical designs for several types of equipment and systems for this “baby.”
The development of the technical design of the two-seater ultra-small submarine was completed in December 1969 of the year, and 4 on April of the next, 1970 of the year it was finally approved by a joint decision of the Ministry of the Shipbuilding Industry (SME) and the Soviet Navy. This enabled the design team of the Volga Center, TsPB to start developing working drawings and technical documentation for the Triton-1 M already in 1970, and in the third quarter of the same year, all the working documentation on the SMPL was transferred to the Novo-Admiralty plant, and In the same year, plant workers began construction of the first SMPLs of the Triton-1 M type.
construction
In 1971 — 1972 at the Novo-Admiralteisky plant in Leningrad, the first two devices of the Triton-1 M type were built - prototypes designed to carry out comprehensive tests and study all the features of the construction and operation of a new type of submarine. The mooring trials of these two SMPLs were completed in July of the 1972 year, after which both “tritons” were transferred to the Black Sea, where the tests were continued at the naval base of the Gidropribor enterprise.
Then both prototypes were sent by the leadership of the Leningrad Admiralty Association, which included the Novo-Admiralteysky plant, to factory running trials, which ended on January 10 and 1973. During the tests, previously and newly identified deficiencies were eliminated, as well as various works were carried out to eliminate the comments submitted to representatives of the military acceptance report to the MPPL.
From 11 to 28 in January of the same year, both SMPLs were prepared for state tests, which took place from February 1 to June 9 1973, with a break from April 4 to 29, in order to eliminate the revealed comments. 10 June both “tritons” were put on the revision of mechanisms and color, after which 30 June 1973 of the year was made a control exit to the sea. On the same day, members of the State Acceptance Commission, chaired by Captain 1 of rank N. A. Myshkin, signed acceptance acts for both offices, which were handed over to the USSR Navy.
In his article on ultra-small submarines of the Triton family, V.A. Chemodanov wrote that in the acceptance acts for the first two SMPLs of the Triton-1 M type it was noted: “The tactical and technical elements of the SMPL, the hull, mechanisms, systems, the devices and habitability correspond to the project, and the results obtained during the tests meet the requirements of the existing technical conditions, methods and norms. ” According to him, members of the state commission issued several proposals: “on the need to improve camouflage at night; by magnetic field - given that the magnitudes of the components of the magnetic field are at the level of the resulting magnetic fields of modern submarines, measurements of the magnetic field at the stand and on the run on prototype media can not be made; to install one magnetic compass in the diametral plane of the cabin, since when installing two compasses along the sides, the included equipment affects their work. ”
After the design drawings of the Volna design bureau were adjusted by working drawings and documentation, taking into account the results of state tests of prototypes, everything was transferred to the Leningrad Admiralty Association, which began the serial construction of the SMPL Triton-1 M.
In connection with the merger of the Volna Center and the Special Design Bureau No. 1974 (SKB-143) in 143 into the All-Union Design and Assembly Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (SPMBM) Malachite, all works on updating the technical documentation and technical support for the construction and testing of the SMPL Triton -1 M ”, as well as the SMPL“ Triton-2 ”, were already led by the staff of the new bureau. Interestingly, the abbreviation SPMBM Malachite was subsequently deciphered as the St. Petersburg Maritime Bureau of Mechanical Engineering.
In total, the Novo-Admiralteisky Zavod and the Leningrad Admiralty Association built and transferred to the Navy 32 of the USSR ultra-small submarines - transporters of light divers, such as Triton-1 M, whose chief builders were V. Ya. Babiy, D. T. Logvinenko, N. N. Chumichev , and responsible deliverers - P. A. Kotlyar, B. I. Dobroziy, and N. N. Aristov. The main observer from the Navy is B.I. Gavrilov.
"Triton-1 M" is a super-small submarine - transporter of divers of the so-called "wet" type. This means that it does not have a strong hull for the crew and the combat swimmers included in individual breathing apparatus are located in the SMPL cabin, which is permeable to seawater. Durable, impermeable volumes (small compartments) available on the SMPL are intended only for the control panel installed on it (located in the submarine’s cabin), the battery well (located directly behind the cabin, includes an 300 kW-type battery) and an electromotive compartment, which is located in the aft end of the "Triton-69 M".
The SMPL hull was made of an aluminum-magnesium alloy, and the propulsion screw placed in the nozzle, driven by the P32 M motor of the rated power 3,4 kW, was used as a propulsion unit. The device is controlled by the DRK-1 propulsion and steering system and the Saur automatic steering system (KM69 — 1).
The delivery of an ultra-small submarine of the Triton-1 M type to the place of operation can be carried out on board surface ships of ships of various displacement, as well as submarines. The transportation of this SMPL can be carried out by any means of transport - automobile, railway or even aviation.
In the base of the SMPL of the type "Triton-1 M" were stored on keelblocks or on a transport trolley (platform). The submarine can be lowered into the water using a conventional cargo crane with a lifting capacity of at least 2 tons.
The SMPLL of the Triton-1 M type was operated in the domestic fleet until the end of the 1980-s, after which they were largely written off and at best ended up in museums, like the Triton-1 M presented here from the collection of the Saratov Museum Great Patriotic War.
In conclusion, we add that the Yugoslav, and now already Croatian, shipbuilding company Brodosplit in 1980-ies began the production of a double ultra-small submarine - transporter of light divers, such as R-2 M, which by its layout, dimensions and TTE to a large extent similar to the domestic "Triton-1 M". The overseas version has a normal surface displacement in 1,4 tons, the length of the 4,9 meter, develops the underwater speed of 4 knots and has a cruising range up to 18 miles.
It seems that the Polish single super-small submarine, the transporter of divers Blotniak (translated from Polish as “Lun”), created in 1978 by Polish specialists together with the Higher Naval School in Gdynia and graduated from the territory of the Polish naval torpedo weapon research center, also located in Gdynia (Polish sailors call this Formosa center). The only surviving copy of this SMPL is on the territory of the naval museum (Gdynia) and was restored by a group of military divers "Lun" from the city of Gdynia. The name “Lun” was assigned to the considered SMPL according to the traditions of the Polish naval forces, in which all combat units of the submarine fleet were named after various birds of prey.
At the first stage, two prototypes of the future Lun were created, the distinguishing feature of which was the location of his driver not sitting, as in the Soviet Triton-1 M or Yugoslav R-2 M, but lying on his stomach.
The “Lunya” equipment includes: two underwater searchlights, a hydroacoustic complex comprising active and passive stations, an automatic containment system at depth, two compressed air cylinders (located behind the driver’s seat), etc. It was assumed that the LUN type would be be transported to the combat area by submarines (in tow) or by surface ships (SMPL was lowered into the water with a crane). In exceptional cases, the submarine could be “delivered” into the water using a transport trolley and even, as expected, “brought up” from the side of a transport helicopter from a height of about 5 meters.
In the new millennium
SMPL "Triton-1 M" is still in operation - for example, in the Northern Fleet there are several such devices. However, since they were created quite a long time ago and, for a number of indicators, they no longer satisfy the requirements for submarines of this class, Malachit SPMBM developed a modernized version of SMPL, retaining its designation Triton-1 M.
“We specially conducted a new development during the year - we changed almost all the component equipment — the propulsion complex, the control system, the navigation and sonar equipment,” says Evgeny Masloboev, deputy chief designer for this area of the Malakhit SPMBM. - Of course, it is not necessary to speak loudly about any kind of navigation or hydro-acoustic complexes, since these are highly specialized systems, for example, hydroacoustic stations of a specific purpose. Their only task is to ensure navigation or the safety of navigation. ”
The upgraded SMPL "Triton-1 M" is still designed for two people and has the autonomy of swimming 6 hours, and the speed - up to 6 nodes. The depth of this mini-submarine is about 40 meters and is determined not by the strength of the compartments of the submarine itself, but by the ability of the respiratory system used by divers and ensuring their vital activity during transportation.
The upgraded "Triton" is well distinguished by its appearance - the hull lines are made more "licked", smoother, which allows it to develop a greater speed at a lower cost of electricity. The battery as an energy source on the upgraded versions has been preserved, but now the developers are considering not only silver-zinc or acid AB, but also lithium. With the latest indicators, submarines can be even better.
As for the weapon transported to the Triton-1 M SMPL, it still remains individual - for divers: each diver has a so-called special diving bag, which is packed and sealed on the shore, after which it is placed by divers under their seats on SMPL. When exiting the submarine - it is usually made on the ground (the submarine is placed on the ground and fixed with underwater anchors) - this bag is taken by fighters. The guaranteed shelf life on the ground of the SMTL Triton-1 M, in accordance with the project documentation, is 10 days. After the combat mission is completed, the divers return to the spot and go home - either to the carrier, underwater or above-water, at the signal of a special sonar beacon installed on the SMPL. The emergence of SMPL is carried out using high-pressure air stored in special strong cylinders. This system is non-volatile: just open the valve and fill the tank with air.
HOWEVER, unfortunately, such a mode of action of combat swimmers did not receive widespread use in our fleet at that time. And the “people-frogs” from the special purpose company of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet during the Great Patriotic War went on mission, as they say, on their own two. Dressed in hydro-overalls, they simply walked along the bottom of the sea or pond, which, of course, severely limited their capabilities. They were not even called commandos, but simply called “underwater infantrymen”.
After the war, a few special forces of the Navy was disbanded - "as unnecessary". And even when the leadership of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs in the middle of 1946, addressed the command of the Navy with a proposal to transfer all the trophy documents, educational and other literature, as well as the captured German specialists of the underwater sabotage and anti-sabotage war in the camps, Admiral Ivan Isakov refused.
The argument was "iron". According to the future Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union, firstly, the use of combat swimmers is possible only occasionally in limited cases. Secondly, their use is supposedly inefficient. Thirdly, it is easy enough to fight the swimmers-bombers of the enemy, and therefore the enemy will be easy enough to detect and destroy our own underwater saboteurs. And finally, fourthly, recent developments in the field of hydroacoustics and radar will make it difficult to covertly deliver combat swimmers to the area of operation and conduct special actions by them.
At the same time, the highly successful experience of the use of units of underwater special forces by naval forces of foreign states during the Second World War was completely ignored. Recall that Italian combat swimmers in September 1941 on the Algeciras roadstead undermined an armed motor ship and two tankers, and in December of that year, in the harbor of the English naval base in Egyptian Alexandria, the crews of three underwater carriers of the type “Mayan-2” undermined the linkors “ Veliant and Queen Elizabeth, and also blew up the Sagona tanker with a displacement of about seven and a half thousand tons. Repair of the first battleship will be completed in July 1942 of the year, and the second - only in July of the 1943 year.
Revival
Only at the beginning of the 1950-s, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the command of the Navy of the Soviet Union began to reconstruct special forces, otherwise - special forces of naval intelligence. Thus, a subdivision of saboteurs, the first commander of which was the captain of 24 rank E. V. Yakovlev, was formed as a directive of the Chief of the General Staff of the USSR Navy on 1953 June 1, as part of the Black Sea Fleet. In October of the following year, a similar special purpose unit was created, or more precisely, recreated in the Baltic. The commander of the new combat unit was appointed captain 1 rank G.V. Potekhin, who had previously performed the duties of chief of staff of the detachment in the Black Sea Fleet. Other fleets followed: March 1955 of the year - Pacific (squad commander - Captain 2 rank P. P. Kovalenko), November 1955 of the year - Northern Fleet (squad commander - Captain 1 Rank E. Belyak).
However, it soon became clear that it was only half the battle to recruit capable fighters and prepare them accordingly. The personnel of special purpose groups must also be properly armed. At the same time, the achievement of special tasks by combat swimmers in the performance of special tasks should also be played by underwater special-purpose means of movement, which will allow the special forces to secretly and quickly approach the area of attack themselves and deliver the necessary cargo to the destination. But at that time there was no such means of movement for the Soviet Navy. Naturally, the question of the need to design and build those was on the agenda of both the fleet and industry.
Initially, the command of the Soviet Navy tried to solve this problem on its own, that is, in fact, in an artisanal way. Thus, the Design Bureau for the design of tugboats was given the task of designing a prototype model of a super-small submarine, the construction of which was entrusted to the Leningrad factory Gatchina Metalworker. Such a move by the naval command causes great bewilderment, since in those years in the Soviet Union more than one design bureau already existed, specializing in the design of underwater vehicles for various purposes.
Failure again
After the collapse of Nazi Germany, a sufficiently large number of various types of captured weapons, military and special equipment fell into the hands of Soviet military and engineers. Thus, for example, the advancing Soviet troops captured several Seefund-type SMPLs. According to the calculations of the Americans, the Soviet Union took 18 as ready trophies and 38 uncompleted SMPLs, and Russian documents and the specialists and amateurs of naval history who investigated this issue, in particular shipbuilding engineer A. B. Alikin and historian of naval history Spetsnaz of various countries of the world, A. M. Chikin, argue that in the USSR only two "babies" and technical documentation for this sample of naval equipment were taken out of the occupation zone. But the figure voiced to the author by an American researcher and enthusiast of the history of the Seekhund type Peter the Great, and according to his data drawn from the American and trophy German archives, the Red Army captured and removed for thorough study in the USSR six unfinished ultra-small figures. Seehund-type submarines that were in varying degrees of readiness.
The task of conducting research and testing captured "seekhund" was assigned to the Leningrad plant number 196 ("Sudomekh"), now it is the company "Admiralty Shipyards" (St. Petersburg). The plant in those years built for the Soviet Navy 15-series submarines.
2 November 1947 of the year was launched the mini-submarine of the Seekhund type, already adapted to the needs of the USSR Navy, and its mooring trials were successfully completed by November 5. After that, the sea trials immediately began, which lasted until 20 November 1947.
However, due to the fact that the cold snap and freeze-up came, further tests were suspended, the mini-sub was lifted onto the plant wall, partially dismantled and mothballed for the winter. In the spring of next year, the works were carried out at the plant, and then the mooring tests of the Soviet "seal" were carried out. The range of navigation, the speed of immersion, autonomy, the duration of a continuous stay under water, according to A. B. Alikin, were not determined during the tests.
Then the mini-submarine was transferred to trial operation of the diving team stationed in Kronstadt. The squad personnel, as far as can be judged by the scarce data from domestic sources, used Seekhund rather intensively - mainly to study the capabilities of ultra-small submarines as one of the means of warfare at sea in modern conditions.
Naturally, to such a "strange" for our fleet arms showed interest and leaders created special forces. However, the leadership of special forces and measures to create their own funds. So, for example, according to the recollections of the service of the naval officers that took place in the special forces, the pilot plant located in Zhukovsky near Moscow carried out for them, according to a design issued by the TTZ, an ultra-small submarine designed for reconnaissance and sabotage operations:
“We had complete creative freedom and complete freedom to attract anyone,” recalls one of them. - Well, for example, the 12 plant-institute located in Zhukovsky made us a super-small submarine. And when we began to accelerate, they made us a super-small submarine for sabotage purposes on 30 tons for our TTZ. They even made her a mock-up sample, that is, a boat prepared for testing. We asked the command - give us a leave of absence, so that at least we could experience this “super-small”. The boat can then be destroyed, but the test documents will be preserved and will come in handy someday. However, we were not allowed, and later I became aware that not only the boat was destroyed, but even the project itself — the documentation — was burned and destroyed. ”
Brothers "Tritons"
The problem of equipping special forces with necessary underwater equipment was partially resolved after the Sirena double transporter of a torpedo configuration, designed by the head of its professor A. I. Shevelo, a reputable torpedo engineer, was ordered by the headquarters of the headquarters of the Soviet Navy of the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute. "And single towers" Proteus-1 "(mounted on the chest) and" Proteus-2 "(mounted on the back). The latter, however, for a number of reasons, did not take root in the Soviet Navy.
Everything took its place only in 1966, when the order of the First Deputy Minister of the USSR Shipbuilding Industry, M. V. Egorov, all work on the ultra-small submarine project (SMPL), called "Triton-2 M", was transferred to the Central Design Bureau (TsBB) ) "Wave", and the construction of these devices was entrusted to the Novo-Admiralteisky plant located in Leningrad.
In the end, in 1967, the prototype model of the six-seater SMPL "Triton-2 M" was completed and tested, the results of which were used to design the leading model of the ultra-small submarine - the Triton-2 type transporter and the new device "Triton-1" M, designed for two people.
B. I. Gavrilov was appointed as the main observer for the Triton-1 M project, who was later replaced by Yu. I. Kolesnikov. The work on both programs was carried out by a group of specialists from the Volna TsPB under the guidance of the chief designer Ya. E. Evgrafov. Looking ahead, since 6 on April 1970, the responsibilities of chief designer for the work aimed at creating means of transporting combat swimmers began to be performed by B. V. Podsevalov, who replaced Yevgrafov who retired.
The draft design of the SMPL “Triton-1 M” was developed in 1968, and in the same year V.S. Spiridonov was appointed deputy chief designer. At the same time, work was also being conducted with contractors on the creation of various hardware for new devices. Thus, according to the tactical and technical specifications issued by the Volna bureau, the counterparties in the shortest possible time developed technical designs for several types of equipment and systems for this “baby.”
The development of the technical design of the two-seater ultra-small submarine was completed in December 1969 of the year, and 4 on April of the next, 1970 of the year it was finally approved by a joint decision of the Ministry of the Shipbuilding Industry (SME) and the Soviet Navy. This enabled the design team of the Volga Center, TsPB to start developing working drawings and technical documentation for the Triton-1 M already in 1970, and in the third quarter of the same year, all the working documentation on the SMPL was transferred to the Novo-Admiralty plant, and In the same year, plant workers began construction of the first SMPLs of the Triton-1 M type.
construction
In 1971 — 1972 at the Novo-Admiralteisky plant in Leningrad, the first two devices of the Triton-1 M type were built - prototypes designed to carry out comprehensive tests and study all the features of the construction and operation of a new type of submarine. The mooring trials of these two SMPLs were completed in July of the 1972 year, after which both “tritons” were transferred to the Black Sea, where the tests were continued at the naval base of the Gidropribor enterprise.
Then both prototypes were sent by the leadership of the Leningrad Admiralty Association, which included the Novo-Admiralteysky plant, to factory running trials, which ended on January 10 and 1973. During the tests, previously and newly identified deficiencies were eliminated, as well as various works were carried out to eliminate the comments submitted to representatives of the military acceptance report to the MPPL.
From 11 to 28 in January of the same year, both SMPLs were prepared for state tests, which took place from February 1 to June 9 1973, with a break from April 4 to 29, in order to eliminate the revealed comments. 10 June both “tritons” were put on the revision of mechanisms and color, after which 30 June 1973 of the year was made a control exit to the sea. On the same day, members of the State Acceptance Commission, chaired by Captain 1 of rank N. A. Myshkin, signed acceptance acts for both offices, which were handed over to the USSR Navy.
In his article on ultra-small submarines of the Triton family, V.A. Chemodanov wrote that in the acceptance acts for the first two SMPLs of the Triton-1 M type it was noted: “The tactical and technical elements of the SMPL, the hull, mechanisms, systems, the devices and habitability correspond to the project, and the results obtained during the tests meet the requirements of the existing technical conditions, methods and norms. ” According to him, members of the state commission issued several proposals: “on the need to improve camouflage at night; by magnetic field - given that the magnitudes of the components of the magnetic field are at the level of the resulting magnetic fields of modern submarines, measurements of the magnetic field at the stand and on the run on prototype media can not be made; to install one magnetic compass in the diametral plane of the cabin, since when installing two compasses along the sides, the included equipment affects their work. ”
After the design drawings of the Volna design bureau were adjusted by working drawings and documentation, taking into account the results of state tests of prototypes, everything was transferred to the Leningrad Admiralty Association, which began the serial construction of the SMPL Triton-1 M.
In connection with the merger of the Volna Center and the Special Design Bureau No. 1974 (SKB-143) in 143 into the All-Union Design and Assembly Bureau of Mechanical Engineering (SPMBM) Malachite, all works on updating the technical documentation and technical support for the construction and testing of the SMPL Triton -1 M ”, as well as the SMPL“ Triton-2 ”, were already led by the staff of the new bureau. Interestingly, the abbreviation SPMBM Malachite was subsequently deciphered as the St. Petersburg Maritime Bureau of Mechanical Engineering.
In total, the Novo-Admiralteisky Zavod and the Leningrad Admiralty Association built and transferred to the Navy 32 of the USSR ultra-small submarines - transporters of light divers, such as Triton-1 M, whose chief builders were V. Ya. Babiy, D. T. Logvinenko, N. N. Chumichev , and responsible deliverers - P. A. Kotlyar, B. I. Dobroziy, and N. N. Aristov. The main observer from the Navy is B.I. Gavrilov.
"Triton-1 M" is a super-small submarine - transporter of divers of the so-called "wet" type. This means that it does not have a strong hull for the crew and the combat swimmers included in individual breathing apparatus are located in the SMPL cabin, which is permeable to seawater. Durable, impermeable volumes (small compartments) available on the SMPL are intended only for the control panel installed on it (located in the submarine’s cabin), the battery well (located directly behind the cabin, includes an 300 kW-type battery) and an electromotive compartment, which is located in the aft end of the "Triton-69 M".
The SMPL hull was made of an aluminum-magnesium alloy, and the propulsion screw placed in the nozzle, driven by the P32 M motor of the rated power 3,4 kW, was used as a propulsion unit. The device is controlled by the DRK-1 propulsion and steering system and the Saur automatic steering system (KM69 — 1).
The delivery of an ultra-small submarine of the Triton-1 M type to the place of operation can be carried out on board surface ships of ships of various displacement, as well as submarines. The transportation of this SMPL can be carried out by any means of transport - automobile, railway or even aviation.
In the base of the SMPL of the type "Triton-1 M" were stored on keelblocks or on a transport trolley (platform). The submarine can be lowered into the water using a conventional cargo crane with a lifting capacity of at least 2 tons.
The SMPLL of the Triton-1 M type was operated in the domestic fleet until the end of the 1980-s, after which they were largely written off and at best ended up in museums, like the Triton-1 M presented here from the collection of the Saratov Museum Great Patriotic War.
In conclusion, we add that the Yugoslav, and now already Croatian, shipbuilding company Brodosplit in 1980-ies began the production of a double ultra-small submarine - transporter of light divers, such as R-2 M, which by its layout, dimensions and TTE to a large extent similar to the domestic "Triton-1 M". The overseas version has a normal surface displacement in 1,4 tons, the length of the 4,9 meter, develops the underwater speed of 4 knots and has a cruising range up to 18 miles.
It seems that the Polish single super-small submarine, the transporter of divers Blotniak (translated from Polish as “Lun”), created in 1978 by Polish specialists together with the Higher Naval School in Gdynia and graduated from the territory of the Polish naval torpedo weapon research center, also located in Gdynia (Polish sailors call this Formosa center). The only surviving copy of this SMPL is on the territory of the naval museum (Gdynia) and was restored by a group of military divers "Lun" from the city of Gdynia. The name “Lun” was assigned to the considered SMPL according to the traditions of the Polish naval forces, in which all combat units of the submarine fleet were named after various birds of prey.
At the first stage, two prototypes of the future Lun were created, the distinguishing feature of which was the location of his driver not sitting, as in the Soviet Triton-1 M or Yugoslav R-2 M, but lying on his stomach.
The “Lunya” equipment includes: two underwater searchlights, a hydroacoustic complex comprising active and passive stations, an automatic containment system at depth, two compressed air cylinders (located behind the driver’s seat), etc. It was assumed that the LUN type would be be transported to the combat area by submarines (in tow) or by surface ships (SMPL was lowered into the water with a crane). In exceptional cases, the submarine could be “delivered” into the water using a transport trolley and even, as expected, “brought up” from the side of a transport helicopter from a height of about 5 meters.
In the new millennium
SMPL "Triton-1 M" is still in operation - for example, in the Northern Fleet there are several such devices. However, since they were created quite a long time ago and, for a number of indicators, they no longer satisfy the requirements for submarines of this class, Malachit SPMBM developed a modernized version of SMPL, retaining its designation Triton-1 M.
“We specially conducted a new development during the year - we changed almost all the component equipment — the propulsion complex, the control system, the navigation and sonar equipment,” says Evgeny Masloboev, deputy chief designer for this area of the Malakhit SPMBM. - Of course, it is not necessary to speak loudly about any kind of navigation or hydro-acoustic complexes, since these are highly specialized systems, for example, hydroacoustic stations of a specific purpose. Their only task is to ensure navigation or the safety of navigation. ”
The upgraded SMPL "Triton-1 M" is still designed for two people and has the autonomy of swimming 6 hours, and the speed - up to 6 nodes. The depth of this mini-submarine is about 40 meters and is determined not by the strength of the compartments of the submarine itself, but by the ability of the respiratory system used by divers and ensuring their vital activity during transportation.
The upgraded "Triton" is well distinguished by its appearance - the hull lines are made more "licked", smoother, which allows it to develop a greater speed at a lower cost of electricity. The battery as an energy source on the upgraded versions has been preserved, but now the developers are considering not only silver-zinc or acid AB, but also lithium. With the latest indicators, submarines can be even better.
As for the weapon transported to the Triton-1 M SMPL, it still remains individual - for divers: each diver has a so-called special diving bag, which is packed and sealed on the shore, after which it is placed by divers under their seats on SMPL. When exiting the submarine - it is usually made on the ground (the submarine is placed on the ground and fixed with underwater anchors) - this bag is taken by fighters. The guaranteed shelf life on the ground of the SMTL Triton-1 M, in accordance with the project documentation, is 10 days. After the combat mission is completed, the divers return to the spot and go home - either to the carrier, underwater or above-water, at the signal of a special sonar beacon installed on the SMPL. The emergence of SMPL is carried out using high-pressure air stored in special strong cylinders. This system is non-volatile: just open the valve and fill the tank with air.
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