NAVYPEDIA

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Project 705 1979  

Ships

Name	No	Yard No	Builder	Laid down	Launched	Comp	Fate	Modification
К-64 [K-64]		900	New Admiralty, Leningrad	2.6.1968	22.4.1969	31.12.1971	reactor failure 4.1972, hulk 10.1973	Project 705
К-316 [K-316]		905/01675	Admiralty, Leningrad	26.4.1969	25.7.1974	30.9.1978	stricken 4.1990	Project 705
К-373 [K-373]		910/01680	Admiralty, Leningrad	26.6.1972	19.4.1978	29.12.1979	stricken 4.1990	Project 705
К-463 [K-463]		915/01685	Admiralty, Leningrad	26.6.1975	31.3.1981	30.12.1981	stricken 4.1990	Project 705
К-123 [K-123], 6.1992- Б-123 [B-123]		105	Northern Yd, Severodvinsk	29.12.1967	4.4.1976	12.12.1977	stricken 7.1996	Project 705K
К-432 [K-432]		106	Northern Yd, Severodvinsk	12.11.1968	3.11.1977	31.12.1978	stricken 4.1990	Project 705K
К-493 [K-493]		107	Northern Yd, Severodvinsk	21.1.1972	21.9.1980	30.9.1981	stricken 4.1990	Project 705K

Technical data

Displacement standard, t
Displacement normal, t	900, pr. 705K: 2280 / 3125 905, 910, 915: 2300 / 3150
Length, m	900, pr. 705K: 79.6 905, 910, 915: 81.4
Breadth, m	9.5 hull 13.5 max
Draught, m	6.24
No of shafts	1
Machinery	pr. 705: OK-7 geared steam turbine set, 1 OK-550 nuclear reactor pr. 705K: OK-7K geared steam turbine set, 1 BM-40A nuclear reactor
Power, h. p.	40000
Max speed, kts	pr. 705: 40.2 pr. 705K: 40.3
Fuel, t	nuclear
Endurance, nm(kts)	practically unlimited
Armament	6 - 533 TT (18, inc. Vyuga 81R ASuM, VA-111 Shkval rocket torpedoes or 36 mines)
Electronic equipment	MRK-55 Chibis radar, Okean sonar suite (Yenisey, Luch, Rosa-705, Tissa, MG-512 Vint-705 sonars), MRP-23 Bulava-705 ECM suite, MVU-111 Akkord CCS
Complement	29 - 32
Diving depth operational, m	320

Standard scale images

Graphics

Project history

The project was approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 May 1961; TTZ approved 11 December 1961.

Project 705 was part of the programme of radical new types of ships authorised in 1956. A high-level committee developed a TTZ specifically to exceed the likely performance of Western submarines which might appear during the next 10 to 15 years. Russian accounts emphasise the degree of automation achieved rather than the high speed (due to liquid-metal reactor) or deep diving depth (due to adoption of a titanium hull). The crew size is variously given as 29, including 25 officers and 4 warrant officers, later crew size was raised to 32. This class was not designed for underway maintenance. All living spaces were placed in the 3rd compartments, all other compartments required only a periodical control. Submarine required only 8 men on watch to operate her in all circumstances.

Machinery included steam generator with one reactor and one geared steam turbine unit. For compactness, the Soviets chosen high-frequency (400Hz) AC electric power. The US Navy used DC, which entailed a far more massive powerplant, on tile grounds that an AC plant could not quickly back down in an emergency. Beside the main propeller, there were two auxiliary propellers near the tips of the stern planes, driven by 100kW electric motors.

The design may have been influenced by contemporary US submarine thinking, which in 1956 favoured automation, increased speed, and turbo-electrical drive for silencing.

Apparently for a time the Soviets thought that all next-generation submarines would have titanium hulls, since they adopted this material for the slightly later missile submarine, Project 661. Development of methods to work the new material turned out to be difficult, probably much delaying this programme (and distorting its apparent position in the Soviet design sequence). Western experts named Project 705 the deepest-diving of all operational submarines, with a reported rated diving depth of 700m; recently reported as 700m operating depth, 750m crush depth. The appearance of such a submarine was extremely troubling to Western navies. It inspired US and British interest in deeper-diving and faster torpedoes, such as Mk 48 ADCAP, Mk 50, and Spearftsh.

The prototype was Project 705. Units built in Severodvinsk were built to a 'corrected' design, Project 705K, with new machinery. At first time in the world these submarines had rescue chambers for all crew members, guaranteed rescue of the crew from 400m deep with large angles of trim and list. Submarines had outstanding performance: they can accelerate from stop to full ahead for only ONE minute. Time to make a half-circulation to turn on 180° was 42 seconds. Submarine can attack enemy ship, launch ALL torpedoes and escape from enemy torpedoes because she was faster than torpedoes.

Modernizations

None.

Naval service

It was a failure (due to a freeze-up of the reactor coolant metal) in April 1972 on K-64, she was immediately laid up and hulked in 1973.