2.1 Construction of nuclear powered submarines and surface ships
«Previous Next» Back to report2.1.1 Design Bureaus
Soviet nuclear submarines are designed by three main design bureau's, each of which has several subdivisions. The first Soviet nuclear submarine was designed by Special Design Bureau No. 143 (SKB-143). This bureau later merged with SKB-193 and SKB-16 and formed Malakit Design Bureau in St. Petersburg. SKB-143 designed the Project 627 A-November class, Project 645 ZhMT, Project 671 - Victor class, Project 705 - Alfa class, Project 971 - Akula class and Project 661 - Papa class attack submarines. Rubin Central Marine Designs Bureau (SKB-18) in St. Petersburg designed the Project 658 - Hotel class, Project 659/675 - Echo I-II class, Project 667 - Yankee and Delta I-IV classes, Project 941 - Typhoon class, Project 685 - Mike class and the forthcoming Project 885 - Severodvinsk class submarines. The construction bureau Lazurit (STB-112) in Nizhny Novgorod developed the Project 670 - Charlie class and Project 945 - Sierra class nuclear submarines.[69]
| Design Bureau / Location | Project No.//NATO-class |
| Malakhit Design Bureau (SKB-143), St.Petersburg | 627 A - November 645 - ZjMT 671 - Victor 705 - Alfa 971 - Akula 661 - Papa |
| Rubin Central Marine Designs Bureau (SKB-18), St. Petersburg | 658 - Hotell 659 - Echo I 675 - Echo II 667 - Yankee 667 B - Delta-I 667 BD - Delta-II 667 BDR - Delta-III 667 BDRM - Delta-IV 941 - Typhoon 685 - Mike 885 - Severodvinsk |
| Lazurit (STB-112), Nizjnij Novogrod | 670 - Charlie I - II 945 - Sierra |
Table 3: A summary of the Design Bureau's
2.1.2 Shipyards
In the former Soviet Union, nuclear submarines were built at four different shipyards.[70] One of these, Sevmash (formerly shipyard No. 402) in Severodvinsk, has been operative since 1955. The Amursky Yard (formerly shipyard No. 199) at Komosomolsk-na-Amur was operative from 1957, and has a subdivision in Bolshaya Kamen near Vladivostok. Nuclear submarines have also been built at Krasnoye Soromovo (formerly shipyard No. 112) in Nizhny Novgorod and at the Admiralty Yard (formerly shipyards No. 194 and 196) in St. Petersburg since 1960.[71]
At each of these four shipyards, approximately five to ten nuclear submarines were built a year until 1992. Today, only the Severodvinsk yard is in operation with a maximum production of one or two submarines a year. Of the four yards, Severodvinsk turned out the largest number of nuclear submarines with a total of 127 vessels.[72] Komosomolsk-na-Amur produced a total of 56 submarines, 39 were produced in St. Petersburg and 25 in Nizhny Novgorod.[73] Some of the submarines built in Nizhny Novgorod and St. Petersburg were transported by the Volga and Karel canals to Severodvinsk for completion, ostensibly weapons fitting and reactor equipment.[74]
Footnotes[69] Bukharin, O., and Handler, J., Russian Nuclear-Powered Submarine Decommissioning, 1995. Return
[70] Izvestia, July 13, 1993. Return
[71] Lee, R., Active Naval Shipyards, last updated October 24, 1995. Return
[72] Bukharin, O., and Handler, J., Russian Nuclear-Powered Submarine Decommissioning, 1995. Return
[73] Ibid. Return
[74] Mormul, N., Note, 1995. Return
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