For months not to see the sky overhead and to live according to a routine adjusted to seconds, constantly feeling the invisible presence of a potential enemy and a colossal burden of responsibility - the service of crews of nuclear submarines is considered one of the most difficult and prestigious in the Russian Navy. At sea, these floating cities usually operate in isolation from the Allied forces. Their commanders have the right to make decisions that affect the geopolitical picture of the world. About how Russian nuclear submarines are being prepared for "autonomous" and about the life of submariners.
Selection of the best
A long sea voyage or, as they say in the navy, combat service is the highest form of maintaining the combat readiness of the Navy in peacetime. Submarines are regularly sent to those areas of the oceans where they will have to act in the event of a full-scale war or regional armed conflict. They monitor the ships and submarines of a potential enemy, patrol their areas of responsibility in full readiness to use weapons (including nuclear), and conduct reconnaissance. Unlike diesel-electric boats, nuclear submarines do not need to float to recharge their batteries, which means that they remain under water for their entire service life. On average, the hike lasts one and a half to two months, but it happens much longer.
"My record" autonomous "- more than 90 days under water," - says RIA Novosti captain of the first rank, retired Vladimir Mamaikin, a member of 13 military services. He went to sea on nuclear torpedo ships of the famous 3rd submarine division of the Northern Fleet and commanded the nuclear submarine K-462 from 1981 to 1984. “In such campaigns, you are left to yourself - in fact, your own state. Any situations can arise at sea, and the submarine commander has the right to independently decide how to act in a given situation,”the submariner continues.
Before each departure to the sea, all crew members must undergo a special course of combat training: shooting, exams for knowledge of nuclear submarine materiel, damage control and much more. "Sachkov" and "Losers" are eliminated at once, but there are usually few of them. For a sailor of urgent or extra-urgent service, admission to a long voyage is a matter of special pride. Military service is not a link to the sea, but a dream, to which many go from childhood.
The sub is also passing its exam. The crew and technical services carefully check the operation of components and assemblies, the integrity of the hull, the serviceability of communication equipment and life support systems. The cost of making a mistake is extremely high. It's one thing if a breakdown occurs near your home coast - you can always come up and ask for help. And it is quite another if a serious emergency on a boat happens under the ice of the Arctic Ocean or near the order of an aircraft carrier strike group of a potential enemy. When everything is ready, the commander of the nuclear-powered icebreaker releases the officers on leave for a couple of days - to be with their families before parting.
After everyone is back on board, the submarine leaves the base and dives. Pops up only after a few months - after returning from a campaign.
Promotional video:
Floating city
The daily routine on a nuclear-powered ship is standard for large warships: two shifts per day. Each has three combat shifts, four hours each. Life on the nuclear submarine is as good as in any land military unit. There are shifts, outfits, trainings, drills. Washing days are held regularly, when sailors can wash and take a shower from the sea water. Leisure is also thought out: many nuclear-powered ships have libraries, various competitions and film screenings are constantly organized. The strategic missile submarine cruiser (SSBN) "Dmitry Donskoy" even has a swimming pool with a sauna. With food, everything is also good, and the bread is always fresh - they bake it in the ship's galley.
“I don’t remember anyone ever going hungry in combat,” says Vladimir Mamaikin. - Of course, I always wanted something fresh, but we also ate well with canned food. Once we met on February 23 in the Mediterranean. The situation around was calm, and the squadron commander gave the command: “We are coming up, this is our holiday!” And they unloaded us from a Soviet tanker several sacks of potatoes and barrels of Far Eastern herring. These delicacies made a splash! I also remember that in my first combat services in the 1970s, teams of five or six people were created in crews. They ate separately, they tested food for the astronauts. The ship's doctor observed them and kept appropriate notes. It was funny, of course. Everyone is sitting in the wardroom, each has the first, second and compote, as expected. And next to these gloomy "cosmonauts" with their tubes. They made fun of them all the time."
The only "liberty" allowed for the submarine's crew is to swim up for a communication session. On predetermined days and at a certain time, the submarine commander gives the order to set up the antenna. The headquarters makes contact with him or does not contact him, but the schedule by the crew must be strictly observed. In an emergency, the submarine can swim up at any time to transmit important information - on the shore, the signal is received around the clock.
Meetings with the enemy
No submarine commander knows exactly which seas and oceans he will have to visit during his combat service. The power reserve of the nuclear submarine is unlimited in principle, and food and other vital supplies are taken "with a hill" on a long trip. At any time, a new order may come from the headquarters, and the route will have to be adjusted.
In 1983, the Americans deployed Pershing-2 medium-range ballistic missiles in Europe, which further inflamed an already tense international situation. The torpedo nuclear submarine K-462 was then in combat service in the Mediterranean. During the next communication session, the captain of the second rank Vladimir Mamaikin received an order to urgently go to the Arctic Ocean to the specified point. The crew was not ready for operations in these latitudes, so the nuclear-powered ship looked into the Greenland Sea on the way. For more than a day K-462 practiced ascent and immersion. It is only in the movies that submarines effectively break through the ice with felling where necessary - in reality, this can be seriously damaged, so the submarine “gropes” for a long time before surfacing. Only after working out all the procedures did K-462 leave for the assigned area and took up its position.
Later, a Soviet nuclear submarine with ballistic missiles, one of a number deployed in the Arctic in response to the American Pershing in Europe, proceeded through the same area past the K-462. The Mamaykin nuclear submarine was supposed to watch it as stealthily as possible in order to identify and cut off a possible tail from American hunter submarines. Then everything worked out, but during the Cold War, Soviet submariners regularly encountered a potential enemy during military service. Including literally.
“In 1980, I served on the K-398 nuclear submarine as a chief officer,” says Vladimir Mamaikin. - We followed the American submarine, followed it at low speed and at a short distance - only two or three cables (370-550 meters). The "American" did not hear us and at some point slowed down, moving across the path. We didn’t have time to react and fell on his side. The boat shook violently, turned 50 degrees. We looked around in the compartments and exhaled - everything was in order, no breakdowns. The American cruiser immediately gave up. We swam to the periscope depth, but did not see anything through the periscope - the sea was stormy. We thought we had lost our target, but almost immediately we caught the acoustic contact again and watched the "American" for a few more hours … Our modern nuclear submarines, for example, the Ash project, are an order of magnitude better than those on which we served in the 1970s and 1980s. On them, you can confidently keep acoustic contact with the enemy even on 30 cables. I am already an old sea wolf, I have not been on long trips for a long time. But how do you want to climb the captain's bridge of the new "Ash" and see what he is capable of."
Andrey Kots
