My Review and Build of Zevzda's 1/350 scale Kit #9007 ,
Russian Oscar II Class, Tomsk K150 Nuclear Submarine
Introduction to the Oscar II Class SSN
The Russian Navy operates some of the best nuclear powered submarines in the world. Although they are technologically somewhat behind American nuclear submarines in terms of sensors and in terms of quietness (though they are very quiet themselves), their rugged construction exceeds that of US submarines, and their weapons fit are just as strong, and in some cases stronger.
However, after the fall of the Soviet Union, due to severe financial considerations, the submarine force fell into a state of disrepair except for a few units. The Soviet force of scores of nuclear attack, guided missile, and ballistic missile submarines fell off to the point where the Russian Navy did all it could to maintain perhaps 8-10 of each type (and some times less) in a seaworthy state.
For the guided missile submarines, the newest and most capable class they had built was the Oscar Class (or Project 949A) submarines. A slightly improved version, called the Oscar II was built with the last several boats. These vessels were built and commissioned from 1989 through the end of the 1990s. They were large double-hulled boats, displacing over 16,000 tons full load, and their main armament consists of 24 anti-ship P-700 long range Granite missiles, called SSN-N-19 Shipwreck in the west. They also carry six torpedo tubes and a total of 28 internal weapons for those tubes.
Altogether 13 of these massive submarines were built.
Today, due to the severe financial situation that Russia faced after the fall of the Soviet UNion, only six vessels remain active.
Perhaps the best known of the Oscar class submarines was the Kursk, K141. In the year 2000, when she was six years old, she was a part of the largest Russian naval exercise in more than ten years in the Barents Sea. Over 30 Russian vessels were participating. The exercises were called "Summer-X."
On the first day of the exercise, Kursk successfully launched a Granit missile armed with a dummy warhead. Two days later, on the morning of August 12, 2000, she prepared to fire dummy torpedoes at the Kirov-class battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy. These practice torpedoes had no explosive warheads and were manufactured and tested at a much lower quality standard than warshot torpedoes carrying warheads. At 11:28 AM local time, there was an explosion aboard Kursk while she was preparing to fire. A little over two minutes late there was a second, much larger explosion.
The Russian Navy's final report on the disaster concluded that the explosion was due to the failure of one of Kursk's hydrogen peroxide-fueled Type 65 torpedoes. A subsequent investigation concluded that HTP, a form of highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide used as propellant for the torpedo, seeped through a faulty weld in the torpedo casing, came into contact with a catalyst, rapidly expanded and generated vast quantities of steam and oxygen. The pressure produced by this ruptured the fuel tank in the torpedo and set off the explosion. A second explosion 135 seconds after the first was much larger and is speculated to have been actual warheads in weapons stroed on the vessel. This explosion was equivalent to 3-7 tons of TNT and blew a large hole in the forward hull and collapsing the first three compartments and killing all but 23 of the 118 personnel on board. The submarine sank in relatively shallow water 354 ft deep 84 miles off Severomorsk. The 23 survivors held out for several hours, but then, an oxygen cartridge came in contact with the oily sea water in the compartment, this triggered a flash fire that consumed the remaining oxygen in the ninth compartment where they had taken refuge and all died..
The Russians performed a rescue effort, but it was delayed, and they initially refused any foreign assistance. Five days after the accident, on August 17, 2000, Russian President Putin accepted British and Norwegian assistance. On August 19, 2000, at 20:00, the Norwegian ship Normand Pioneer arrived with the British rescue submarine LR5 on board. Six teams of Russian, British, and Norwegian divers helped.
On Sunday 20 August, the Norwegians lowered a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to the submarine. They found that the first 59 feet of the ship had been destroyed by the explosions. The entire bow of the ship was a mass of twisted metal and debris. There were no survivors.
Ultimately the Russians raised the sub, and from the pictures taken of her, you can see the massive damage that cist the lives of all 118 personnel aboard.
Four other Oscar II submarines were laid down after the Kursk. Tow of those were completed and made active. One of the others was completed, but never outfitted for its intended role. It has since been made into a experimental boat, and a boat for special operations and mission.
I am building this model to represent the K150 Tomsk, which was the last Oscar II commissioned as an SSGN in 1996.
All of these active SSGN vessels are extremely powerful vessels and pose a very critical risk to opponents. They were designed particularly to be a significant threat to US aircraft carriers and their strike groups.
Specifications of the Oscar II class include:
Displacement: 16,500 tons
Length: 508 ft
Beamt: 55.5 ft
Draft: 29.5 ft</br>
Speed: 32 knots submerged
Crew: 115
Armament:
- 24 x VLS Cells for P-700 Granite Missles
- 02 x 650mm torpedo tubes
- 04 x 533mm torpedo tuibes
Twenty-eight torpedoes, anti-ship missile, anti-submarine missiles, or mines.
