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The Typhoon (known as Akula in its homeland) was a totally new class of nuclear-powered ballistic submarines deployed by the Soviet
Navy during the 1980s. Six units were launched between 1980 and 1988. They are the largest submarines ever built and offer accommodation which may be as good as that found on surface
warships. Their construction features multiple pressure hulls, rendering the outer hull much wider than in a normal submarine. The main
body houses two long pressure hulls running along it parallely, with a third smaller pressure hull above them, which protrudes just
below the sail. Another two pressure hulls house the torpedo room and the steering gear. This layout might greatly increase
survivability, for if one pressure hulls were breached the crew members in the other could be safe, existing less potential for
a massive flooding.
These submarines are the only ones which feature vertical silos placed before the sail, perhaps because the huge weight of the missiles
along with that of the machinery would cause unbalance on the vessel. The SS-N-20, fitted with up to nine reentry vehicles, had an
operational range of up to 8300 kilometers and a precision reaching perhaps 500 meters. The Typhoon was prepared as well for launching
antiship/antisubmarine missiles SS-N-15/16 from the torpedo tubes. The SS-N-20 was a very powerful missile but its development was
discontinued, along with that of the Typhoon class. Despite of being impressive, the Typhoon project was not successful simply
because it was excessively costly for the collapsed Soviet/Russian economy. Of the six vessels built, three have been scrapped, other
two remain in the reserve as 2016 with uncertain fate, and only one was kept in service to serve as test platform for the new SLBM SS-N-32
which today arms the new SSBN of the Borey class.
Typhoon class: 6 units (TK-208 Dmitriy Donskoy, TK-202, TK-12 Simbirsk, TK-13, TK-17 Arkhangelsk, TK-20 Severstal)
Type: Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine
Length: 175 meters
Beam: 23 meters
Draught: 12 meters
Displacement (surfaced): 23200-24500 tonnes
Displacement (submerged): 33800-48000 tonnes
Propulsion: 2 x shaft, 2 x steam turbine, 2 x nuclear reactor OK-650B 190 megawatt, up to 100000 shaft horsepower
Speed (surfaced): 22.2 knots (40.5 kilometers/hour)
Speed (submerged): 27 knots (50 kilometers/hour)
Range: Theoretically unlimited; at least 120 days of endurance
Test depth: 400 meters
Complement: 160
Armament: 20 x SS-N-20 SLBM, 4 x 650-millimeter torpedo tube, 2 x 533-millimeter torpedo tube,
22 x torpedo/missile reload (Type 53 torpedo, SS-N-15 antiship missile, SS-N-16 antisubmarine missile) or 42 x mine
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