During the Cold War, Soviet submarines were a real threat to the US and NATO submarine fleet. One of the unique projects was the Alfa-class nuclear submarine series (NATO codification) with a liquid metal reactor. This is written by military expert Brendan J. Weichert in The National Interest.
Project 705 Lira (Alfa class) was developed in the 50s. The submarines of this project were planned to be used to counter NATO's naval capabilities in key regions of the Atlantic and Arctic.
One of the features was a titanium hull. Soviet engineers believed that a titanium submarine would be able to bypass Western submarines in terms of diving depth and speed.
There are many advantages: lighter weight, stronger and more corrosion-resistant material.
Expensive and unsafe
However, the creation of a titanium hull required the use of special welding methods. As a result, the Project 705 Lira submarines became the most expensive to build and maintain. Another problem was their noise.
Alfa-class submarines turned out to be fast and maneuverable, but very noisy. Enemy sonars could detect it at a great distance.
The United States followed the development of nuclear Soviet submarines with a liquid metal reactor. However, in 1982, an accident occurred on board the K-123 (Project 705 Lira) with the release of coolant into the reactor compartment.
The damaged reactor could not be restored. The K-123 submarine was towed to the Sevmash plant, where it was under repair until 1992.
The US Navy wondered whether it was worth building submarines with a titanium hull. However, the emergency with the K-123 proved that it was not worth relying on these technologies. This was a lesson learned in the USSR the hard way.
K-123 specifications:
- Displacement — 2300 tons
- Length — 79.6 m
- Width — 10 m
- Surface speed — 14 knots
- Submerged speed — 39 knots
- Maximum diving depth — 450 m
- Autonomy — 50 days
- Crew — 32 people
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