Post by Admin on Oct 24, 2019 14:55:18 GMT
Bungy talk with Vladimir
My name is Vladimir and I am a former Russian Submarine Navigating officer. I served on a number of our nuclear attack submarines (SSN’s) during my naval service. This story relates to my time on a Victor I submarine (K454) a Project 671 submarine back in 1989.
In my opinion our Soviet Navy SSN’s were the backbone of our submarine service yet they did not seem to get the priority that they deserved.
In early 1989 before joining the Victor I, I was sent to study for three months at our High Marine Academy, and I found myself sharing a room with two fighter pilots from the Aircraft Carrier Kuznetsov. These young pilot officers had been sitting around for two years doing nothing and had been told that there would be no more flying duties for a while. With that in mind they tried to live every day as if it was their last, vodka for breakfast, lunch and supper.
It turned out to be a long three months course with these crazy roommates. At first, I would go drinking with them, but I very quickly realized that I was not in the same league as them. They seemed to lack any sense of responsibility and drank as if they had not a care in the world.
Then I woke up one morning and remembered that unlike them, I had responsibilities, my career and even more importantly, I had a wife and young daughter at home. When the course finished, I was never so glad to report on board for duty. Thirty years have passed since then and I still wonder what ever happened to those crazy fighter pilots.
On board the Victor I (K454), I knew that I had joined a submarine with an experienced crew, as they had been together for some time under a very experienced “Comrade Commander”.
Our submarine was preparing to take part in a major Anti-Submarine Warfare exercise that would see three submarines pitted against a “Strike Group” of surface ships.
The surface task force would include a group of Anti-Submarine Warfare specialist ships and these would be the main threat to us. During our preparations for the exercise we made sure that we learnt as much as we could about the capabilities of these ships. The “Udaloy Class” destroyer’s “Marshal Shaposhnikov”, “Admiral Panteleyev” and the “Sovremenniy Class” destroyer “Bystriy” were all relatively new ships and had been deployed as part of our Pacific Fleet
The main threat we faced from these ships during this exercise was from the their Low-Frequency sonar designated MGK-355 and called “Polinom”. This was a hull mounted sonar integrated with a variable depth (VDS) or dunking sonar system. (Known by Nato Nickname of Horse Jaw and Horse Tail)
We sailed from our home port and performed a short shakedown cruise prior to the exercise to make sure all systems were working correctly. We took up our position ready for the start of the exercise with our comrades on a Delta Class SSNB (Project 667B). In the Soviet Union, SSBNs take part in ASW exercises.
Our “Comrade Commander” took things very seriously and wanted to succeed so that he could indulge in some bragging and one-upmanship with some of his fellow Commanders in the surface fleet. He was determined to get the better of them during the exercise.
On two previous exercises the ASW ships with their hull-mounted and towed sonars had managed to get the better of him. He was determined it should not happen again and had studied the capabilities of the system in detail.
He stood with me on the plot and tried to explain the technicalities of how this sonar exploited sonar conversion zones to achieve extensive detection ranges and how this integrated system transmitted and received across both arrays and how the system cleverly exploited acoustic waves via changes in water temperature, unfortunately most of the technical information was lost on me, a mere navigating officer.
We headed for our designated exercise area for the exercise and when we arrived we spent some time in each part of our area recording the temperature gradient and profiles at various depths. I made the relevant notes both on the charts and in the log. This information would be essential during the exercise.
After a busy day of preparation and drills we were ready for the start of the ASW exercise, scheduled for the following day. We returned to periscope depth to receive our signals traffic, and once this was completed our Comrade Commander approached the chart table and asked me to plot a course to a point at the southern edge of our area. The intention was to rendezvous with one of the other submarines taking part in the exercise. After the rendezvous, we headed back north to our holding area, to wait for the start of the exercise.
The exercise started as planned and for the first few hours there was silence, no contacts. Then active sonar transmissions were detected to the east of our position. These transmissions got louder as the ships came closer to our area. We could hear that the Polinom seemed to change modes every now and again. We then detected a second platform, also employing the same sonar system. Both units were “Udalloy Class” ASW frigates. It seemed that our comrades on the Delta class SSBN (667b) in the adjacent area had already lost the battle and the surface task force was heading our way. Our Commander ordered the submarine to go deep to try to exploit the temperature layers (thermocline) and find conditions that would help us avoid detection by the surface ships. The Sonar transmissions were now stronger and the taskforce was very close. Our Comrade Commander manoeuvred our submarine to ensure that we maintained our smallest aspect to the oncoming surface ship threat and keeping to the best evasion depth his intention was to avoid if possible the destroyer “Marshal Shaposhnikov” which was the closest threat as the task force passed through our area. If we could remain undetected the intention was to close the task force from astern and carry out an attack before making off at high speed.
Counter detection by passive means was not our main concern. Our submarine K454 was a batch one Victor I and our machinery was not resiliently mounted. The threat was this highly capable Polinom active sonar that could use both the hull-mounted and variable depth sonar (VDS) working together to detect us at long-range.
As the force got closer we gained sonar contacts on all the ships in the group. At this point we stood more chance of being counter detected. We held our nerve and after a few close calls, their ranges started to open as they passed through our area. We rose to periscope depth to take a look and get visual information on one or two of the contacts so that we could achieve a firing solution for a salvo of guided missiles. The information was coming in and we quickly achieved a firing solution for two targets and carried out a simulated firing.
Our Comrade Commander quickly ordered the submarine deep but as we started our descent we detected a fast-moving contact on our starboard side. It was classified instantly as a submarine at speed. The noise level rose between the control room and the acoustic team, eventually I could hear the captain cursing. It seems that an intruder had just passed us running in at high speed to close the surface task force. We only held the contact for a short while out to about four thousand yards, the submarine was making about 25 knots and in a hurry. It seems an American submarine was monitoring the exercise. Returning quickly to periscope depth our Comrade Commander sent a message by secret means to inform the fleet command about the presence of the intruder.
The exercise was continued for a few more days but unfortunately our Comrades of the surface fleet had got the upper hand again. Their new sonar was a powerful tool which required some serious consideration if we were ever going to gain the upper hand against it.
We returned to port for a short maintenance period.
The operations team underwent a lot of preparations and training in preparation for a torpedo firing exercise. This would involve our submarine Victor I (K454) trying to find a Hotel Class (K178) and then achieve a fire control solution to enable us to fire a training torpedo. These weapons are designed to miss the target. My job as the navigator was to make sure that I mark a datum on the chart with location in case the training weapon fails and needs to be recovered.
Due to the live firing we were assigned to a specific exercise area away from commercial shipping. I remember that we sailed and made the short transit on the surface to the area and then dived and made all our preparation. The weapon system was ready and we waited for sonar to detect Hotel class (K178).
After three hours we detected the Hotel (K178) on passive sonar and started to manoeuvre to gain a firing solution. This was confirmed by an active signal. Everything was good as we improved our target solution. We were at a depth of 260 ft and the Hotel (K178) was less than 190 Feet, the alarm sounded and we went to “Combat Stations” ready for the attack.
The command is given to fire and I feel the shudder of the submarine as the weapon leaves the tube. The torpedo is running and orders flow between our Comrade Commander to the weapon director. Suddenly the shouting becomes more intense, and I heard the words, “loss of guidance” and I knew there was some trouble. My thoughts turned to my duty of plotting the track of the weapon and I thought to myself I will be in trouble if this torpedo is lost. I then heard from the acoustic room that “the torpedoes screws have merged with the target”. It should never do this. I knew the range was close and acoustics again repeated the situation two or three times before a senior comrade told them to shut up. Inevitably there was a loud sound of a collision.
The Hotel submarine (K178) returned to periscope depth so we followed and then communicated by underwater telephone. After both Commanders had spoken, we prepared to search the area for the weapon. Neither of us could hear it or see it anywhere.
A few hours later, we heard the Hotel submarine (K178) surface. And not so long after that, we received an underwater telephone message from their Commander saying: " All is ok. the weapon is already onboard." A few days later, when both submarines had returned to port some of the officers are together and the Commander of the Hotel (K178) tells the story of how he had surfaced his submarine and went to the bridge to smoke a cigarette.
He said: “I put the cigarette in my mouth and looked around and nearly swallowed it. To my utter amazement, I saw a red and white training torpedo had punched a hole in the submarine and was stuck between the casing and the pressure hull right above a high pressure (HP) air bottle bank”. Miraculously apart from a hole with a torpedo protruding from it, no other damage had been done to the submarine. The Commander of the Hotel (K178) laughed and said: “We all thought that we had lost the weapon, but we brought it home”.
It took months of long trials to find out what had gone wrong or who had made a mistake.
It turned out that the shoreside weapons technicians had forgotten to make a switch on the torpedo’s depth guidance.
Vladimir former 3rd Rank Captain
