Indian Akula II attack submarine

Dangerous indeed! Think the Seawolf can take on that beast? Or the Virginia or the Astute? Time will tell.

seawolf and astute for sure - LA or imp LA , not very sure , as they were designed and built to counter the 688`s.

keep in mind...it's not just the boat....its who drives it. One SSBN or SSN of the USN has more "dark water" experience than the entire indian navy combined.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
keep in mind...it's not just the boat....its who drives it. One SSBN or SSN of the USN has more "dark water" experience than the entire indian navy combined.

Quite true (figuratively of course). In this case the Seawolf/ Virg Class boats would be manned by superior crews and be in possession of marginally (as one would believe with the minute tidbits of info we get on these boats) superior operating systems.

Question to deltaboy though, who said this was Indian?

Another question: As far as the Astute (or Barracuda) class are concerned, any comparisions done here with the USN SSNs?

Why compare to yesterdays navy the Chinese have the
big boys nowadays

Originally posted by solo1
Why compare to yesterdays navy the Chinese have the
big boys nowadays

not quite.

One would presume these akula II boats to be comparable if not better than the
new Chinese Type 093 Shang class SSNs

reply to post by deltaboy


This boat is obviously running its diesel...doing battery charges and or ventilating various compartments while sitting still on the surface. As she is not on a pier and no wake is visible it is possible she is at anchor.

The thing which surprises me about the profile of this type of boat when on the surface is that they seem to ride noticeably very high. I will grant you the possibility that they may have just done a low pressure blow of all the ballast tanks....but overall they seem to ride very high when on the surface.
In my limited experience this is unusual..particularly for an attack submarine.

This tends to make me wonder what is the calculated distance between the actual design centerline of the boat and the centerline of gravity.. when underway. Mind you now...it has been along time since I heard this in conversation...I may even have the terms I am using in this discription incorrect.

While I am not an engineer..or designer...I seem to recall many years back in conversations with engineers visiting the 688 class boats that ...you dont want these two lines to be to close together or you run into instability problems in maneuvers.

Most fast attack boats of which I am familiar do not naturally sit that high out of the water when on the surface.

The main reason boomers appear to sit high on the surface is because of the turtleback fairing used in streamlining the missle section of these boats. Fast attacks do not have this fairing.

Just something for the consideration of the readers here.

Thanks,
Orangetom



[edit on 31-7-2008 by orangetom1999]

reply to post by orangetom1999


erm orange - Akula`s are nuke boats......


i would think this would be the INS Chakra , which india paid $2billion for the completion of both Akula-II`s and for the training of the crew for them

given they use Propulsor for silent running these are mean little babies

reply to post by Harlequin


Yes Harlequin..I know it is a nuke boat. No problem here. Even nuke boats have a diesel generator for emergency electrical power and take in air from a snorkel mechanism. While the snorkel mechanism is operating the boat is at the same time ventelated with fresh air ..also through the snorkel.
It is often a regular scheduled maintenance item to run the diesel ...such that it does not become constipated or arthritic from lack of use. While the diesel is running the generator ..batterys are also charged as well as the boat ventilated.

When a boat is tied up to a pier ...ventilation can be done with power supplied from shore sources...as well as battery charges. Nonetheless...running a diesel is a regularly scheduled maintenance item.
This boat is not tied up to a pier...and one cannot directly tell if the reactor is up and critical.

Nonetheless..I merely note that this type of boat rides very high above the water when on the surface.

Thanks,
Orangetom

reply to post by Harlequin


Thats a common misconception...just cause its a nuke boat does not mean it can only rely on nuclear power to run the boat. Even something happened like the reactor was scrammed, then it can rely on its backup power like diesel to keep the boat running until they can get the nuclear reactor running again. Just like diesel/electric subs do. They rely on diesel as backup when running out of power on the electric batteries or there was a mechanical problem on the batteries.

ta muchly for the lesson - i did have a brain out moment ;

yes it does seem to be riding high - all the pictures are the same though i`ve seen of all types of akula ; oscars and kilo`s also seem to sit high as well (as do victors)

upload.wikimedia.org...

upload.wikimedia.org...

upload.wikimedia.org...


so im thinking its more a feature of russian boats than anything else really.


btw - very hurt USS San Fransisco

navysite.de...

navysite.de...

Yes Harlequin..now that you mention it in light of the photos...They do seem to ride high in the water on the surface. Must be a design feature or a function of the design.

Also some very sorry looking photos of the USS San Francisco. I worked on this boat when it was under construction. Very sorry to see her in such a condition. Most of the damage seems to be to one side and in the number 1 and 2 ballast tanks...and of course the sonar dome is a total waste. Limited damage in the number 3 tank which also includes the torpedo shutter doors.
Cant help but wonder if there were fish in the tubes and who was the lucky person to pull them out if there were. Definltely a pucker factor type job.

They were very fortunate in this accident. A bit more damage further back and they would be into the pressure hull. King Neptune would have claimed another one.
Nonetheless ...they were fortunate as these accidents go. Once in awhile nature has a way of reminding us that for all our technological glory and prowess we are not the biggest, hottest thing in the oceans...just little fish in natures huge territory. We are peons if you like.

Thanks,
Orangetom

heard it was very very touch and go when the forward ballast tanks let go - a real man vs machine to get her to the surface and keep her there.

Originally posted by deltaboy

Dangerous indeed! Think the Seawolf can take on that beast? Or the Virginia or the Astute? Time will tell.

Any of those boats would be more than a match. IMO a 688i could take it on.

Originally posted by Daedalus3
not quite.

One would presume these akula II boats to be comparable if not better than the new Chinese Type 093 Shang class SSNs

Akula II blows away the Shang class. Global security estimates the new Chinese SSN is comparable to a Victor III.

It looks like it maybe riding a little high, I can't make out the draft markings on the rudder, but it could be an illusion due to the different shape of the hull. It appears almost the entire length of the hull is above water. In contrast, an LA boat has a gap that's always submerged between the rudder and hull. And you will see water washing over the deck aft of the rear MBT vents.

The spray of mist emitted from the sail looks like diesel exhaust. Along with the tug in the background, I think it is safe to say this sub is being dead-sticked to another berth.

That Submarine is defintely located in Russia not India

Originally posted by Schaden

Akula II blows away the Shang class. Global security estimates the new Chinese SSN is comparable to a Victor III.

And thats why its a little presumptuous to make such statements, since there so little factual info on these boats on the net; unless of course people with 'other' sources of info share their knowledge

reply to post by chinawhite


Its located in Russia because it was built there.

The improvements to Akula II are allegedly based largely upon information the Soviets and Russians obtained from Robert Hanssen.

Note that India is actually leasing, not purchasing 2 of these from Russia.

Originally posted by oxillini
The improvements to Akula II are allegedly based largely upon information the Soviets and Russians obtained from Robert Hanssen.

Note that India is actually leasing, not purchasing 2 of these from Russia.

I thought alot of the improvements in Russian/Soviet boats came from informations from John Walker and his son...during thier spy days. Particularly in the arena of noise quieting features.

I can recall many of us working for months and months on critical adjustments to this equipment ...eventually getting pretty good at it. It was very difficult work in very tight quarters to get them set/adjusted correctly and critically. We even learned how to manufacture/modify alot of our own specialty tools to fit in and work in those very tight confines. IT was alot of very hard work and overtime...night after night after night. With enough work we got pretty good at it and became proud of our knowlege/abilitys in this arena. We were proud of the work/problem solving we had done in sending such hard won, hard earned boats to sea. To put it modestly and as civily possible in this type of forum, alot of this hard work, thinkng, and effort was also to make our language abilitys ...quite colourful.
Then the news broke that some spy had given away alot of these secrets to the Soviets, my jaws and the jaws of others on the team were torqued to the max, like the jaws of a set of Vice Grip pliers, when we learned much of this hard work was possibly for naught. This too was to improve our language facultys to the next stage with great and lasting significance.

Nonetheless I and others involved in this work are still pissed about these events. It is alot of very hard specialized work and often in difficult conditions/enviornments to get it correctly done.

Well...without giving away any state secrets...now you know something more about "The Rest of the Story."

Thanks,
Orangetom