The Project 941 Akula (Russian: Акула, lit. 'shark'; NATO reporting name Typhoon) is a retired class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. With a submerged displacement of 48,000 t (47,000 long tons), the Typhoons are the largest submarines ever built, able to accommodate comfortable living facilities for the crew of 160 when submerged for several months. The source of the NATO reporting name remains unclear, although it is often claimed to be related to the use of the word "typhoon" ("тайфун") by General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev of the Communist Party in a 1974 speech while describing a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, as a reaction to the United States Navy's new Ohio-class submarine. The Russian Navy cancelled its modernization program in March 2012, stating that modernizing one Typhoon would be as expensive as building two new Borei-class submarines. A total of six boats of the Typhoon class had been built and a seventh was started but never finished. Three boats were decommissioned in the 1990s and were scrapped in the 2000s, another two were placed in reserve in 2004 and are currently decommissioned. With the announcement that Russia has eliminated the last R-39 Rif (SS-N-20 "Sturgeon") submarine-launched ballistic missiles in September 2012, only one Typhoon remained in service, Dmitry Donskoy, which was refitted with the more modern RSM-56 Bulava SLBM for testing. She continued to serve until February 2023, when she was decommissioned. In March 2025 it was announced that Dmitry Donskoy will be turned into a museum ship in Saint Petersburg.
Description
Soviet – subsequently Russian – nuclear submarines are identified by the letter "K" followed by a number (for example, the lead boat of the Yasen class, the Severodvinsk, is K-560). K stands for Cruiser: (Крейсер). The sheer displacement of the Typhoon-class boats, comparable to several aircraft carrier classes, led to their classification as Heavy Cruisers (Тяжелый Крейсер). Besides their missile armament, the Typhoon class featured six torpedo tubes designed to handle RPK-2 (SS-N-15) missiles or Type 53 torpedoes. A Typhoon-class submarine could stay submerged for 120 days in normal conditions, and potentially more if deemed necessary (e.g., in the case of a nuclear war). Their primary weapons system was composed of 20 R-39 (NATO: SS-N-20) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with a maximum of ten multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle nuclear warheads each. Technically, Typhoons were able to deploy their long-range nuclear missiles while moored at their docks. Typhoon-class submarines featured multiple pressure hulls which simplifies internal design while making the vessel much wider than a normal submarine. In the main body of the sub, two long pressure hulls lie parallel with a third, smaller pressure hull above them (which protrudes just below the sail), and two other pressure hulls for torpedoes and steering gear. This also greatly increases their survivability – even if one pressure hull is breached, the crew members in the other are safe and there is less potential for flooding. Its ballistic missiles were placed between the two main pressure hulls, their launch tubes enclosed only by the outer, "light" hull. The Typhoon was capable of traveling at 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) submerged.
History
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