History of torpedo boats. History of the magazine
The question of the importance of introducing high-speed combat boats into the existing fleet was raised by Soviet sailors during the civil war. Documents have been preserved indicating that in September 1919, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Baltic Fleet turned to the Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic with a request to give an order for the urgent - “even before the onset of winter” - production of torpedo boats at our factories, “since they can provide us with enormous assistance.” . However, the Shipbuilding Directorate was then forced to report that “due to the lack of mechanisms of a special type that have not yet been manufactured in Russia, the construction of a series of similar boats is certainly not feasible.”
During the difficult years of restoring the national economy destroyed by the war, the 10th Congress of the RCP(b) decided to “take measures to revive and strengthen the Red Military Fleet,” and soon the industrialization of the country made it possible to return to the idea of creating “mosquito” vultures. When approving the first military shipbuilding program on November 26, 1926, the Council of Labor and Defense provided for the construction of 36 torpedo boats.
The creators of these very first Soviet-built combat boats had to overcome many difficulties, since pre-revolutionary Russia did not have a production base for the manufacture of light and powerful engines, did not have a single specialized boat-building shipyard, except for the semi-handicraft Petrograd workshop of A. L. Zolotov, which produced small pleasure motorboats based on foreign models. Naturally, the shipbuilders had neither a scientific basis nor experience in designing planing boats.
A solution was found in attracting scientists and aircraft engineers, using the achievements of domestic aerohydrodynamics and the already accumulated experience in designing seaplanes and flying boats. During 1923, a corresponding agreement was reached with the leaders of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute. A group of young TsAGI specialists under the leadership of A. N. Tupolev carried out a large amount of research and development work and in May - August 1925 completed the development of the project for the first coastal torpedo boat "ANT-3". This boat, which later received the name “Pervenets”, was built in the TsAGI workshops in Moscow, launched in Sevastopol and successfully completed tests on July 26, 1927. The “Pervenets”, which laid the foundation for our mosquito fleet, was armed with one 450-millimeter torpedo; two imported Wright-Typhoon engines of 625 hp each. With. provided an unprecedented speed of 54 knots at that time. As A. N. Tupolev noted, the first boat not only justified, but also exceeded the calculations of its creators. Its speed and maneuverability turned out to be much higher than that of the English torpedo boat, captured during the battles with the interventionists in the Caspian Sea and now being tested in parallel with the Firstborn.
Working documentation was developed on the basis of the Pervenets and the next experimental boat ANT-4 (Tupolev). In 1928, at one of the Leningrad shipyards, a special Komsomol youth workshop was organized under the leadership of engineer V. A. Razumov; This team was tasked with organizing the serial construction of the new Sh-4 torpedo boats. We had to start from scratch - with the construction of the building, with familiarization with the technology of assembling riveted aluminum hulls, which was unusual for shipbuilders. Nevertheless, on November 21, the lead boat of the first series already became part of the fleet, and only in 1928-1930. the sailors received 56 combat units of this type. From them our first formations of torpedo boats were formed, which appeared in the Baltic (1928), the Black Sea (1929) and the Pacific Ocean (1932). The boat “Sh-4” carried on its stern not one, but two trough-dropping torpedoes (caliber 450 mm) and, with a displacement of about 10 tons, developed a full speed of 47 knots.
In connection with the adoption by the XVI Party Conference of the first five-year plan for the development of the national economy, the Council of Labor and Defense approved the following military shipbuilding program. This program significantly expanded the fleet construction plans approved earlier. In particular, it was planned to build an additional number of torpedo boats and small submarine hunters. To implement the adopted program, among other measures, the construction of a wooden shipyard, the expansion of duralumin production, the serial production of a domestic boat engine with a reversible clutch (based on the AM-34 aircraft engine), the testing of new torpedo models, etc. were envisaged. .
Already in 1933, it was possible to replace the Sh-4 with the new boat G-5 (planing No. 5), which repeated the contours of its predecessor, but was somewhat larger (14.5 tons) and armed with torpedoes of a larger caliber - 533 mm. These boats, built entirely from domestic materials and equipment, were equipped with two new GAM-34 engines of 850 hp each. With. developed a speed of 48 knots.
Already during the serial production of the G-5, and they were built for more than ten years, both their production technology and design were improved. In particular, a lot of work was done to strengthen the strength of the hull. As a result, the fleet received a significant number of boats that had high combat effectiveness and were superior in their tactical and technical elements to the best foreign models of this type. Of the 269 torpedo boats in our fleet at the beginning of the war, the vast majority were boats of the G-5 type (Sh-4 were already excluded from the lists as obsolete). During the war years, the tactical capabilities of the boats steadily increased: in particular, the armament was increased. They were adapted to carry depth charges and four barrage mines; since 1942, some of the new boats were armed with rocket launchers.
Much credit for mastering the construction of boats of those years belongs to V. M. Burlakov.
Subsequent projects of torpedo boats were developed not by aviation engineers, but by shipbuilders. The designers of the plant producing alloy G-5s also simultaneously designed steel torpedo boats for open naval theaters.
Many boats of various types were created in the pre-war years at the enterprise where E. Ya. Lokshin was the director. Among them, small submarine hunters "MO-4", wooden torpedo boats "D-3", minesweepers, border boats of several types (sea "GK", river "RPK", high-speed "BK-II") became especially famous. , landing boats "KZIS-5".
Among the creators of boats of the pre-war years are engineers Yu. Yu. Benois, L. L. Ermash, G. I. Kitayenko, A. L. Konstantinov, S. V. Pugavko, A. F. Simin, D. A. Chernoguz .
Long-range torpedo boats "D-3", armed with side-dropping yokes, were boats of a fundamentally new type. When developing them, the designers faced the most difficult problem of ensuring the seaworthiness of such a small ship (displacement - 32 tons; length - 21.6 m; width - 3.96 m): it was necessary to create a boat capable of performing combat missions at a considerable distance from its bases. Scientists from Moscow and Leningrad came to the rescue. In record time - less than two years - the first D-3 was designed, built and tested. In April - June 1940, the flag was already raised on it, and after adjusting the drawings, they began to organize its mass production.
When installing three “GAM-34FN” 1200 l. With. the prototype "D-3" developed a speed of 48 knots, achieved by the best foreign models of a comparable type only 15 years later (however, since in the subsequent war years difficulties arose in obtaining aircraft engines of the required power, the speed of a number of production boats was somewhat lower - about 40 knots ). The “D-3” boats were allowed to be used in waves up to 3 points inclusive, but in practice they carried out tasks even in waves of 5-6 points! Their cruising range was 355 miles versus 220 for the G-5. During the war, in addition to two large-caliber DShK machine guns, they began to install a 20-mm Oerlikon cannon. The crew consisted of 9 sailors. Five of these ships were transported to the Northern Fleet in August 1941, where they served as the core of a brigade of torpedo boats that made a worthy contribution to the depot for the defeat of the enemy in Zapopyarye.
The creators of the small hunter had to overcome significant difficulties (sometimes boats of this type were also called “sea” hunters). Here, the difficulty was presented by the fact that, along with the need to provide high and contradictory tactical and technical data, the boat had to “fit” into the dimensions allowed for transportation by rail. As the commander of the Baltic Fleet V.F. Tributs later wrote, “the MO boats built by Soviet shipbuilders turned out to be very successful in design: excellent hull contours provided them with good seaworthiness and survivability, and powerful engines provided excellent maneuverability and high speed.” With a displacement of 56 tons, the wooden MO-4s were armed with two 45-mm semi-automatic rifles, two 12.7-mm machine guns, depth charges, smoke equipment, appropriate communications equipment and sonar equipment. Three engines of 850 hp. With. provided a maximum speed of about 26 knots. In the pre-war years, about 200 boats of this type were built.
Wooden minesweepers "KM-4", widely popular during the war years, with a displacement of 11 tons, were equipped with a boat ladder and armed with one, and later two machine guns; they were powered by two ZIS-5 automobile engines, under which the small and nimble boats developed a speed of 10 knots.
The lead 20-ton boat "BK-11", armed with two 12.7-mm machine guns and depth charges, was considered at that time the fastest patrol boat (40 kts) and was adopted by the Marine Border Guard.
In 1933-1938. projects were developed for the first river armored boats armed with turret-type tank artillery mounts. The Project 1124 armored boat with a displacement of 44 tons was armed with two 76.2 mm gun mounts and several (up to 6) machine guns, with two GAM-34 engines of 850 hp each. With. developed a speed of 21 knots. The Project 1125 armored boat had smaller dimensions (displacement 28 tons) and carried only one tank turret and 2-3 machine guns.
From several hundred combat and auxiliary boats transferred to the Navy, brigades and formations of torpedo boats, patrol boats for guarding the water area, armored boats, and minesweepers were created in all four of our fleets; the tactics of their combat use were worked out. Thus, in the pre-war period, in accordance with the decisions of the party and government, the Soviet people created a powerful mosquito fleet.
During the difficult years of the Great Patriotic War, the replenishment of the fleet occurred mainly due to boats coming from rear enterprises, since some of the shipbuilding factories that found themselves in the war zone ceased production. However, even in Leningrad, in the difficult conditions of the blockade, the construction of torpedo boats “D-3”, small hunters “MO-4” and “MO-DZ”, minesweepers “KM-4” continued, and emergency repairs of boats of units of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet were carried out. Only in 1941-1943. Leningraders handed over 65 new torpedo boats to the sailors. On instructions from the command, the designers of the Admiralty Plant in 1942 developed a project for an armored sea hunter in a month and a half, and soon the fleet began to receive shallow-draft “sea tanks” armed with two turrets with 85 mm guns. In 1943, 143 new warships were laid down in Leningrad; the vast majority of them were boats.
In the very first months of the war, the government adopted the Military Economic Plan, which provided for the relocation of the defense industry to the eastern regions of the country. In particular, the task was set to organize the production of new types of hunters, armored boats and torpedo boats in the rear areas.
Based on equipment evacuated from a number of factories, a new enterprise was organized in Siberia. The machines were installed in dilapidated barns, or even right in the open air. Almost from the first day of the existence of this enterprise (director V.V. Evgrafoa, chief engineer V.M. Burlakov) the completion of the G-5 boats, arriving with trains coming from the west, began. The first ready-made boats, equipped with Katyusha rockets, were transferred to the Volga and took part in the Battle of Stalingrad. The designers worked out the documentation for the serial production of the 23-ton torpedo boat of the Komsomolets type, which was tested back in 1940, armed with tube torpedo tubes, and the construction of a new type of boat immediately began. This is a great merit of such engineers, craftsmen and boat builders as R. I. Agadzhanov, A. A. Aladin, S. V. Vasiliev, D. N. Dvortsov, S. S. Koryak, E. P. Kotov, A. I. Kruchinin, A. G. Madera, P. I. Murzov, I. A. Novikov, D. D. Soloukhin, A. I. Sukin, V. A. Sychev, V. A. Tambovsky, A. F. Tansky, V. M. Trofimov, B. F. Shaposhnikov, E. I. Yukhnin.
A large group of workers and boat building engineers evacuated from Leningrad served as the core of the team at another rear plant, which, in no less difficult conditions, laid down the D-3 torpedo boats in January 1942. Subsequently, at the same enterprise, in record time, for the first time in the country, the flow-position method of assembling hunting boats of a new type was used. Serial production of armored boats has been launched at several peripheral factories.
It remains to add that of the nearly 900 combat boats created during the harsh years of the war, over 150 were built with money raised by the working people of the country; many of them bore names assigned at the request of the groups that transferred funds. Among the very first such ships was the torpedo boat "TK-106", armed with a rocket launcher, which entered service at the beginning of 1943 under the name "Moscow Craftsman of Labor Reserves". At the final stage of the war, these were often large combat boats like the 240-ton seaworthy large hunter Kirovets.
In the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet mosquito fleet played an important role, participating in combat operations as part of all fleets and flotillas, on many fronts and directions. Formations of torpedo boats fought over 200 battles, destroyed and damaged more than 250 enemy warships and transports with a total displacement of over 260 thousand tons. The enemy lost tens of thousands of soldiers and officers and a huge amount of equipment from torpedo strikes by boats. Boats provided invaluable assistance during landings and support of advancing army units. For outstanding services to the Motherland, for mass heroism and selfless perseverance, courage and combat activity, 68 sailors and boat officers were awarded the high title of Heroes of the Soviet Union; Severomorsk A. O. Shabalin, who fought on a D-3 type boat, received this title twice. A large number of formations of combat boats were awarded orders, many were awarded honorary titles of guards.
We can say that torpedo boats were the last to end the war: on May 9, 1945, six D-3s under the command of E.V. Ossetsky landed troops on Bornholm, torpedo boats broke into Libau, attacked enemy convoys...
Not only torpedo boats, but also, for example, small hunters, deserved high praise from the command. Not a single combat operation could take place without them. Noting the combat activities of the Northern Fleet OVR ships, the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov, praised ships of this type, figuratively calling them “true workers of the sea.” Admiral V.F. Tributs notes in his memoirs that the hunters were “leaders of a small naval war.”
Thus, veterans remember that during the evacuation of Hanko, these boats crossed the Gulf of Finland during 7- or even 8-point autumn storms, although previously it was believed that with waves of more than 4 points they could not be released from the base. Just one example: the MO-124 boat, built in 1940, participated in the Great Patriotic War from the first to the last day. Over the years, he sailed 24 thousand miles and was on patrol for 490 days. Dry numbers speak eloquently about the nature of the combat use of ships of this class: this hunter alone accompanied 45 convoys, sank 3 submarines, participated in 22 battles with enemy boats and repelled 345 air raids, 9 times went behind enemy lines to land troops or sabotage groups, placed 75 mines on Nazi communications, destroyed 40 mines on the route of their ships.
The merits of minesweeper boats are significant. Day and night, under enemy bombs and shells, the “kaemki” cleared the fairways for submarines and surface ships going to sea. “We valued the dangerous work of sea plowmen,” notes V.F. Tributs, “to the same extent as the combat labor of submariners, pilots and boat crews.”
The famous “river tanks” - armored boats, which began their combat journey from Stalingrad, ended with their participation in the assault on Berlin. Here, on the Spree River, the sailors who fought on open “semi-glider” boats also stood out. In less than three days on April 23-25 of the victorious 1945, a detachment of “half-gliders” transferred over 16 thousand soldiers, 600 guns and 27 tanks to the western bank of the Spree.
The war has died down. And as a memory of the national feat, the once formidable combat boats froze on the pedestals of glory. Such monuments can be seen today not only in the squares of maritime hero cities, but also in former “rear” cities far from the seas, near factories that have long been producing peaceful products. The glory of the boat sailors is rightfully shared by the workers, who in the difficult conditions of the war years, through selfless labor, brought closer the day of the complete defeat of the enemy!
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the development of our fleet followed the path of further improvement of ships based on generalizing the experience of combat operations and using the latest achievements of scientific and technological progress. In the first post-war decade, torpedo boats of several types were created, including long-range boats, hunters and armored boats of new types, which were equipped with proven and mastered production M-50 diesel engines, modern radar systems and increasingly effective weapons, the latest navigation equipment and automation equipment. Already at the end of the 40s, the first production boats built according to post-war projects entered the fleets. They differed from their predecessors primarily in their larger displacement, increased cruising range and higher seaworthiness. One of the creators of the boats of those years were talented engineers P. G. Goinkis and E. I. Yukhnin.
Scientific and technological progress in the second half of the 50s had a decisive influence on the development of combat weapons and caused a technical revolution in naval affairs. Of particular importance was the emergence of missile weapons, high-power and light power plants.
The Soviet fleet became the first fleet in the world to adopt missile-carrying boats. Their appearance marked the beginning of the development of essentially a new class of warships. In the distant Past, Russian sailors and engineers were the creators of mine boats - prototypes of torpedo boats; Now our country has become the homeland of the missile-carrying boat.
As the foreign press noted, the display of relatively small, maneuverable and high-speed missile boats at the parade on USSR Navy Day in 1961 meant that the USSR had solved the problem of creating such boats almost ten years earlier than in the fleets of Western countries (To be honest, the Swiss magazine “Aviation and Navies in the World” wrote about this twice - in 1970 and 1976).
In the 60s The foundations of the modern nuclear missile Navy of the USSR were laid, in which all classes of surface and submarine ships, all combat weapons created on the basis of the scientific and technological revolution received proportional development. Let us emphasize that rocket ships are a qualitatively new class of ships. Modern radio electronics enable them to reliably detect and destroy enemy surface ships and aircraft from long distances with guided missiles. Their high speed and long cruising range allow them to deliver sudden attacks at great distances from our coast.
The development and production of new types of ships and weapons, power plants and complex instruments required high creative inspiration and the heroic work of scientists, designers, and workers. In 1963 alone, 6,000 people were awarded orders and medals for their services in the creation of new types of weapons and ships equipped with missile weapons; 36 of them were awarded the highest labor honor of the Motherland - the title of Hero of Socialist Labor. A number of factories, research institutes and design bureaus were awarded orders.
Soviet boat builders are doing everything to ensure that our new ships continue to be the best in the world, so that the fleet receives large and small boats of all purposes and classes, including patrol and anti-submarine boats, river artillery armored boats, border interceptor boats and hydrofoils.
Cutter sailors tirelessly master complex combat equipment, persistently and creatively practice the most effective tactics for using the most formidable weapons in the conditions of fast-paced modern combat. Our glorious Navy, a stronghold of the peaceful labor of the Soviet people, celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution with patriotic deeds, increased combat readiness, and vigilantly guards the maritime borders of the Motherland.
Notes 1. It is interesting to note that one of the initiators of the tradition of collecting money for the construction of ships was V.V. Mayakovsky: at his suggestion, on January 3, 1930, the Komsomol Central Committee decided to raise funds for the creation of the Komsomolets submarine (Shch-304 "). During the war, the writer Leonid Sobolev donated the State Prize he received for the construction of the “Sea Soul” hunter. Literature used- 1. Central State Administration of the Navy, fund 360, on. 1, case 142, l. 51, 59.
- 2. G. A. Ammon, S. S. Berezhnoy, The first Soviet torpedo boats (“Shipbuilding”, 1976, No. 11).
- 3. Courses of valor and glory. The combat path of torpedo boats of the Soviet Navy, M., Voenizdat, 1975.
- 4. V. S. Shlomin, Soviet shipbuilding on the eve of the Great Patriotic War (“Shipbuilding”, 1972, No. 2).
- 5. G. Sharov, Leningraders and Baltic people are a single force (“Morskoy sbornik”, 1975, No. 5).
- 6. O. F. Yakob, Shipyards of Leningrad during the blockade (“Shipbuilding”, 1973, No. 2).
- 7. N. Voznesensky, Military economy of the USSR during the Patriotic War. M., 1948.
- 8. 9. S. Berezhnoy, Everything for the front! (“Sea collection”, 1976, N9 3).
- 10. V. Grinkevich, When the Baltic Sea was Burning, Tallinn, 1975.
- 11. I. Plekhov, S. Khvatov, Dnieper sailors in the battles for Berlin (“Sea collection”, 1973, No. 5).
- 12. “Sea collection”, 1977, N2 4, p. 112.
- 13. Combat path of the Soviet Navy, M., Voenizdat, 1974.
The RT-109 torpedo boat was manufactured at a shipyard in New Jersey in June 1942. On July 20, the boat was included in the US Navy. An ordinary boat, he was seventh in this series. Subsequently, it will go down in history as a warship commanded by the future 35th US President J.F. Kennedy.
Initially, the boat was sent to Panama, where it was included in the 5th squadron of small torpedo boats. And already at the end of October 1942, the RT-109 and several other boats of this series were transported to the Pacific Ocean, where battles were taking place between the Japanese and the Allies.
The boat became part of the 2nd Flotilla stationed at Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. The islands themselves had only recently been recaptured from the Japanese by American Marines. The first battle for the ship's crew took place on the night of December 7-8 near Guadalcanal. Then an attack was carried out on a Japanese convoy. The result of this attack was not successful; the RT-59 boat was damaged. Four days later, RT-109 took part in a joint attack on the Japanese destroyer Terutsuki, which was sunk. The squadron then lost the torpedo boat RT-44. The RT-109 was commanded at that time by Lieutenant Westholm Rollins. At the beginning of January, the boat participated in several more combat episodes as part of the squadron. On January 2, the ship was fired upon by a Japanese plane, although without serious losses. On January 9, an ammunition depot near one of the beaches of the island was shelled and partially destroyed. Guadalcanal. On January 11, a squadron of 9 boats attacked Japanese ships off Cape Esperance. Then the destroyer Hatsukaze was damaged, although the unit lost MTK RT-112, RT-43 was seriously damaged.
On April 24, 1943, a new commander, the future US President D. Kennedy, appeared on the RT-109. The Battle of Guadalcanal ended and the Japanese had by that time been pushed back to the northern Solomon Islands. By that time, the main task of the boat's crew was to participate in patrol operations and transport supplies for the troops.
J. Kennedy on RT-109.
On August 1, 1943, RT-109 went to sea as part of a squadron of 12 boats to patrol the area near Kolombangaro Island. Having not met the enemy, 9 out of 12 boats departed back to base. Well, at about 2 o’clock in the morning on August 2, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri appeared. At full speed, he rammed the RT-109, which was literally split into two parts by the impact.
destroyer of the Imperial Japanese Navy "Amagiri".
A fire broke out on the boat, and the crew found themselves literally in burning water. Two sailors were killed. The rest of the crew concentrated near the bow of the ship, spending several hours in the water. Kennedy himself hoped that the crews of the remaining two boats would come to their aid, but this did not happen. Then it was decided to swim to the nearest island. They reached it without loss. At the same time, Kennedy himself was also dragging the burnt mechanic, holding him by the life jacket belt with his teeth for four hours.
On the island, the surviving crew of 11 people unsuccessfully tried for several days to make themselves known, having only a captured flashlight and a pistol with several cartridges. On the island they were lucky, they found a Japanese box with crackers and sweets. Also found on the island was a boat that belonged to the local natives and a barrel of water. Kennedy, using a boat, began to move between small islands and eventually discovered a local resident. This happened on August 5th. He carved a message on a coconut peel with a knife: “... we are 11 survivors, we need a small boat. Kennedy." The native conveyed the message. On the evening of August 6, the RT-157 boat arrived to pick up the surviving crew members of the RT-109. There were two war correspondents on board, who wrote a report about the lost boat. Kennedy became a hero, which later to some extent helped him win the presidential election.
One day, during the election campaign, Kennedy accidentally met one of the crew members of two other boats carrying out a patrol mission on that fateful night of August 1, 1943. The future president asked this man one question: “Why didn’t you come?”
The crew of the boat RT-109. Lieutenant D. Kennedy stands on the right.
A landing boat is the younger brother of a warship (), designed to transport military equipment and drop off amphibious assault forces. It is so convenient that it is included in the main ones. Its history of creation is connected with the fact that in the First World War, ships could hardly approach unequipped shores for the transfer of personnel and weapons. Therefore, after the war, representatives of the fleet began to think about creating special watercraft that could deliver combat cargo and soldiers to the shore without a pier or other means necessary for berthing. So, in the late 1930s, British designers designed a combat boat of the MLC type. Subsequently, the spread of the boat to other countries changed its name. In Germany it was called a sea landing barge. Britain designated it as a mechanized landing craft, and in the United States the boat was called an auxiliary landing craft. This did not change the essence of the floating craft. Already by the beginning of the Second World War, almost all the main participating countries had a boat of this type in their fleets. For the Soviet Union, the project became possible only in the post-war years.
Landing capabilitiesThe reinforced hull, shallow draft and flat bottom of the boat make it possible to refloat without any help. It is relatively small in size and quite mobile. Due to its characteristics, it can easily approach the very shore in shallow water or swim into hard-to-reach places on the coast, for example, hidden beaches or coves. This allows you to land amphibious assault groups and weapons without giving away your location.
Mobile ships can transport 1-2 tanks or up to 7 armored vehicles. Or it can carry up to 200 armed Marines.
Objectives and range of applicationsLanding craft are designed for operational sea transportation and landing on coasts that are not equipped with special berths, landing troops and military equipment. These could be tanks, armored vehicles, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery units. The fleet also uses boats in a supply role. Ships can supply food, weapons, communications and other things necessary for uninterrupted life or in battle to the military located on the shore. Landing boats operate both independently and in conjunction with large or universal landing ships. They are transported by large special purpose vessels and released into the water near the site of the operation. The boats drop troops with fire support from aviation and warships.
Landing boats have three main subtypes, which determine their operating principle:
As a rule, such boats are small-sized vessels and have an open hold. The nose is equipped with a special device for loading and unloading military equipment and infantrymen - a ramp. This platform is a mechanized ramp with the ability to lower to the surface and rise back, closing the ship's hold. At the rear of the boat there is an engine room and a transport control room. The design is designed in such a way that a boat, when it gets aground, can get off it without the help of auxiliary equipment.
There are few defensive weapons on board. Usually this is a man-portable anti-aircraft missile system and small arms of the crew. The boats are often equipped with heavy machine guns for additional fire support. For example, on the Dugong boat, an MPTU-1 ship-mounted machine gun mount with a 14.5 mm machine gun is installed on the air cavity. "Scat" - a hovercraft armed with four 30-mm BP-30 "Plamya" grenade launchers and two 7.62-mm Kalashnikov machine guns. Project 02510 landing boats are equipped with one 12.7 mm machine gun or one 40 mm grenade launcher, and also carry 7.62 mm machine guns and 4 sea mines. American landing craft are primarily armed with two 12.7 mm M2 machine guns. And the LCAC hovercraft is equipped with a Marconi LN-66 b navigation system and two M-2HB machine guns. The average crew size is up to 8 people.
Weaknesses and strengths of landing boatsLanding craft have a number of strengths and weaknesses. The strong ones include:
- The mobility and design of the boats make it possible to sail to hard-to-reach unequipped shores
- The hull of the boat is designed in such a way that it allows it to refloat independently.
- A hovercraft can move and transport cargo on any surface: swamp, tundra, snow and ice, sand and shallow water.
- High carrying capacity allows you to accommodate heavy vehicles, weapons, food or a large number of soldiers.
- The high speed of hovercraft makes it possible to quickly transport cargo or personnel and just as quickly move away from dangerous shores.
- Some large boats, such as the Murena and Zubr, have powerful weapons and provide fire support and lay sea mines.
- They can work in winter and summer without loss of efficiency.
There are also weaknesses:
- The majority of boats have insufficient weapons to repel enemy attacks, so they need additional fire support from other ships.
- Boats are not able to overcome high waves and obstacles.
The power plant depends on the type of vessel and the country of manufacture. Typically, vehicles equipped with a cushion, the Russian Kalmar model, are equipped with two gas turbines of the AL-20K model with two propellers, which are mounted on top of the boat. And the American version of the LCAC is powered by four Allied-Signal TF-40B gas turbine engines. This powerful propulsion system allows for speeds of up to 55 knots.
Displacement ships and cavernous ships have 1 to 2 diesel engines. The propellers are under water and have separately controlled rotary nozzles installed on them. Their number, as a rule, corresponds to the number of engines. And the speed ranges from 8 to 11 knots. There is also a water jet type of propeller system. Its force is generated by pushing a powerful jet of water out of the pump. Such a propulsion system is installed on the landing craft on the air cavern “Serna”, with two M503A diesel engines.
Combat useThe maneuverability, speed and mobility of the boats have allowed them to participate in a large number of military operations since their introduction. They served not only as landing craft, but also as supplies for other ships and maritime patrols.
Boats of the LCM-2 type were actively used during the Second World War off the coast of Sicily and North Africa. In landing operations near the Solomon Islands. A large number of ships were involved in Operation Neptune in Normandy.
In the winter of 1945, LCVP boats were used for landings off the coast of Japan. And in the spring of the same year, American LCM-5s in the “Ruhr Operation” on the Rhine.
And in the 50s. last century, after the war, the evacuation of American soldiers from the territory of North Korea was carried out, in which about 200 ships participated. Among them were landing boats.
History of creation
Despite the notable successes of torpedo boats during the First World War, naval theorists of the interwar period characterized them as a coastal weapon for a weak defender. There were reasons for this. The famous British 55-foot Thorneycroft boats were very imperfect in terms of reliability and fire and explosion safety. In the 1920s, most countries of the world (with the possible exception of the USSR and Italy) either stopped development in this area of weapons or did not start them at all.
Things were different in post-Versailles Germany. Strict restrictions on the number of ships of all types, including torpedo ships, forced the Germans to look for a way out of the situation. The text of the Versailles Treaty did not say anything regarding the class of torpedo boats - they were neither prohibited nor permitted. The creation of a mosquito fleet would be fully consistent with the defensive orientation of the German naval doctrine of that time, which saw France and its allied Poland as the main enemy of the Reich. However, the admirals of the Weimar Republic decided to proceed cautiously. The first steps were the acquisition in 1923 of three old Kaisersmarine torpedo boats (LM -20, LM -22, LM -23) and the organization of the so-called “Hansean School of Yachtsmen” and the “German High Seas Sports Society”. Under these screens courses of technical specialists were hidden, and a year later small design bureaus were created within them. Already by 1926, the “yachtsmen’s school” had eight boats in service (all of them of old construction), the personnel of which devoted a lot of time to practicing the tactics of night torpedo strikes (although the devices themselves were not on the boats at that time).
By the end of the decade, the basic tactical and technical requirements for new boat projects were developed. The main ones are the bow arrangement of two tube torpedo tubes, 40-knot speed and low silhouette. The relatively low speed requirements for the German “mosquitoes”, compared to the rare torpedo boats built in other countries, were probably influenced by German naval doctrine. In accordance with its provisions, the main task of torpedo ships was to strike at superior enemy forces in the dark. In night operations based on surprise, speed receded into the background, in contrast, for example, to the Soviet concept of a “combined strike,” which considered the highest priority to be the speed data required to conduct daytime attacks on enemy ships at mine and artillery positions.
The first experimental “torpedo bombers”, improved designs of Thornycroft, built on a competitive basis by various German companies, turned out to be unsuccessful. The military was not satisfied with speed, strength, seaworthiness, or all at the same time. A radically new project was needed.
The first boat that interested the maritime department was submitted by F. Lürssen for testing in 1929. The prototype for it was the boat “Lucy 1”, created at the end of the First World War. The designers set out to create a displacement round-chine boat with a low deadrise and a displacement increased to 51.5 tons. Moderate speed requirements allowed them to abandon a number of dubious “innovations” - such as redan, duralumin hull and trough torpedo tubes. The Torpedo Bomber was equipped with three Daimler-Benz gasoline engines of 900 hp each. With. and one 100-horsepower economic engine. Although she managed to reach a speed of only 34.2 knots during testing, her seaworthiness and cruising range turned out to be quite acceptable. The armament consisted of two bow torpedo tubes (initially 500 mm, then 533 mm) with two spare torpedoes and an anti-aircraft machine gun, soon replaced by a 20 mm automatic cannon. Having entered service in the Reichsmarine in 1930, it changed its designation three times at yearly intervals: first UZ(S)-16, then W-1 and finally S-1 (Schnellboot - fast boat). It was he who was destined to become the founder of the Schnellbot family.
The S-2, S-3 and S-4 ordered a year later had almost the same characteristics (with the exception of the engines - the total power of the latter was increased to 3300 hp). However, this did not provide a significant increase in speed. At speeds close to maximum, the bow of the boat came out of the water, the sides washed out, and strong splash resistance arose. A possible 36.5 knots could only be achieved using the so-called “Lurssen effect”, which consisted of installing small additional rudders in the water flows moving from each propeller (for the central propeller, the main rudder was used, set in the neutral position). Experiments revealed that the optimal position was to turn each of the auxiliary rudders by 15 - 18° towards the side relative to the normal. The increase in speed in this case could be up to two knots, and subsequently auxiliary rudders became an integral part of the design of “schnellboats” until the end of the war.
The Germans considered the use of gasoline engines on warships to be an undesirable but necessary measure, and therefore, as soon as progress was made in the creation of light and compact diesel engines, an order for the S-6 boat followed. No matter how hard the designers tried to lighten the weight of the structure, the installation of three 1320-horsepower MAN engines automatically raised the maximum displacement of the vessel to 85 tons. The speed, compared to the previous project, decreased and amounted to only 32 knots (without the use of the “Lursen effect”). The disappointed sailors were already seriously thinking about returning to gasoline engines, and only the personal intervention of the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Raeder, saved the situation.
After working out the optimal contours of the hull (in the bow it was given sharp-cheeked contours, which then turned into an almost flat bottom) and the shape of the propellers, a series of seven diesel boats was ordered: three of them (S-7 - S-9) retained MAN engines. and four (S -10 - S -13) received three MB-502 Daimler-Benz diesel engines of almost the same power. All Schnellbots entered service in 1934-1935. While the boats were being built, bench tests revealed the distinctive features of diesel engines from competing companies. The lighter and more compact MAN also turned out to be more capricious. The sailors were alarmed by its high temperature parameters, loud noise, and the size of the exhaust cloud. Daimler-Benz did not suffer from these shortcomings, but required a larger engine compartment, and boats equipped with these engines were 6 tons heavier (92 instead of 86), and their speed was 1.5 knots less (35 instead of 36.5) .
Hoping that MAN would be able to improve its diesel engines, the Kriegsmarine management ordered a new series of boats (S-14 - S-17) with three 2050 hp engines in 1934-1935. A feature of the new “schnellboats” was the increase in fuel reserves from 7 - 7.5 to 13 tons, since the military put forward a requirement to increase the cruising range to 900-1000 miles at a 20-knot speed. When calculating, it was taken into account that the boats had to cover the distance from the base on the island of Borkum to the French port of Boulogne or from Swinemünde to the Bay of Danzig.
It was never possible to develop the Manovsky diesel engines, so when at the end of 1936 it was the turn to order new boats, the choice fell on a project with Daimler-Benz engines. The engineers of this company were able to develop a new diesel engine, MV-501, with a power of 2000 hp. The S-18 and S-19, which entered service in July and October 1938, finally completely satisfied the customers and were recommended for mass production.
Despite the obvious approach of a new world war, the deployment of the German mosquito fleet was extremely slow: six units were ordered in 1937, and twelve units in 1938 ( At the end of 1936 - beginning of 1937, the first six Schnellbots were sold to the Spanish Nationalist fleet. In addition, in the pre-war period, thirteen boats were built at the Lurssen shipyards for foreign fleets: three for China (1936-1937), eight for Yugoslavia (1936-1938) and two for Bulgaria ( 1939; two more Bulgarian boats were under construction at the beginning of the war). Export “schnellboats” were nothing more than a modification of the S-2 project. It is interesting to note that the Yugoslav boats were equipped with gasoline engines and Italian weapons, while the “Bulgarians” were equipped with diesel engines and German weapons. Six Yugoslav Lurssen captured by the Italians were the progenitors of a large series of MS torpedo boats). In the construction of the S-26 series, which began in 1938, the last major changes were made to the design of the Schnellboats. Thus, a forecastle appeared between the torpedo tubes and the wheelhouse. This increased the seaworthiness of the boats and protected the torpedo tubes from water, and it also became possible to place a second 20-mm gun in the hatch turret behind the stem. Of all the boats ordered before September 1939, only four units managed to enter service. The main reason was the shortage of MV-501 diesel engines.
With the outbreak of World War II, the German naval leadership tried to replenish the ranks of its mosquito fleet as quickly as possible. In addition to the Lürssen company, the Schlisting shipyard in Travermünde began their construction. In total, by the end of 1939, orders were placed for 24 large boats with MV-501 engines and 8 small ones with MV-502 engines. However, the Germans had to face unforeseen circumstances. The Daimler-Benz factories were inundated with orders from the Luftwaffe, and the plant in Stuttgart dedicated to the production of marine diesel engines did not have enough equipment to manufacture long and complex crankshafts. Thus, in the last four months of 1939, 5 diesel engines were produced, and in 1940, only 33 diesel engines were produced. During the same time, 9 new boats of the S-26 and S-38 series entered service. It is not difficult to guess that the problem of providing spare engines was quite acute for the Germans, and considerations of saving engine life had a strong impact on the methods of warfare - after 400 hours of operation, the engines had to undergo a major overhaul, which took eight weeks.
In 1940, an order followed for 29 boats, and the next year for another 40. Meanwhile, the situation with the production of diesel engines did not improve. In his report made in December 1941, the commander of the destroyers, Captain zur See Butow, reported to his superiors that due to the lack of engines, 4 Schnellboats could not be repaired since June. It was possible to cope with the situation only by the end of 1942, when the rate of engine production reached 18 units per month. At the same time, in order to create a supply of reserve engines, the Kriegsmarine command limited itself to ordering only 16 boats.
In January 1943, the new fleet commander, Admiral Dönitz, came to the right conclusion that the Schnellbots were the only class of Kriegsmarine surface ships that continued to actively fight the enemies of the Reich at sea. The fleet construction program adopted in 1943 for the next five years provided for the commissioning of nine torpedo boats every month, or 108 units per year. Already in the first half of the year, orders were issued for another 60 “schnellboats”, and the orders made in December for 1944 represented a huge figure - 279 “torpedo bombers” (however, the order for 114 of them was later cancelled). From the end of 1943, the Lürssen and Schlisting companies were assisted by the so-called Carriage Works in Danzig, which was to quickly master the production of boats with MB-518 engines. The figure of “nine per month” was achieved only once - in August 1944. At the same time, the production of Schnellbots significantly exceeded the losses, and until the summer of 1944 their number grew.
The failure to fulfill the plan for commissioning torpedo boats was explained not only by the bombing of factories by Allied aircraft. This was facilitated by Dönitz himself, who did not allocate enough people to staff the mosquito fleet - the bulk of the replenishment was absorbed by the submarine fleet. The lack of trained crews forced, from mid-1943, to keep a significant number of serviceable boats in training units and in reserve. On November 1 of the same year, the number of “schnellboats” outside the combat flotillas was 22 units with a total number of 91, and on June 1, 1944 - 45 out of 111. A definite solution to this situation was the sale of some of the boats to the allies. According to the decision made in mid-1944, four Schnellbots were to join the fleets of Finland and Romania, but the almost simultaneous surrender of both Nazi satellites crossed out the plans. During the war, only Spain managed to obtain six Lursens, sold to it in the summer of 1943.
Tactical and Technical Elements of German torpedo boats built 1930 - 1945.
|
S-1 |
S-2 - S-5 |
S-6 - S-9 |
S-10 - S-13 |
S-14 - S-17 |
S-18 - S-25 |
S-30 - S-37, S-54 - S-61 |
S-26 - S-29, S-38 - S-53, S-62 - S-138 |
S-139 - S-150, S-167 - S-169, S-171 - S-227, |
S-170, S-228, S-301, S-307 |
S-701 - S-709 |
|
|
Year of entry into service |
1930 |
1932 |
1933 - 1935 |
1935 |
1937 - 1939 |
1938 -1939 |
1939 - 1941 |
1940 - 1943 |
1943-1945 |
1944 - 1945 |
1944 - 1945 |
|
Displacement standard/ full, t |
39,8/51,6 |
46,5/58 |
75,8/86 |
75,6/92 |
92,5/105,4 |
92,5/112 |
78,9/100; For S-54 - S-61 - 82/102 |
92,5/112 |
100/117; c S-171 -105/122; with S-219 - 107/124 |
99/121 |
99/121 |
|
Length, m |
26,85 |
27,94 |
32,36 |
32,36 |
34,62 |
34,62 |
32,76 |
34,94 |
34,94(?) |
34,94(7) |
34,94(?) |
|
Width, m |
4,37 |
4,46 |
5,06 |
5,06 |
5,26 |
5,26 |
5,06 |
5,28 |
5,28 |
5,28 |
5,28 |
|
Draft, m |
1,40 |
1,45 |
1,36 |
1,42 |
1,67 |
1,67 |
1,47 |
1,67 |
1,67 |
1,67 |
1,67 |
|
Type of main engines, total power, hp. |
Benz. D.B. BFz 2700 |
Benz. D.B. BFz 3000 |
Dis. MAN L7 Zu 19/30 3960 |
Dis. D.B. MV-502 3960 |
Dis. MAN L11 Zu 19/30 6150 |
Dis. D.B. MV-501 6000 |
Dis. D.B. MV-502 3960 |
Dis. D.B. MV-501 6000 |
Dis. D.B. MV-511 7500 |
Dis. D.B. MV-518 9000 |
Dis. D.B. MV-511 7500 |
|
Speed, knots |
34,2 |
33,8 |
36,5 |
39,8 |
43,6 |
||||||
|
Cruising range, miles/knot. |
350/30 |
582/20 |
600/30 |
600/30 |
500/32 |
700/35 |
800/30 |
700/35 |
700/35 |
780/35 |
700/35 |
|
Fuel reserve, t |
10,5 |
10,5 |
13,3 |
13,3 |
13,3 |
13,5 |
13,3 |
15,7 |
13,5 |
||
|
Design |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
2 TA, |
4 TA, |
|
weapons |
1 - 20 mm |
1 - 20 mm |
1 - 20 mm |
1 - 20 mm |
1 - 20 mm |
1 - 20 mm |
1 - 20 mm |
2 - 20 mm |
2 - 20 mm; cS-171- 2-30 mm; with S-219- 6 - 30 mm |
6 - 30 mm |
6 - 30 mm |
|
Crew (officers), people |
12(1) |
12-14(1) |
12(1) |
18 - 23(1) |
24 - 30 (1) |
20 - 23(1) |
24-30(1) |
24 (1) or 31(2) |
24 (1) or 31(2) |
24 (1) or 31(2) |
24(1) or 31(2) |
Notes: 1. The number of engines on all boats is 3, the caliber of torpedo tubes is 533 mm.
2. All boats were built by Lürssen, with the exception of: S -109- S -133, S -187- S -194, S -219- S -228 (Schlichting shipyard); S-709 (car factory in Danzig).
