Few NATO intelligence analysts could peek into the Iron Curtain and live to tell the
tale.
Nevertheless, CIA operatives continuously spied on the latest Soviet developments and
shared their findings with the Pentagon.
In mid-1969, a team of operatives made a unique discovery while passing through the Neva River.
They spotted a small, modern submarine tied up at Leningrad's old Sudomekh Submarine Shipyard.
The submarine was over 79 meters in length and had a unique streamlined hull that featured
a peculiar attribute - it was highly reflective.
As the days went by, the CIA concluded the Soviets had achieved the unthinkable: they
had developed the world's smallest submarine, made entirely of titanium, making it lighter
and three times stronger than conventional steel submarines.
The analysts knew that taking down the Soviet's titanium submarine at sea would be no easy
feat.
No US torpedo possessed the necessary capacity or speed to destroy it.
Unfortunately, they were right...
The Golden Fish
The Soviet Navy had humble beginnings after the Russian Civil War.
During World War 2, it merely served as a coastal defense force against the powerful
Kriegsmarine warships and u-boat fleets.
Nevertheless, it quickly expanded once the war ended and the borders were drawn between
the Western powers and the vast Soviet Union.
The power of the atom led to the American development of nuclear-powered submarines.
The Soviet Navy struggled to catch up with the US, but it quickly grew into a formidable
bluewater navy and became the second most powerful in the world.
Although the Soviets did not follow the US Navy's practice of building submarines by
incorporating cutting-edge technologies in large production models, they made them up
in large numbers.
In the late 1950s, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and
the country’s Council of Ministers issued several directives for developing several
high-speed submarine designs with time-tested capabilities.
Some of these designs were Project 661, or the Papa-class submarine, and Projects 651
and 659, purpose-built conventionally powered guided missile submarines, designated Juliett
and Echo by NATO.
Another, was Project 705, which was the designation for the development of a 1,500-ton interceptor
submarine capable of speeds of at least 40 knots to attack American aircraft carriers.
Project 705
Project 705 Lira envisioned two objectives the Soviet Union pursued.
First, the Soviet Navy sought a design which could turn the tide of naval warfare in the
Arctic and the North Atlantic against the United States and its allies.
Secondly, the USSR wanted to push technological development forward to develop new assets
that could be employed in the future for the more powerful underwater craft.
Besides the challenging technical capabilities of the new submarine, the Soviets also sought
to employ titanium alloy for the design to reduce the weight and thickness of the hull.
Additionally, titanium would provide a stronger internal and external hull with higher corrosion
resistance.
The result would be a small, versatile, and fast submarine design never seen before.
But it was not going to be easy; working with titanium was new for Soviet engineers.
Previous designs used steel and aluminum, which were easier to work with.
Producing large titanium alloy components would require new manufacturing processes
that would take years to develop.
MG Rusanov proposed the design in late 1957.
Work began in 1960 in Leningrad after the SKB-143 design bureau was assigned the project.
Several specialists were consulted about the project's feasibility and due to its innovative
objectives and requirements, they decided to greenlight it.
The Alfa-Class
The submarine design was revisited several times to make it achievable.
In 1963, the displacement was increased from 1,500 to 2,300 tons, doubling the number of
internal compartments to six and allowing a maximum crew of 29.
Besides the speed capabilities that called for a lighter design and minimal displacement,
new requirements were also issued and added, such as a reduced crew and low detectability.
Production of Project 705 officially began in 1964 at Leningrad.
The lead boat of the class was K-64 and was commissioned in 1971.
During these years, undercover American intelligence agents closely followed the Soviet development
of the program.
In late 1969, agents walking along the Neva River first noticed a new vessel in the Sudomekh
Submarine Shipyard in Leningrad.
Senior submarine analyst Herb Lord soon realized the Soviets were building a nuclear-powered
attack submarine with new features.
CIA operatives and engineers estimated its length to be about 80 meters, a surfaced displacement
of around 2,600 tons, and a submerged displacement of roughly 3,700 tons.
The agents also noted the submarine had a unique-looking streamlined hull form and a
high reserve buoyancy of around 30 percent, which greatly contrasted with the average
eight to 11 percent of US Navy submarines.
If that was not enough, it was the world's smallest nuclear submarine ever developed.
There was no doubt it was a new Soviet submarine.
It quickly received the NATO classification Alfa Class SSN.
A Reflective Submarine
During the next months, CIA operatives continued to analyze the Alfa-class submarine.
The analysts noticed the use of a highly reflective pressure hull.
After gathering additional intelligence, naval designers and engineers concluded the Soviets
had employed titanium alloy to build it.
The Alfa submarine, or Project 705, comprised a double hull made entirely of titanium.
Like in most Soviet submarines of the era, the internal hull was meant to withstand the
pressure.
At the same time, the outer portion protected it and gave the submarine its hydrodynamic
shape.
Titanium was stronger and 33 percent lighter than steel.
Consequently, the pressure hull was tougher without increasing displacement.
This improved hull provided greater diving depth and resistance to explosives at lesser
depths.
Furthermore, the titanium hull was effectively nonmagnetic, greatly decreasing the probability
of magnetic anomaly detection.
The one drawback Soviet engineers faced was that titanium was three times costlier than
steel.
The pressure hull was split into six watertight compartments, of which only the third was
manned.
The rest were fully automated and only required maintenance and supervision from the 16 to
20 man crew.
This was a significant reduction from the usual 160 men required to man a nuclear submarine.
One of the benefits of the high level of automation was the reduced crew size, which besides reducing
manpower, helped with orders due to the shorter chain of command.
This could help the crew perform better under combat situations, as communication between
crewmen would be more direct.
Additionally, automation would help the crew focus on the more important tasks and operate
most of the vessel’s systems from the control room.
This would leave mundane tasks to the machinery and reduce crew fatigue and boredom.
Lastly, automation was also expected to greatly reduce the demand for electric power.
Innovative Features
Another key feature of the Alfa submarine was the use of liquid metal reactor coolants,
which resulted in optimal horsepower to the weight-volume ratio for increased speeds.
An Akkord or combat information and control system, which processed radar, navigation,
television, and hydroacoustic data from other systems to determine the precise location
and speeds of submarines, ships, and torpedoes was also an innovation used in the Alfa.
The Sargan weapon control system controlled torpedo homing and countermeasures.
In contrast, the Okean automated hydroacoustic system provided target data and eliminated
the need for crewmen to work with detection equipment.
The Alfa submarine could reach a depth of little more than 400 meters with relative
ease.
It could reach speeds of up to 40 knots while submerged, carrying a mix of mines, SSN15
cruise missiles, and SET65 and SAET60 torpedoes.
Six Alfa submarines were produced by the Soviet Navy, but none of them ever saw combat.
NATO and the US reacted by launching the development of two of the world's most powerful torpedoes,
the MARK 48 and the Spearfish.
US Navy Dismisses Alfa
Despite closely following the project's developments, the US Navy did not attempt to match the Alfa-class
submarine.
Titanium was exceptionally strong and resistant, there was no doubt about that.
Nevertheless, working with the metal was not just difficult to work with, but expensive.
This material was rarer than steel, and iron, making a submarine costlier than a conventional
design employing other metals.
While titanium was easier to come by in Russia, considered a major supplier, using it in the
United States would have been costlier and more complicated.
The construction of the legendary SR-71 Blackbird involved the secret import of titanium from
the Soviet Union during the early 1960s.
The US was not willing to go through a similar process.
In 1971, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the CIA published an analysis titled “Use
of Titanium by the Soviet Shipbuilding Industry” which concluded the Soviets had indeed developed
the capability to shape and weld heavy titanium plates.
However, some top-tier American officers refused to believe the intel because shaping and welding
heavy titanium hull sections was more difficult than small parts employed for aircraft or
missiles.
While these parts could be welded in small hermetically sealed chambers, it was deemed
impractical for submarine pieces.
Titanium could not be welded in exposed air.
It had to be shielded by argon gas in special chambers.
However, doing so with huge submarine pressure hull sections was considered impossible.
Consequently, the US ditched the idea and instead invested in countermeasures to destroy
the Alfa-class submarines.
Such were the advances achieved by Project 705 and the challenges that its features posed
for Western powers.
Although the Alfas were decommissioned and scrapped by 1996, the technology employed
proved viable for future designs, such as the Akula-class submarines and other vessels.
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