S-99 submarine (project 617) (1955)
S-99 1955
| Name | No | Yard No | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Comp | Fate |
| Ñ-99 [S-99] | 617 | 194 Marti Yd, Leningrad | 5.2.1951 | 5.5.1952 | 20.3.1956 | damaged 19.5.1959, never commissioned again |
|
Displacement standard, t |
|
|
Displacement normal, t |
950 / 1216 |
|
Length, m |
62.2 |
|
Breadth, m |
6.08 |
|
Draught, m |
5.08 |
|
No of shafts |
1 |
|
Machinery |
1 steam-gas turbine unit / 1 8Ch23/30 diesel / 1 PG-100 electric motor |
|
Power, h. p. |
7250 / 600 / 540 |
|
Max speed, kts |
11 / 20 |
|
Fuel, t |
diesel oil |
|
Endurance, nm(kts) |
8500(8.5) / 198(14.2) |
|
Armament |
6 - 533 TT (bow, 12 or 20 mines) |
|
Electronic equipment |
Flag radar, Tamir-5LS, Mars-24KIG sonars |
|
Complement |
51 |
|
Diving depth operational, m |
170 |
Project history: Project 617 was the Soviet attempt to build an operational Waller submarine, based on technology captured in Germany in 1945. A special KB was set up in Germany in hopes of reviving the late-war Type XXVI design (22.5kts, 6 bow tubes firing forward and 4 more firing aft, without reloads). In 1946 TsKB-18 recreated the German Type XXVI design from German material; it was assigned Project number 616. This version soon proved unacceptable, so KB-18 began work on a new Project 617 to combine standard Soviet equipment with the 7500shp Walter turbine designed for Type XXVI. The preliminary design was completed by the end of 1947. A new SKB-143 was hived off from TsKB-18 specifically to develop Project 617. German Walter experts were used on the project until 1951. After the first (and, it turned out, only) boat was completed, SKB-143 was assigned to develop the first Soviet nuclear submarine. TsKB-18 took over the Walter project. The Sudomekh yard built a land-based prototype Walter powerplant, tests of which were completed in 1951.
Like the German Walter boats, this one carried her hydrogen peroxide in plastic bags in tanks slung below the main pressure hull. The hydrogen peroxide powerplant could start up in a little more than 2min (acceleration to full speed from a cold start took 9.5min). It lost propulsive power with depth, because exhaust had to be dumped overboard. During trials, the engine operated at 80m. At a depth of 30-40m it produced 6050shp. Although the boat used Soviet equipment, in hull form it resembled its German relatives, its relatively short hull offering good maneuverability.Modernizations: None.
Naval service: On 19 May 1959 S-99 suffered an explosion while starting her Walter plant at 80m depth; mud in the hull valve of her hydrogen peroxide supply pipe caused the peroxide to decompose and ultimately to blow an 8cm opening in the pressure hull, causing flooding. S-99 was never completely repaired and commissioned. She was finally stricken in August 1961.
© Ivan Gogin, 2015