Russia is a country with vast territories.in the arctic. However, their development is impossible without a powerful fleet, which allows for navigation in extreme conditions. For these purposes, during the time of the Russian Empire, several icebreakers were built. With the development of technology they were equipped with more and more modern engines. Finally, in 1959, the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Lenin" was built. At the time of its creation, it was the only civilian vessel in the world with a nuclear reactor, which could also sail without refueling for 12 months. Its appearance in the Arctic allowed to significantly increase the duration of navigation along the Northern Sea Route.
Prehistory
The world's first icebreaker was built in 1837 inthe American city of Philadelphia and was intended to destroy the ice cover in the local harbor. After 27 years in the Russian Empire, the ship “Pilot” was created, which was also used to navigate through the ice in the port waters. The place of its exploitation was St. Petersburg Sea Harbor. Somewhat later, in 1896, the first river icebreaker was created in England. It was ordered by the Ryazan-Ural Railway Company and used at the Saratov ferry. Around the same time, it became necessary to transport goods to remote areas of the Russian north, so at the end of the 19th century, the world's first ship for operation in the Arctic, called “Ermak” was built at the shipyard Armstrong Whitworth. It was acquired by our country and was part of the Baltic fleet until 1964. Another famous ship, the icebreaker Krasin (until 1927 it was named Svyatogor) took part in the Northern Convoys during World War II. In addition, in the period from 1921 to 1941, the Baltic Shipyard built eight more vessels intended for operation in the Arctic.
The first atomic icebreaker: characteristics and description
Nuclear-powered "Lenin", which was sent towell-deserved rest in 1985, today turned into a museum. Its length is 134 m, width - 27.6 m, and height - 16.1 m with a displacement of 16 thousand tons. Two nuclear reactors and four turbines with a total capacity of 32.4 MW were installed on the vessel, thanks to which it was able to move at a speed of 18 knots. In addition, the first nuclear-powered icebreaker was equipped with two autonomous power stations. Also on board were created all the conditions for a comfortable stay of the crew during the months-long Arctic expeditions.
Who created the first atomic icebreaker of the USSR
Work on a civilian vessel equipped with nuclearengine, was recognized as a particularly responsible business. After all, the Soviet Union, among other things, was in dire need of another example confirming the assertion that the "socialist atom" is peaceful and constructive. At the same time, no one doubted that the future chief designer of an atomic icebreaker should have extensive experience in building ships capable of operating in the Arctic. Given these circumstances, it was decided to appoint V.I. Neganov to this important post. Even before the war, this famous designer received the Stalin Prize for designing the first Soviet Arctic icebreaker. In 1954, he was appointed to the post of chief designer of the nuclear-powered "Lenin" nuclear submarine and began work together with I. I. Afrikantov, who was entrusted with the task of creating an atomic engine for this vessel. It must be said that both design scientists brilliantly coped with the tasks assigned to them, for which they were awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor.
What preceded the creation of the first Soviet atomic icebreaker
The decision to start work on the firstSoviet nuclear-powered vessel for work in the Arctic was adopted by the USSR Council of Ministers in November 1953. In view of the unusual nature of the tasks, it was decided to build a model of the engine room of the future ship in real terms in order to work out the layout decisions of the designers. Thus, eliminating the need for any alterations or omissions during construction work directly on the vessel. In addition, the designers who designed the first Soviet atomic icebreaker were tasked with eliminating any possibility of damage to the hull of the ship by ice, so special ultra-strong steel was created at the famous Prometheus Institute.
The history of the construction of the icebreaker "Lenin"
Directly to the work on the creation of the shipstarted in 1956 at the Leningrad Shipbuilding Plant them. Andre Marty (in 1957, he was renamed the Admiralty Plant). At the same time, some of its important systems and parts were designed and assembled in other enterprises. Thus, the turbines were manufactured by the Kirov Plant, the rowing motors — by the Leningrad Electrosila Plant, and the main turbine generators were the result of the work of the workers of the Kharkov Electromechanical Plant. Although the ship was launched in the early winter of 1957, the nuclear installation was installed only in 1959, after which the nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin was sent to undergo sea trials.
Since the ship was unique at that time, itwas the pride of the country. Therefore, during construction and subsequent testing, he was repeatedly shown to high-ranking foreign guests, such as members of the Chinese government, as well as to politicians who were then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Vice President of the United States.
Operation history
During the debut navigation, the first SovietThe nuclear-powered icebreaker proved to be excellent, showing excellent performance, and most importantly, the presence of such a vessel as part of the Soviet fleet allowed us to extend the navigation period by several weeks.
Seven years after the start of operation wasIt was decided to replace the outdated three-reactor atomic installation with a two-reactor one. After modernization, the ship returned to work again, and in the summer of 1971 it was this nuclear-powered vessel that became the first surface vessel to pass by the North Earth from the pole. By the way, the white bear, presented by the team to the Leningrad Zoo, became the trophy of this expedition.
As already mentioned, in 1989, operation“Lenin” was completed. However, the firstborn of the Soviet atomic icebreaking fleet was not threatened with oblivion. The fact is that he was put on eternal parking in Murmansk by organizing a museum on board where you can see interesting exhibits telling about the creation of the atomic icebreaking fleet of the USSR.
Accidents on "Lenin"
For 32 years, until the first atomic icebreakerThe USSR was in the ranks, two accidents occurred on it. The first of them happened in 1965. As a result, the reactor core was partially damaged. To eliminate the consequences of the accident, part of the fuel was placed on the mother ship, and the rest was unloaded and placed in a container.
As for the second case, in 1967the technical personnel of the vessel recorded a leak in the pipeline of the third loop of the reactor. As a result, the entire atomic compartment of the icebreaker had to be replaced, and the damaged equipment was towed and flooded in Tsivolki Bay.
"Arctic"
Over time, to explore the Arcticthe only atomic icebreaker was not enough. Therefore, in 1971, the construction of a second such vessel was begun. It was the “Arctic” - an atomic icebreaker, which after the death of Leonid Brezhnev began to bear his name. However, during the years of Perestroika, the first name was returned to the ship again, and it served under it until 2008.
Technical characteristics of the second Soviet atomic-powered ship
The Arctic is the first nuclear powered icebreakersurface vessel, managed to reach the North Pole. In addition, his project initially laid the possibility of quickly converting a ship into an auxiliary combat cruiser capable of operating in polar conditions. This was possible largely due to the fact that the designer of the atomic icebreaker “Arktika”, together with the team of engineers working on this project, provided the ship with increased power allowing it to overcome ice толщиной 2.5 m thick. 147.9 m long and 29.9 m wide with a displacement of 23,460 tons. At the same time, while the vessel was in operation, the maximum duration of its autonomous voyages was 7.5 months.
Arctic-class icebreakers
Between 1977 and 2007 onThe Leningrad (later St. Petersburg) Baltic Shipyard built five more nuclear-powered ships. All these vessels were designed according to the “Arctic” type, and to date, two of them - Yamal and 50 Years of Victory, continue to pave the way for other ships in the endless ice at the North Pole of the Earth. By the way, the nuclear-powered icebreaker called “50 Years of Victory” was launched in 2007 and is the last Russian icebreaker produced in the world and the largest of the currently existing icebreakers. As for the other three vessels, one of them, the “Soviet Union”, is currently undergoing restoration work. It is planned to return to the system in 2017. Thus, the “Arctic” is an atomic icebreaker, the creation of which marked the beginning of a whole epoch in the history of the Russian fleet. Moreover, the design solutions used in its design are relevant today, 43 years after its creation.
Icebreakers class "Taimyr"
In addition to nuclear ships to work in the Arctic SovietThe Union, and then Russia, needed vessels with less draft, which were intended to send ships to the mouths of Siberian rivers. Atomic icebreakers of the USSR (later Russia) of this type - “Taimyr” and “Vaigach” - were built at one of the shipyards in Helsinki (Finland). However, most of the equipment placed on them, including power plants, is of domestic production. Since these nuclear-powered ships were intended for operation mainly on rivers, their draft is 8.1 m with a displacement of 20,791 tons. At the moment, the Russian nuclear icebreakers Taimyr and Vaigach continue to work on the Northern Sea Route. However, soon they will need a change.
Icebreaker type LK-60 I
60 MW nuclear powered vesselsinstallation, began to be developed in our country since the beginning of the 2000s, taking into account the results obtained in the operation of ships of the type "Taimyr" and "Arctic". The designers have made it possible to change the draft of the new vessels, which will allow them to work effectively both in shallow water and in deep water. In addition, new icebreakers are able to move even in ice with a thickness of 2.6 to 2.9 m. In total, it is planned to build three such vessels. In 2012, the first atomic-powered ship of this series, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2018, was laid down at the Baltiysky Plant.
New projected class of ultra-modern Russian icebreakers
As is known, the development of the Arctic is included in the numberpriorities facing our country. Therefore, design documentation is currently being developed to create new icebreakers of the LC-110Y class. It is assumed that these super-powered vessels will receive all the energy from a 110 MW nuclear power generating plant. In this case, the ship's engine will be three four-bladed propellers with a fixed pitch. The main advantage that new nuclear-powered icebreakers of Russia will have should be their increased ice potential, which is expected to be at least 3.5 m, whereas for ships operated today, this figure is not more than 2.9 m. Thus, the designers promise provide year-round navigation in the Arctic along the Northern Sea Route.
What is the situation with nuclear-powered icebreakers in the world?
As you know, the Arctic is divided into five sectors,owned by Russia, USA, Norway, Canada and Denmark. The same countries, as well as Finland and Sweden, have the largest icebreaking fleets. And this is not surprising, since without such ships it is impossible to carry out economic and research tasks among the polar ice, even despite the effects of global warming, which every year become more and more tangible. At the same time, all the currently existing nuclear icebreakers of the world belong to our country, and it is one of the leaders in the exploration of the Arctic.
