by Acad. Zhores ALFEROV, Nobel Prize winner, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the RAS St. Petersburg Research Center; Acad. Sergei KOVALEV, Head of the RUBIN Central Naval Design Bureau; Dr. Anatoly RODIONOV, Chairman of the Scientific Council on Problems of Applied Hydrophysics, St. Petersburg Research Center RAS. Russia's submarine fleet - a most important integral part of this country's strategic potential-is marking its 100th jubilee. Its history, heroic operations on sea communications during the years of historic battles are the pride and glory of the people of Russia who are as confident as ever that our country's shores are under reliable protection. Back in 1906 submarines became a separate branch of Russia's naval potential. That was despite the tact that out first subs appeared on the scene several centuries before. According to archive records about 60 of them were built between 1719 and 1900. These "pioneer" subs were far from perfection and were driven by their crews. But in the second half of the 19th century subs designed by engineers Ivan Alexandrovsky and Stepan Dzhewetsky were already equipped with mechanical engines. They could be used only against stationary targets on the surface and their main advantage were their sudden strikes. Decades later, during the First and Second World wars, submarines became a formidable naval force - a powerful weapon against surface enemy warships, big and small. In the middle of the 20th century-in the years of the "cold war"-this country had to take measures for maintaining what was called the strategic-military par- Pages. 54 ity with other countries. The problem on the agenda was how can atom bombs be delivered secretly and reliably towards enemy targets for producing a sudden strike. The commonly accepted solution consisted in placing nuclear ballistic rockets on submarines. Problems of the same kind were on the agenda of the leading Western powers. Submarine missile carr ... Читать далее