K-43 is a Soviet nuclear-powered Project 670 submarine ("Skat"), built at the Krasnoye Sormovo Plant in Nizhny Novgorod. The submarine entered service with the Red Banner Northern Fleet forty years ago and became the lead boat in a series of second-generation nuclear-powered submarines designed to combat enemy aircraft carrier groups.[1]

Design and purpose

The Project 670 submarines were created as a response to the threat posed by American aircraft carrier strike groups. During the Cold War, Soviet naval strategists chose submarines armed with cruise missiles as the main means of combating aircraft carriers. Even at the design stage, these vessels were given the unofficial name "aircraft carrier killers."[1]

The armament was based on cruise missiles developed at the design bureau of Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey. The P-5 missile passed its trials — the first launch took place on November 22, 1957 — and it was accepted into service in 1959. Before specialized carriers appeared, cruise missiles were deployed on converted submarines in external containers, which NATO nicknamed the "long can."[1]

Construction at Krasnoye Sormovo

K-43 and the other submarines of the Project 670 series were built at the Nizhny Novgorod Krasnoye Sormovo Plant. The anniversary of K-43's entry into the fleet was marked not only in naval circles but also at the plant itself — it was here that the submarines intended to fight American aircraft carriers were born.[1]

Ship-monument

After decommissioning, K-43 was donated as an exhibit to Victory Park in Nizhny Novgorod — an open-air military technology museum park on the Rowing Canal embankment. The park was founded in 1985 in honor of the 40th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The nuclear-powered submarine K-43 became one of the largest exhibits on display, standing alongside aircraft, tanks, artillery pieces, and an ekranoplan.[2]

Sources

  1. flot.com — Underwater Secrets of the Domestic "Aircraft Carrier Killers"
  2. transport-nn.ru — Victory Park in Nizhny Novgorod — Military Equipment Exhibition by the Rowing Canal — History, Description, 17 Photos, Map Coordinates, Address, Reviews