Alfa class Russian nuclear powered submarine [project 705/705K L
Eastern Express 40006

Dimensions: 204
No. of parts: 16

The Soviet Union / Russian Navy Project 705/705K ("Lira", "Lyre") was a class of hunter/killer nuclear powered submarines. The class is also known by the NATO reporting name of "Alfa". They were the fastest class of military submarines built, with only the prototype K-222 (NATO "Papa" class) exceeding them in submerged speed. The "Lira" was a unique design among submarines: it used a powerful lead cooled fast reactor as a power source, which greatly reduced the size of the reactor compared to conventional designs, thus reducing the overall size of the submarine, and allowing for very high speeds. However, it also meant that the reactor had a short lifetime and had to be kept warm when it was not being used. As a result, the Liras were used as interceptors, mostly kept in port ready for a high-speed dash into the North Atlantic.

Production started in the 1960s as Project 705 with construction at both the Admiralty yard, Leningrad and at Sevmashpredpriyatiye (SEVMASH — Northern Machine-building Enterprise), Severodvinsk. The lead unit was a Project 705 design and all subsequent were 705K. The first vessel was commissioned in 1971. Project 705 boats were intended to be experimental platforms themselves, to test all innovations and rectify their faults, that would afterwards found a new generation of submarines. This highly experimental nature mostly predetermined their future. In 1981, with the completion of the seventh vessel, production ended. All 7 boats were decommissioned for scrapping by August 1996. [Wikipedia]