But what aroused astonishment was not the car, but what was immortalized in the background. The photo, which in a very short time has been around the world, portrays the very secret AS-12 project 10830, a nuclear-powered submarine, better known as "Losharik" designed for special operations, scientific research and rescue at great depths.
We are talking about such a secret project that those who worked at Sevmash's N42 yard were kept under strict military control for the fifteen years necessary for its development.
Of the "Losharik" (hero of a famous Soviet animated film) nothing is known except that it can reach a depth of six thousand meters and is propelled by a newly developed nuclear reactor.
Photos of American spy satellites were able to estimate the length of the boat, around 60 meters. The crew should consist of no more than twenty-five members. The "Losharik" exploits the principles of the bathysphere: a form necessary to withstand the enormous water pressure at those depths.
The outer casing represents the real armor against pressure. The inner hull, on the other hand, is separated from the bathysphere by a highly compressed material. The "Losharik" has no limits: it could sail undisturbed anywhere in the globe with total impunity. The disadvantages are related to the limited spaces for the crew and the poor cruising speed.
There is no such thing and besides being the quietest submarine ever built in Russia it is certainly the first nuclear-powered boat capable of reaching such depths (the American NR1 could reach three thousand meters).
His only known mission took place with the Northern Fleet at a depth of three thousand meters, on the Mendeleyev ridge in the Arctic.
The Russian Navy also has a submarine carrier capable of transporting and releasing projects such as the "Losharik" or the "Nelma".
Franco Iacch
