Why the Soviet landing "Zubr" still has no equal in the world

10

The Zubr small hovercraft (project 12332) created in the USSR to this day has no analogues in the world and is the most powerful ship in its class.

The unique vessel has a displacement of more than 500 tons, a length of about 60 meters and is capable of taking on board: 3 tanks or 10 armored personnel carriers, or 500 fully equipped paratroopers. Let's add here the ability to move both by water and by land over distances of about 300 nautical miles, while developing a speed of over 100 km / h. As a result, we get a formidable combat vehicle capable of discouraging any enemy.



However, high carrying capacity and all-terrain are not the only feature of the Russian warship. The body of the Zubr is made of a strong, but at the same time very light and corrosion-resistant alloy of magnesium and aluminum, which allows extremely economical use of engine power.

As for the latter, 12332 GTE 5 gas turbine units were installed on the project 8000 ship: two for injecting air into the cushion lifting system, and the remaining 3 for rotating 2,5-meter propellers. Four 100-kilowatt GTG 100 turbine generators were responsible for the power supply of the ship.

The unique Flora-32 system made the landing craft easily controllable even at a speed of 55 knots and in difficult weather conditions. At the same time, it was possible to control the Zubr from the captain's bridge, deck, and even remotely, through a system of remote control panels.

As the main striking force of the ship, two MLRS A-22 "Fire" installations were used, each of which has 22 barrels with a caliber of 140 mm and ammunition of 66 shells of various types. In addition, the Zubr could take on board up to 80 mines of different classes and act as a highly effective minelayer. The ship's air defense was provided by two 30-mm six-barreled guns AK-630M and four Igla MANPADS.

All living quarters of the ship were heated, air-conditioned and sheathed with special noise-absorbing materials with high vibration resistance.

Unfortunately, before the collapse of the USSR, only seven ships of Project 12332 were produced. Four Zubrs became part of the Baltic Fleet, and three more - into the Black Sea Fleet. Later, in 1992, four more vessels were laid in Petersburg.

In 2011, the Russian Navy decided to abandon and no longer buy hovercraft. It was planned to replace them with vessels of a dynamic and non-dynamic type of keeping afloat.

However, today the question of reviving the Bison is increasingly being raised. And who knows, maybe soon the updated unique ship will again take up combat duty.

    Our news channels

    Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

    10 comments
    Information
    Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
    1. -1
      19 July 2020 13: 03
      Does anyone know why the Royal Navy dislikes Sheffield-class destroyers?
    2. 0
      19 July 2020 20: 11
      In 2011, the Russian Navy decided to abandon and no longer buy hovercraft.

      - They decided to refuse something early ... - Today you can install very powerful weapons on these Bison and use them not only as amphibious assault weapons ...
    3. +1
      19 July 2020 20: 52
      Correctly so:
      Landing capacity: 150 tons (3 medium tanks or 10 armored personnel carriers and 140 landing troops or 8 infantry fighting vehicles and 140 landing troops. Or 500 landing troops).
      And it turns out that the BDK just ...
    4. -2
      20 July 2020 01: 00
      IMHO, so it seems, on military sites they wrote: Expensive, uneconomical, emergency.
      So the Americans preferred to set up a lot of small cushion boats rather than "7 big". They swim on the normal ocean.

      In 2011, the Russian Navy decided to abandon and no longer buy hovercraft.

      - and that's it. President of the Russian Federation, however. Remember? "No money left...."
      1. -1
        20 July 2020 06: 37
        The work of Taburetkin and his strategists.
      2. 0
        21 July 2020 13: 48
        Key phrase:

        the ability to move both by water and by land over a distance of about 300 nautical miles.

        And where it can be used, only on its own shores, but other means are better there .. Such a device has no use today, perhaps smaller ones, with a "dock" and are applicable in airborne sabotage and other actions ...
    5. 0
      24 September 2020 21: 01
      Create a film about pilots, but only modern ones and not TV shows that are cheap and not interesting !! We don't have a single film about modern pilots AND TD considering the past ... !! For something like the movie "Knights of Heaven" from the French! Our patriotism will be restored! It is useless to write the performance characteristics of aircraft, tanks and so on! The viewer wants entertainment! ! Psychologists respond !! A person perceives 90% of information through the eyes ofiiiii!
    6. 0
      2 October 2020 18: 36
      The author did not indicate that one Bison was sold to Greece under the Union.
      1. 0
        14 October 2020 15: 13
        In Ukraine.
    7. 0
      14 October 2020 15: 30
      Good article, but: project number - 12322., hovercraft have no displacement, whatever is said about this in VIKI, propellers (VISH) with a diameter of 5,5 meters, 2,5 meters is the diameter of air blowers in the skirt. AND

      ... the ability to move ... by land for distances of about 300 nautical miles ... "- this is generally" in any gate.