VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Construction of the plant began in 1936 not far from the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery (Karelian Monastery of StNicholas). The town of Sudostroi was built near the monastery a year later.
Designated as Plant No. 402, the enterprise started operating on December 21, 1939, when the keel of the battleship Sovetskaya Belorussia (Soviet Belorussia) was laid at one of its slipways. The shipyard, which was intended to build first-class warships, including cruisers and battleships, assembled submarine chasers, destroyers and diesel-powered submarines during World War II. The enterprise also facilitated the combat readiness of the Soviet Northern Fleet's warships and repaired vessels delivering Lend-Lease aid via the Northern Sea Route.
By the mid-1950s, the shipyard had delivered 46 warships, including two cruisers, 20 destroyers and over 30 multi-purpose civilian vessels, to the Northern Fleet. At that time, the plant also started manufacturing Project 611 diesel-electric submarines of the Zulu class and their modified versions. The Project 611 submarine was used to develop the world's first ballistic missile submarine. In all, Sevmash built 33 diesel-electric submarines by 1962.
On September 24, 1955, the keel of the Project 627 nuclear-powered submarine Leninsky Komsomol of the November class was laid. The No. 402 Plant received the Order of Lenin for this achievement and for the top-quality work of its employees. In all, 37 first-generation nuclear-powered submarines were built at Sevmash slipways.
On September 9, 1959, the No. 402 Plant was converted into the Northern Engineering Enterprise.
In 1967, the Soviet Navy received the first Project 667AYankee-1 class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. In five years, 24 second-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines were commissioned, making it possible to attain Soviet-US parity in the sphere of naval nuclear forces. In all, 35 modified Project 667 nuclear-powered submarine versions were built from 1972-1990.
In 1969, Sevmash built the world's first Project 661 K-222 nuclear-powered submarine of the Anchar/Papa class with a titanium alloy hull. During its trial run, the submarine reached a top underwater speed of 44.7 knots, an unsurpassed world record.
The enterprise was overhauled on a grand scale throughout the mid-1970s. Its production facilities were doubled in size in order to facilitate construction of third-generation ships. The first third-generation Project 949 submarine of the Granit/Oscar class featuring 24 anti-ship cruise missiles was built in 1980. The Project 941 ballistic missile submarine of the Akula (Shark)/Typhoon class, the lead sub in the series now called the Dmitry Donskoi, was commissioned a year later. It featured Typhoon missile systems and was listed by the Guinness Book of World Records (Guinness World Records since 2000) as the largest nuclear-powered submarine in the world.
In 1983, the Soviet Navy received the Project 685 deep-sea nuclear-powered submarine K-278 Komsomolets of the Mike class with a titanium hull. The submarine could dive to 1,000 metres, a depth unsurpassed by any other submarine in the history of civilisation.
Since the late 1980s and until the early 2000s, the plant built a series of Project 971 attack submarines of the Shchuka (Pike) B/Akula (Shark) class.
Sevmash is now the only Russian shipyard building nuclear-powered submarines for the national Navy. Since its inception, the enterprise has delivered 128 nuclear-powered submarines to the Navy. In 2008, Sevmash launched the new-generation Yury Dolgoruky ballistic missile submarine, the lead submarine of the Borei class, now undergoing high-seas trial runs. The keel of the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan was laid in 2009. The enterprise launched the Severodvinsk and Alexander Nevsky ballistic missile submarines in June and November 2010, respectively. The Vladimir Monomakh nuclear-powered submarine, also of the Borei class, is under construction inside a local workshop. The heavy missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov is currently being repaired at the enterprise quay.
Under a programme of military-technical cooperation with foreign countries, two Project 636 Kilo class diesel-electric submarines were built here in 2003-2005. The Project 11430 aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov is being refitted and upgraded at Sevmash under a Russian-Indian inter-governmental agreement.
The civilian shipbuilding sector is an inalienable part of Sevmash production facilities. Since 1990, the enterprise has built over 100 multi-purpose civilian vessels, including tugboats, mini-bulkers, pontoons, barges and fish-breeding plants. Sevmash also continues to build chemical tankers and ocean-going yachts. The enterprise manufactures ship machinery, equipment for the power industry, iron and steel sector, chemical and other industries. Its machine-builders manufacture high-tech products for the nuclear sector, including transport and packing containers for spent nuclear-submarine fuel, as well as icebreakers and nuclear power stations.
