SKB Rubin - History 1901-1926

At the end of the nineteenth century, the command of the navy and the top leadership of Russia came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create in the Russian fleet a new class of ships capable of striking enemy ships from a submerged position. Such ships were called destroyers, or semi-submarine vessels. The real name - the submarine - was established only in 1906 and survived to our time. December 22, 1900 old style (January 4, 1901 new style), according to the decision on the design and construction of "semi-submarine vessels", the Ministry of the Sea was invited to begin developing a draft submarine for the Russian Navy with three officers: senior assistant shipbuilder I. G. Bubnov, Lieutenant M.N. Beklemisheva and Lieutenant I.S.Goryunova. The project was submitted for approval on May 3, 1901. In July of the same year, the project was approved and the Baltic Plant was issued an outfit for the construction of the "destroyer No. 113". IG Bubnov was appointed head of the Construction Commission for the construction of a submarine at the Baltic Shipyard. It was this construction commission that, after a series of transformations and renames, received the modern name of the Central Design Bureau of Marine Equipment Rubin. The project of the first combat submarine of the Navy of Russia "Dolphin" ("Torpedo-carrier No. 113") was developed and approved by the Marine Ministry. The construction and testing of the submarine was successfully completed in 1903. also in 1903, a submarine of the Kasatka type was developed and approved by the Marine Ministry. The construction was entrusted to the Baltic plant. In 1904, the submarine was launched. A total of 6 submarines of this type were built, two of which, the Makrel and Okun, were converted into submarines with full electric propulsion during the construction process. Successful completion of the trials of the submarine "Dolphin" allowed to begin the creation of new, more advanced types of submarines. Until 1918, 73 submarines were introduced into the Russian fleet, another 4 remained unfinished. Of these, 32 were built according to the designs of IG Bubnov, who by 1918 became the general-major of the shipboard engineer corps, honored professor of the Nikolaev Maritime Academy. By 1906 The construction commission was transformed into the Scuba Diving Department of the Baltic Plant (Podpla) consisting of: management of the department, design engineers; technical office of the department, developing projects and working drawings; submarine construction workshops. The first head of the Department of scuba diving was appointed IG Bubnov, who led the department until 1912. Then G.G.Bubnov, V.T.Strunnikov, K.I. Ruberovsky, B.M. Malinin worked at this post. A project of the submarine "Lampa". The submarine was laid down in 1906 at the Baltiysky Zavod plant, the tests were completed in 1909. Diesel engines were installed for the first time on the Minoga submarine, which dramatically increased fire safety compared to previous submarines fitted with gasoline engines. The project of the submarine "Shark" construction was started in 1906, the tests were completed in 1909. The project of the submarine type "Walrus" was developed in 1909. The submarine tests were completed in 1915. A total of 3 submarines of this type were built, one of which, the Seal, became the most efficient submarine of the Black Sea Fleet during the First World War. The project of the submarine type "Leopard" was developed. The construction of the submarine was started in 1913 at the Baltiysky Zavod in St. Petersburg and at the shipyard of the JSC Nobessner in Revel (Tallinn). A total of 20 submarines were built, another 4 were left unfinished. Submarines of the Bars type were the largest submarines of the pre-revolutionary period. The submarine of this type "Wolf" during the First World War, achieved the greatest success. The builder of this submarine was B.M. Malinin, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, the future chief designer of most Soviet submarines designed between 1926 and 1940. The construction of 24 submarines of this type was supposed, but in January 1918 the construction of military ships was stopped by the Council of People's Commissars. The Baltic Plant, formerly part of the Marine Ministry, was nationalized 1918-1925 and, together with the Podpla department and its technical bureau, was transferred to the civil structures of the Supreme Council of the National Economy (VSNKh). The design of the new submarines was carried out either as a personal initiative of the engineers of the scuba diving department, or in the scuba diving section of the scientific and technical committee of the People's Commissariat of Defense, involving the same engineers of the Baltic Shipyard. Due to the lack of orders for the construction of submarines 1924-1926, the functions of the diving department were assigned to the Technical Bureau of the chief engineer-mechanic of the Baltic Shipyard.