''Dmitriy Donskoy'' (TK-208; russian: Дми́трий Донско́й ТК-208) is a Russian Navy nuclear ballistic missile submarine, designated Project 941 ''Akula'' class ( NATO reporting name ''Typhoon'').

History

Hull number TK-208 was the lead vessel of the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

third generation Project 941 ''Akula'' class ( NATO reporting name ''Typhoon'') of ballistic missile submarines. She was laid down at the

Sevmash JSC PO Sevmash ( rus, ОАО «ПО „Севмаш“», Севмаш, СМПСМП, "Severodvinsk Machine Building Plant") is a Russian joint-stock company (JSC) under the vertically-integrated United Shipbuilding Corporation. The shipbuilding ...

shipyard, Tsekh No. 55, in

Severodvinsk Severodvinsk ( rus, Северодвинск, p=sʲɪvʲɪrɐdˈvʲinsk) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the ...

on 30 June 1976 and launched in September 1980.

1990–present

In 1990, it entered the dry dock in Severodvinsk for upgrades and repairs. Due to both economic and technological problems, the completion was severely postponed. In 2000, work on the submarine was intensified. In June 2002, now serving in the Russian Navy, TK-208 finally left the Severodvinsk dry dock. After 12 years of overhaul and modifications, she had now received the name ''Dmitriy Donskoy'', named after the

Grand Duke of Moscow This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mo ...

Dmitry Donskoy Saint Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy ( rus, Дми́трий Ива́нович Донско́й, Dmítriy Ivanovich Donskóy, also known as Dimitrii or Demetrius), or Dmitry of the Don, sometimes referred to simply as Dmitry (12 October 1350 – 1 ...

(1359–1389), the reputed founder of Moscow. The first launch of a Bulava missile was carried out by ''Dmitriy Donskoy'' on 27 September 2005. The vessel was surfaced and fired the missile from a point in the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

. On 21 December 2005, the new missile system was tested underwater for the first time. It successfully hit a target on the

Kura Test Range Kura Missile Test Range ( rus, Ракетный полигон Кура́), originally known as ''Kama'', is a Russian intercontinental ballistic missile impact area located in northern Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East. It is the destinat ...

on the

Kamchatka Peninsula The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and w ...

. In August 2009,

Patriarch Kirill Kirill or Cyril (russian: link=Russian, Кирилл, chu, , secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, russian: link=no, Владимир Михайлович Гундяев; born 20 November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became ...

visited the submarine and met the crewmen. On 9 December 2009, ''Dmitriy Donskoy'' launched a Bulava missile. The third stage of the missile failed, and it was visible in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

making a glowing spiral in the sky. On 7 October 2010, the submarine launched another Bulava ballistic missile from the

. Targets at the Kura Test Range in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...

were successfully hit. The submarine was reported active as of 2020 and had been upgraded to carry the RSM-56 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile. However, the scope of that upgrade was unclear.

Future

In 2021 it was reported that the submarine would remain in service until at least 2026. However, its role was also reportedly limited to that of a weapons test platform. ''Dmitriy Donskoy'' and the rest of the Typhoons are to be replaced by the Russian fourth-generation submarine class, the . In 2021, a new ''Dmitriy Donskoy'', now of the Borei-class, began construction. On 20 July 2022, it was reported that ''Dmitriy Donskoy'' had been decommissioned. However, other sources suggested that no decision on her decommissioning would be made before the end of the year. As of 10 December 2022, she is being prepared for decommissioning with only technical staff remaining on the submarine. Her last reported activity was taking part in sea trials of SSN ''Krasnoyarsk'' in September 2022.https://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/16557597

References

Northern Fleet
section of the Bellona Foundation's website {{DEFAULTSORT:Dmitriy Donskoi (TK-208) Typhoon-class submarines Ships built in the Soviet Union 1980 ships Cold War submarines of the Soviet Union Submarines of Russia Ships of the Russian Northern Fleet Ships built by Sevmash