The car was armed with machine guns and a torpedo and covered 10 meters in the ground in an hour
Everyone has heard of submarines, and everyone knows them well. But not everyone knows about underground boats. But such projects existed in real life. Yes, and in the future they may return, although not a fact. The tunneling machine used in the construction of the Xinyi Line of the Taipei Metro in Taiwan. From the site ru.wikipedia.org
"Tunnel rats" with pistols
The concept of an underground boat may sound strange. But if you think about it, there is nothing fundamentally new in it. Underground warfare as such has been known to us since antiquity. In order to bring down the enemy walls, the ancient Romans and Greeks actively used mines. And the Persian king Darius I, in 520 BC, penetrated into Greek Chalcedonia, leading a tunnel into the market square. But these were flowers: the appearance of gunpowder became a real start in life for the underground war. One of the most striking examples is the capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. According to sources, 48 \u200b\u200bpowder barrels were used for the explosion under the fortress walls.
Underground warriors became the so-called. "Tunnel rats" - American, Australian and New Zealand units used to operate in tunnels dug by the Vietnamese. The soldiers did not have any underground vehicles at that time. Their equipment was most often limited to a pistol, flashlight, portable radio, and gas mask. The work was very difficult and dangerous: it should be said that, in addition to darkness and confined space, the fighters were awaited by ingenious traps left by the partisans. 
German project "Serpent of Midgard". From the site naked-science.ru
What prevents the creation of an underground machine that can conduct hostilities? That is, like a submarine, to hide in the depths and strike blows from where they did not expect. The main obstacle on this path is the need for gigantic power, because it is very difficult to destroy rocks. Found a power source? Okay. How to be with speed? It will not work quickly underground in any case, and the enemy will not wait. What about security? On the way there may be an underground lake and many other unpleasant surprises.
Metro builders solve such issues in a complex way: the devices not only dig, but also strengthen the tunnel with blocks using a mechanical arm (this is partly due to the low speed of passage). When the block is installed, jacks rest against it, and the huge car moves on. Well, if you have to work at great depths and the soil is very dense, they are often content with only manual labor: jackhammers and other simple tools are used. In this case, the speed of passage is measured only by tens of meters per month.
And if any important mechanism of the underground combat boat fails, no one can help her. Behind there will be no fortified tunnel and no workers with jackhammers. This means that the crew will have no chance of survival at all. Unless the machine is at a depth of extremely shallow and it can literally be pulled out of the ground.
There are many problems that are called fundamental. Especially if we talk about a long autonomous hike. How, for example, can you supply an underground boat with breathing air? On a nuclear submarine, it is produced by electrolysis of seawater. With the help of it, the reactor is cooled. In the case of the "subterrine" it is simply impossible to do this: you will have to look for some original methods. 
A. Treblev's subway. From the site naked-science.ru
The designer watched the mole
It is even strange that underground combat vehicles have begun to be created. Often remember the subway, designed by A. Treblev, A. Kirilov and A. Baskin. Alexander Trebelev borrowed the principle of operation of this device from moles. Before starting to create a boat, he used X-rays to study the behavior of the animal when it was snouting holes. The designer paid special attention to the movements of the animal's paws and head. And only then he began to embody the mole in metal.
Trebelev's underground boat resembled a capsule, on the nose of which the inventor placed a drill. She also had an auger and two pairs of aft jacks. These jacks served as the paws of a mole. According to the creator's plan, the “subterrine” could be controlled both from the inside and from the outside. That is, from the surface using a special cable. The car received power from it. The subway turned out to be quite viable, it moved at a speed of 10 meters per hour, but needed a lot of improvements. A lot of money was required to eliminate them, so the device was never used.
But the subway is an industrial machine for finding minerals. The Germans can be considered the pioneers in the creation of underground combat boats. A patent for such an invention was registered in 1933 by the German inventor Horner von Werner. The underground vehicle was supposed to have a speed of up to 7 kilometers per hour and a crew of five people. He could carry a warhead of 300 kilograms. At the same time, the device could move both underground and under water. All this could be useful in the implementation of sabotage actions. At the same time, a full-scale underground attack on a powerful power, of course, in principle was not possible.
Remembered von Werner's idea in 1940. As we know, Great Britain and France are separated by the English Channel. Without dominance at sea, the Nazis could not even think of a landing in Great Britain, but they did not want to leave such a dangerous enemy at hand either. And here an underground boat could be useful for sabotage.
Perhaps Horner von Werner's project would have gotten a start in life, but German Air Minister Hermann Goering intervened in the matter. It was he who convinced the leadership that military pilots would be able to defeat the British Air Force, which would allow the Germans to ultimately establish full control over the English Channel. This, as we know, did not happen, but they did not resurrect the project either: soon the Nazis had other, more important reasons for concern.
The idea of \u200b\u200bmechanizing underground warfare is not new. Driving shield - this is what the movable prefabricated metal structure is called, which ensures safe mining and the construction of a permanent lining in it. It is believed that the first such a mechanism was applied in 1825 during the construction of a tunnel under the Thames by Mark Brunel. Now tunneling shields are actively used in the metro building. The length of one "worm" can be 80 meters, and the mass - more than 300 tons. The speed of the car reaches 10 centimeters per minute, so that in one month it can travel up to 300 meters. 
"Mole" with a nuclear reactor. From the site diletant.media
"Serpent of Midgard" - "wonder weapon"
In the 30s, another interesting German project appeared. The underground boat was named Midgard Serpent in honor of the mythical creature. According to legend, this snake girded the whole earth. The father of the project is an inventor named Ritter. As in the first case, the device had to move both underground and under water: in the latter case, the immersion depth could reach 100 meters.
The boat consisted of cells and was somewhat like a train. Its length could be 524 meters, and its weight was 60 thousand tons. For comparison, the largest nuclear-powered submarines, the Project 941 Akula submarines, are just over 170 meters long. In other words, the "Serpent of Midgard" could go down in history not only as the largest underground, but also as the longest submarine in the world.
The design of the apparatus was more than interesting. Ahead they wanted to install a drill head with four drills with a diameter of one and a half meters. They were driven by nine electric motors. The vehicle also had caterpillars driven by fourteen electric motors to drive on the ground. The electric current required for the operation of the engines was generated by four diesel electric generators. Under water, the car had to move with the help of twelve pairs of rudders and twelve additional engines.
"Serpent" could carry solid weapons: 250-kg and 10-kg mines and 12 coaxial machine guns. In addition, an underground 6-meter Fafnir torpedo, Mjolnir rock blasting shells, an Alberich reconnaissance torpedo with microphones and an Alberich periscope, and a Layrin rescue vehicle were developed. In total, 30 crew members were supposed to serve on board the boat.
It was supposed to accommodate an electric kitchen, a bedroom with 20 beds, three repair shops and much more. According to the project, on the ground, the boat could move at a speed of up to 30 kilometers per hour. Underground, of course, the speed was less: 10 kilometers per hour in soft and two - in rocky ground. The speed was also low under water - three kilometers per hour.
According to the ideologists of the project, the boat could by itself decide the outcome of the war, hitting vital enemy targets (for example, ports). In total, by the way, they wanted to build 20 "Serpents". Taking into account the complexity of the design, they could cost more than the notorious German battleships. As you might guess, many experts recognized the project as unrealizable and in the mid-30s it was sent to Ritter for revision. What happened next is not known for certain. After the Second World War, adits and the remains of an exploded structure were found, which could be related to the Ritter project.
Now it is not possible to confirm or deny this. The fact is that by the end of the war, the most incredible ideas were roaming in the minds of the leaders of the Third Reich, seized by military-technical escapism. Perhaps one of the "wunderwaffe" or "miracle weapons" could be a mechanical snake. Judging by the fact, none of the aforementioned German projects have ever received a start in life. There were a great many reasons for this, in addition to those already stated above. Starting from the successes at the beginning of the war (because of which they did not want to spend money on such things) and ending with a lack of resources in the years when Germany was defeated.
The supersonic jet destroyed the soil
One of the most realistic prototypes of underground boats was the British Nellie. It was created to dig deep trenches on the front line during the Second World War. Through these trenches, infantry and light tanks were supposed to safely cross neutral zones and penetrate into enemy positions. The fall of France in 1940 stalled the implementation of the program. The new experience of the military suggested that there would be no trench warfare in the spirit of the First World War, and in 1943 the project was closed.
In addition, it is known about the creation by engineers of the twentieth century of an underground rocket - a device for high-speed drilling in soils and rocks at a speed of up to 1 meter per second using jet jets. The missile did not carry an assault force or nuclear weapons. It was developed in the late 40s and built in 1968. It was a cylinder filled with solid fuel: in the bow there were nozzles in several tiers.
The underground rocket was installed with its nose down. A supersonic jet of incandescent gases, escaping from downward-directed nozzles under pressure up to two thousand atmospheres, destroyed the soil under the cylinder, and due to the middle-tier nozzles directed sideways, the well expanded. By the end of the 60s, engineers already had successful tests behind their backs: they began to talk about a revolution in the field of well drilling. There were, however, drawbacks: it turned out to be difficult to control the projectile, so in the future several new, more advanced versions were created.
And here's another fantastic device, which cannot be ignored - the "Battle Mole". This self-explanatory name was given to an underground boat with a nuclear reactor, created in 1964. There is no exact information about the boat. According to various sources, its diameter ranged from three to four meters, and a length of 25-35 meters. The speed varied, depending on the ground - from 7 to 15 kilometers per hour. The Mole's crew consists of five people. In addition to them, the boat could transport 15 more soldiers and about a ton of cargo. "War Mole" was supposed to destroy underground bunkers, missile launchers in mines and command posts of the enemy. But during the tests "Mole" for unknown reasons exploded underground. The crew could not be saved. After the disaster, this project was given up.
In the modern world, the concept of an underground combat boat has not become in demand. Both the United States and a number of other countries give priority to the creation of tactical weapons, and the underground boat is, rather, a strategic weapon, relevant in the Cold War era, when it was assumed that a nuclear weapon would be delivered to the enemy invisibly. In modern local conflicts, it could hardly be useful, except in the fight against partisans - for the destruction of tunnels. But there are also cheaper ways that do not require the creation of a bulky colossus.
Since ancient times, man has been drawn to sink to the bottom, then rise into the air, then reach the very center of the Earth. However, this was possible until some time only in science fiction novels and fairy tales. Nowadays, an underground boat is no longer just a fantasy. Successful developments and tests have been carried out in this area. After reading our article, you will learn a lot of interesting things about such an apparatus as an underground boat.
Underground boats in literature
It all started with a flight of fantasy. In 1864 Jules Verne published a famous novel entitled Journey to the Center of the Earth. His heroes descended to the center of our planet through the mouth of a volcano. In 1883 Shuzi's Underground Fire was published. In it, the heroes, working with picks, laid a mine to the earthly center. True, the book has already said that the core of the planet is hotter. Alexey Tolstoy, a Russian writer, has done better. In 1927 he wrote "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin". The hero of the work made his way almost through the thickness of the earth, at the same time casually and even with some cynicism.
All these authors made hypotheses that could not be substantiated in any way. The matter remained with the inventors and engineers, the rulers of human thoughts at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. However, in The Winners of the Subsoil, published in 1937, he reduced the problem of storming the subsoil to the usual achievements of the Soviet authorities. The design that the underground boat had in his book seemed to have been copied from the drawings of a secret design bureau. Is this coincidence a coincidence?
First developments
Now no one can answer the question of what formed the basis of Grigory Adamov's courageous guesses. However, judging by the scarce data, there were still grounds for them. The first engineer who allegedly created the drawings of the underground apparatus was Peter Rasskazov. This engineer was killed in 1918 by an agent who stole all the documentation from him. The Americans, on the other hand, believe that Thomas Edison began the first development. However, it is more reliable that they were carried out at the end of the 20-30s of the 20th century by engineers from the USSR A. Treblev, A. Baskin and A. Kirilov. It was they who developed the design of the first underground boat.
However, it was intended solely for utilitarian purposes related to oil production in order to facilitate this process and meet the needs of the socialist state. They took a real mole as a basis or earlier developments in this area of \u200b\u200bRussian or foreign engineers - now it's hard to say. However, it is known that in the Ural mines located under the test boat "swims" were carried out. Of course, the sample was an experimental one, rather a reduced copy than a full-fledged working apparatus. Apparently, it resembled the later coal miners. The presence of flaws, a reliable engine, slow ROP was natural for the first model. It was decided to curtail the work on the underground passage.
Strakhov resumes the project
After a while, the era of mass terror began. Many specialists who participated in this project were shot. However, on the eve of the war, they suddenly remembered the "Steel Mole". The authorities were again interested in the underground boat. PI Strakhov, a leading expert in this field, was summoned to the Kremlin. At that time, he worked as a curator on the construction of the Moscow metro. The scientist, in a conversation with DF Ustinov, who headed the armaments commissariat, confirmed the opinion about the combat use of the subway. He was instructed to develop an improved experimental model from the surviving drawings.
War interrupts work
People, funds, and the necessary equipment were urgently allocated. The Russian underground boat had to be ready as soon as possible. However, the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, apparently, interrupted the work. Therefore, the state commission did not accept the experimental model. He was destined for the fate of many other projects - the sample was cut into metal. The country at this time needed more aircraft, tanks and submarines for defense. And Strakhov never returned to the underground boat. He was sent to build bunkers.
German submarines
Naturally, similar designs were also carried out in Germany. Any superweapon capable of bringing world domination to the Third Reich was necessary for leadership. In Nazi Germany, according to information received after the end of the war, there were developments of underground military vehicles. The codename of the first of them is Subterrine (project by R. Trebeletsky and H. von Wern). By the way, some researchers believe that R. Trebeletsky is A. Treblev, an engineer who fled from the USSR. The second development is Midgardschlange, which means "Midgard's Serpent". This is Ritter's project.
After completion, the Soviet authorities found adits of unknown origin near Konigsberg, next to which were the remains of an exploded structure. It has been suggested that these are the remnants of the "Serpent of Midgard".
No less remarkable project was "Sea Lion" (its other name is Subterrine). Back in 1933, Horner von Werner, a German engineer, filed a patent for it. According to his plan, this device could reach speeds of up to 7 m / h. On board could be 5 people, and the weight of the warhead was up to 300 kg. This apparatus, moreover, could move not only underground, but also under water. This underground submarine was immediately classified. Its project ended up in the military archive.
Probably, no one would have remembered about him if the war had not started. Count von Staufenberg, who oversaw military projects, retrieved it from the archive. He suggested that Hitler use a submarine to invade the British Isles. She had to quietly cross the English Channel and secretly go underground to the required place.
However, these plans were not destined to come true. Hermann Goering convinced Adolf Hitler that it would be much cheaper and faster to compel England to surrender by simple bombing. Therefore, the operation was not carried out, although Goering could not fulfill his promise.
Exploring the Sea Lion Project
After the victory over Germany in 1945, an unspoken confrontation began on the territory of this country. Former allies began to vie among themselves for possession of Germany's military secrets. Among some other developments, the German project of an underground boat called the Sea Lion fell into the hands of Abakumov, General of SMERSH. The group, led by Professors G. I. Pokrovsky and G. I. Babata, began to study the capabilities of this apparatus. As a result of the research, the following verdict was made - the subway can be used by the Russians for military purposes.
Developed by M. Tsiferov
Engineer M. Tsiferov was simultaneously (in 1948) creating his own underground shell. He was even given the USSR author's certificate for the development of an underground torpedo. This device could move independently in the thickness of the earth, while developing a speed of up to 1 m / s!
Building a secret factory
In the USSR, meanwhile, Khrushchev came to power. In the outbreak of the Cold War, they needed their own trump cards, military and political. The engineers and scientists who faced this problem came up with a solution that took the underground boat project to a new level of development. It was supposed to be done with the type of the first submarines that had a nuclear reactor. In a short time for a pilot production, it was necessary to build another secret plant. By order of Khrushchev, in early 1962, its construction was started near the village of Gromovka (Ukraine). Soon Khrushchev publicly announced that the imperialists should be gotten not only from outer space, but also from underground.
Development of the "Battle Mole"
Two years later, the plant produced the first underground boat in the USSR. She had a nuclear reactor. The underground nuclear submarine was named "Battle Mole". The design had a titanium case. The stern and nose were pointed. The underground boat "Battle Mole" reached 3.8 m in diameter, and its length was 35 meters. The crew consisted of five people. In addition, the underground boat "Battle Mole" was capable of taking on board a ton of explosives, as well as 15 more paratroopers. The "Battle Mole" allowed the boat to reach speeds of up to 7 m / h.
What was the "Battle Mole" nuclear submarine designed for?
The combat mission that was assigned to her was the destruction of missile silos and underground command bunkers of the enemy. The General Staff planned to deliver such "subterins" to the United States using atomic submarines specially designed for this. California was chosen as the destination, where high seismic activity was observed due to frequent earthquakes. She could disguise the movement of the Russian subway. The USSR underground boat, in addition, could install a nuclear charge and, by detonating it remotely, in this way cause an artificial earthquake. Its consequences could be attributed to a common natural disaster. This could undermine the power of the Americans financially and materially.
Testing a new underground boat
In 1964, in early autumn, the Battle Mole was tested. The subway showed good results. He managed to overcome the heterogeneous ground, as well as destroy the command bunker located underground, which belonged to the imaginary enemy. Several times a prototype was demonstrated to members of government commissions in the Rostov region, in the Urals and in Nakhabino near Moscow. After that, mysterious events began. During scheduled tests, the nuclear-powered ship allegedly exploded in the Ural Mountains. The crew, led by Colonel Semyon Budnikov (possibly a fictitious name), died heroically. The reason for this is the alleged sudden breakdown, as a result of which the "mole" crushed rocks. According to other versions, there was a sabotage by foreign special services or even the device got into an anomalous zone.
Minimizing programs
After Khrushchev was removed from leadership positions, many programs were curtailed, including this project. The underground boat again ceased to be of interest to the authorities. The economy of the Soviet Union was bursting at the seams. Therefore, this project, like many other developments, such as the Soviet ekranoliters that flew over the Caspian in the 60-70s, was abandoned. in an ideological war, he could compete with the United States, but noticeably lost in the arms race. I had to save on literally everything. The common people felt it and Brezhnev understood it. The existence of the state was at stake, therefore, advanced bold projects, which did not promise rapid superiority, were kept secret for a long time.
Is work in progress?
In 1976, information about the Soviet Union's underground nuclear fleet was leaked to the press. This was done for the purpose of military-political disinformation. The Americans fell for this bait and set about building similar devices. It is difficult to say whether such machines are being developed in the West and in the USA. Does anyone need an underground boat today? The photos presented above, as well as historical facts, are arguments in favor of the fact that this is not just a fantasy, but a real reality. How much do we know about the modern world? Perhaps, right now, the thickness of the earth is plowing somewhere underground boats. Nobody is going to advertise the secret developments of Russia, as well as of other countries.
This is an article about a secret development of the USSR times a secret project to create an atomic underground spoon
After the victory over Germany in 1945, confrontation began on the territory of the defeated country. Once former allies, they began to actively compete among themselves for the possession of the military secrets of the Third Reich. Among some other developments, the German project of an underground boat called "Sea Lion" fell into the hands of Abakumov, General of SMERSH. The group, led by Professors G.I.Pokrovsky and G.I.Babata, began to study the capabilities of this apparatus. As a result of the research, the following verdict was made - the subway can be used by the Russians for military purposes.
But despite this, our engineers did not lag behind and engineer M. Tsiferov was already creating his own underground shell at the same time (in 1948). He was even given the USSR author's certificate for the development of an underground torpedo. This device could move independently in the thickness of the earth, while developing a speed of up to 1 m / s!
After Nikita Sergeyich Khrushchev came to power. During the Cold War, the USSR needed powerful trump cards. Engineers and scientists, before whom the authorities set the task of a problem, and a solution was required, which subsequently advanced the project of creating an underground boat to a new level of development. It was supposed to be made with an atomic engine, similar to the first submarines with a nuclear reactor. In a short time for a pilot production, it was necessary to build another secret plant. By order of Khrushchev, at the beginning of 1962, its construction was started near the village of Gromovka in the territory of Ukraine. Soon Khrushchev publicly announced that the imperialists should be gotten not only from outer space, but also from underground.
Development of the "Battle Mole"
Two years passed and the plant produced the first Soviet underground boat. she had a nuclear reactor. They decided to call the underground nuclear submarine "Battle Mole". This design had a titanium case. The stern and nose were pointed. Underground boat "Battle Mole"
Specifications
In diameter it reached 3.8 m,
Length 35 meters.
Crew of five people
In addition, the underground boat "Battle Mole" was capable of taking on board a ton of explosives, as well as 15 more paratroopers. The "Battle Mole" nuclear reactor allowed the submarine to reach speeds of up to 7 m / h.
The mole's combat mission was to destroy the enemy's missile silos and underground command bunkers. The USSR General Staff planned to deliver such "subterins" to the United States using atomic submarines specially designed for this. California was chosen as the destination, where high seismic activity was observed due to frequent earthquakes. She could disguise the movement of the Russian subway.
The USSR underground boat, in addition, could install a nuclear charge and, by detonating it remotely, in this way cause an artificial earthquake. Its consequences could be attributed to a common natural disaster. This could undermine the power of the Americans financially and materially.
For a long time, a person has been drawn to sink to the bottom, then rise into the air, then reach the very center of the Earth. However, this was possible until some time only in science fiction novels and fairy tales. Nowadays, an underground boat is no longer just a fantasy. Successful developments and tests have been carried out in this area. After reading our article, you will learn a lot of interesting things about such an apparatus as an underground boat.
Underground boats in literature
It all started with a flight of fantasy. In 1864 Jules Verne published a famous novel entitled Journey to the Center of the Earth. His heroes descended to the center of our planet through the mouth of a volcano. In 1883 Shuzi's book "Underground Fire" was published. In it, the heroes, working with picks, laid a mine to the earthly center. True, the book has already said that the core of the planet is hotter. Alexey Tolstoy, a Russian writer, has done better. In 1927 he wrote "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin". The hero of the work made his way almost through the thickness of the earth, at the same time casually and even with some cynicism.
All these authors made hypotheses that could not be substantiated in any way. The matter remained with the inventors and engineers, the rulers of human thoughts at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. However, in The Winners of the Subsoil, published in 1937, Grigory Adamov reduced the problem of storming the subsoil to the usual achievements of the USSR government. The design that the underground boat had in his book seemed to have been copied from the drawings of a secret design bureau. Is this coincidence a coincidence?
First developments
Now no one can answer the question of what formed the basis of Grigory Adamov's daring guesses. However, judging by the scarce data, there were still grounds for them. The first engineer who allegedly created the drawings of the underground apparatus was Peter Rasskazov. This engineer was killed in 1918 by a German intelligence agent who stole all his documentation. The Americans, on the other hand, believe that Thomas Edison began the first development. However, it is more reliable that they were carried out at the end of the 20-30s of the 20th century by engineers from the USSR A. Treblev, A. Baskin and A. Kirilov. It was they who developed the design of the first underground boat.
However, it was intended exclusively for utilitarian purposes related to oil production, in order to facilitate this process and meet the needs of the socialist state. They took a real mole as a basis or earlier developments in this area of \u200b\u200bRussian or foreign engineers - now it's hard to say. However, it is known that in the Ural mines located under the Grace Mountain, trial boat "swims" were carried out. Of course, the sample was an experimental one, rather a reduced copy than a full-fledged working apparatus. Apparently, it resembled the later coal miners. The presence of flaws, reliable engine, slow ROP was natural for the first model. It was decided to curtail the work on the underground passage.
Strakhov resumes the project
After a while, the era of mass terror began. Many specialists who participated in this project were shot. However, on the eve of the war, they suddenly remembered the "Steel Mole". The authorities were again interested in the underground boat. PI Strakhov, a leading expert in this field, was summoned to the Kremlin. At that time, he worked as a curator on the construction of the Moscow metro. The scientist, in an interview with D.F. He was instructed to develop an improved experimental model from the surviving drawings.
War interrupts work
People, funds, and the necessary equipment were urgently allocated. The Russian underground boat had to be ready as soon as possible. However, the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, apparently, interrupted the work. Therefore, the state commission did not accept the experimental model. He was destined for the fate of many other projects - the sample was cut into metal. The country at this time needed more aircraft, tanks and submarines for defense. And Strakhov never returned to the underground boat. He was sent to build bunkers.
German submarines
Naturally, similar designs were also dealt with in Germany. Any superweapon capable of bringing world domination to the Third Reich was necessary for leadership. In Nazi Germany, according to information obtained after the end of the war, there were developments of underground military vehicles. The codename of the first of them is Subterrine (project by R. Trebeletsky and H. von Wern). By the way, some researchers believe that R. Trebeletsky is A. Treblev, an engineer who fled from the USSR. The second development is Midgardschlange, which means "Midgard's Serpent". This is Ritter's project.
After the end of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet authorities discovered adits of unknown origin not far from Konigsberg, next to which were the remains of an exploded structure. It has been suggested that these are the remnants of the "Serpent of Midgard". An equally remarkable project was "Sea Lion" (its other name is Subterrine). Back in 1933, Horner von Werner, a German engineer, filed a patent for it. According to his plan, this device could reach speeds of up to 7 m / h. On board could be 5 people, and the weight of the warhead was up to 300 kg. This apparatus, moreover, could move not only underground, but also under water. This underground submarine was immediately classified. Its project ended up in the military archive. Probably, no one would have remembered him if the war had not started. Count von Staufenberg, who oversaw military projects, retrieved it from the archive. He suggested that Hitler use a submarine to invade the British Isles. She had to quietly cross the English Channel and secretly go underground to the desired place.
However, these plans were not destined to come true. Hermann Goering convinced Adolf Hitler that it would be much cheaper and faster to compel England to surrender by simple bombing. Therefore, the operation was not carried out, although Goering could not fulfill his promise.
Exploring the Sea Lion Project
After the victory over Germany in 1945, an unspoken confrontation began on the territory of this country. Former allies began to vie with each other for possession of Germany's military secrets. Among some other developments, the German project of an underground boat called the Sea Lion fell into the hands of Abakumov, General of SMERSH. The group, led by Professors G.I.Pokrovsky and G.I.Babata, began to study the capabilities of this apparatus. As a result of the research, the following verdict was made - the subway can be used by the Russians for military purposes.
Developed by M. Tsiferov
Engineer M. Tsiferov was simultaneously creating his own underground shell (in 1948). He was even given the USSR author's certificate for the development of an underground torpedo. This device could move independently in the thickness of the earth, while developing a speed of up to 1 m / s!
Construction of a secret factory
In the USSR, meanwhile, Khrushchev came to power. In the outbreak of the Cold War, they needed their own trump cards, military and political. Engineers and scientists faced with this problem came up with a solution that took the underground boat project to a new level of development. It was supposed to be made with an atomic engine, similar to the first submarines with a nuclear reactor. In a short time for a pilot production, it was necessary to build another secret plant. By order of Khrushchev, at the beginning of 1962, its construction began near the village of Gromovka (Ukraine). Soon Khrushchev publicly announced that the imperialists should be gotten not only from outer space, but also from underground.
Development of the "Battle Mole"
Two years later, the plant produced the first underground boat in the USSR. She had a nuclear reactor. The underground nuclear submarine was named "Battle Mole". The design had a titanium case. The stern and nose were pointed. The underground boat "Battle Mole" reached 3.8 m in diameter, and its length was 35 meters. The crew consisted of five people. In addition, the underground boat "Battle Mole" was capable of carrying a ton of explosives, as well as 15 more paratroopers. The "Battle Mole" nuclear reactor allowed the boat to reach speeds of up to 7 m / h.
What was the "Battle Mole" nuclear submarine designed for?
The combat mission that was assigned to her was the destruction of missile silos and underground command bunkers of the enemy. The General Staff planned to deliver such "subterins" to the United States using atomic submarines specially designed for this. California was chosen as the destination, where high seismic activity was observed due to frequent earthquakes. She could disguise the movement of the Russian subway. The USSR underground boat, in addition, could install a nuclear charge and, by detonating it remotely, in this way cause an artificial earthquake. Its consequences could be attributed to a common natural disaster. This could undermine the power of the Americans financially and materially.
Testing a new underground boat
In 1964, in early autumn, the Battle Mole was tested. The subway showed good results. He managed to overcome the heterogeneous ground, as well as destroy the command bunker located underground, which belonged to the imaginary enemy. Several times a prototype was demonstrated to members of government commissions in the Rostov region, in the Urals and in Nakhabino near Moscow. After that, mysterious events began. During planned tests, the nuclear-powered ship allegedly exploded in the Ural Mountains. The crew, led by Colonel Semyon Budnikov (possibly a fictitious name), died heroically. The reason for this is an alleged sudden breakdown, as a result of which the "mole" crushed rocks. According to other versions, there was a sabotage by foreign special services or even the device got into an anomalous zone.
Minimizing programs
After Khrushchev was removed from leadership positions, many programs were curtailed, including this project. The underground boat again ceased to be of interest to the authorities. The economy of the Soviet Union was bursting at the seams. Therefore, this project, like many other developments, such as the Soviet ekranoliters flying over the Caspian in the 60-70s, was abandoned. The Soviet Union in an ideological war could compete with the United States, but lost noticeably in the arms race. I had to save on literally everything. The common people felt it and Brezhnev understood it. The existence of the state was at stake, therefore, forward-looking bold projects, which did not promise rapid superiority, were kept secret for a long time.
Is work in progress?
In 1976, information about the underground nuclear fleet of the Soviet Union was leaked to the press. This was done for the purpose of military-political disinformation. The Americans fell for this bait and set about building similar devices. It is difficult to say whether such machines are being developed in the West and in the United States. Does anyone need an underground boat today? The photos presented above, as well as historical facts, are arguments in favor of the fact that this is not just a fantasy, but a real reality. How much do we know about the modern world? Perhaps, right now, underground boats are plowing somewhere. Nobody is going to advertise the secret developments of Russia, as well as of other countries.
Humanity constantly rushes from one extreme to another: we want to fly like birds, then we want to explore the depths of the sea like fish. Today we will talk about our desire to conquer the bowels of the earth.
Development start
The first development of the underground boat began in 1918 by the Russian engineer Pyotr Rasskazov. However, in the same year, he was killed by an agent of foreign special services, and his work was stolen. So the development of the underground boat was suspended.
They returned to this idea only in the late 1930s. This time a whole group of Soviet engineers worked on the subway, but their developments were not destined to become a reality - the Great Patriotic War began.
After the end of the war, the Soviet side seized the very blueprints that were stolen in 1918. Thus, it is assumed that Peter Rasskazov was killed by a German agent. Over the years, Germany has managed to achieve some success in the development of an underground boat, but the only prototype was destroyed, so in the future everything had to start over.
Battle mole
And at first they started only in 1962. During this period, the secret project "Battle Mole" was launched in the USSR, the purpose of which was to destroy the missile silos and bunkers of a potential enemy.
Two years later, the first tests of the "Battle Mole" began. He managed to overcome 2 kilometers underground and destroy the command center of the conditional enemy.
The battle mole reached 3.5 meters in diameter and 35 meters in length. Its body was made of titanium alloy, and the device came into motion thanks to a portable nuclear reactor on board.
The mole's crew consisted of 5 people. In addition, he could carry a ton of explosives or 15 paratroopers on board.
Practical use
After the first successful tests, the USSR drew up a plan to deliver several moles to the coast of the United States, where they were to reach the missile silos in California and mine them.
However, the project was suspended due to an accident during another test of the mole. According to the official version, it was littered with rock in the Urals, and the entire crew of the car died.
While the engineers were looking for a way to protect the car from such troubles, Khrushchev resigned as head of state, and the new leadership hastily closed the project, considering it unpromising.
Nevertheless, the "Battle Mole" once again served the Union in 1974 - the country's leadership intentionally made a "leak" about the allegedly existing atomic underground fleet of the USSR, which forced the United States to throw a lot of resources and forces into the development of similar systems and means of their detection.
During the Soviet era, an underground boat called the "Battle Mole" was developed. Such underground tunnels were intended to destroy missile silos and enemy command posts. The Moles were supposed to be delivered to the shores of the United States on specially equipped nuclear submarines. Alas, the explosion of a test sample, which destroyed the boat and its crew, put an end to this promising development, although the Mole had shown very impressive results before.
Dream of conquering the underworld
Humanity dreamed and dreams not only to conquer the depths of the oceans, but also the underworld and even reach the center of the planet. Science fiction writers were the first to voice this dream. Let us recall the famous novel by Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth, written by him in 1864. His heroes reached the center of the planet through the mouth of an extinct volcano. But the heroes of the book "Underground Fire" by Count Shusi (1883) got to the center of the Earth in a rather primitive way, only wielding pickaxes. The main advantage of this novel is the assumption of a hot core of the planet. The heroes of the novel "The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin" by Alexei Tolstoy (1927) also dug into the bowels of the Earth, mining gold from the depths of the earth's ball.
However, the most curious and very close to our topic was Grigory Adamov's novel Winners of the Subsoil. Its author used the idea of \u200b\u200ban underground boat, which is very similar to the secret developments of the USSR at that time. Was such a coincidence accidental? Either the author of the novel had the gift of foresight, or in order to propagate the power of the Soviet regime, he was specially told some insignificant details of the secret project. By the way, the speed of the rocket-like apparatus described by Adamov, when passing through rocks, reached 10 km per hour. In 2003, the American film "The Earth's Core" was released, in which, in order to restore the rotation of the Earth's core, several daredevils go deep into the Earth on a special apparatus, which according to all data looks like an underground boat developed in the 20th century.
According to a number of publications, our compatriot Peter Rasskazov was the first person who developed the drawings of this subway. In 1918, the scientist-inventor was killed by an agent of German intelligence, who stole all the documentation of the underground apparatus from him. Of course, Americans believe that the famous Thomas Edison invented the subway. But that's why they are Americans, because former President Obama declared them an exceptional nation ...
Soviet engineers A. Treblev, A. Baskin and A. Kirilov began the first development of such an underground apparatus in the 1920s and 1930s. It was these scientists who came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bconstructing the first underground boat. True, the machine they developed was intended for civilian purposes: for example, to facilitate oil production, so it had to be specially modified for military needs. Now it is not known what was the basis of these developments, but at the Ural mines in the area of \u200b\u200bMount Blagodat, trial tests of this boat were carried out.
Of course, the scale of the device hardly resembled a full-fledged working version. It is believed that in terms of its parameters, it was most likely similar to the later combines designed for coal mining. However, due to a number of shortcomings and a lack of obvious military advantages, the authorities closed all work on the underground.
"Subterins" of the Third Reich
When the era of mass terror began, many of the participants in the subway project were shot. Suddenly, right before the outbreak of World War II, the authorities remembered this project, and they were again interested in the underground boat. PI Strakhov, a leading expert in this field, was suddenly summoned to the Kremlin. Then he oversaw the construction of the Moscow metro. In a conversation with DF Ustinov, who headed the armaments commissariat, Strakhov confirmed the possibility of building an underground passage.
Strakhov was provided with the surviving drawings and was offered to develop an improved and more suitable for combat use experimental model. Funds, people and the necessary equipment were allocated for this project. It was supposed to create an underground boat as soon as possible, but this was prevented by the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. The still unfinished experimental sample was cut into metal, and Strakhov was entrusted with the construction of bunkers.
Of course, a similar project was also carried out in Nazi Germany, where literally all the options for weapons that could bring victory to the Third Reich were considered, be it missiles, aircraft, submarines or underground military vehicles. After the end of the war, it was possible to get information that the Nazis also developed underground combat vehicles. One of them was called "Sea Lion" (another name - Subterrine), it was a project of R. Trebeletsky and H. von Wern. According to a number of researchers, R. Trebeletsky could have been an engineer A. Treblev, who escaped from the USSR.
German engineer Horner von Werner filed a patent for this underground boat in 1933. As conceived by the designer, this unit was capable of speeds up to 7 km / h. A team of 5 people could be on board, the weight of ammunition reached 300 kg. The boat was able to move not only underground but also under water. Of course, such a promising military apparatus was immediately classified, but there were no funds for the implementation of the project, and it ended up in the military archive.
After the outbreak of war, Count von Staufenberg, who was involved in military projects, suggested that Hitler use such a machine to invade England. It was assumed that the device would cross the English Channel like a submarine, then "bite" into the English coast and secretly get to the desired place underground. This plan was buried by Hermann Goering, who told Hitler that it was easier and cheaper to force the British to surrender by massive bombing. Although Goering did not fulfill his promise, the underground boat was never built.
The second development was called Midgard-schlange (translated as "Midgard Serpent"), it was a project of engineer Ritter. At that time, many German engineers and designers suffered from gigantomania, the underground tunnel for this project had a length of 400 to 520 meters and a weight of 60 thousand tons. It was assumed that this colossus with a crew of 30 people would develop under water a speed of 30 km / h, in the ground and rocks - from 2 to 10 km / h. The armament of the subway consisted of mines, machine guns and underground torpedoes. The device even housed a small transport shuttle Laurin for communication with the surface.
Was such an underground monster actually created? When the Great Patriotic War ended, in the Konigsberg region, the military found strange adits, as if laid by some kind of apparatus, next to which were visible fragments of some blown up tunneling machine. It was assumed that they are the remnants of the "Serpent of Midgard".
Underground cruiser for Nikita Khrushchev
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the former allies began a real hunt for advanced German developments, military technologies and specialists. The German project “Sea Lion”, concerning the development of an underground boat, fell into the hands of the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense and the head of the Main Directorate of Counterintelligence "SMERSH" V. S. Abakumov. To assess its prospects, a special group was created under the leadership of professors GI Pokrovsky and GI Babat. After examining the project in detail, the scientists said that the German subway is suitable for military use.
It should be noted that at about the same time (1948), our engineer M. Tsiferov was engaged in the creation of a domestic underground apparatus, who received the USSR author's certificate for the invention of the underground torpedo. It was not for nothing that his apparatus was called a torpedo, because it could move in the earth at a fairly significant speed - up to 1 m / s! Thus, in the USSR by the end of the 40s, there were two developments of underground boats - the German "Sea Lion" and the domestic Tsiferova.
When Khrushchev came to power in the USSR, a cold war was already underway, an arms race was unleashed, in which our country needed to have certain trump cards. Then Nikita Sergeevich was offered to create an underground combat boat, and already at a higher technical level - with an atomic engine. The head of the country liked the idea, it was decided to build a secret plant for pilot production in a short time. In 1962, near the village of Gromovka (Ukraine), the construction of a plant for the creation of underground combat boats began. Well, Nikita Sergeevich could not resist and publicly threatened the imperialists that they would be taken out not only from outer space, but even from underground.
Literally a couple of years later, in 1964, a secret plant in Ukraine created the first military underground boat of the USSR, named "Battle Mole". The boat had a titanium hull, there was a nuclear reactor on board, the stern and bow were pointed. The boat was 3.8 m in diameter and 35 meters in length. The crew of the "Battle Mole" consisted of five people, on board the boat could take another 15 paratroopers and a ton of explosives or weapons. The nuclear reactor allowed the boat to reach speeds of up to 7 km / h underground.
According to the plan of the military, the "Battle Mole" was to destroy missile silos and underground command posts of the enemy. It was proposed to deliver such underground tunnels or "subterins" to the shores of the United States by specially designed nuclear submarines. If desired, the "Battle Mole" was able to get even to the White House. According to another "idea" of the military, the underground cruiser could have installed an underground nuclear charge in the California region, where earthquakes often occur. Undermining it would cause a powerful man-made earthquake, which Americans would perceive as a natural disaster.
In the fall of 1964, tests of the "Battle Mole" were started. The subway was able to show good results, it easily overcame heterogeneous rocks and destroyed the underground bunker of the conditional enemy. Members of various government commissions have repeatedly attended demonstrations of the capabilities of an underground nuclear-powered vessel.
Unfortunately, during the next scheduled tests in the Ural Mountains, for some reason an explosion occurred on an underground boat (sabotage was not ruled out), and the "Battle Mole" together with the crew led by Colonel Semyon Budnikov and paratroopers remained forever immured in the thickness of the rocks ... This accident knocked down the project, because of the explosion, the tests were stopped, after the displacement of Khrushchev and Brezhnev's coming to power, the project was completely closed, and its materials were classified. Only in the second half of the 70s, the media began to surface certain details of this project.
Is there any research on the creation of underground boats in our time? This question is difficult to answer. Most likely, no one is going to make their way underground to the American missile silos, however, I think, the military would not refuse to have such devices at their disposal. One thing is clear: in the civilian sphere, no doubt, various equipment is being developed for laying underground tunnels, and in fact, the "Battle Mole" was a kind of autonomous mining combine.
