There are 0 registered members and 12 guests currently viewing the site.
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Soviet Nuclear Weapons - RT-23 Molodets (SS-24 Scalpel)- a rail-based intercontinental ballistic missile systemIf you have visited the first part of this Blog, you will have seen photos of the 'RT-2PM Topol' or 'SS-25 Sickle' road-mobile missile system. My second ex-Soviet nuclear weapon system was found a little easier, but was still no less of a surprise. I had taken the Metro to the Baltiskaya station in the south of the city, to visit St Petersburg's 'Museum of Railway Technology', on nab Obvodnogo Kanala, (adults R100, students R50, open 1100-1800). It proved a little difficult to find, as it is off the main street, and tucked behind some larger buildings. After wandering about for a bit, and asking questions in my basic Russian, it was eventually tracked down, and I sat by the entrance for a while, waiting for the attendants to arrive. Through the fence, I could see a large yard of the usual retired steam and diesel locomotives, freight wagons and carriages. There was even a large field-gun, mounted on railway bogies, but one thing that I couldn't work out was a large vertical cylindrical item, buried somewhere in the middle of the yard, that didn't seem to have anything to do with railway museums that I had visited in the past. What could it be? What was it doing there? When the gates opened, and I had paid my entrance fee to the friendly old Babushka behind the counter, I wandered over to take a look. Imagine my surprise to discover that the large vertical cylindrical item was in fact a missile, mounted on a railway train! Overview of the RT-23 'Molodets' Missile Train Locomotive and cars of the 'SS-24 Scalpel' Missile Launching Train This time, there was no worry that I might be looking at something I wasn't supposed to see. There were even notice-boards that explained the principle components of the system. I took my camera out, and began photographing it, lucky to have such a lovely sunlit morning for my visit. RT-23 'Molodets' Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Power Supply car The 'RT-23 Molodets' , known to NATO by the name 'SS-24 Scalpel', was a rail-based intercontinental ballistic missile system. The RT-23 missile and military railway missile complex in general were designed by the 'Yuzhnoye' engineering department headed by academician V.F. Utkin in Dnepropetrovsk. The missile train and launching car were designed by the KBSM engineering department headed by academician A.F. Utkin in Leningrad. 12 complexes were manufactured in the period 1987-1991. RT-23 'Molodets' Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Closup of missile Angled shot of Launching Train The military railway missile complex consists of: 1. Three launching units RT-23 'Molodets' Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Missile-launching train The launching unit consists of 3 cars: 1. Control car View of Power Supply car and Launching Train Control Car technical details: Control car and RT-23 'Molodets' nuclear missile Doorway of Control Car Launching Car technical details: Launching car and base of missile Detail of hydraulic stablising rams on the Launching car RT-23 'Molodets' missile in launching car RT-23 'Molodets' Missile technical details: Closeup of Missile and hydraulic elevation gear Closeup of Missile Power Supply Car technical details: Closeup of equipment to short-circuit and push aside the overhead contact wire Power Supply car - detail of ventillators Rear and side view of Power Supply car Detail of ventilators on Power Supply car Diesel Locomotive DM62-1731 technical details: Cab 'a' of the DM62-1731 diesel locomotive, number: 15107318 Front view of the DM62-1731 diesel locomotive, number: 15107318 Detail of badge and lettering on side of locomotive Weapons of Mass Destruction - the old and the new Please note that all images are available for commercial licensing, in a range of sizes - contact me with your detailed requirements for further details. |
Stock Photograph SearchAdvanced Search PageTag Cloud
0
all
alma-ata
architect
are
argentina
ark
artistic
ashgabat
beijing
bolivia
buddhist
canada
car
china
city
creativity
culture
door
doors
end
foz do iguacu
history
horizon
india
kazakhstan
kerala
land
man
men
military
moskovskaya oblast
museum
nature
nizhny novgorod
one
onguday
outdoor
people
rajasthan
representation
rio
russia asiatic
russia european
salta
semipalatinsk
st lazarus church
transport
uniform
use
Popular searches on this site. |
Web design by gnomeplanet.com :: All images and pages on this site are © 2008 - 2024 and remain the property of gnomeplanet.com :: All rights reserved |