S-25 Berkut
WEAPON / Difficulty / DAM / PEN / Speed / Guidance / Warhead / RNGDiff. / C:37 B:93 / 53c / 4300km/h / 350kg / 58km
NUKE
WEIGHT
PRICE
OTHER
The S-25 Berkut (Russian: С-25 «Беркут»; "Berkut" means golden eagle in English) is a surface-to-air guided missile, the first operational SAM. Its NATO reporting name is SA-1 Guild. It was used only to defend Moscow, while the more mobile SA-2 Guideline would be used in almost all other roles. Other names include the R-113 (?), B-200 (SAM targeting radar), A-11/A-12 (antennas for B-200), and V-300 (a SAM); S-25 is for Systema 25, referring to the system as a whole.
History
Development of the S-25 was authorized on 9 August 1950 by a decision of Ministry Soviet of the USSR and was appended by Stalin: We have to get the missile for air defense in a year. The system was assigned to design to SB-1 (Special Bureau №1).
The initial design included:
· E\F band A-100 "Kama" radar based in two concentric rings; a near ring - 25-30 km from Moscow, and a far ring, approximately 200-250 km from Moscow, for early warning and target detection.
· B-200 missile targeting radars, deployed in two rings.
· V-300 SAMs deployed around the B-200 radars.
· G-400 Interceptor aircraft. These were Tu-4 with G-300 (izdelie 210, downsized version of V-300 with aerial launch) missiles.
· Possibly, Tu-4 based AWACS aircraft D-500.
The implementation was assigned to the Third Main Agency, which was specially created, of the Ministry Soviet of the USSR. SB-1 was converted to KB-1 (Design Bureau №1) headed by P.N.Kuksenko and S.L.Beria. Some captured German specialists were concentrated in department №38 of KB-1.
Test range trials of the first experimental system were conducted in January 1952. These tests led to the removal of the air based components of the Berkut system (G-400/G-300 and G-500).
The construction of ground infrastructure (designed by the Moscow division of Lengiprostroy, V.I.Rechkin) was done from 1953 through 1955 at 50 km and 90 km ranges from Moscow. There were about 2000 km of roads built by prisoners.
After the death of Stalin and arrest of L.P.Beria (the head of Soviet police and security, and the father of S.L.Beria) in June 1953, the KB-1 was reorganized and headed by Raspletin. The Third Main Agency was converted to Glavspetsmash and included into the Ministry of Medium Machine Building. The name Berkut was changed to Systema 25.
The first combat elements of S-25 were delivered to the military in 1954. In March 1954 most sites were being prepared for the installation of the missiles and launchers. The final tests were completed in the beginning of 1955. The first batteries entered service on 7 May 1955. The system entered combat duty in June 1956. After the system have entered service some parts of Glavspetsmash (Glavspetsmontazh and Glavspetsmash) were disbanded, the KB-1 was transferred to the Ministry of Defense Industries.
In order to utilize the S-25 system, there was Separate Army of Special Purposes of Air Defense Forces of the Land created in Moscow district of Air Defense under the command of general-colonel K.Kazakov in the spring of 1955.
There were a number of improvements to the initial design during the exploitation of S-25. The latest modernized S-25M was retired in 1982 and replaced with S-300P air defense complexes.
Strange (western?) story:
Development of the S-25 was started at the Lavochkin OKB in 1951, expressly intended to defend Moscow from bomber attack. The system developed quickly, and was ready for initial operation in 1954. By the late 1950s 56 sites had been deployed in two rings around Moscow, the inner ring of 22 some 40 km from the city center, and the other 34 sites 90 km out. Each site contained about 60 launch platforms, for a total deployment of over 3000 missiles.
Surface-to-air Missile Complex S-25
The parts of the S-25 were designed in parallel. Some grounds were created at the Kapustin Yar test range to support the development of S-25:
· №30 - technical position to prepare missiles
· №31 - living rooms of servicemen
· №32 - V-300 launcher
· №33 - B-200 radar
The first tests of S-25 in full control mode were started 2 November 1952 (using radar-simulated target). The tests against parachute targets were done in the beginning of 1953. Tu-4 drones were used for moving target tests from 26 April to 18 May 1953. There were 81 launches during trials from 18 September 1952 to 18 May 1953. Additional tests were done in September-October of 1953 against Il-28 and Tu-4 drones.
The decision of the government to build a full scale S-25 complex at the Kapustin Yar was made in January 1954. The complex was sampled for the state trials 25 June 1954. The trials were conducted from 1 October 1954 to 1 April 1955 and included 69 launches at Il-28 and Tu-4 drones (including simultaneous launch of 20 missiles at 20 targets). The complex was capable to fire at 20 targets with 1 or 2 missiles simultaneously having up to 60 missiles ready to launch. The startup time was 5 minutes (for 18 target channels).
There were 56 S-25 serial complexes manufactured and deployed around the Moscow area, plus one serial and one experimental deployed at the Kapustin Yar test range.
B-200 Missile Targeting Radar
Each site was equipped with a B-200 guidance system, including a track-while-scan radar (designated Yo-Yo by US intelligence). The system also incorporated fire control equipment which enabled each site to engage as many as 10 targets simultaneously, each with two missiles.
The B-200 radar prototype was tested in the middle of 1950.
Surface-to-air Missile V-300
The first V-300 missile was fired 25 July 1951 at the Kapustin Yar test range.
The missile, which went by a variety of names depending on the version, used a single liquid-fueled rocket motor. Although its maximum speed was on the order of Mach 2.5, it had a low initial velocity which limited its engagement capability against supersonic targets. Its maximum intercept range varied depending upon the approach and type of target; against a directly incoming, high-flying B-52 its range was on the order of 30 km. The missile carried a large warhead of 200-320 kg (450-700 pounds), and its lethal radius was estimated to be 20-35 m (65-120 feet). It was believed to be capable of interceptions from a minimum altitude of 900 m (3,000 feet) up to 18,000 m (60,000 feet), with some additional capability up to about 24,000 m (80,000 feet), particularly if equipped with a nuclear warhead.
External references
· History of S-25 at 5ta.ru Russia
· Interview with Sergo Beria
Under the management of A.A. Raspletin in the period of 1951-55, and under the conditions of the increasing intensity of the "Cold War" and the real atomic threat, the first domestic zenith rocket air defense system was created. Development of the S-25 started at the Lavochkin OKB in 1951, expressly indended to defend Moscow from bomber attack. The system developed quickly, and was ready for initial operation in 1954.
The SA-1 Guild is the NATO reporting name for the S-25 Berkut surface-to-air guided missile, the first operational SAM deployed by the Soviet Union. Other names include the R-113 and V-300, S-25 is for Systema 25. The SA-1 was very large and expensive, but nevertheless had limited performance. It was used only to defend Moscow, while the more mobile SA-2 Guideline would be used in almost all other roles.
The S-25 SA-1 GUILD was the first surface-to-air strategic air defense system deployed by the Soviet Union. The S-25 was developed for the protection of the city of Moscow and Moscow industrial region.
It was intended for destruction of aerial targets at the heights to 35 km, which fly with speeds of up to 4300 km/h, at the distances to 58 km.
These R-113 missiles were deployed around Moscow in a dense complex of 56 sites arranged in two concentric rings. There were 22 sites in the inner ring at about 25 nm radius from the center of Moscow and 34 sites on the outer ring at about 45 nm radius. It simultaneously provided for the creation of the new infrastructure of the Moscow area - habitable towns, highways, lines of communications, power transmission, etc. A typical site had 60 launch positions joined by a road network.
According to the estimable Steve Zaloga, "Each launch site consisted of four distinct sections, a launch area, the guidance radar area, the administrative/housing/technical support area, and an electrical power transformer station. The launcher area was the largest and most distinctive area, covering some 360 acres, usually in forested regions around the city. Each launch area had a distinct herringbone appearance from its ten double rows of service roads, supporting a total of 60 missile launch pads per site. The launcher system itself was quite simple, consisting of a semi-trailer for transporting and erecting the missile, and a simple launch pad reminiscent of the German design used with the V-2 ballistic missile. About a mile from the launch area was the bunkered command center, located on about 50 acres of land and near the Moscow ring road. On the side of the bunker facing the launcher area was a pair of B-200 radar antennas, one providing azimuth coverage and one providing elevation coverage. The bunker contained the main BESM analog fire control computer, as well as twenty guidance consoles. Each regimental site was manned by about 30 officers and 450 enlisted men."
The V-301 missile, as originally designed for use with this system, was unboosted and employed a single liquid sustainer motor. Although its maximum speed was on the order of Mach 2.5, it had a low initial velocity which limited its engagement capability against supersonic targets. Its maximum intercept range varied depending upon the approach and type of target; for example, against a directly incoming, high-flying B-252 its range was on the order of 20 n.m. This missile ccould carry an HE or nuclear payload of 450-700 pounds and its CEP was estimated to be 65-120 feet. It was believed to be capable of interceptions from a minimum altitude of 3,000 feet up to 60,000 feet, with some additional capability up to about 80,000 feet, particularly if equipped with a nuclear warhead.
This system had the first in the world multichannel radar, which accomplishes work on the targets with timing separation. The B-200 guidance system at each site employed a track-while-scan radar (designated "Yo-Yo" by US intelligence) having about 54° coverage in both the vertical and horizontal planes. The system also incorporated fire control equipment which enabled each site to engage as many as 20 targets simultaneously. This capability, with the spacing of adjacent sites for mutual support and the inner ring of sites for backup, enables the system to direct an extremely high rate of fire against incoming targets.
Placed on stationary combat positions in the Moscow area system, the S-25 fulfilled its functions over the course of 30 years. The SA-1 system entered operational service in the late 1950s, and remained in service through the mid-1980s. Because of its' cost, immobility, and inflexibility, the SA-1 system was not deployed elsewhere in the Soviet Union apart from Moscow.