Short description: None
Submarines of the Soviet Navy were developed by numbered "projects", which were sometimes but not always given names. During the
Cold War, NATO nations referred to these classes by NATO reporting names, based on intelligence data, which did not always correspond with the projects. See:
- List of NATO reporting names for ballistic missile submarines
- List of NATO reporting names for guided missile submarines
- List of NATO reporting names for hunter-killer and experimental submarines
The NATO reporting names were based on the British (and later American) habit of naming submarines with a letter of the alphabet indicating the class, followed by a serial number of that class. The names are the radiotelephonic alphabet call sign of a letter of the alphabet. For security purposes, the "pennant numbers" of Soviet submarines were not sequential, any more than those of Soviet surface vessels were.
Most Russian (and Soviet) submarines had no "personal" name, but were only known by a number, prefixed by letters identifying the boat's type at a higher level than her class. Those letters included:
- К (K): крейсерская (kreyserskaya, "cruiser")
- ТК (TK): тяжёлая крейсерская (tyazholaya kreyserskaya, "heavy cruiser")
- Б (B): большая (bolshaya, "large")
- С (S): средняя (srednyaya, "medium")
- М (M): малая (malaya, "small")
Any of those prefixes could have С (S) added to the end, standing for специальная (spetsialnaya) and meaning "designed for special missions":
- New weapon, engines and armament testing
- Submarines for long-range radio communications
- Target submarines for anti-submarine training
- Rescue service submarines
- Covert operations
Diesel-electric
Russo-Japanese War
World War I era
World War II era
Project
|
Series
|
Image
|
Built
|
Assignment
|
Dekabrist-class submarine
|
Series I
|
|
6
|
large positional submarine
|
Leninets-class submarine
|
Series II, XI, XIII, XIII-1938
|
|
25
|
Minelayers
|
Shchuka-class submarine
|
Series III, V, V-bis, V-bis-2, X, X-1938
|
|
86
|
Medium-sized patrol submarines.
|
Pravda-class submarine
|
Serie IV
|
|
3
|
Squadron submarines.
|
Malyutka-class submarine
|
Series VI, VI-bis, XII, XV
|
76px 89px
|
110
|
Small submarines for coastal patrols.
|
S-class submarine
|
Series IX, IX-bis
|
|
41
|
Medium submarines, built using German project (early version of Type IX).
|
K-class submarine
|
Serie XIV
|
|
11
|
Cruiser submarines with combined arms.
|
TS-class submarine
|
|
|
3
|
Former submarines of the Royal Romanian Navy: Rechinul (TS-1), Marsuinul (TS-2) and Delfinul (TS-3)
|
Post-World War II era
Attack submarines
Project
|
NATO reporting name
|
Silhouette/Image
|
Built
|
Assignment
|
611
|
Zulu class
|
|
26
|
Large oceanic submarines
|
613
|
Whiskey class
|
|
215
|
Medium multi-purpose submarines
|
615
|
Quebec class
|
|
30
|
Small submarines with full-diesel propulsion
|
617
|
Whale class
|
|
1
|
Experimental submarines which had a Walter engine fuelled by high test peroxide (HTP)
|
633
|
Romeo class
|
|
20
|
Medium submarines
|
641
|
Foxtrot class
|
|
75
|
Large oceanic submarines
|
641B Cом (Som, catfish)
|
Tango class
|
|
18
|
Large oceanic submarines
|
690 Кефаль (Kefal, mullet)
|
Bravo class
|
|
4
|
Target submarine for torpedo exercises
|
877, 877E, 877EKM, 877V, 877LPMB, 877EK Палтус (Paltus, halibut)
|
Kilo class
|
|
43
|
Large submarines
|
636, 636М Варшавянка (Varshavyanka, after Warsaw Pact)
|
Improved Kilo class
|
|
30
|
Large submarines
|
677 Лада (Lada, goddess of love)
|
St. Petersburg
|
|
1
|
Large submarines
|
1650 Амур (the Amur River)
|
|
|
0
|
Modification of Lada class for export
|
865 Пиранья (Piran'ya, piranha)
|
Losos class (Salmon)
|
|
2
|
Midget submarines
|
Guided missile submarines
Ballistic missile submarines
Auxiliary submarines
Project
|
NATO reporting name
|
Silhouette/Image
|
Built
|
Assignment
|
940 Ленок (Lenok)
|
India
|
|
2
|
2 × Poseidon class DSRV's
|
1710 Макрель (Makrel, mackerel)
|
Beluga
|
|
1
|
It was an experimental vessel used for testing propulsion systems, hull forms, and boundary-layer control techniques.
|
1840
|
Lima
|
|
1
|
Large special. It was used for trying out new technologies, research, or special mission support
|
Nuclear-powered
Attack submarines
First generation
Second generation
Third generation
Fourth generation
Guided missile submarines
First generation
Second generation
Third generation
Fourth generation
Project
|
NATO reporting name
|
Silhouette/Image
|
Built
|
Assignment
|
885 Ясень (Yasen, ash)
|
Severodvinsk
|
|
4
|
Planned 12
|
Ballistic missile submarines
First generation
Project
|
NATO reporting name
|
Silhouette/Image
|
Built
|
Assignment
|
658, 701
|
Hotel
|
|
8
|
|
Second generation
Third generation
Fourth generation
Auxiliary submarines
See also
- List of Russian naval engineers
- Showell, Jak M. U-Boat Century, German Submarine Warfare 1906-2006. Chatham Publishing, Great Britain (2006). ISBN:1861-7624-10.
External links
| Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of Soviet and Russian submarine classes. Read more |