Victor-class submarine#Victor I
{{Short description|Soviet nuclear-powered attack submarine}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2021}}
| {{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= 300px |Ship caption=A Victor I-class submarine underway }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Victor class |Builders=Sudomekh Shipyard |Operators=*{{navy|Soviet Union}}
|Class before={{sclass2|November|submarine|4}} |Class after={{sclass2|Alfa|submarine|4}}, {{sclass|Akula|submarine|4}} |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range= |In service range= |In commission range=1967–present |Total ships building= |Total ships planned= |Total ships completed=48Includes all three Victor classes. |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active=2 |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost= |Total ships retired=46 |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type=Nuclear attack submarine |Ship displacement=*4,950 tons light surfaced
|Ship length={{convert|93 |
| 102|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|10|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draft={{convert|7|m|ftin|abbr=on}} |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=One VM-4P pressurized-water twin nuclear reactor (2x75 MW), 2 sets OK-300 steam turbines; 1 7-bladed or 2 4-bladed props; {{convert|31,000|shp|abbr=on}} at 290 shaft rpm – 2 low-speed electric cruise motors; 2 small props on stern planes; {{convert|1,020|shp|abbr=on}} at 500 rpm Electric: 4,460 kw tot. (2 × 2,000-kw, 380-V, 50-Hz a.c. OK-2 turbogenerators, 1 × 460-kw diesel emergency set){{Verify source|date=September 2010}} |Ship speed={{convert|32|kn}} |Ship range= |Ship endurance=80 days |Ship test depth= |Ship complement=About 100 (27 officers, 34 warrant officers, 35 enlisted) |Ship sensors=*Radar: 1 MRK-50 Albatros-series (Snoop Tray-2) navigation/search
|Ship EW= |Ship armament=* Active vessels have 2 bow torpedo tubes, {{convert|650|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} (6 weapons – Type 88R{{Verify source|date=September 2010}}/SS-N-16 Stallion ASW missiles, Type 65-76 torpedoes)
|Ship notes= }} |
The Victor class, Soviet designations Project 671 Yorsh, Project 671RT Syomga and Project 671RTM/RTMK Shchuka, (NATO reporting names Victor I, Victor II and Victor III, respectively), are series of nuclear-powered attack submarines built in the Soviet Union and operated by the Soviet Navy. Since the 1960s, 48 units were built in total, of which the last remaining are currently in service with the Russian Navy. The Victor-class submarines featured a teardrop shape, allowing them to travel at high speed. These vessels were primarily designed to protect Soviet surface fleets and to attack American ballistic missile submarines. Project 671 began in 1959 with the design task assigned to SKB-143 (one of the predecessors of the Malakhit Marine Engineering Bureau).
Versions
=Project 671 ''Yorsh'' (Victor I)=
{{floatbox|File:Victor I class SSN.svg}}
Soviet designation Project 671 Yorsh (ruffe)—was the initial type that entered service in 1967; 16 were produced.{{cite book |first1=Norman |last1=Polmar |first2=Jurrien |last2=Noot |date=1991 |title=Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies 1718-1990 |location=Annapolis, MD |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-0-87021-570-4}} Each had six torpedo tubes for launching Type 53 torpedoes and SS-N-15 anti-submarine missiles and mines could also be released. Subs had a capacity of 24 tube-launched weapons or 48 mines (or a combination). They were {{convert|92.5|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} long. All disposed.{{cite web |url=http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/nts/671/list.htm |title=Проект 671 "Ёрш" (NATO – "Victor I") |trans-title=Project 671 "Ërsh" |website=Deepstorm.ru |language=ru |access-date=19 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929004639/http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/nts/671/list.htm |archive-date=29 September 2011 |url-status=live}}
=Project 671RT ''Syomga'' (Victor II)=
{{floatbox|Image:Victor II class SSN.svg}}
Soviet designation Project 671RT Syomga (atlantic salmon)—entered service in 1972; seven were produced in the 1970s. These were originally designated Uniform class by NATO. They had similar armament to the Victor I class and were the first Soviet submarines to introduce raft mounting for acoustic quieting.{{cite book |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |title=Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001 |date=2003 |publisher=Potomac Books, Inc. |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-1-57488-594-1 |page=159}} Production was truncated due to a decision to develop the improved Victor III class. They were {{convert|101.8|m|abbr=on|0}} long. All disposed.{{cite web |url=http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/nts/671RT/list.htm |title=Проект 671РТ "Сёмга" (NATO – "Victor II") |trans-title=Project 671RT "Somga" |website=Deepstorm.ru |language=ru |access-date=19 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219205723/http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/nts/671RT/list.htm |archive-date=19 December 2014 |url-status=live}}
=Project 671RTM/RTMK ''Shchuka'' (Victor III)=
{{floatbox|File:Victor III class SSN.svg}}
Soviet designation Project 671RTM/RTMK Shchuka (pike)—entered service in 1979; 25 were produced until 1991. Quieter than previous Soviet submarines, these ships had four tubes for launching SS-N-21 or SS-N-15 missiles and Type 53 torpedoes, plus another two tubes for launching SS-N-16 missiles and Type 65 torpedoes. 24 tube-launched weapons or 36 mines could be on board. The Victor III class caused a minor furor in NATO intelligence agencies at its introduction because of the distinctive pod on the vertical stern-plane. Speculation immediately mounted that the pod was the housing for some sort of exotic silent propulsion system, possibly a magnetohydrodynamic drive unit. Another theory proposed that it was some sort of weapon system.{{Citation needed|date=November 2018}} In the end, the pod was identified as a hydrodynamic housing for a reelable towed passive sonar array;{{Cite web |url=http://www.military-today.com/navy/victor_iii_class.htm |title=Victor III class |last=Genys |first=Andrius |website=Military-today.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017043044/http://www.military-today.com/navy/victor_iii_class.htm |archive-date=2018-10-17 |url-status=usurped}} the system was subsequently incorporated into the {{sclass2|Sierra|submarine|5}} and {{sclass|Akula|submarine|0}} SSNs. In October 1983 the towed array of {{ship|Soviet submarine|K-324||2}}, a Victor III operating west of Bermuda, became tangled with the towed array of US frigate {{USS|McCloy|FF-1038|6}}. K-324 was forced to surface, allowing NATO forces to photograph the pod in its deployed state. The Victor-III class was continuously improved during construction and late production models have a superior acoustic performance.{{Cite web |url=https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/deep.htm |title=Run Silent, Run Deep |website=FAS.org |access-date=2015-11-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205165346/https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/deep.htm |archive-date=2006-02-05 |url-status=live}} They were {{convert|106|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} long. 21 disposed.{{cite web |url=http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/nts/671RTM/list.htm |title=Проект 671РТМ и 671РТМК "Щука" (NATO – "Victor-III") |trans-title=Project 671RTM and 671RTMK "Shchuka" |website=Deepstorm.ru |language=ru |access-date=19 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219205201/http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/nts/671RTM/list.htm |archive-date=19 December 2014 |url-status=live}}
Units
| class="wikitable"
|+ Last active units ! width=40 | # ! Name ! Project ! Laid down ! Launched ! Commissioned ! Fleet ! Status ! Notes |
| B-138
| Obninsk | 671RTMK | 7 December 1988 | 5 August 1989 | 30 December 1990 | Refit? |
| B-448
| Tambov | 671RTMK | 31 January 1991 | 17 October 1991 | 24 September 1992 | Northern Fleet | Reported as "received" in early 2023{{Cite news |url=https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/security/2020/10/old-nuclear-sub-gets-new-life-nerpa-shipyard |title=Old nuclear sub gets new life at Nerpa shipyard |first=Thomas |last=Nilsen |date=5 October 2020 |newspaper=Barents Observer}}{{cite web | url=https://armstrade.org/includes/periodics/news/2023/0320/091572247/detail.shtml | title=ЦАМТО / / Российские подводники получат в 2023 году три атомные подводные лодки и две ДЭПЛ }} |
Incidents
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2021}}
- In 1981 {{USS|Drum|SSN-677|6}} collided with a Victor III-class submarine—K-324—while attempting to photograph the odd pod on the back. The event was covered up by the Reagan Administration and never made public, though it nearly cost the lives of the sailors on USS Drum.{{cite book |first=W. Craig |last=Reed |date=2010 |title=Red November: Inside the Secret U.S.-Soviet Submarine War |location=New York City |publisher=William Morrow and Company |isbn=978-0-06180-676-6}}{{page number?|date=March 2021}} The incident was declassified and disclosed by the Clinton Administration in February 1993.
- On 21 March 1984, K-314 collided with the aircraft carrier {{USS|Kitty Hawk|CV-63|6}} in the Sea of Japan. Neither ship was significantly damaged. {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/22/world/soviet-sub-and-us-ship-collide.html |title=SOVIET SUB AND U.S. SHIP COLLIDE |newspaper=The New York Times |date=22 March 1984 |access-date=2023-12-21}}
- The Soviet cargo ship Bratstvo collided with the Soviet submarine K-53 of the Victor I-class in position Latitude 35 deg 55 min North and Longitude 005 deg 00 min West, at the exit from the Gibraltar Strait in Alboran Sea, on 18 (as per ship's time) or 19 (as per submarine time) September 1984.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
- On 6 September 2006, the Victor III-class Daniil Moskovskiy suffered an electronics fire while in the Barents Sea, killing two crew members. The boat was 16 years old and was overdue for overhaul. It was towed back to Vidyayevo.{{cite news |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/i_latestdetail.asp?id=40867 |title=Fire aboard Russian nuclear submarine kills 2 crew members |newspaper=The China Post |date=7 September 2006 |access-date=2013-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305161930/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/i_latestdetail.asp?id=40867 |archive-date=5 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.bellona.org/subjects/1140451820.2 |title=Northern Fleet accidents and incidents |website=Bellona Foundation |access-date=2006-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823002940/http://www.bellona.org/subjects/1140451820.2 |archive-date=2006-08-23 |url-status=dead}} She continued to serve into the latter 2010s and was reportedly formally decommissioned on 28 October 2022.[https://www-deepstorm-ru.translate.goog/DeepStorm.files/45-92/nts/671RTM/K-414/K-414.htm?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=ru&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc Deep Storm]
In media
- A depiction of a Victor III-class submarine (Valentin Zukovsky's nephew Nikolai's own submarine) was used prominently in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough as a key element in the film's antagonists (Elektra King and Viktor "Renard" Zokas) plan.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Victor class submarines}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20040224230851/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/k19/sub_detail_sov3.html Victor-class] at National Geographic
- [http://www.ais.org/~schnars/aero/nato-shp.htm NATO Code Names for Submarines and Ships] at Aerospace Page of Andreas Gehrs-Pahl
- [http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101051 Victor I] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091006035807/http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101051 |date=6 October 2009 }} at Encyclopedia of Ships {{In lang|ru}}
- [http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101090 Victor II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206173451/http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101090 |date=6 February 2008 }} at Encyclopedia of Ships {{In lang|ru}}
- [http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101098 Victor III] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080206173456/http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101098 |date=6 February 2008 }} at Encyclopedia of Ships {{In lang|ru}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20101130045050/http://russian-ships.info/eng/submarines/project_671rtm.htm Victor III-class submarines - Complete Ship List] at Russian-Ships.info
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071006082638/http://www.bellona.org/articles/sub_fire Fire breaks out aboard Northern Fleet nuclear sub, killing 2] at Bellona.org
{{Victor class submarine}}
{{Soviet and Russian submarines after 1945}}
{{Current SSN}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victor-class submarine}}