The Project 651, known in the West by its NATO reporting name Juliett class, was a class of Soviet diesel-electric submarines armed with cruise missiles. They were designed in the late 1950s to provide the Soviet Navy with a nuclear strike capability against targets along the east coast of the United States and enemy combatants. The head of the design team was Abram Samuilovich Kassatsier. They carried four nuclear-capable cruise missiles with a range of approximately 300 nautical miles (560 km), which could be launched while the submarine was surfaced and moving less than four knots (7.4 km/h). Once surfaced, the first missile could be launched in about five minutes; subsequent missiles would follow within about ten seconds each. Initially, the missiles were the inertially-guided P-5. When submarine-launched ballistic missiles rendered the P-5s obsolescent, they were replaced with the P-6 designed to attack aircraft carriers. A special 10 m2 target guidance radar was built into the forward edge of the sail structure, which opened by rotating. One boat was eventually fitted with the Kasatka satellite downlink for targeting information to support P-500 4K-80 "Bazalt" anti-ship cruise missiles. The Juliett class had a low magnetic signature austenitic steel double hull, covered by two inches (51 mm) thick black tiles made of sound-absorbing hard rubber.
K-222 was the first and only Project 661 nuclear-powered cruise-missile submarine built for the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. Although the Soviets saw K-222 as an unsuccessful design, upon completion it was the world's fastest submarine and the first to be built with a titanium hull.
K-77 was a "Project 651" diesel–electric submarine built for the Soviet Navy during the 1960s. Commissioned in 1965, the boat was armed with long-range cruise missiles to carry out its mission of destroying American aircraft carriers and bases. The missiles could be fitted with either conventional or nuclear warheads.
K-131 was a Project 675 of the Soviet Navy's Northern Fleet, she was also redesignated K-192.
The Echo class were nuclear cruise missile submarines of the Soviet Navy built during the 1960s. Their Soviet designation was Project 659 for the first five vessels, and Project 675 for the following twenty-nine. Their NATO reporting names were Echo I and Echo II. All were decommissioned by 1994.
Whiskey-class submarines are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines that the Soviet Union built in the early Cold War period.
K-56 was a Project 675 nuclear submarine of the Soviet Navy.
S-80 was a diesel-electric submarine of the Soviet Navy.
The Project 670 Skat submarine was a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine built for the Soviet Navy and later operated by the Russian Navy. All Charlie I/II-class submarines are decommissioned. One Charlie-class submarine was used for testing an Oniks missile. Charlie I and its successor Charlie II-class submarines are designed by the Lazurit Central Design Bureau of Gorky.
The S-99 experimental submarine was the only ship of the Project 617 class that the Soviet Union built during the early Cold War. She was the only Soviet submarine which used a German Walter turbine fueled by high-test peroxide (HTP). Entering service in 1956, the boat was assigned to a training unit of the Baltic Fleet. S-99 was badly damaged by a HTP explosion in 1959 and was not repaired. The submarine was decommissioned in 1964 and subsequently scrapped.
Kronstadt was a Project 1134A Kresta II-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy, named for the Kronstadt naval base. The first ship of her class, the ship served during the Cold War, from 1969 to 1991. She served with the Northern Fleet, with her shakedown cruise being through the Mediterranean Sea. After colliding with a destroyer in 1975, she spent five years being repaired and modernized. She was decommissioned in 1991 before being sold for scrap two years later due to reduced naval funding and deteriorating conditions.
Bodryy was a Project 135 Burevestnik-class Large Anti-Submarine Ship or Krivak-class frigate. Launched on 15 April 1971, the vessel served with the Soviet Navy until it was dissolved and then was transferred to the Russian Navy. The ship played a key role in helping the Soviets develop techniques for tracking ballistic missile submarines in the 1970s. Bodryy was retired on 17 July 1997 and scrapped.
Bditel'nyy or Bditelnyy was a Project 1135 Burevestnik Large Anti-Submarine Ship or Krivak-class frigate that served with the Soviet and Russian Navies. Launched on 28 March 1970, the vessel served as part of the Baltic Fleet but operated more widely than the Baltic Sea, demonstrating the emerging blue water capability of the Navy. A dedicated anti-submarine vessel, with an armament built around the Metel system, the ship spent the period between 26 December 1970 and 30 September 1971 undertaking trials and tests to prove the new systems. During that time General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and Admiral of the Fleet Sergey Gorshkov were both hosted on board. The vessel then subsequently undertook tracking of submarines in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean Seas, and even travelled as far as Cuba, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The ship also visited friendly ports like Annaba in Algeria, Gdynia in Poland and Rostock in East Germany. With the end of the Cold War, the ship also travelled to Belgium and visited Antwerp. During June 1993, Bditelnyy took part in BALTOPS-93, the first joint exercise between NATO and Russia. However, soon afterwards, the ship was retired and, on 31 July 1996, decommissioned and subsequently broken up.
Admiral Isakov was a Kresta II-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy and briefly of the Russian Navy, named for Soviet admiral Ivan Isakov. The second ship of her class, she served mostly during the Cold War from her commissioning in 1970.
Revnostnyy was a Project 1135M Burevestnik-class Guard Ship or 'Krivak' class frigate that served with the Soviet Navy. Launched on 23 April 1980, the vessel operated as part of the Pacific Fleet as an anti-submarine vessel, with an armament built around the Metel Anti-Ship Complex. Revnostnyy patrolled extensively as far afield as the Arabian Peninsula and Sea of Japan. The ship undertook a friendly visit to India in 1984 and, during the following year, formed part of the escort for a flotilla led by the Soviet aircraft carrier Novorossiysk which helped develop Soviet tactics for carrier-borne aircraft. Taken out of service for an overhaul in 1988, Revnostnyy was instead placed in reserve until 24 July 2003, when the ship was decommissioned and sold to be broken up.
Ryavnyy was a Project 1135M Burevestnik-class Guard Ship or 'Krivak II' class frigate that served with the Soviet Navy. Launched on 1 September 1979, the vessel operated as part of the Pacific Fleet as an anti-submarine vessel, with an armament built around the Metel Anti-Ship Complex. Ryavnyy took part in operations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and undertook visits to countries friendly to the Soviet Union. The ship spent time in the Seychelles and North Yemen in 1982 and North Korea in 1985 and 1986. Taken out of service for an overhaul in 1989, Ryavnyy was instead placed in reserve until 17 July 1997, when the ship was decommissioned and sold to be broken up.
Gordelivy was a Project 1135M Burevestnik-class Guard Ship or 'Krivak II'-class frigate that served with the Soviet and Russian Navies. Launched on 3 May 1978, the vessel operated as part of the Pacific Fleet as an anti-submarine vessel, with an armament built around the Metel Anti-Ship Complex. Gordelivy operated in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The ship was involved in the recovery of a BOR-4 prototype spaceplane in 1982 and undertook a friendly visit to Mumbia, India, in 1985. Decommissioned and sold to a South Korean company in 1994, Gordelivy left Russia on 27 June 1995 to be broken up.
Neukrotimyy was a Project 1135M Burevestnik-class Guard Ship or 'Krivak II'-class frigate that served with the Soviet and Russian Navies. The vessel was known as Komsomolets Litvyy between 1987 and 1990. Launched on 17 September 1977, Neukrotimyy was designed to operate as an anti-submarine vessel with the Baltic Fleet, using an armament built around the Metel Anti-Ship Complex. The vessel undertook many visits to other countries outside the Soviet Unions, including Angola, East Germany, Nigeria and Poland. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1991, the ship was transferred to the Russian Navy and continued to travel to countries like the Netherlands. Despite being accidentally holed in 2005 and being badly burnt in a fire in 2008, Neukrotimyy remained the penultimate of the class to remain in service, finally being decommissioned on 29 June 2009.
K-70 was a "Project 651" diesel–electric submarine built for the Soviet Navy during the 1960s. Commissioned in 1965, the boat was armed with long-range cruise missiles to carry out its mission of destroying American aircraft carriers and bases. The missiles could be fitted with either conventional or nuclear warheads. K-70 was initially assigned to the Northern Fleet, but was transferred to the Pacific Fleet a few months later. The submarine was decommissioned in 1989 and subsequently scrapped.
K-68 was a "Project 651" diesel–electric submarine built for the Soviet Navy during the 1960s. Commissioned in 1965, the boat was armed with long-range cruise missiles to carry out its mission of destroying American aircraft carriers and bases. The missiles could be fitted with either conventional or nuclear warheads. While much of the submarine's activities during the Cold War are unknown, she did make at least one patrol in the Mediterranean Sea before serving as the test bed for an auxiliary nuclear reactor from 1976 to 1991. K-68 was decommissioned in 1992 and subsequently scrapped.
Soviet Union