Project 671 Victor class
Attack Submarine (Nuclear Powered)

The Victor class submarines were designed to engage enemy ballistic missile submarines, antisubmarine taskforces, and to protect friendly vessels and convoys from enemy attacks. A contemporary of the American Sturgeon class, they were significantly faster but also had much higher noise levels -- indeed, in the first two variants designers made no significant effort to reduce noise emissions. The reactor plant of all Victor-class submarines is similar to that used with the Yankee and Delta-class Ballistic Missile Nuclear Submarines (SSBNs). The two reactors are mounted in a side-by-side configuration.

The Victor I featured an advanced tear-drop hull design for high underwater speeds. Two small, two-blade propellers are fitted on the stern planes for slow-speed operation. Two external torpedo tubes hold a single nuclear-tipped E53-65K torpedo. The hull of the Victor I class was divided into seven compartments: 1 accommodations; 2 control room ; 3 reactor compartment; 4 turbines; 5 auxiliary machinery; 6 accommodations; 7 electric-motor and steering. A total of 15 units were built. The Project 671 boats were retrofitted to handle the TEST-68 wire-guided torpedo weapons under the designation Project 671B (sometimes written Project 671V). A pair of Project 671 submarines were subsequently equipped with the new "Kolos" non-acoustic detection system, and redesignated as Project 671K.

The Victor II class was enlarged to provide additional weapons capabilities and improved fire-control system. The new generation of 65 cm heavy torpedoes were longer than earlier models, and required power assistance to handle them in the torpedo room. The hull of the Victor II class was divided into eight compartments: 1 Torpedo room and accumulators; 2 Accommodations and mess; 3 Control room; 4 Reactor; 5 Turbines; 6 Turbo generators; 7 Living accommodation and diesel generators; 8 Steering system and electric motor. A total of seven units were built. While the Project 671RT class was building, information from the Walker spy ring emphasized the acoustic vulnerability of the design, construction was curtailed pending an improved design.

An improved version of the Victor II, the Victor III was an interim effort to apply some level of silencing to their submarines. The hull was lengthened by nearly 20 feet to accommodate the rafting and sound insulation for the turbine machinery. The design also features improvements in electronics, navigation systems, and radio and satellite communication systems, accomodated in the additional hull space forward of the sail. Victor II and Victor III submarines are equipped with radio buoys allowing the submarine to maintain communications while submerged. All Victors are double-hulled, though some sources reported that the Victor-III retains the eight-compartment layout of the Victor-II, while other sources suggest it has nine inner hull compartments. The outer hull is coated with anti-hydroacoustic materials to reduce the possibility of detection. The outer hull of the Victor III is made partly from light alloys, and is distinguishable by a high stern fin fitted with a towed array dispenser -- the first Soviet submarine fitted with a towed array. The large pod was needed so that the array could be reeled over a large radius, solve early problems with cracks in the rubber coating. A total of 26 units were constructed, in two groups. The first group of 21 Project 671RTM boats were built between 1977 and 1985.

An additional group of five Project 671RTMK boats were built at the Admiralty shipyard in St Peterburg, equipped with the new "Kolos" non-acoustic sensor suite. Some Project 671RTMs were upgraded to the 671RTMK configuration, and all units of this variant were fitted for the new "Granat" strategic cruise missiles. The Project 671RTMK also incorporated for the first time a fully integrated submarine combat direction and fire control command system. The "Viking" system, said to be based on that developed for the Norwegian Ula class submarines, ran on computers allegedly obtained from the Toshiba Corporation of Japan [at the time the affair was publicly reported as relating to multi-axis milling machines for propellers].

Some reports suggest that some Victor-III boats were permamently assigned to ASW duties, loaded with the carried the RPK-6 torpedo-carrying missile, while others were dedicated to the anti-shipping mission and armed with the new P-100 anti-ship missile.

A single unit of this class, mounting 10-meter fairing on the deck forward of the sail for SS-N-21 tests, is unofficially known as a Victor IV.

On 10 August 1985 one of two reactors on the K.314 Victor-I class submarine was being refuelled at Chazhma Bay, near Vladivostock. A crane used to reposition the reactor lid failed, triggering a nuclear reaction that caused a thermal explosion which ruptured both the aft bulkhead and the pressure hull. The freshly loaded core was thrown out of the reactor. The official casualty figures were 10 killed, 10 cases of acute radiation sickness and 39 other cases of radiation sickness. The Russian Navy has four damaged submarines, of which four are in the Far East, in the Pavlovski Bay (project 675, serial No. 175 and 541 and project 671, serial No. 610) and one - in the North (project 675, serial No. 533).

All Victor Is and IIs had been decommissioned by 1996. Of the 26 units of the Victor III class, various sources suggest that somewhere bewteen 8 and 15 had had been decommissioned due to lack of funds in the 1999-2000 timeframe. This would leave somewhere between 11 and 18 Victor-III units in service, though almost certainly at a low level of operability. Additional units are being retired at a rate of 2 or 3 every year when their reactor core lives expire, which would suggest that the entire class may be retired in the 2005-2010 timeframe. The identity of the currently operational units is somewhat conjectural.

Specifications
Designer	TsKB 16 Malakhit, G.N. Chernyshev.
Builder	Admiralty	Admiralty	Admiralty Shipyard Komsomolsk-na-Amur; Nizhny Novgorod
Designation	Victor I 671, 671 V, 671 K Yersy	Victor II Project 671 RT Semga	Victor III Project 671 RTM 671.7 (671 RTMK) Schuka
Displacement	3,500 -4,300 tons surface 4,750- 6,085 tons submerged	4,245-4,500 tons surface 5,700-5,800 tons submerged	4,850-5,200 tons surface 6,300-7,250 tons submerged
Dimensions	92.5-95.0 meters long 10.0-11.7 meters beam 7.0-7.3 meters draft	100-102 meters long 10.0 meters beam 6.8-7.0 meters draft	102.2-107.2 meters long 10.0-10.8 meters beam 7.0-8.0 meters draft
Propulsion	2 OK-300 VM-4 pressurized water reactors 72-75 MWt steam turbines; 30-31,000 shp 1 5 bladed propeller	2 OK-300 VM-4 pressurized water reactors 75 MWt steam turbines; 30,000 shp 1 5 bladed propeller	2 OK-300 VM-4 pressurized water reactors 75 MWt steam turbines; 30,000 shp 1 tandem 8-bladed propeller
Speed	10-16 knots surfaced 30-32 knots submerged	18-24 knots surfaced 30 knots submerged	18-20 knots surfaced 29-30 knots submerged
Operating Depth	1,050 feet Maximum Safe Depth 1,300 feet Never-Exceed Depth 1,700 feet Crush depth	350 meters Maximum Diving Depth	400 meters Maximum Diving Depth
Endurance	50 days 1,215 full power hours	60 days 1,215 full power hours	80 days 1,215 full power hours
Crew	74-94	80-100	85-100
Missiles	2 - SS-N-15 Starfish	SS-N-16 Stallion	2 SS-N-15 Starfish or 2 SS-N-21 cruise missiles. 6 SS-N-16 Stallion or 6 P-100 Oniks/SS-N-22 Sunburn
Torpedoes	6 21-in (533-mm) bow 18 torpedoes 36 mines in lieu of torpedoes	2 21-in (533-mm) bow 4 26-in (650-mm) bow 18 torpedoes 36 mines in lieu of torpedoes	2 21-in (533-mm) bow 4 26-in (650-mm) bow 2 x BA-111 Schkval 36 mines in lieu of torpedoes
Systems	MRK-50 Topol Surface Search radar MG-29 Khost Underwater communications Sigma-671 Navigation system Metel Combat direction system Leningrad-671 Fire control system MGK-300 Rubin,active/passive Sonar MG-24 Luch mine detection Sonar Zhaliv-P ESM/ECM MG-14 Sonar intercept receiver Nikhrom-M IFF	MRK.50 Topol Surface Search radar MG-29 Khost Underwater communications Medvyeditsa-671 Navigation system Metel Combat direction system Kiparis, Anis, Sintez and Kora Communications antennas Molniya-671 Communications System Paravan Towed VLF array MGK.400 Rubikon,active/passiveSonars MG-24 Luch mine detection Sonar Zhaliv-P ESM/ECM 2 MG-74 Korund (torpedo-sized noise generators) MT-70 Sonar intercept receiver Nikhrom-M IFF	MRK-50 Topol Surface Search radar MG-29 KhostUnderwater communications Medvyedista-671 Navigation system Tsunami-B Satellite communications Kiparis, Anis, Sintez and Kora Communications antennas Paravan Towed VLF Antenna PZKG-10 Periscope Vodopod Combat direction system [on 671 RTM] Viking Combat direction system [on 671RTMK] Leningrad-671 Fire control system MGK-400 Rubikon,active/passive Sonars Akula flank arrays pithon towed array MG-24 Luch mine detection Sonar Bulava ESM/ECM 2 MG-74 Korund noise simulation decoys (torpedo-sized) MT-70 Sonar intercept receiver Nikhrom-M IFF

Class Listing

Unit Shipyard Fleet Chronology Notes

# number Name Laid Down Launched Comm. Stricken

Project 671,671V,671K ("Yersy" type), NATO code "Victor I"

1 K-38 SY 194 PAC 01/**/1965 10/**/1965 11/05/1967 1992 1992 in reserve

2 K-69 SY 194 NOR 1966 1994 1968 1994 1972 redesignated B-369
1994 in reserve

3 K-147 SY 194 NOR 1966 ---------- 1968 1994 ? 1994 in reserve
? 1996 in service

4 K-53 SY 194 PAC 1967 ---------- 1969 1994 1994 in reserve

5 K-306 SY 194 NOR 1967 ---------- 1969 1995 1995 in reserve

6 K-323 50 Let SSSR SY 194 NOR 1968 ---------- 1970 1995? 1970 named
1995 in reserve at Severodvinsk

7 K-370 SY 194 NOR 1968 ---------- 1970 1995 1995 in reserve

8 K-438 SY 194 NOR 1969 ---------- 1971 1995 1995 in reserve

9 K-367 SY 194 NOR 1969 ---------- 1971 1995 1995 in reserve

10 K-314 SY 194 NOR 1970 ---------- 1972 1989 project 671V
08/10/1985 reactor accident
1989 in reserve

11 K-398 SY 194 NOR 1970 ---------- 1972 ---------- 1995 in reserve
[not K.498]

12 K-454 SY 194 PAC 1971 1972 10/30/1973 1989 project 671V
renumbered 610?
1985 damaged during refueling
03/21/1989 in reserve

13 K-462 SY 194 NOR 1971 1972 1974 1996 1996 in reserve

14 K-469 SY 194 NOR 1971 1972 1974 1996 project 671V
1996 in reserve

15 K-481 SY 194 NOR 1972 1972 1974 1993 1993 de-fueled

Project 671RT("Semga" type), NATO code "Victor II"

1 K-387 SY 194 04/02/1971 09/02/1972 12/30/1972 ---------- 1995 in reserve

2 K-371 SY 194 1972 1974 1974 ---------- 1996 in reserve

3 K-476 SY 194 1973 1975 1975 1999 hull NO. possibly K-467
1996 in reserve
11/26-12/04/1996 defuelled

4 K-488 SY 194 1974 1976 1976 ---------- 1996 in reserve

5 K-495 SY 194 1975 1976 1976 ---------- 1996 in reserve

6 K-513 SY 194 1976 1977 1977 ---------- 1996 in reserve

7 K-517 SY 194 1977 1977 10/28/1978 ---------- 1996 in reserve

Project 671RTM ("Schuka" type), NATO code "Victor III"

1 K-138 SY 194 NOR ---------- 08/**/1977 1978

2 K-218 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1978 1978 ---------- 1996 in reserve

3 K-242 50 Let Komsomolsk-na-Amur SY 199 PAC ---------- 1978 1979 ---------- 1996 in reserve

4 K-244 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1979 1979 ---------- 1996 in reserve

5 K-247 SY 199 PAC ---------- 1979 1980 ---------- 1996 in reserve

6 K-251 SY 199 PAC ---------- 1979 1980 ---------- 1996 in reserve

7 K-254 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1980 1980 ---------- 1996 in reserve

8 K-255 SY 194 NOR ---------- 07/**/1982 1983

9 K-264 SY 199 PAC ---------- 1980 1981 ---------- in reserve

10 K-292 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1980 1981 ---------- in reserve

11 K-298 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1981 1982 ---------- in reserve

12 K-299 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1981 1982 ---------- 1997 in reserve

13 K-305 SY 199 PAC ---------- 1981 1982 ---------- 1997 in reserve

14 K-324 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1982 1983 ---------- 1997 in reserve

15 K-355 SY 199 PAC ---------- 1982 1983 ---------- 1997 in reserve

16 K-358 Murmansky Komsomolets SY 194 NOR ---------- 1982 1983 ---------- 1990 named
1997 in reserve

17 K-360 SY 199 PAC ---------- 1983 1984 ---------- 1997 in reserve

18 K-388 SY 194 NOR ---------- 07/**/1983 1984

19 K-412 SY 199 PAC ---------- 06/**/1984 1985

20 K-414 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1984 1985 ---------- in reserve

21 K-448 SY 194 NOR ---------- 1985 1986 ---------- in reserve

22 K-492 SY 199 PAC ---------- 1987 1987 ---------- in reserve

23 K-502 SY 194 NOR ---------- 06/**/1988 1989

24 K-507 SY 199 PAC ---------- 08/**/1989 1990

25 K-524 SY 194 NOR ---------- 08/**/1989 01/**/1991

26 K-527 SY 194 NOR ---------- 10/**/1991 10/**/1992

Class Listing
Unit	Shipyard	Fleet	Chronology	Notes
#	number	Name	Laid Down	Launched	Comm.	Stricken
	Project 671,671V,671K ("Yersy" type), NATO code "Victor I"
1	K-38		SY 194	PAC	01/**/1965	10/**/1965	11/05/1967	1992	1992 in reserve
2	K-69		SY 194	NOR	1966	1994	1968	1994	1972 redesignated B-369 1994 in reserve
3	K-147		SY 194	NOR	1966	----------	1968	1994	? 1994 in reserve ? 1996 in service
4	K-53		SY 194	PAC	1967	----------	1969	1994	1994 in reserve
5	K-306		SY 194	NOR	1967	----------	1969	1995	1995 in reserve
6	K-323	50 Let SSSR	SY 194	NOR	1968	----------	1970	1995?	1970 named 1995 in reserve at Severodvinsk
7	K-370		SY 194	NOR	1968	----------	1970	1995	1995 in reserve
8	K-438		SY 194	NOR	1969	----------	1971	1995	1995 in reserve
9	K-367		SY 194	NOR	1969	----------	1971	1995	1995 in reserve
10	K-314		SY 194	NOR	1970	----------	1972	1989	project 671V 08/10/1985 reactor accident 1989 in reserve
11	K-398		SY 194	NOR	1970	----------	1972	----------	1995 in reserve [not K.498]
12	K-454		SY 194	PAC	1971	1972	10/30/1973	1989	project 671V renumbered 610? 1985 damaged during refueling 03/21/1989 in reserve
13	K-462		SY 194	NOR	1971	1972	1974	1996	1996 in reserve
14	K-469		SY 194	NOR	1971	1972	1974	1996	project 671V 1996 in reserve
15	K-481		SY 194	NOR	1972	1972	1974	1993	1993 de-fueled
	Project 671RT("Semga" type), NATO code "Victor II"
1	K-387		SY 194		04/02/1971	09/02/1972	12/30/1972	----------	1995 in reserve
2	K-371		SY 194		1972	1974	1974	----------	1996 in reserve
3	K-476		SY 194		1973	1975	1975	1999	hull NO. possibly K-467 1996 in reserve 11/26-12/04/1996 defuelled
4	K-488		SY 194		1974	1976	1976	----------	1996 in reserve
5	K-495		SY 194		1975	1976	1976	----------	1996 in reserve
6	K-513		SY 194		1976	1977	1977	----------	1996 in reserve
7	K-517		SY 194		1977	1977	10/28/1978	----------	1996 in reserve
	Project 671RTM ("Schuka" type), NATO code "Victor III"
1	K-138		SY 194	NOR	----------	08/**/1977	1978
2	K-218		SY 194	NOR	----------	1978	1978	----------	1996 in reserve
3	K-242	50 Let Komsomolsk-na-Amur	SY 199	PAC	----------	1978	1979	----------	1996 in reserve
4	K-244		SY 194	NOR	----------	1979	1979	----------	1996 in reserve
5	K-247		SY 199	PAC	----------	1979	1980	----------	1996 in reserve
6	K-251		SY 199	PAC	----------	1979	1980	----------	1996 in reserve
7	K-254		SY 194	NOR	----------	1980	1980	----------	1996 in reserve
8	K-255		SY 194	NOR	----------	07/**/1982	1983
9	K-264		SY 199	PAC	----------	1980	1981	----------	in reserve
10	K-292		SY 194	NOR	----------	1980	1981	----------	in reserve
11	K-298		SY 194	NOR	----------	1981	1982	----------	in reserve
12	K-299		SY 194	NOR	----------	1981	1982	----------	1997 in reserve
13	K-305		SY 199	PAC	----------	1981	1982	----------	1997 in reserve
14	K-324		SY 194	NOR	----------	1982	1983	----------	1997 in reserve
15	K-355		SY 199	PAC	----------	1982	1983	----------	1997 in reserve
16	K-358	Murmansky Komsomolets	SY 194	NOR	----------	1982	1983	----------	1990 named 1997 in reserve
17	K-360		SY 199	PAC	----------	1983	1984	----------	1997 in reserve
18	K-388		SY 194	NOR	----------	07/**/1983	1984
19	K-412		SY 199	PAC	----------	06/**/1984	1985
20	K-414		SY 194	NOR	----------	1984	1985	----------	in reserve
21	K-448		SY 194	NOR	----------	1985	1986	----------	in reserve
22	K-492		SY 199	PAC	----------	1987	1987	----------	in reserve
23	K-502		SY 194	NOR	----------	06/**/1988	1989
24	K-507		SY 199	PAC	----------	08/**/1989	1990
25	K-524		SY 194	NOR	----------	08/**/1989	01/**/1991
26	K-527		SY 194	NOR	----------	10/**/1991	10/**/1992