The Dekabrist-class were the first class of submarines built for the Soviet Navy

Soviet Navy

The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...

 after the October Revolution

October Revolution

The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

. They were authorized in the Soviet Naval Shipbuilding Program of 1926.

Operational-tactical requirements and design concepts were formulated in 1923. In 1925 A Soviet naval mission obtained blueprints for the Balilla class submarine

Balilla class submarine

The Balilla-class were the first submarines to be built for the Italian navy following the end of World War I. They were large ocean-going cruiser submarines designed to operate in the Indian Ocean based in Italy's East African colonies. The design was double-hulled and based on the German Type UE...

 from the Italians and used concepts from that design together with Soviet ideas. The boats were constructed by the Ordzhonikidze Shipyard and the principal designer was B.M. Malinin

Boris Mikhailovich Malinin

Boris Mikhailovich Malinin was a Soviet shipbuilding scientist and graduate of Saint Petersburg Polytechnical Institute. From 1926 to 1940, he was the chief designer of the majority of Soviet submarines to include the Dekabrist-class, Leninets-class, Shchuka-class, and Malyutka-class.In 1913 at...

. The first boat in the class was laid down on March 5, 1927; launched on November 3, 1928, and commissioned on November 18, 1930. This first boat, the Dekabrist, was later designated D-1, September 15, 1934.http://www.submarinesonstamps.co.il/openhist.php?ID=44

The class was of a double–hull

Double hull

A double hull is a ship hull design and construction method invented by Leonardo da Vinci where the bottom and sides of the ship have two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is some distance inboard,...

 design with 7 compartments and constructed using riveting. These boats were of Soviet design and had numerous technical shortcomings and construction defects. The most serious problems were their slow diving time and poor stability during diving.

In May 1933, the Dekabrist was shifted to the Northern Fleet via the White Sea-Baltic Canal

White Sea-Baltic Canal

The White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal , often abbreviated to White Sea Canal is a ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. Until 1961, its original name was the Stalin White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal...

. She remained in service until 1940. She showed high seaworthiness in polar circumstances. The boat was lost with entire crew in a diving accident on November 13, 1940 in Molotovskiy Bay.

Ships

Ship	English Translation	Builder	Launched	Fate
D-1 Dekabrist Декабрист	A member of the Decembrist revolt Decembrist revolt The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...	Ordzhonikidze Yard, Leningrad Leningrad Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...	3 November 1928	Lost in accident November 1940 in Motovsky Gulf near Murmansk during training mission.
D-2 Narodovolets Народоволец	A member of Narodnaya Volya	Ordzhonikidze Yard, Leningrad Leningrad Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...	1929	Decommissioned 1958 but from 1956 to 1987 was based in Kronstadt and served as a training ship. Finally, in 1989 on completion of the reconstruction was installed on shore as a memorial museum in St Petersburg.http://www.encspb.ru/en/article.php?kod=2804034369
D-3 Krasnogvardyeyets Красногвардеец	Red Guardsman	Ordzhonikidze Yard, Leningrad Leningrad Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...	12 July 1929	Sunk July 1942 off Norway
D-4 Revolutsioner Революционер	Revolutionary	Marti Yard, Nikolayev Mykolaiv Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...	1929	Sunk by German armed trawlers Naval trawler A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...  UJ 102 and UJ 103 off Yevpatoria, Crimea Crimea Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
D-5 Spartakovets Спартаковец	Follower of Spartacus Spartacus Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...	Marti Yard, Nikolayev Mykolaiv Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...	1929	Decommissioned 1950s
D-6 Yakobinets Якобинец	Jacobin	Marti Yard, Nikolayev Mykolaiv Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...	1929	Destroyed by bombing in Sevastopol Sevastopol Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa.... dockyard, 12 November 1941