Victor class submarine
Encyclopedia
The Victor class is the NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...

 for a type of nuclear-powered submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 that was originally put into service by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 around 1967. In the USSR, they were produced as Project 671. Victor-class subs featured a teardrop
Teardrop hull
A teardrop hull is a submarine hull design which emphasizes hydrodynamic flow above all other factors. Benefits over previous types include increased underwater speed and a smaller acoustic signature, making detection by sonar more difficult...

 shape, which allowed them to travel at high speed. These vessels were primarily designed to protect Soviet surface fleets and to attack American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ballistic missile
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...

 subs, should the need ever arise.

Victor I

Victor I - Soviet designation Project 671 Yorzh (Ruffe
Ruffe
The Eurasian Ruffe or simply Ruffe is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortunate results...

) - was the initial type that entered service in 1967; 16 were produced. Each had 6 tubes for launching Type 53 torpedo
Type 53 torpedo
Type 53 is the common name for a family of 53 cm torpedoes manufactured in Russia, starting with the 53-27 torpedo and continuing to the modern UGST....

es and SS-N-15
SS-N-15
The RPK-2 Viyuga cruise missile is a complex Russian submarine launched missile. Its NATO reporting name is Starfish ....

 cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...

s and mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

s could also be released. Subs had a capacity of 24 tube-launched weapons or 48 mines (a combination would require less of each). They were 92.5m long.

Victor II

Victor II - Soviet Designation Project 671RT Syomga (Atlantic Salmon
Atlantic salmon
The Atlantic salmon is a species of fish in the family Salmonidae, which is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean and in rivers that flow into the north Atlantic and the north Pacific....

)- entered service in 1972; 7 were produced in the 1970s. These were originally designated Uniform class by NATO. They had similar armament to Victor I. The Soviet Union discovered through its spy network that Americans could easily track Victor II-class subs and subsequently halted production of this type to design the Victor III class. They were 101.8m long.

Victor III

Victor III - Soviet Designation Project 671RTM Shchuka (Pike) - entered service in 1979; 25 were produced until 1991. Quieter than previous Soviet submarines, these ships had 2 tubes for launching SS-N-21 or SS-N-15 missiles and Type 53 torpedoes, plus another 4 tubes for launching SS-N-16
SS-N-16
SS-N-16 Stallion refers to a Soviet 650 mm anti-ship missile that was deployed between 1979 and 1981. The name is a combination of the American designation of SS-N-16 and the NATO term of Stallion for Soviet RU-100s.It refers to either...

 missiles and Type 65 torpedoes. 24 tube-launched weapons or 36 mines could be on-board. The Victor-III caused a minor furore 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
Magnetohydrodynamic drive
A magnetohydrodynamic drive or MHD propulsor is a method for propelling seagoing vessels using only electric and magnetic fields with no moving parts, using magnetohydrodynamics. The working principle involves electrification of the propellant which can then be directed by a magnetic field,...

 unit. Another theory proposed that it was some sort of weapon system. In the end, the Victor-III's pod was identified as a hydrodynamic housing for a reelable towed passive sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

 array; the system was subsequently incorporated into the Sierra class
Sierra class submarine
The Sierra I class or Project 945 nuclear submarine was the Soviet Union's successor class to the partly successful Project 705 Lira class submarine...

 and Akula class
Akula class submarine
Project 971 Щука-Б , is a nuclear-powered attack submarine first deployed by the Soviet Navy in 1986...

 SSNs. The Victor III class was continuously improved during construction and late production models have a superior acoustic performance. They were 106m long.

Active submarines:
  • B-388 Petrozavodsk - commissioned November 1988
  • B-138 Obninsk - commissioned May 1990
  • B-414 Daniil Moskovsky - commissioned December 1990.
  • B-448 Tambov - commissioned September 1992


Incidents

  • In 1981 the collided with a Victor III class sub while attempting to photograph the odd pod on the back.The event was covered up and never made public, though it nearly cost the lives of the sailors on the USS Drum.
  • On 21 March 1984, K-314 collided with the aircraft carrier in the Sea of Japan
    Sea of Japan
    The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...

    . Neither ship was significantly damaged.
  • On September 6, 2006, a Victor III Daniil Moskovskiy
    Soviet submarine K-414 Daniil Moskovsky
    B-414 Daniil Moskovsky is a Project 671RTM Schuka attack submarine of the Russian Northern Fleet.The submarine was laid down in 1989, launched and commissioned in 1990....

     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
    Vidyayevo
    Vidyaevo is a closed rural inhabited locality in Kolsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. Despite having a rural status, it is municipally incorporated as Vidyayevo Urban Okrug, as such status is the only one allowed by the federal law for the closed inhabited localities. Population: 6,307 .It...

    .

In popular culture

A depiction of a Victor class submarine was used prominently in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough
The World Is Not Enough is the nineteenth spy film in the James Bond film series, and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Michael Apted, with the original story and screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Bruce Feirstein. It...

as a key element in the film's antagonists' (Renard & Elektra) plan.
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