November-class submarine
 
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | project 627 / 627A / 645 |
| Builders: | shipyard No. 402 in Severodvinsk |
| Operators: |
 Soviet Navy
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| Preceded by: | none |
| Succeeded by: | Victor class (project 671) |
| Built: | 1957–1963 |
| In commission: | 12 March 1959 – 1 July 1990 |
| Completed: | 1 (pr. 627) + 12 (pr. 627A) + 1 (pr. 645) |
| Lost: | 1 (K-8 – 12.04.1970, accident in the Bay of Biscay) |
| Retired: | 13 (K-27 – 06.09.1982, deliberately scuttled in a training area in the Kara Sea; K-159 – 30 August 2003, sank while being towed for scrapping in the Barents Sea; others scrapped; first unit held for conversion as museum sub) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Nuclear-powered attack submarine |
| Displacement: | surface – 3,065 / 3,118 / 3,414 t; submerged – 4,750 / 4,069 / 4,380 t (project 627 / 627A / 645) |
| Length: | 107.4 / 109.8 m (project 627A / 645) |
| Beam: | 7.9 / 8.3 m (project 627A / 645) |
| Draft: | 5.6 / 6.4 / 5.8 m (project 627 / 627A / 645) |
| Propulsion: | two water-cooled reactors VM-A 70 MW each with steam generators, two turbogear assemblies 60-D (35,000 hp total), two turbine-type generators GPM-21 1,400 kW each, two diesel generators DG-400 460 hp each, two auxiliary electric motors PG-116 450 hp each, two shafts. Submarine of project 645 had two liquid metal-cooled reactors VT-1 73 MW each and two more powerful turbine-type generators ATG-610 1,600 kW each, no diesel generators. |
| Speed: | surface – 15.2 / 15.5 / 14.7 knots; submerged – 30 / 28 / 30.2 knots (31 knots ) (project 627 / 627A / 645) |
| Endurance: | 50–60 days |
| Test depth: | 300–340 m |
| Complement: | usually 104–105 men (including 30 officers) |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
MG-200 "Arktika-M" sonar system for target detection, "Svet" detection of hydroacoustic signals and underwater sonar communication sonar system, "MG-10" hydrophone station (project 627 submarines had "Mars-16KP"), "Luch" sonar system for detection of underwater obstacles , "Prizma detection radar for surface targets and torpedo control , "Nakat-M" reconnaissance radar . |
| Armament: | 8 533 mm bow torpedo tubes (20 torpedoes SET-65 or 53-65K). |
The Project 627 (Russian – проект 627 "Кит" (Whale), NATO – November) class submarine was the Soviet Union's first class of nuclear-powered submarines. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) used the standard radio communication phonetic alphabet to denote submarine classes. November class was the designation for this initial series of Soviet nuclear-powered torpedo attack submarines, which were in service from 1958 through 1991. All disposed Submarine K-3, the first nuclear submarine built for the Soviet Navy, might be preserved as a memorial.
More than 135 Soviet organizations (20 design bureaus, 35 research institutes, 80 works) participated in the design and construction of this completely new type of submarine in 1952–1958. The chief designer was V.N. Peregudov and the research supervisor was academician A.P. Alexandrov. The class was originally tasked with entering American naval bases and using the thermonuclear gas-steam powered T-15 torpedo to destroy them once in range (The T-15 torpedo had the following specifications: calibre 1,550 mm, length 23.5 m, range 40–50 km). However, after expert opinions of Soviet naval specialists were considered, the role of the class changed to torpedo attacks on enemy warships and transport ships during actions along the ocean and distant sea routes. Reflecting this change of mission, the final design of Project 627 was developed with eight 533 mm torpedo tubes instead of the initial plan for one 1,550 mm and two 533 mm torpedo tubes. Project 627/627A submarines could launch torpedoes from 100 m depth. By 1963 this class was still in service but had been overtaken by later technology.
The November class were double-hulled submarines with streamlined stern fins and nine compartments (I – bow torpedo, II – living and battery, III – central station, IV – diesel-generator, V – reactor, VI – turbine, VII – electromechanic, VIII – living, IX – stern). Three compartments equipped with bulkheads to withstand 10 atm pressure could be used as emergency shelters.
The November class attack submarines were considerably noisier than diesel submarines and the early American nuclear-powered submarines, despite the streamlined torpedo-like hull, limited number of holes in the hull, special low-noise variable-pitch propellers, vibration dampening of main equipment, and antisonar coating of the hull (used for the first time on nuclear-powered submarines). Soviet reactors were superior to American ones in compactness and power-to-weight ratio, but the vibrations of Soviet reactors were much more pronounced. Novembers detected submarine targets during active service (for example, there were 42 detections in 1965 when regular cruises of Soviet nuclear-powered submarines began). The Soviet hydroacoustic equipment on the Novembers was not intended for submarine hunting, and had relatively limited capabilities.
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