Soviet Cold War Attack Submarines

In this highly detailed book, naval historian Edward Hampshire reveals the fascinating history of the nuclear-powered attack submarines built and operated by the Soviet Union in the Cold War, including each class of these formidable craft as they developed throughout the Cold War period. The November class, which were the Soviet Union's first nuclear submarines, had originally been designed to fire a single enormous nuclear-tipped torpedo but were eventually completed as boats firing standard torpedoes. The Alfa class were perhaps the most remarkable submarines of the Cold War: titanium-hulled (which was light and strong but extremely expensive and difficult to weld successfully), crewed with only thirty men due to considerable automation and 30% faster than any US submarines, they used a radical liquid lead-bismuth alloy in the reactor plant. The Victor class formed the backbone of the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet in the 1970s and 1980s, as hunter-killer submarines began to focus on tracking and potentially destroying NATO ballistic missile submarines. The Sierra classes were further titanium-hulled submarines and the single Mike-class submarine was an experimental type containing a number of innovations. Finally, the Akula class were being constructed as the Cold War ended, and these boats form the mainstay of the Russian nuclear attack submarine fleet today. This book explores the design, development, and deployment of each of these classes in detail, offering an unparalleled insight into the submarines which served the Soviet Union throughout the Cold War period. The text is supported by stunning illustrations, photographs and diagrams of the submarines.

Following the unimpressive performance of the Soviet Navy during World War Two, Soviet leadership realized that a stronger navy would be an important factor in their drive to gain recognition for their world power status. In less than a decade, the Soviet Union would develop a large naval force and would operate the largest submarine fleet in the world. By Stalin's death in 1953, their naval development program was well advanced; nine cruisers had been completed, construction had begun on two of a programmed four heavy cruisers, and construction of aircraft carriers was reportedly planned. The Soviet Navy was becoming a force which might eventually attempt to contest control of the high seas from the United States, as well as defend the USSR against any seaborne attack. This book traces the history and missions of the Soviet attack submarine force and describes the various classes of attack submarines which the Soviets built. It also discusses Soviet naval operations such as the conscription of their crews, and includes various submarine accidents at sea. It gives this chronology from two different viewpoints-that of the United States gleamed through US intelligence, and also from the viewpoint of the Soviet military. This hardcover version includes 53 figures and charts showing the various submarines including torpedo evolution, main development phases, maps, ballistic missile evolution, cruise missile comparisons, salvage and rescue, and construction numbers.

Submarines had a vital, if often unheralded, role in the superpower navies during the Cold War. Their crews carried out intelligence-collection operations, sought out and stood ready to destroy opposing submarines, and, from the early 1960s, threatened missile attacks on their adversary's homeland, providing in many respects the most survivable nuclear deterrent of the Cold War. For both East and West, the modern submarine originated in German U-boat designs obtained at the end of World War II. Although enjoying a similar technology base, by the 1990s the superpowers had created submarine fleets of radically different designs and capabilities. Written in collaboration with the former Soviet submarine design bureaus, Norman Polmar and K. J. Moore authoritatively demonstrate in this landmark study how differing submarine missions, antisubmarine priorities, levels of technical competence, and approaches to submarine design organizations and management caused the divergence.

Thrilling submarine espionage and an inside look at the U.S. Navy's "silent service" Stalking the Red Bear, for the first time ever, describes the action principally from the perspective of a commanding officer of a nuclear submarine during the Cold War -- the one man aboard a sub who makes the critical decisions -- taking readers closer to the Soviet target than any work on submarine espionage has ever done before. This is the untold story of a covert submarine espionage operation against the Soviet Union during the Cold War as experienced by the Commanding Officer of an active submarine. Few individuals outside the intelligence and submarine communities knew anything about these top-secret missions. Cloaking itself in virtual invisibility to avoid detection, the USS Blackfin went sub vs. sub deep within Soviet-controlled waters north of the Arctic Circle, where the risks were extraordinarily high and anything could happen. Readers will know what it was like to carry out a covert mission aboard a nuke and experience the sights, sounds, and dangers unique to submarining.

"The Hunt for Red October" meets "Blind Man's Bluff" in this chilling, true story of a rogue Soviet submarine that sank while trying to provoke a war between the U.S. and China.

The Soviet Union's cruise missile submarines from the modified Whiskey, to the Oscar II classes were among the most formidable vessels of the Cold War. They were initially designed to carry land attack nuclear-tipped cruise missiles designed to strike targets on the eastern coast of the United States. By the late 1960s, however, submarine-launched ballistic missiles made the nuclear land-attack mission unnecessary, so existing classes were converted to the 'carrier killer' role, armed with anti-ship cruise missiles designed to destroy US super-carriers and other important naval targets. This fully illustrated study examines these powerful machines that were some of the largest and fastest submarines ever built. If war had broken out, they would have been at the forefront of the Soviet Navy's campaign to destroy NATO's sea power and cut America's sea link with Europe.

This riveting New York Times bestseller tells of the shocking true story of a rogue Soviet submarine poised for a nuclear strike on the United States, “reveal[ing] the explosive facts about one of the best-kept secrets of the Cold War” (The Flint Journal). On March 7, 1968, several hundred miles northwest of Hawaii, the nuclear-armed K-129 surfaced and sunk, taking its crewmen and officers with it to perish at sea. Who was commanding the rogue Russian sub? What was its target? How did it infiltrate American waters undetected? Drawing from recently declassified documents and extensive confidential interviews, Navy veteran Kenneth Sewell exposes the stunning truth behind an operation calculated to provoke war between the United States and China. With full, authoritative detail and sixteen pages of exclusive photographs, Red Star Rogue illuminates this history-shaping event and rings with chilling relevance in light of today’s terrorist threats.

The Soviet Union's cruise missile submarines from the modified Whiskey, to the Oscar II classes were among the most formidable vessels of the Cold War. They were initially designed to carry land attack nuclear-tipped cruise missiles designed to strike targets on the eastern coast of the United States. By the late 1960s, however, submarine-launched ballistic missiles made the nuclear land-attack mission unnecessary, so existing classes were converted to the 'carrier killer' role, armed with anti-ship cruise missiles designed to destroy US super-carriers and other important naval targets. This fully illustrated study examines these powerful machines that were some of the largest and fastest submarines ever built. If war had broken out, they would have been at the forefront of the Soviet Navy's campaign to destroy NATO's sea power and cut America's sea link with Europe.