View source for Victor-class submarine

{|{{Infobox Ship Begin}}
{{Infobox Ship Image
|Ship image=[[Image:Victor_III_class_submarine.jpg|300px]] 
|Ship caption=A Victor III class submarine on the surface.
}}
{{Infobox Ship Class Overview
|Name=
|Builders=[[Soviet Union]]
|Operators={{navy|Soviet Union}}</br>{{navy|Russia}}
|Class before=
|Class after=
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range= [[1967]]  
|In commission range=November 5, 1967  
|Total ships building= 
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=48<ref>Includes all three Victor Classes</ref>
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship class=
|Ship type=
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=4,950 tons light surf.; 6,990 tons normal surf./7,250 tons sub.
|Ship tons burthen=
|Ship length=93 to 102 meters (303 to 335 feet)
|Ship beam=10 m (33 ft)
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft=7 m (24 ft)
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=2 VM-4P pressurized-water nuclear reactors (75 Mw each), 2 sets OK-300 steam turbines; 1 7-bladed prop; 31,000
shp at 290 shaft rpm—2 low-speed electric cruise motors; 2 small props on stern planes; 1,020 shp at 500 rpm
Electric: 4,460 kw tot. (2 × 2,000-kw, 380-V, 50-Hz a.c. OK-2 turbogenerators, 1 × 460-kw diesel emergency set)
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed=
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=80 days
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=27 officers, 34 warrant officers, 35 enlisted
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=Radar: 1 MRK-50 Albatros’-series (Snoop Tray-2) nav./search
Sonar: MGK-503 Skat-KS (Shark Gill) suite: LF active/passive; passive flank array; Barrakuda towed passive linear
array; MT-70 active ice avoidance
EW: MRP-10 Zaliv-P/Buleva (Brick Pulp) intercept; Park Lamp D/F
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=2 bow 650-mm TT (8 Type 88R/SS-N-16 Stallion missiles and/or Type 65-76 torpedoes); 4 bow 533-mm TT (16
Type 83RN and 84RN/SS-N-15 Starfish and Type 53-65K and USET-80 torpedoes, VA-111 Shkval rocket torpedoes,
MG-74 Korund and Siren decoys, or up to 36 mines)
|Ship armour=
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|Ship notes=
}}
|}
{{commonscat|Victor class submarines}}

The '''Victor class''' (Russian name Project 671 Shchuka ([[Esox|Pike]]) is the general [[NATO]] classification for a type of nuclear-powered [[submarine]] that was originally put into service by the [[Soviet Union]] around [[1967]]. In the USSR, they were produced under '''Project 671'''. Victor-class subs featured a [[Teardrop hull|teardrop]] shape, which allowed them to travel at high speed. These vessels were primarily designed to protect Soviet surface fleets and to attack [[United States|American]] [[ballistic missile]] subs, should the need ever arise.

==Versions==
Three versions of Victor-class subs existed:

===Victor I===
'''Victor I''' - Soviet designation Project 671 Yorzh (Rufe) - was the initial type that entered service in 1967; 16 were produced<ref>Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies 1718-1990, Norman Polmar and Jurrien Noot, Naval Institute Press, 1991</ref>.  Each had 6 tubes for launching [[Type 53 torpedo]]es and [[SS-N-15]] [[cruise missile]]s, and [[Naval mine|mine]]s could also be released.  Subs had a capacity of 24 tube-launched weapons or 48 mines (a combination would require less of each). 

===Victor II===
'''Victor II''' - Soviet Designation Project 671RT Syomga (a type of Salmon)- entered service in [[1972]]; 7 were produced in the 1970's<ref>Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies 1718-1990, Norman Polmar and Jurrien Noot, Naval Institute Press, 1991</ref>.  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.

===Victor III===
'''Victor III''' - Soviet Designation Project 671RTM Shchuka (Pike) - entered service in [[1979]]; 25 were produced until 1991<ref>Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies 1718-1990, Norman Polmar and Jurrien Noot, Naval Institute Press, 1991</ref>.  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]] 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]] 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]] array; the system was subsequently incorporated into the [[Sierra class submarine|Sierra-class]] and [[Akula class submarine|Akula-class]] SSNs.

Active submarines: 

B-388 Sosnovy Bor

B-414 Daniil Moskovsky

K-448 Tambov

B-138 Polyarnye Zori

<gallery>Image:Victor_I_class_submarine.jpg|Victor I class, without the 'distinctive pod' yet. Compare to photo at the top of this article. </gallery>

==Incidents==
*On 10 August 1985, while being refueled at the [[Chazhma Bay]] naval yard outside [[Vladivostok]], [[Soviet submarine K-314|K-314]] suffered an uncontrolled criticality event when the reactor lid was raised, incorrectly removing the reactor's [[control rod]]s. The resulting explosion killed ten shipyard workers and released large amounts of radioactive material, contaminating an area 6km (3.6 miles) in length on the [[Shkotovo Peninsula]] and the sea outside the naval yard.

*On September 6, 2006, a Victor III [[Soviet submarine K-414 Daniil Moskovsky|''Daniil Moskovskiy'']] suffered an electronics fire while in the Barents Sea, killing two crew members.  The boat was 16 years old and overdue for overhaul.  It was towed back to [[Vidyayevo]].<ref name="Reuters">[http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-09-07T180714Z_01_L07663566_RTRUKOC_0_US-RUSSIA-SUBMARINE.xml&pageNumber=1&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage1]{{Dead link|date=March 2008}}</ref><ref name="Bellona">[http://www.bellona.org/subjects/1140451820.2 Northern Fleet accidents and incidents - Bellona<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

==General characteristics==
*Length: 93 to 102 meters (303 to 335 feet)
*Beam: 10 m (33 ft)
*Draft: 7 m (24 ft)
*Displacement: 6,085 tons to 6,990 tons
*Propulsion:
**2 [[VM-4 reactor|VM-4]] pressurized-water reactors
**1 propeller
*Crew: about 100
*Armament:
**6 torpedo tubes
**cruise missiles
**mines
*Speed: 56 km/h (32 knots/35 mph)
*Commissioned: November 5, 1967

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/k19/sub_detail_sov3.html National Geographic: Victor class] accessed March 14, 2004.
*[http://www.ais.org/~schnars/aero/nato-shp.htm NATO Code Names for Submarines and Ships] accessed March 14, 2004.
*[http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101051 Article in Russian Language on Victor I]
*[http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101090 Article in Russian Language on Victor II]
*[http://ship.bsu.by/main.asp?id=101098 Article in Russian Language on Victor III]
*[http://russian-ships.info/eng/submarines/project_671rtm.htm Victor III Submarines - Complete Ship List in English]
*[http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/671.htm Article in English from FAS]
*[http://www.bellona.org/articles/sub_fire Fire breaks out aboard Northern Fleet nuclear sub, killing 2]

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{{Victor class submarine}}
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[[Category:Submarine classes]]
[[Category:Victor class submarines| ]]
[[Category:Russian and Soviet navy submarine classes]]
[[Category:Nuclear-powered ships]]

[[de:Victor-Klasse]]
[[it:Classe Victor I/III]]
[[ms:Kapal selam Kelas Victor]]
[[ja:ヴィクター型原子力潜水艦]]
[[pl:Okręty podwodne projektu 671]]
[[ru:Подводные лодки проекта 671 «Ёрш»]]
[[fi:Projekti 671]]