Submarines in the Soviet Navy were developed by numbered "projects", which were sometimes but not always given names. During the
Cold War, NATO nations referred to these classes by NATO reporting names, based on intelligence data, which did not always correspond perfectly with the projects. See:
The NATO reporting names were based on the British (and later American) habit of naming submarines with a letter of the alphabet indicating the class, followed by a serial number of that class. The names are the radiotelephonic alphabet call sign of a letter of the alphabet. For security purposes, the "pennant numbers" of Soviet submarines were not sequential, any more than those of Soviet surface vessels were.
Most Russian (and Soviet) submarines had no "personal" name, but were only known by a number, prefixed by letters identifying the boat's type at a higher level than her class. Those letters included:
- К (K): крейсерская (kreyserskaya, "cruiser")
- ТК (TK): тяжелая крейсерская (tyazholaya kreyserskaya, "heavy cruiser")
- Б (B): большая (bolshaya, "large")
- С (S): средняя (srednyaya, "medium")
- М (M): малая (malaya, "small")
Any of those prefixes could have С (S) added to the end, standing for специальная (spetsialnaya) and meaning "designed for special missions":
- New weapon, engines and armament testing
- Submarines for long-range radio communications
- Target submarines for anti-submarine training
- Rescue service submarines
- Covert operations
Diesel-electric
World War II era
| Project |
Series |
Image |
Built |
Assignment |
| Dekabrist class submarine |
Series I |
 |
6 |
large positional submarine |
| Leninets class submarine |
Series II, XI, XIII, XIII-1938 |
 |
25 |
Mine layers |
| Shchuka class submarine |
Series III, V, V-bis, V-bis-2, X, X-1938 |
 |
86 |
Medium-sized patrol submarines. |
| Pravda class submarine |
Serie IV |
 |
3 |
Squadron submarines. |
| Malyutka class submarine |
Series VI, VI-bis, XII, XV |
 |
110 |
Small submarines for coastal patrols. |
| Soviet S class submarine |
Series IX,IX-bis |
 |
41 |
Medium submarines, built using German project (early version of Type IX). |
| K class submarine (Soviet) |
Serie XIV |
 |
11 |
Cruiser submarines with combined arms. |
| TS class submarine |
|
 |
3 |
Former submarines of the Royal Romanian Navy: Rechinul (TS-1), Marsuinul (TS-2) and Delfinul (TS-3) |
Post war era
Attack submarines
| Project |
NATO reporting name |
Silhouette/Image |
Built |
Assignment |
| 611, AB611 |
Zulu class |
 |
26 |
Large oceanic submarines |
| 613 |
Whiskey class |
 |
215 |
Medium multi-purpose submarines |
| 615 |
Quebec class |
 |
30 |
Small submarines with full-diesel propulsion |
| 617 |
Whale class |
 |
1 |
Experimental submarines which had a Walter engine fuelled by high test peroxide (HTP) |
| 633 |
Romeo class |
 |
20 |
Medium submarines |
| 641 |
Foxtrot class |
 |
75 |
Large oceanic submarines |
| 641Б Cом (Som, catfish) |
Tango class |
 |
18 |
Large oceanic submarines |
| 690 Кефаль (Kefal, mullet) |
Bravo class |
|
|
Target submarine for torpedo exercises |
| 877, 877Э, 877ЭКМ, 877В, 877ЛПМБ, 877ЭК Paltus (turbot) |
Kilo class |
 |
24 |
Large submarines |
| 636, 636М (Varshavyanka, after Warsaw Pact) |
Improved Kilo class |
 |
31 |
Large submarines |
| 677 Лада (Lada, goddess of love) |
|
 |
1 |
Large submarines |
| 1650 Амур (the Amur River) |
|
 |
0 |
Modification of Lada class for export |
| 865 Пиранья (Piran'ya, piranha) |
Losos class (Salmon) |
|
2 |
Midget submarines |
Guided missile submarines
Ballistic missile submarines
| Project |
NATO reporting name |
Silhouette/Image |
Built |
Assignment |
| 629, 609, 601, 605, 619 |
Golf |
 |
24 |
3 × Project 629 boats D-1 launch system with R-11FM missiles |
Auxiliary submarines
| Project |
NATO reporting name |
Silhouette/Image |
Built |
Assignment |
| 940 Ленок |
India |
 |
2 |
2 × Poseidon class DSRV's |
| 1710 Макрель |
Beluga |
|
1 |
It was an experimental vessel used for testing propulsion systems, hull forms, and boundary-layer control techniques. |
| 1840 |
Lima |
|
1 |
Large special. It was used for trying out new technologies, research, or special mission support |
Nuclear-powered
Guided missile submarines
Ballistic missile submarines
First generation
| Project |
NATO reporting name |
Silhouette/Image |
Built |
Assignment |
| 658, 701 |
Hotel |
 |
8 |
|
|
Fourth generation
| Project |
NATO reporting name |
Silhouette/Image |
Built |
Assignment |
| 955 Борей (Borei); |
Borei |
 |
5 |
|
- Showell, Jak M. U-Boat Century, German Submarine Warfare 1906-2006. Chatham Publishing, Great Britain (2006).
ISBN 1861-7624-10.
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