Yankee-class submarine

The Yankee class, Soviet designations Project 667A Navaga (navaga) and Project 667AU Nalim (burbot), was a series of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines built in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy. In total, 34 units were built: 24 in Severodvinsk for the Northern Fleet and the remaining 10 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur for the Pacific Fleet. Two Northern Fleet units were later transferred to the Pacific.^[1] The lead boat K-137 Leninets received its honorific name on 11 April 1970, two and one half years after being commissioned.

Yankee class SSBN profile
A Yankee Notch submarine underway.
Class overview
Name	Yankee class
Builders	Severodvinsk and Komsomolsk
Operators	Soviet Navy
Preceded by	Hotel class
Succeeded by	Delta class
Built	1964–1974
In commission	1967–1995
Completed	34
Lost	1
Retired	33
General characteristics
Type	Ballistic missile submarine
Displacement	7,700 tons Surfaced 9,300 tons submerged
Length	132 m (433 ft)
Beam	11.6 m (38 ft)
Draught	8 m (26 ft)
Propulsion	two pressurized water cooled reactors powering four steam turbines driving two shafts.
Speed	Surfaced: 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) Submerged: 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range	unlimited
Complement	120
Armament	Yankee I/II:4 × 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes 2 × 400 mm (16 in) torpedo tubes Yankee I: 16 × R-27 (SS-N-6 Serb) SLBMs Yankee II: 12 × R-31 (SS-N-17 Snipe) SLBMs.

Design

The Yankee-class nuclear submarines were the first class of Soviet ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) to have thermonuclear firepower comparable with that of their American and British Polaris submarine counterparts. The Yankee class were quieter in the ocean than were their Hotel-class predecessors, and had better streamlining that improved their underwater performance. The Yankee class were actually quite similar to the Polaris submarines of the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy. These boats were all armed with 16 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) with multiple nuclear warheads as nuclear deterrents during the Cold War, and their ballistic missiles had ranges from 1,500–2,500 nautical miles (2,800–4,600 km; 1,700–2,900 mi).

Operational history

 

K-219 damaged

The Yankee-class SSBNs served in the Soviet Navy in three oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean beginning in the 1960s. During the 1970s about three Yankee-class were continually on patrol in a so-called "patrol box" in the Atlantic Ocean just east of Bermuda^[2] and off the US Pacific coast. This forward deployment of the SSBNs was seen to balance the presence of American, British, and French nuclear weapons kept in Western Europe and on warships (including nuclear submarines) in the surrounding Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic.

One Yankee-class submarine, K-219, was lost on 6 October 1986 after an explosion and fire on board. This boat had been at sea near Bermuda, and she sank from loss of buoyancy because of flooding. Four of her sailors died before rescue ships arrived. At least one other boat in this class was involved in a collision with a U.S. Navy nuclear submarine.^{[citation needed]}

Because of their increasing age, and as negotiated in the SALT I, START I and START II treaties that reduce nuclear armaments of the United States and the Soviet Union, all boats of Yankee class were disarmed, decommissioned and sent to the nuclear ship scrapyards.

Variants

 

Yankee I

There were eight different versions of the Yankee subs:

• Yankee I (Project 667A): The baseline configuration, these were ballistic missile submarines that first saw service in 1968; 34 were built. The subs carried 16 SS-N-6 missiles, had 6 torpedo tubes, and carried 18 Type 53 torpedoes. They were the first Soviet SSBNs to carry their ballistic missiles within the hull (as opposed to the sail).

 

Yankee II

• Yankee II (Project 667AM Navaga M): A single-ship class, this was a Yankee I submarine (K-140) converted to carry 12 SS-N-17 missiles, which was the Soviet Navy's first solid-fuelled SLBM. The existence of this individual prototype led to several theories about the Yankee II having a unique role in the Soviet arsenal that justified maintaining a single ship with such a unique weapon. One theory suggested that it was designed to perform an emergency satellite-launching function. Subsequently, it was proposed that the SS-N-17 may have had a retargeting capability to allow strikes on aircraft carrier battle groups.
• Yankee Notch (Project 667AT Grusha): These converted subs were attack submarines and first appeared in 1983; four Yankee I boats were rebuilt to this configuration. They incorporated a "notch waisted" center section, which replaced the old ballistic missile compartment, featuring eight 533-millimetre (21 in) torpedo tubes for up to 40 SS-N-21 missiles or additional torpedoes. The forward torpedo tubes were retained as well, with some reports suggesting that the vessels may have also been able to fire 650 mm (26 in) Type 65 torpedoes. The emphasis on additional SS-N-21 missile carriage suggested a tactical role for these submarines, or as second-strike nuclear submarines. Their configuration was a combination of SALT treaty limitations (which affected SLBMs but not cruise missiles) and a typical Soviet unwillingness to completely discard any military hardware that might still have some use. The conversion increased the overall length by 12 metres (39.4 ft) to 141.5 m (464 ft), with a displacement of up to 11,500 tons submerged. While classed as SSNs (attack subs), these boats might also be considered SSGNs by virtue of their heavy missile armament.
• Yankee Sidecar (Project 667M Andromeda) Also known as Yankee SSGN, this was another single-ship class (in this case K-420) converted into an SSGN. It appeared in 1983, carrying 12 SS-NX-24 nuclear-tipped cruise missiles instead of the original ballistic missiles. The SS-NX-24 was an experimental cruise missile, with a supersonic flight regime and twin nuclear warheads. It was meant as a tri-service strategic weapon, and thus would have filled a rather different role than the tactically-oriented Oscar-class SSGNs of the same era. In the end, the missile was not adopted, and K-420 became a weapon system without a weapon. It was fully 13,650 tons displacement (dived), and was even longer than the Yankee Notch to accommodate the massive cruise missiles; it was 153 m (502 ft) long overall.
• Yankee SSN 16 of this type were converted from the basic Yankee I specification. Some were not completely converted, although they cannot carry ballistic missiles, so they were called Yankee SSNX. They retained only their forward torpedo tubes, with the central missile sections having been removed. Some are being scrapped.
• Yankee Pod (Project 09774 Akson) The Yankee Pod (also known as the Yankee SSAN) is a converted trials submarine, K-403 Kazan, which was used for sonar equipment, with the namesake pod mounted atop the rudder (a la Victor III-class SSNs). It had other sensor systems incorporated as well, notably alongside the sail.
• Yankee Stretch (Project 09774) K-411, the Yankee Stretch conversion, is a "mothership" for Paltus-class mini-submarines. It is fully 160 m (520 ft) in length, making it the largest of the Yankee conversions. Like the Yankee Pod, it lacked missile armament. Its mission was believed to be a combination of oceanographic research, search and rescue, and underwater intelligence-gathering.^[3]

 

Yankee Big Nose

• Yankee Big Nose (Project 09780 Akson-2) is an additional modification of K-403 Kazan for trials of an acoustic system for fourth-generation Russian submarines: the Irtysh sonar system, in combination with the spherical antenna Amfora, occupies the entire nose section of the submarine. Modification of K-415 was started in 1987, but due to the end of the Cold War and lack of funds, was never completed.

General characteristics (Yankee I)

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yankee class submarines.

• Length: 128 m (420 ft)
• Beam: 11.7 m (38 ft)
• Draught: 9 m (30 ft)
• Displacement: 7,760/11,500 tonnes surfaced/dived
• Speed: 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
• Power plant: 2 VM-4 reactors
• Hull: Low magnetic steel
• Crew: 114
• Compartments: 10
• Armament:
  • 4 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes for 14 Type 53 torpedoes or mines.
  • 2 16 in (406 mm) torpedo tubes for 4 Type 40 torpedoes
  • 16 SS-N-6 liquid-fueled ballistic missiles

Units

Yankee class — significant dates

#	Project	Shipyard	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Status
K-137	667A, 667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	November 4, 1964	September 11, 1966	November 6, 1967	Decommissioned April 3, 1994 for scrapping^[1]
K-140	667A, 667AM	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	September 19, 1965	August 23, 1967	December 30, 1967	Decommissioned April 19, 1990 for scrapping^[1]
K-26	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	December 30, 1965	December 23, 1967	September 3, 1968	Decommissioned July 17, 1988 for scrapping^[1]
K-32	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	February 25, 1966	April 25, 1968	October 26, 1968	Decommissioned April 19, 1990 for scrapping^[1]
K-216	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	June 6, 1966	August 6, 1968	December 27, 1968	Decommissioned 1985 for scrapping^[1]
K-207	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	November 4, 1966	September 20, 1968	May 30, 1968	Decommissioned May 30, 1989 for scrapping^[1]
K-210	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	December 16, 1966	December 29, 1968	August 6, 1969	Decommissioned July 17, 1988 for scrapping^[1]
K-249	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	March 18, 1967	March 30, 1969	September 27, 1969	Decommissioned July 17, 1988 for scrapping^[1]
K-253	667A, 667AT	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	June 26, 1967	June 5, 1969	November 28, 1969	Decommissioned for scrapping^[1]
K-395	667A, 667AT	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	September 8, 1967	July 28, 1969	December 5, 1969	Decommissioned for scrapping^[1]
K-339	667A	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	February 23, 1968	June 23, 1969	December 24, 1969	Decommissioned April 19, 1990 for scrapping^[1]
K-408	667A, 667AT	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	January 20, 1968	September 10, 1969	December 25, 1969	Decommissioned July 17, 1988 for scrapping^[1]
K-411	667A, 667AN	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	May 25, 1968	January 16, 1970	August 31, 1970	Decommissioned for scrapping^[1]
K-418	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	June 29, 1968	March 14, 1970	September 22, 1970	Decommissioned March 17, 1989 for scrapping^[1]
K-420	667A, 667M	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	October 12, 1968	April 25, 1970	October 29, 1970	Decommissioned for scrapping^[1]
K-423	667A, 667AT	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	January 13, 1969	April 7, 1970	November 13, 1970	Decommissioned for scrapping^[1]
K-434	667AU	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	February 23, 1969	May 29, 1970	November 30, 1970	Decommissioned March 17, 1989 for scrapping^[1]
K-426	667A	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	April 17, 1969	August 28, 1970	December 22, 1970	Decommissioned April 19, 1990 for scrapping^[1]
K-236	667AU	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	November 6, 1969	August 4, 1970	December 27, 1970	Decommissioned September 1, 1990 for scrapping^[1]
K-415	667A, 667AK-2	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	July 4, 1969	September 26, 1970	December 30, 1970	Decommissioned August 6, 1987 for scrapping^[1]
K-403	667A, 667AK-1	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	August 18, 1969	March 25, 1971	August 12, 1971^[1]	Decommissioned – Scrapping underway in 2010 ^[4]^[failed verification]
K-389	667A	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	July 26, 1970	June 27, 1971	November 25, 1971	Decommissioned April 19, 1990 for scrapping ^[1]
K-245	667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	October 16, 1969	August 9, 1971	December 16, 1971	Decommissioned March 14, 1992 for scrapping^[1]
K-219	667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	May 28, 1970	October 8, 1971	December 31, 1971^[1]	Lost October 3, 1986
K-252	667A	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	December 25, 1970	September 12, 1971	December 31, 1971	Decommissioned March 17, 1989 for scrapping ^[1]
K-214	667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	February 19, 1970	September 1, 1971	February 8, 1972	Decommissioned June 24, 1991 for scrapping ^[1]
K-228	667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	September 4, 1970	May 3, 1972	September 30, 1972	Decommissioned September 3, 1994 for scrapping ^[1]
K-258	667AU	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	March 30, 1971	May 26, 1972	September 30, 1972	Decommissioned June 16, 1991 for scrapping ^[1]
K-241	667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	December 24, 1970	June 9, 1972	October 23, 1972	Decommissioned June 16, 1992 for scrapping ^[1]
K-444	667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	April 8, 1971	August 1, 1972	December 23, 1972	Decommissioned September 30, 1994 for scrapping ^[1]
K-446	667AU	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	November 7, 1971	August 8, 1972	January 22, 1973	Decommissioned March 17, 1993 for scrapping ^[1]
K-451	667AU	SEVMASH, Severodvinsk	February 23, 1972	April 29, 1973	September 7, 1971	Decommissioned June 16, 1991 for scrapping ^[1]
K-436	667AU	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	November 7, 1972	July 25, 1973	December 5, 1973	Decommissioned March 14, 1992 for scrapping ^[1]
K-430	667AU	Leninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk	July 27, 1973	July 28, 1974	December 25, 1974	Decommissioned January 12, 1995 for scrapping ^[1]

Popular culture

In Tom Clancy's 1986 techno-thriller Red Storm Rising, the entire Yankee-class of SSBNs are proposed to be taken out of service and scrapped by the Soviet Union as part of the Maskirovka I, in part to have the United States to do likewise with its own first-generation George Washington class, Ethan Allen class and Lafayette class SSBNs, and allay NATO misgivings of the USSR's intentions.

References

1. Korabli VMF SSSR, Vol. 1, Part 1, Yu. Apalkov, Sankt Peterburg, 2003, ISBN 5-8172-0069-4
2. . The Royal Gazette. Archived from the original on March 29, 2006.
3. . Federation of American Scientists. Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2012-08-10.
4. 64°35′10″N 39°49′07″E / 64.586°N 39.8187°E / 64.586; 39.8187

External links

• National Geographic: Yankee class accessed March 14, 2004.
• NATO Code Names for Submarines and Ships accessed March 14, 2004.
• Federation of American Scientists: Yankee class accessed June 11, 2006.
• Bellona Report: Project 667 A (Nalim, Navaga) – Yankee Class accessed June 11, 2006.
• World Navies Today: Russian Submarines accessed June 11, 2006.
• Jane's Fighting Ships of the World, 1994.