The Victor class is the NATO reporting name 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 as Project 671. Victor-class subs featured a teardrop shape, which allowed them to travel at high speed. These vessels were primarily designed to protect Soviet surface fleets and to attack American ballisic missile submarines.
Victor III - Soviet Designation Project 671RTM Shchuka (Pike) - entered service in 1979; 25 were produced until 1991. 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 and Akula class SSNs. The Victor III class was continuously improved during construction and late production models have a superior acoustic performance. They were 106m long. 23 disposed.
Afmetingen;
- Lang; 306 mm.
- Breed; 30.8 mm.
Aantal onderdelen: 50
Humbrol verf kleur nr.'s; 11 / 12 / 16 / 34 / 85 / 155.
