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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:

• List of NATO reporting names for ballistic missile submarines
• List of NATO reporting names for guided missile submarines
• List of NATO reporting names for hunter-killer and experimental submarines

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."

Diesel-electric

World War 1 Era

• Delfin
• Forel
• Pochtovy
• Minoga
• Akula
• Kasatka class submarine
• Osetr class submarine
• Som class subamrine
• Karp class submarine
• Kaiman class submarine
• Morzh class submarine
• Narval class submarine (Russia)
• Krab
• Amerikansky Golland (Holland 602GF/602L type)
• Bars class submarine (1915)

World War 2 Era

• Dekabrist class submarine
• Leninets class submarine
• Shchuka class submarine
• Pravda class submarine
• Soviet S class submarine
• Malyutka class submarine
• K class submarine (Soviet)

Post War Attack submarines

Guided missile submarines

Ballistic missile submarines

Auxiliary submarines

Nuclear-powered

Attack submarines

First generation

Second generation

Third generation

Fourth generation

Guided missile submarines

First generation

Second generation

Third generation

Fourth generation

Ballistic missile submarines

First generation

Second generation

Third generation

Fourth generation

Auxiliary submarines

Footnotes

1. ^ It is not resolved whether this is a diesel-electric or a nuclear-powered vessel. See Kommersant, 2007-SEP-12: Submarine: Military Secret Shows Up on the Internet. Retrieved 2007-SEP-12.

External links

• Bellona