Golf class submarine
Encyclopedia : G : GO : GOL : Golf class submarine
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| Career |
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|---|---|
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,794 tons surfaced/3,553 tons submerged (629) 2,300-2,820 tons surfaced/2,700-3,553 tons submerged (629A) |
| Length: | 98.4 m (629) 98.9 m (629A) |
| Beam: | 8.2 m |
| Draught: | 7.85 m (629) 8.5 m (629A) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel electric |
| Speed: | 12.5 knots (23 km/h) submerged 12 to 14 knots (22 to 26 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 70 days endurance |
| Complement: | 80 (629) 83 (629A) |
| Armament: | Three nuclear tipped ballistic missiles First three 629 boats D-1 launch system with R-11FM missiles Remaining boats D-2 launch system with R-13 missiles 1966 onwards 629A upgrade D-4 launch system with R-21 missiles All boats six 533 mm torpedo tubes |
| Diving depth: | 260 m (design) 300 m (maximum) |
The Soviet Navy's Project 629, also known by the NATO reporting name of Golf class, were diesel electric ballistic missile submarines. They were designed after six Zulu class submarines were successfully modified to carry and launch Scud missiles. All Golf boats had left Soviet service by 1990. China built a single modified example in 1966 which is apparently still in service.
Design was started in the mid-1950s at the OKB-16 design bureau along with the D-2 missile system which it was to carry, and was based on the Foxtrot. The submarine was originally designed to carry three R-11FM ballistic missiles with a range of around 150 km. These were carried in three silos fitted in the rear of the large sail behind the bridge. They could only be fired on the surface but the submarine could be underway at the time. Only the first three boats were equipped with these — the remaining ones were equipped with the longer range R-13 missiles.
The first boats were commissioned in 1958 and the last in 1962.
The boats were built at two shipyards — 16 in Severodvinsk and 7 in Komsomol Na Amur. Fourteen were extensively modified in 1966-1972 and became known as 629A's by the Soviet Navy and Golf IIs by NATO (the original version now being designated Golf I). The major change was the upgrade of the missile system to carry R-21 missiles and increased speed. A few others had different conversions, for example one boat was converted to a minelayer (629E).
The hull was divided into eight water-tight compartments, although this did not prevent the loss of K-129 on 3 August 1968 1390 km northwest of Oahu in the Pacific Ocean. The submarine exceeded its crush depth for unknown reasons and imploded, the accident being registered by the SOSUS network. The United States recovered parts of the submarine in July 1974 from a depth of around 5 km, in an operation named Project Jennifer.
In 2005 the book Red Star Rogue, by Kenneth Sewell, claimed K-129 sank 500 km northwest of Oahu on March 7, 1968 while launching one of her three ballistic missiles. He also claims Project Jennifer recovered virtually all of K-129 from the ocean floor.
All boats had left Soviet service by 1990. In 1993, ten were sold to North Korea for scrapping. These boats have never been used operationally by North Korea, although their ballistic missile launch systems may have been studied by the North Korean military in order to improve other missile technology.
The plans were also sold to China which built a single modified example in 1966 which is apparently still in service.
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