N700057 SOVIET SUBMARINE PROJECT 667 B MURENA (NATO NAME DELTA I)

Delta I-class ships (or Project 667B) were Soviet nuclear-powered submarines carrying nuclear warhead ballistic missiles (SSBN) that began entering service in 1972. In total, 18 ships of this class were built. A single unit of this type was 139 m long and 12 m wide, with an underwater displacement of approx. 11,750 tons. The maximum underwater speed was up to 24 knots. The armament consisted of 12 SS-N-8 ballistic missile launchers and 6 bow 533 mm torpedo tubes. The Delta I-class submarines were created to supplement and later replace the Yankee-class units in the line. Compared to their predecessors, they were slightly lengthened and widened, but most of all they received a completely new main armament in the form of SS-N-8 ballistic missiles with a much greater range than the SS-N-6 missiles carried by Yankee-class ships. This allowed Delta I class units to operate in relatively well-protected by their own surface and underwater forces, the so-called "Bastions" in arctic waters, not off the coast of the United States. It is also worth pointing to the characteristic "hump" behind the conning tower, which was obviously built to house a ballistic missile launcher. The shipyards in Severodwinsk and Komsomolsk-on-Amur were responsible for the construction of these units. It is assumed that all ships of this type were decommissioned by 1998.