Sister ship K-77 docked in Providence, Rhode Island
History
Soviet Union
Name	K-68
Builder	Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112, Gorky
Laid down	25 January 1961
Launched	30 April 1963
Commissioned	25 December 1965
Renamed	B-68, 25 July 1977 BS-68, 19 April 1990
Stricken	3 July 1992
Fate	Scrapped after 3 July 1992
General characteristics
Type	Juliett-class submarine
Displacement	3,174 t (3,124 long tons) (surfaced) 3,750 t (3,690 long tons) (submerged)
Length	85.9 m (281 ft 10 in)
Beam	9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
Draft	3.29 m (10 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shafts 2 × diesel engines (4,000 PS (2,900 kW)) 2 × electric motors (3,000 PS (2,200 kW)) 2 × electric motors (200 PS (150 kW))
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) (surfaced) 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (submerged)
Range	18,000 nmi (33,000 km; 21,000 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (snorkeling) 27.8 nmi (51.5 km; 32.0 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (submerged)
Test depth	240 m (790 ft)
Complement	78
Sensors and processing systems	Artika-M (MG-200) and Herkules (MG-15) sonars Feniks-M (MG-10) and MG-13 hydrophones Albatros (RLK-50) search radar Argument missile guidance radar
Electronic warfare & decoys	Nakat-M ESM
Armament	2 × twin SS-N-3 Shaddock (P-5 or P-6) cruise missiles 6 × 533 mm (21 in) bow torpedo tubes 4 × 406 mm (16 in) stern torpedo tubes

K-68 was a "Project 651" (NATO reporting name: Juliett-class) diesel–electric submarine built for the Soviet Navy during the 1960s. Commissioned in 1965, the boat was armed with long-range cruise missiles to carry out its mission of destroying American aircraft carriers and bases. The missiles could be fitted with either conventional or nuclear warheads. While much of the submarine's activities during the Cold War are unknown, she did make at least one patrol in the Mediterranean Sea before serving as the test bed for an auxiliary nuclear reactor from 1976 to 1991. K-68 was decommissioned in 1992 and subsequently scrapped.

Background and description

In the late 1950s, the Soviet Navy was tasked to neutralize American bases and aircraft carriers and decided that submarines armed with cruise missiles were its best method to accomplishing this. The number of expensive nuclear-powered (Echo-class submarines) that it could afford and build in a timely manner was insufficient to meet its requirements, so it decided to build the Juliett class as it was significantly cheaper and faster to build.^[1]

The Juliett-class boats are a double-hulled design that displaces 3,174 metric tons (3,124 long tons) on the surface and 3,750 tonnes (3,690 long tons) submerged. Unlike the later submarines of the class, K-68's hull was not covered with anechoic tiles. The boats have an overall length of 85.9 meters (281 ft 10 in), a beam of 9.7 meters (31 ft 10 in) and a draft (ship) of 6.29 meters (20 ft 8 in). The Julietts have a test depth of 240 meters (790 ft) and a design depth of 300 meters (980 ft). The prominent blast deflectors cut out of the outer hull behind the missile launchers make the submarines very noisy at high speed. Their crew numbered 78 men.^[2]

Fire control and sensors

A photo of sister ship K-24 in Peenemünde, Germany. The Argument (Front Door) radar is at the front of the sail, with the Front Piece datalink above it. Aft of the sail, the rear missile mount is visible, elevated to its maximum of 15°.

The submarines relied upon aircraft for their long-range anti-ship targeting which they received via the Uspekh-U datalink system. Their own Argument missile-guidance radar controlled the missiles until they were out of range via a datalink. The missiles' onboard radar would detect the targets and transmit an image back to the submarine via video datalink so the crew could select which target to attack, after which the missile relied upon its own radar for terminal guidance. The Argument radar has a massive antenna that was stowed at the front of the sail and rotated 180° for use. The datalink antenna was mounted on top of the missile-guidance antenna.^[7]

The boats are fitted with Artika-M (MG-200) and Herkules (MG-15) sonars, Feniks-M (MG-10) and MG-13 hydrophones and an Albatros (RLK-50) search radar.^[3] They are also equipped with a Nakat-M Electronic warfare support measures system.^[8]

Construction and career

K-68 was laid down at the Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112 shipyard in Gorky on 25 January 1962. She was launched on 6 February 1964 and commissioned on 22 January 1965^[8] into the 35th Submarine Division of the Northern Fleet.^[9] The details of K-68's career remain largely unknown, although the boat made a nine-month-long patrol in the Mediterranean Sea in 1974–1975. On 25 September 1976 K-68 began a lengthy conversion at Gorky that lasted until December 1985 which installed a prototype 600 kW (800 hp) VAU-6 auxiliary nuclear reactor. Designed by the Lazurit Central Design Bureau under the designation of Project 651E, the installation was intended to extend the submarine's underwater endurance. While being modified K-68 (the K standing for (Russian: крейсерская, romanized: kreyserskaya, lit. 'cruiser') was redesignated B-68 (the B standing for Russian: большая, romanized: bolshaya, lit. 'large') in 1977. B-68 was assigned to the Northern Fleet's 7th Division of Submarines for sea trials that lasted until 1991. B-68 was redesignated as BS-68 on 19 April 1990. Although there were difficulties early in the test program, it was ultimately successful, but the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 halted further work. The submarine was decommissioned and transferred to the 346th Submarine Brigade on 3 July 1992 for disposal and subsequently scrapped.^[10]

References

Bibliography

• Friedman, Norman (1995). "Soviet Union 1947–1991: Russian Federation and Successor States 1991–". In Chumbley, Stephen (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. pp. 337–426. ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
• Hampshire, Edward (2018). Soviet Cruise Missile Submarines of the Cold War. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-47282-499-8.
• Pavlov, A. S. (1997). Warships of the USSR and Russia 1945–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-671-X.
• Polmar, Norman & Moore, Kenneth J. (2004). Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines. Washington, D. C.: Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1-57488-594-1.
• Polmar, Norman & Noot, Jurrien (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-570-1.
• Vilches Alarcón, Alejandro A. (2022). From Juliettes to Yasens: Development and Operational History of Soviet Cruise-Missile Submarines. Europe @ War (22). Warwick, UK: Helion & Co. ISBN 978-1-915070-68-5.