From Novembers to Sierras: Soviet Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarines

By Alejandro A. Vilches Alarcón

For 30 years during the Cold War, Soviet-designed and manufactured nuclear attack submarines were considered as one of the principal threats for transatlantic traffic. Thr

Constructed in reaction to the appearance of USS Nautilus (SSN-675, the first nuclear-powered attack submarine of the US navy), and entering service in 1963, the Project 627 Kit - the first of Soviet nuclear-powered submarines - was originally meant to enter US naval bases and deploy torpedoes with thermonuclear warheads, destroying everything in range. It was only later that they were re-tasked with conventional torpedo attacks on enemy warships and transport vessels along sea routes distant from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR; colloquially 'Soviet Union'). Obsolete already by the time it entered service, the Project 627-class was soon supplanted by vessels of the Project 671 Yorsh, followed by the Project 671RT Syomga, and Project 671RTM/RTMK Shchuka nuclear-powered submarines, better known in the West by their ASCC/NATO-reporting name as 'Victor I', 'Victor II' and 'Victor III', respectively: the first Soviet-designed submarines with a tear-shaped hull, and meant to hunt and destroy US ballistic missile submarines. The final, 'Third Generation' of Soviet SSNs covered in this book consisted of four classes built in smaller numbers. While Victors were constructed in large numbers, the Soviet Navy also tested different concepts, including super-expensive vessels with hull made entirely of titanium, but also a powerful lead-bismuth liquid medal cooled reactor. Thus came into being the Project 705 Lira class. Known in the West as the Alpha-class, these were the fastest military submarines ever built, meant to made high-speed dashes into the North Atlantic and intercept selected targets.

Based on extensive research with help of Soviet and Russian literature, as well as few first-hand sources, and richly illustrated with authentic photography and custom-drawn colour profiles, From Novembers to Sierras is providing an exclusive source of reference on design, construction, and operational history of three generations of most important types of Soviet warships of the Cold War.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1804518778
• ISBN13: 9781804518779
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Helion & Company
• Length: 88 Pages