The November class is the general NATO classification for the first type of nuclear-powered submarine that was put into service by the Soviet Union starting around April 1958. In the USSR, they were produced under Project 627. These vessels were only armed with torpedoes, although the basic design was modified to create the Hotel class, which carried nuclear ballistic missiles. Fourteen vessels of this type were built, the first being the K-3 or Leninsky Komsomol (which would become the first Soviet sub to reach the North Pole in 1962, four years after the USS Nautilus (SSN-571)). In April 1970, one of these submarines sank off the coast of Spain (probably the Leninets ).

General characteristics

• Length: 110 meters (361 feet)
• Beam: 8 m (26 ft)
• Draft: 6 m (21 ft)
• Displacement: about 4,380 tons
• Propulsion:
  • 2 pressurized-water nuclear reactors
  • 2 propellers
• Crew: about 105
• Armament: 8 (10?) torpedo tubes
• Speed: 56 km/h (28 knots/35 mph)
• Commissioned: July 1, 1958

References

• National Geographic: November class accessed March 14, 2004.
• NATO Code Names for Submarines and Ships accessed March 14, 2004.