View source for Golf-class submarine

{{short description|Diesel electric ballistic missile submarine class}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin|sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Image Submarine Golf II class.jpg
|Ship caption={{center|Golf II-class submarine}}
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Name=Golf-class submarine
|Builders=
|Operators=*{{navy|Soviet Union}}
*{{navy|PRC}}<ref name="Golf China" />
|Class before=[[Zulu-class submarine|Zulu V class]]
|Class after=[[Hotel-class submarine|Hotel class]]
|Subclasses=
|Cost=
|Built range=
|In service range= 1958–1990 
|In commission range=  
|Total ships building= 
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=23
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost= 1
|Total ships retired=
|Total ships preserved=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption= 
|Ship class=
|Ship type=
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=*2,794 [[ton]]s surfaced/3,553 tons submerged (629)
*2,300–2,820 tons surfaced/2,700–3,553 tons submerged (629A)
|Ship length=*{{convert|98.4|m|abbr=on}} (629)
*98.9 m (629A)
|Ship beam={{convert|8.2|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=*{{convert|7.85|m|abbr=on}} (629)
*8.5 m (629A)
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=3 × diesel engines, each {{convert|2000|bhp|kW|-2|abbr=on}}; 3 × electric motors, {{convert|5200|shp|kW|-1|abbr=on}}; 3 shafts
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed=surface - {{cvt|17|kn|km/h mph}}, {{cvt|9500|nmi|km miles}}/{{cvt|5|kn|km/h mph}}; submerged - {{cvt|12|kn|km/h mph}}
|Ship range=70 days endurance
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=*260 m (design)
*300 m (maximum)
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=*80 (629)
*83 (629A)
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*3 × missile tubes
*3 × Project 629 boats D-1 launch system with [[R-11 Zemlya|R-11FM]] missiles
*Remaining boats D-2 launch system with R-13 missiles
*1966 onwards 629A upgrade D-4 launch system with [[R-21 (missile)|R-21]] missiles
*6 × 533 mm torpedo tubes
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities= 
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''Project 629''' ({{langx|ru|проект–629}}, {{translit|ru|proyekt-629}}), also known by the [[NATO reporting name]] '''Golf''', was a [[Ship class |class]] of [[Diesel-electric submarine|diesel-electric]] [[ballistic missile submarine]]s that served in the [[Soviet Navy]]. All boats of this class left Soviet service by 1990, and have since been disposed of.<ref>{{cite web | work = Deep storm |url= http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/dbrs/629(629a)/list.html |title= 629 (629) |access-date= 19 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | work = Deep storm |url= http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/dss/629R/list.html |title= 629|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/45-92/dbrs/mod629/629b/list.html | work = Deep storm |title= 629 |access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> According to some sources, at least one Golf-class submarine was operated by [[China]], to test new [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]]s (SLBMs).<ref name="Golf China">{{cite web |url= http://www.strategycenter.net/research/pubID.3/pub_detail.asp |title=North Korea's New Missiles |last=Fisher|first=Richard Jr|date= 20 September 2004|publisher= International Assessment and Strategy Center|access-date= 2012-09-08  |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121109031854/http://www.strategycenter.net/research/pubID.3/pub_detail.asp |archive-date= 2012-11-09}}</ref>

== Class history ==
Project 629 was started in the mid-1950s along with the D-2 missile launch system, which it was to carry, and was based on the [[Foxtrot-class submarine]].  The design task was assigned to OKB-16, one of the two predecessors (the other being SKB-143) of the [[Malakhit Marine Engineering Bureau]],<ref>[http://www.malachite-spb.ru/ Malachite Central Design Bureau]</ref> which would eventually become one of the three Soviet/Russian submarine design centers, along with the [[Rubin Design Bureau]] and the [[Lazurit Central Design Bureau]].<ref>[http://cdb-lazurit.ru/indexe.php?0 Lazurit Central Design Bureau] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811121225/http://www.cdb-lazurit.ru/indexe.php?0 |date=2013-08-11 }}</ref> The submarine was originally designed to carry three [[R-11FM]] ballistic missiles with a range  around 150&nbsp;km. These were carried in three silos fitted in the rear of the large sail behind the bridge. They could only be fired with the submarine surfaced and the missile raised above the sail, 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 (missile)|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 [[Komsomolsk-na-Amure]] in the Far East. An eighth in the Far East went to China.  Fourteen were extensively modified in 1966–1972 and became known as ''629A'' by the Soviet Navy and "Golf II" by [[NATO]] (the original version having been designated "Golf I"). The major changes were the upgrade of the missile system to carry [[R-21 (missile)|R-21]] missiles, which could be launched from inside their tubes with the submarine submerged, and increased speed. In later years, a few were converted to test new missiles and others had different conversions.

All boats had left Soviet service by 1990.  In 1993, 10 were sold to [[North Korea]] for scrap.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cns.miis.edu/archive/country_north_korea/chr9495.htm|title=CNS - Chronology of North Korea's Missile Trade and Developments: 1994-1995|date=17 August 2008 |access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> According to some sources, the North Koreans were attempting to get these boats back into service.<ref name=giz>{{cite web |url=https://gizmodo.com/north-koreas-brand-new-ballistic-sub-was-discontinued-b-1654011065 |title=North Korea's Brand New Ballistic Sub Discontinued by Soviets in 1990|date=2014-11-04 |access-date=2014-11-04}}</ref>

An organization of defectors from North Korea, named In-Kook Yantai, published a report in 2016 entitled "North Korea's Nuclear and WMD Assessment". In that report, North Korean defector Kim Heung-kwang said a 3,500-ton, nuclear-powered submarine, one of a pair, was due for launch before 2018. It was described as having four missile launch silos in the sail, and is generally thought to refer to a repowered Golf II-class vessel.<ref>defector Kim Heung-kwang, in 2016 report by In-Kook Yantai</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.joins.com/article/20530031|title=탈북자단체 "北 3,500t급 핵잠수함 개발 중"|date=2016-08-31|work=중앙일보|access-date=2018-11-18|language=ko-KR}}</ref>

In 1959, the project technology was sold to [[People's Republic of China|China]], which built a single modified example in 1966, which is still in service.

[[File:Ssb golfii.png|thumb|Several views of a Project 629A (Golf II) ballistic missile submarine]]

==Project Azorian==
{{Main|Project Azorian}}

On March 8, 1968, {{convert|1560|nmi|km}} northwest of [[Oahu]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]], the Golf II-class submarine [[Soviet submarine K-129 (1960)|''K-129'']] sank due to an explosion brought on by unknown cause, the accident being registered by the [[SOSUS]] network. The entire crew of 98 was lost and the vessel sank with three ballistic nuclear missiles as well as two nuclear torpedoes.  The United States recovered parts of the submarine in July 1974 from a depth around 5&nbsp;km, in an operation named [[Project Azorian]].<ref name="StudiesIntell85">{{cite web
|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/doc01.pdf
|title=Project Azorian: The Story of the Hughes Glomar Explorer
|date=Fall 1985
|publisher=Studies in Intelligence, [[CIA]]
|access-date=2010-02-13
}}</ref>

Two nuclear submarines that had been facing retirement, {{USS|Halibut|SSGN-587}} and {{USS|Seawolf|SSN-575}}, were rebuilt and pressed into service as deep-sea search vehicles. After ''Halibut'' discovered a sunken Soviet submarine containing at least one intact ballistic missile complete with nuclear warhead, [[Melvin Laird]], [[United States Secretary of Defense]] under President [[Richard Nixon]], approved Azorian.  Six years later, 1560 nautical miles north of the Pearl Harbor, a mechanical claw descended {{convert|17000|ft|m|-2}} to the bottom of the Pacific, and guided by computers on board the ''[[Glomar Explorer]]'', clamped onto the mass of twisted, rusting steel and began slowly raising it to the surface. How successful the effort was is unclear, but the United States has admitted to recovering a portion of ''K-129'', which included six bodies of Soviet sailors who were buried at sea with full honors.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/02/14/decades_later_details_emerge_about_cias_hunt_for_soviet_sub?mode=PF Decades Later Details Emerge About CIA Hunt for Soviet Sub]</ref>

==Variants==
*'''Project 629''': The original design with the [[NATO reporting name]] Golf I, with a total of 22 boats built from 1958 through 1962. Dimensions are 98.4 m for length, 8.2 m for beam, and 7.85 m for draft. Surfaced/submerged displacements are 2794 / 3553 [[ton]]s, respectively.  Surfaced/submerged speeds are 15 / 12.5 knot, respectively. Project 629 is crewed by 80 men, and is equipped by either D-1 launching system for [[R-11 Zemlya|R-11FM]] or D-2 launching systems for [[R-13 (missile)|SS-N-4]] [[Submarine-launched ballistic missile|SLBM]]s.<ref name="Golf SSB">{{cite web| url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/slbm/629.htm | title=Soviet Golf class submarine | access-date= 14 April 2013}}</ref>
*'''Project 629B''': ''K-229'' was converted in 1958 in [[Severodvinsk]], under Project 629B to test a newly designed on-board missile control system, which was the first-generation design based entirely on semiconductors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://russian-ships.info/eng/submarines/project_629.htm|title=Ballistic missile submarines - Project 629|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
*'''Project 629A''': 14 Project 629/Golf I-class submarines were converted to Project 629A between 1966 and 1972, and received the NATO reporting name "Golf II". Changes include the increase of dimension, with length and draft increased to 98.9 / 8.5 m, respectively, the surfaced/submerged displacement increased to 2300–2820 / 2700–3553 [[ton|t]], respectively, and surfaced/submerged speeds increased to 17 / 14 kn respectively. Crew was increased to 83, and the launching system is D-4 for [[R-21 (missile)|SS-N-5]] SLBMs.<ref name="Golf SSB"/>
*'''Project 601''': ''K-118'' was converted from 1969 through 1974 and received the NATO reporting name "Golf III", with displacement increased to 4000 tons and number of SLBMs increased to six, and the missile type is [[R-29 Vysota|SS-N-8]].<ref name="Golf SSB"/>
*'''Project 605''': ''K-102'' was converted from 1969 through 1973 and received the NATO reporting name "Golf IV", lengthened 18.3 m with four  SLBMs to test [[R-27 Zyb#Variants|R-27K (SS-N-13)]] SLBMs.<ref name="Golf SSB"/>
*'''Project 619''': ''K-153'' was converted in 1976 to test [[R-39 Rif|SS-N-20]] SLBMs and received the NATO reporting name "Golf V".<ref name="Golf SSB"/>
*'''Project 629R''': ''K-61'', ''B-42'' and ''K-107'' were converted in [[Vladivostok]] into command posts between 1973 and 1979, with the missile and torpedo tubes removed; they received the NATO reporting name "Golf SSQ".<ref name="Golf SSB"/>
*'''Type 6631''': A Chinese-built Golf-class submarine, she was built in [[Dalian]] between 1960 and 1966, after receiving technical data from the USSR in 1959. China did not purchase SLBMs, thus Type 6631 was equipped with simulation systems and mainly used for training. Originally with [[pennant number]] 1101, it was subsequently changed to 200 in 1967. The second unit was supposed to be built and delivered by USSR (pennant number K-208), but due to the [[Sino-Soviet split]], most on-board equipment was not delivered, and the boat was used as sample for reverse engineering to complete the first unit, which entered Chinese service in August 1966. In June 1968, Type 6631 went through a major refit because China decided to adopt solid-fueled SLBMs instead of liquid-fueled SLBMs, as the Soviets used, so the simulation equipment was replaced by support equipment of solid-fueled SLBMs. In addition, the planned Chinese SLBM had different dimensions from the original Russian SLBM-equipped Golf-class submarines, so the number of missile tubes was reduced to two from the original three.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_752fd35701013rtp.html|title=6631型G级常规动力弹道导弹潜艇_舰船档案_新浪博客|access-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
*'''Type 031''': Type 6631 went through a second major refit, which was completed in November 1978. The most important improvement is the ability to launch SLBMs under water. In addition to changing to Type 031 from the original Type 6631, the unit also received the name ''[[Great Wall]]'', when China began restore the practice of naming its warships in the 1980s. The unit is hence usually referred as ''Great Wall 200''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.haijun360.com/news/CGQT000/2011/521/11521180221EJDCFKDJ1AEK5IIFBF9.html |title=Type 031 SSN |access-date=2013-04-14 |archive-date=2013-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123073609/http://www.haijun360.com/news/CGQT000/2011/521/11521180221EJDCFKDJ1AEK5IIFBF9.html  }}</ref>

==Notes==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Breemer |first=Jan S. |date=1989 |title=Soviet Submarines: Design, Development and Tactics |location=Coulsdon, Surrey |publisher=Jane's Information Group |isbn=0710605269}}
* {{cite book |editor-last1=Gardiner |editor-first1=Robert |editor-last2=Chumbley |editor-first2=Stephen |editor-last3=Budzbon |editor-first3=Przemysław  |date=1995 |title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 |location=Annapolis |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=1-55750-132-7}}
* {{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=David |last2=Jordan |first2=John |date=1987 |title=Modern Submarine Warfare |location=New York |publisher=Military Press |isbn=0-517-64647-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |last2=Noot |first2=Jurrien S. |date=1991 |title=Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990 |location=Annapolis, Maryland |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=0-87021-570-1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |last2=Moore |first2=Kenneth J. |date=2004 |title=Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Potomac Books |isbn=978-1-57488-594-1}}

==External links==
*[https://fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/slbm/629.htm Golf submarine details on FAS website]
*[http://russian-ships.info/eng/submarines/project_629.htm Russian Golf I/II submarines - Complete Ship List (English)]

{{Soviet and Russian submarines after 1945}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golf-class submarine}}
[[Category:Golf-class submarines| ]]
[[Category:Submarine classes of the Russian and Soviet Navy]]
[[Category:Submarine classes]]