page_title: 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation
section_title: Operational summary
hierarchical_section_title: 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation / Operational summary
context_page_description: The 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation, was announced to be the second submerged around-the-world voyage executed by the detachment of the nuclear powered submarines that served in the Soviet Navy.
  The expedition was an early example of blue-water operations and the power projection of the Soviet Union through its Navy's nuclear-powered submarine fleet, and it paved the way for future operations during the latter half of the Cold War. The Russian expedition took place nearly six years after the first complete submerged circumnavigation of the world undertaken by the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered submarine Triton in 1960.
  Technically speaking, this Russian submerged circumnavigation was not a true "circumnavigation" since the submarine detachment went from the Russia's Northern Fleet in the area of the Kola Peninsula to the Pacific Fleet base in Kamchatka going around South America and consequently did not go completely around the world as did the USS Triton.
context_section_description: The first submerged circumnavigation by a detachment (Russian: отряд; otryad) of submarines was undertaken by two submarines under the overall command of Rear Admiral Anatoliy Ivanovich Sorokin.  The detachment departed from the Red Banner Northern Fleet on 1 February 1966.  Planning for the mission was credited to Admiral Vladimir Chernavin, then the commander of a Northern Fleet division of submarines and later to become Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy.  The detachment's sailing orders from the Main Naval Staff read in part:
  You will be passing through seas and oceans where Russian sailors have not traveled in more than 100 years.  We firmly believe that you will successfully surmount all difficulties and carry the Soviet Navy Flag with honor through three oceans and many seas.
  The detachment consisted of the Project 627 (November class) attack submarine K-133 under the command of Captain 2nd Rank V.T. Vinogradov and the Project 675 (Echo II class) cruise missile submarine K-116 under the command of Captain 2nd Rank L.N. Stolyarov, with K-116 serving as the detachment's flagship.  The oceanographic salvage ship Polyus escorted the submarines during their transit.
  The detachment crossed the Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean via the Drake Passage which, according to Academian A.M. Chepurov, was the most dangerous phase of the voyage. Concerns included icebergs and collisions with whales. The ships' personnel participated in line-crossing ceremonies when the detachment crossed the Equator.  They also celebrated the landing of the Soviet space probe Venera 3 on the surface of the planet Venus.  The detachment completed its circumnavigation by arriving at the Pacific Fleet submarine base in Vilyuchinsk on 26 March 1966, having covered 21,000 nmi (39,000 km; 24,000 mi) in 52 days. The detachment reportedly encountered numerous U.S. naval vessels during its around the world voyage, but successfully avoided detection.
caption: Project 627 (November class) submarine