Soviet Navy

The **Soviet Navy** () was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was usually called  the **Red Fleet** ().

The Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning if a war were to every start with the opposing superpower, the United States, during the Cold War period between the two countries.  The Soviet Navy played a large role during the Cold War (1945-1991). It confronted the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in Western Europe and helped to keep the Soviet sphere of influence in eastern Europe.

## Fleets

The Soviet Navy was divided into four major fleets: the Northern, Pacific, Black Sea, and Baltic Fleets. It also had a smaller force, the Caspian Flotilla, which worked in the Caspian Sea and was followed by a larger fleet, the 5th Squadron, in the Middle East. The Soviet Navy included Naval Aviation, Naval Infantry, and the Coastal Artillery.

## Disestablishment

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation took the largest part of the Soviet Navy and turned it into the Russian Navy. The rest of the Soviet Navy were given to the other post-Soviet states.

## Inventory

In 1990, the Soviet Navy had:

- 63 ballistic missile submarines:

- 6 Project 941 (Typhoon-class) submarines
    - 40 Project 667B (Delta-class) submarines
    - 12 Project 667A (Yankee-class) submarines
    - 5 Project 658 (Hotel-class) submarines

- 72 cruise missile submarines:

- 6 s
    - 6 Yankee Notch submarines
    - 14 s
    - 30 s
    - 16 s

- 68 nuclear attack submarines:

- 5 s
    - 2 s
    - 6 s
    - 46 s
    - 6 s
    - 3 Yankee SSN submarine

- 63 conventional attack submarines:

- 18 s
    - 20 s
    - 25 s

- 9 auxiliary submarines

- 1
    - 1
    - 2 s
    - 4 s
    - 1

- 7 aircraft carriers / helicopter carriers:

- 1
    - 4 s
    - 2 s

- 3 battlecruisers:

- 3 s

- 30 cruisers:

- 3 s
    - 7 s
    - 4 s
    - 10 s
    - 4 s
    - 2 s

- 45 destroyers:

- 11 s
    - 11 s
    - 18 s
    - 3 s
    - 2 s

- 113 frigates:

- 32 s
    - 1 s
    - 18 s
    - 31 s
    - 31 s

- 124 corvettes:

- 10 s
    - 36 s
    - 78 s

- 42 amphibious warfare ships:

- 3 s
    - 19 s
    - 14 s
    - 6 s

- ≈425 patrol boats

## Bibliography

- Goldstein, Lyle; Zhukov, Yuri (2004). "A Tale of Two Fleets: A Russian Perspective on the 1973 Naval Standoff in the Mediterranean". _Naval War College Review_.
- Goldstein, Lyle; John Hattendorf; Zhukov, Yuri. (2005) "The Cold War at Sea: An International Appraisal". _Journal of Strategic Studies_. ISSN 0140-2390
- Gorshkov, Sergeĭ Georgievich. _Red Star Rising at Sea_ (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1974)
- Nilsen, Thomas; Kudrik, Igor; Nikitin, Aleksandr (1996). _Report 2: 1996: The Russian Northern Fleet_. Oslo/St. Petersburg: Bellona Foundation. . Chapter 8, "Nuclear submarine accidents".
- Oberg, James (1988). _Uncovering Soviet Disasters _. New York: Random House. .
- Rohwer, Jürgen, and Mikhail S. Monakov, _Stalin's Ocean-Going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programmes, 1935–1953_ (Psychology Press, 2001)
- Sontag, Sherry; Drew, Christopher; Drew, Annette Lawrence (1998). _Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage_. Harper. .

## Other websites

- Russian Navy
- Admiral Gorshkov and the Soviet Navy
- Soviet Submarines
- Red Fleet
- Flags & Streamers
- Warship Listing
- Russian Navy Weapons
- All Soviet Warships – Complete Ship List (English)
- All Soviet Submarines – Complete Ship List (English)
- Understanding Soviet naval developments.
- Learn about Soviet Navy

## Infobox (military unit)

- **unit name**: Soviet Navy
- **image**: Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg
- **caption**: List of Soviet navy flags, Naval ensign of the Soviet Union
- **country**:
  (1922–1991)
  (1991–1992)
- **allegiance**: Communist Party of the Soviet Union (until 1990)
President of the Soviet Union (1990–1991)
Commonwealth of Independent States (1991–1992)
- **type**: Navy
- **size**: 467,000 personnel (1984)
1,057 ships (1990)
1,172 aircraft (1990)
5 aircraft carriers (1990)
2 helicopter carriers (1990)
3 battlecruisers
30 cruisers
45 destroyers
113 frigates
124 corvettes
63 ballistic missile submarines
72 cruise missile submarine
68 nuclear attack submarine
63 conventional attack submarine
9 auxiliary submarines
35 amphibious warfare ships
425 patrol boats
- **command structure**: Soviet Armed Forces
- **nickname**: _Red Fleet_
- **battles**: Russian Revolution
Russian Civil War
Polish–Soviet War
Soviet–Japanese border conflicts
Invasion of Poland
Winter War (Finland)
World War II (Great Patriotic War)
Soviet invasion of Manchuria
Vietnam War
1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation
Cold War
- **notable commanders**: Fleet Admiral Sergey Gorshkov
Fleet Admiral Nikolay Kuznetsov (officer), Nikolay Kuznetsov
Vice Admiral Aleksandr Nemits
 Vice Admiral Yevgeny Berens
Fleet Admiral Vasili Altfater
Admiral Ivan Yumashev (admiral), Ivan Yumashev
- **identification symbol**:
- **identification symbol label**: Naval jack
- **identification symbol 3**:
- **identification symbol 3 label**: Guards Red Banner naval ensign