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
References
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, Sergei 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, Jurgen, 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
Disbanded navies
1918 establishments in the Soviet Union
1991 disestablishments in the Soviet Union
Military of the Soviet Union