Soviet submarine K-68

Sister ship K-77 docked in Providence, Rhode Island
History
Soviet Union
Name	K-68
Builder	Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112, Gorky
Laid down	25 January 1961
Launched	30 April 1963
Commissioned	25 December 1965
Renamed	B-68, 25 July 1977 BS-68, 19 April 1990
Stricken	3 July 1992
Fate	Scrapped after 3 July 1992
General characteristics
Type	Juliett-class submarine
Displacement	3,174 t (3,124 long tons) (surfaced) 3,750 t (3,690 long tons) (submerged)
Length	85.9 m (281 ft 10 in)
Beam	9.7 m (31 ft 10 in)
Draft	3.29 m (10 ft 10 in)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shafts 2 × diesel engines (4,000 PS (2,900 kW)) 2 × electric motors (3,000 PS (2,200 kW)) 2 × electric motors (200 PS (150 kW))
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) (surfaced) 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (submerged)
Range	18,000 nmi (33,000 km; 21,000 mi) at 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) (snorkeling) 27.8 nmi (51.5 km; 32.0 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) (submerged)
Test depth	240 m (790 ft)
Complement	78
Sensors and processing systems	Artika-M (MG-200) and Herkules (MG-15) sonars Feniks-M (MG-10) and MG-13 hydrophones Albatros (RLK-50) search radar Argument missile guidance radar
Electronic warfare & decoys	Nakat-M ESM
Armament	2 × twin SS-N-3 Shaddock (P-5 or P-6) cruise missiles 6 × 533 mm (21 in) bow torpedo tubes 4 × 406 mm (16 in) stern torpedo tubes

K-68 was a "Project 651" (NATO reporting name: Juliett-class) diesel–electric submarine built for the Soviet Navy during the 1960s. Commissioned in 1965, the boat was armed with long-range cruise missiles to carry out its mission of destroying American aircraft carriers and bases. The missiles could be fitted with either conventional or nuclear warheads. While much of the submarine's activities during the Cold War are unknown, she did make at least one patrol in the Mediterranean Sea before serving as the test bed for an auxiliary nuclear reactor from 1976 to 1991. K-68 was decommissioned in 1992 and subsequently scrapped.