Project 658 (aka Hotel I) was a Soviet submarine project conceived in the
early 1950's. It was approved for use and construction on August 26, 1956. The
658 was a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine that used the D-2
launch system and R-13 ballistic missiles. The design of the project was based
on the Project 627 "November" class submarine and it used the
missile compartment from the "Golf" class. The compartment, located
directly behind the boat's sail, housed vertical launch tubes for three R-13
missiles. After surfacing, the 658 sub could fire all three missiles within 12
minutes. In addition to the 3 ballistic missiles, the 658 had 8 torpedo tubes:
4 533mm and 4 400mm.
Eight subs of this class were built, including the K-19. They were used from
1961 to 1967, after which most were upgraded to the Project 658M specification.
At 114 meters/374 feet in length, and with 2 pressurized water nuclear
reactors, the 658 could house 104 men for 50 days before needing to come into
port.
Project 658M (aka Hotel II) was an upgraded version of the 658 conceived in
1958. It included the newer D-4 launch system that could fire missiles while
the sub was submerged (down to a depth of 16 meters/52.4 feet). By 1967, all
658 subs except the K-145 were upgraded to the 658M. As with the 658, the 658M
could fire 3 R-class missiles (in this case, the R-21).
The final incarnation of the Hotel class sub was the Project 701 (aka Hotel
III). K-145 was used to test the design as well as the new R-29 missile. The
length was increased to 130 meters/426.5 feet to accommodate a fourth missile
rack for the R-29. The 701 K-145 was brought into Naval service in 1976.
All 658/658M/701 Hotel submarines were decommissioned by 1991.