Brief Operational History

The Tango was originally built as as an interim long range successor to the Foxtrot submarine.  The first example left the Gorki shipyard in 1972.  The submarine was first seen by Western observers at the Sevastopol Naval Review in July of 1973 and was noted for its very clean hull lines, especially for a Soviet designed submarine. 

During their time the Tango was the largest conventionally powered submarines in production.  There were two variants of the submarine manufactured during their production run.  The later version was slightly longer than their earlier counterparts to house the fire control systems required to launch the SS-N-15 nuclear anti-submarine torpedo.

As of the late 1980's the Soviet Northern fleet operated 15 Tango class submarines and the Baltic fleet operated at least three.  It should be noted that the Northern fleet also had one or two of their boats deployed in the Mediterranean at all times.  Most ships of this class were retired beginning in 1995.

The submarine can carry up to 18 533mm (21 inch) torpedoes, or up to 36 AMD-1000 ground mines.  It also is capable of using two SS-N-15 anti-submarine torpedoes with a 15 kiloton yield.

It was not exported despite it being a very modern and capable conventional submarine.

Tactical Use and Limitations

The Tango submarine had a very clean lined hull without many of the noisy free flood holes or strange protrusions that characterized many earlier Soviet subs.  This made the boat much quieter than its predecessors.  The larger hull size of the Tango also enabled it to have a significant battery capacity.  It can stay underwater for more than a week before snorkeling is required.  In fact they have an overall performance comparable to its nuclear counterparts.

The propulsion system was an outgrowth of the one used on the later Foxtrot submarines.  They were designed to be used in an 'ambush' role against NATO warships operating at choke-points on the sea lanes.

Deployment Chronology

Here you can see what submarines the Tango replaced and what submarine eventually replaced it.  You can find out more about these submarines if we have them on our site by clicking on the links below.   Like many Soviet submarines the Tango only partially replaced the Foxtrot and when production of the Tango ended the Foxtrot continued to be made for export.  Both were replaced to some extent by the Kilo submarine.

Sources Cited

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you.  We hope you can find them as useful as we have.

• The Encyclopedia of World Sea Power, Edited by Chris Bishop, published by Crescent Books, New York, 1988

• Russian Military Power, Edited by Ray Bonds, published by Bonanza Books, New York, 1982