Soviet ''Echo''-Class BM Submarine

By Crusader1307

The Soviet ''Echo''-Class Submarine was a Cruise/Ballistic Missile platform – first deployed between 1960-1964. They were developed in (2) sub-classes – The ''Echo I'' and ''Echo II'' (of which 29 were deployed0. At the time of The Cold War's most ''heated'' moments, The ''Echo''-Class Submarines were the front line for Soviet Nuclear Defense. As more land based ICBM Facilities were built, The ''Echo''-Class would be diminished to a point that by The Fall of The Soviet Union in the early 1990s – all were decommissioned (1994). The ''Echo''-Class displaced 5,000-tons and were 380-feet long (with a Beam of 31-feet). Power was provided by Twin water-cooled Nuclear Reactors, which produced 70,000-HP. The Class was rated to 25-mph (Surfaced) and 30-mph submerged. They had a rated operational range of 30,000 miles. Typically, The ''Echo''-Class stayed ''On Patrol'' for a 50-day period. They Crewed 30 Officers and Men. Armament varied depending on Patrol Deployment. The ''Echo'' carried (6) Cruise Missiles which could be fitted with Medium yield Tactical Nuclear Warheads. The Class also carried (8) Torpedoes also capable of Low Yield Nuclear Warheads. The ''Echo''-Class needed to be Surfaced and Stationary to deploy (fire) it's Cruise Missiles.