Dimensions Guide

Submarines have been used by the US military and other armed forces since World War I. The following are the specs for some popular submarines that were used in World War II and the Cold War.

Dimensions of Submarines: Soviet K Class (Russia)

The K class refers to a dozen submarines that were built by the USSR during World War II. Each one has a displacement of 1490 tons (on the surfae) and 2600 tons when underwater.

The submarine is 97.65 m long with a beam measuring 7.4 m. The draught is 4.51 m and the speed is 10 knots (submerged) or 22.5 knots on the surface. The range is 14,000 m (this is at 11 knots). The complement of a K class is 67.

The armament consisted of 2 × stern torpedo tubes, 2 – 45 mm guns, 20 mines, 24 torpedoes and 2 × 100 mm guns. They were retired in 1959.

Dimensions of Submarines: George Washington Class (US)

Each submarine in this class has a displacement of 5400 tons on the surface. When submerged the displacement is around 6709 – 6888 tons. The length of each submarine is 381.6 ft (or 116.3 m). The beam is 33 ft (10 m) while the draft is 29 ft (8.8 m).

The speed on the surface is 20 knots (37 km/h); submerged it is 25 knots (46 km/h). There is no limit to its range. The complement is 112. Before being retired, these submarines were fitted with 16 Polaris A1/A3 missiles and 6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes.

Dimensions of Submarines: Typhoon Class (Russia)

The Typhoon class submarines are the largest ever built. The displacement is 23,200–24,500 tons on the surface and 33800–48000 tons when submerged. The length is 175 m (574 ft 2 in) and the beam is 23 m (75 ft 6 in). The draught is 12 m (39 ft 4 in) with speeds of up to 22.22 knots (41.15 km/h; 25.57 mph) on the surface. Submerged, it can travel 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph).

The complement is 163 and can go as deep as 400 m (1300 ft). Each submarine can be fitted with the following armaments: 1 × 9K38 Igla SAM, Type 65K torpedoes, RPK-7 Vodopad AShMs, Type 53 torpedoes and RPK 2 Viyuga cruise missiles.

Dimensions of Submarines: USS Halibut (US)

The displacement of the submarine was 3655 tons (surface) and 5000 tons (submerged). The length was 350 ft (110 m). The beam was 29 ft (8.8 m) and the draft was 28 ft (8.5 m). The top speed was 20 knots (37 km/h). It had unlimited range and had a complement of 97.

Its armament consisted of 1 Regulus missile launcher (with five missiles) and the 6 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes. The submarine was disposed on September 1994 by way of the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington.

The dimensions of submarines and their technologies continue to evolve. Modern submarines are equipped with numerous weapons, but for security reasons, remain classified.