Hotel-class submarine

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The Hotel-class submarine, known to the West as the Hotel II-class, was a family of Soviet nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines built from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They were designed to carry submarine-launched missiles and to surface briefly to launch.

Key points
- Origins: Project 658, approved in 1956 and developed at Severodvinsk. Eight boats were built between 1958 and 1962.
- Design: Based on the November-class with a dedicated missile compartment from the Golf-class. The ships included small horizontal hydroplanes and improved control surfaces for better high-speed underwater performance.
- First and later ships: The first, K-19, was laid down in 1958 and commissioned in 1960, but suffered serious problems early on. The last of the eight was launched in 1962.
- Upgrades: From 1961–1963, all except K-145 were fitted with the D-4 launch system, allowing missiles to be fired from a shallow depth. These became the Hotel II submarines, armed with the R-21 (SS-N-5 Serb) missiles with about 1,200 km range.
- Hotel III: K-145 was modified (1969–1970) to test the newer R-29 missiles. It was lengthened to about 130 meters and had higher displacement, with six R-29 launchers arranged in two groups. It returned to service in 1976.

General characteristics
- Displacement: about 5,500 tons submerged (roughly 5,588 t)
- Length: 114 meters
- Beam: 9.2 meters
- Draft: 7.31 meters
- Propulsion: 2 pressurized water reactors, 2 shafts
- Speed: about 18 knots surfaced; up to around 26 knots submerged
- Crew: about 104

Armament
- Hotel I (earlier version): 3 × R-13 missiles (D-2 launch system)
- Hotel II: 3 × R-21 missiles (D-4 launch system)
- Torpedoes: 4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (forward) and 2 × 16-inch (406 mm) tubes forward plus 2 × 16-inch tubes aft

Construction sites
- All eight submarines were built at Severodvinsk State Shipyard 402 (SEVMASH) in what is now Severodvinsk, Russia.