Submarine Rankings: The World's Longest Submarines
The largest submarine in the world is the mighty TYPHOON Class, built by the Soviet Union and one of the ultimate Cold War weapons. But it is not the longest.
There are many click bait videos promising the largest submarines in the world. Some seem to use length as the determining characteristic. As a rule, they get it wrong.
So, using the Covert Shores database, here are the top 31 submarines in the world, by length. Length is not the primary way we compare submarines, that would be displacement. But length still counts for something.
1: Belgorod
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The world's longest submarine is the new Russian Navy special mission submarine, Belgorod. This can carry six Poseidon intercontinental nuclear-powered nuclear-armed autonomous torpedoes. It can also carry the Losharik deep-diving minisub under the keel and a payload on its back.
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Rankings
Rank, Class, Country of Design, Type, Length (notes)
1. K-329 Belgorod (OSCAR-II-STRETCH), Russia, SSAN, 178m / 584 ft. (Est.)
2. BS-64 Podmoskovye (DELTA-IV Stretch), Russia, SSAN, 174m / 571 ft.
3. TYPHOON Class, Russia, SSBN, 173.1m / 568 ft (often reported as 175m / 574 ft.)
4. Ohio (SSGN), United States, SSGN, 170m / 558 ft.
5. DELTA-IV Class, Russia, SSBN, 167m / 548 ft.
The Typhoon Class (above) is ginormous. But at 175 meters (574 ft) long it is only # 2.
The latest BOREI-II ballistic missile submarine is longer than the original BOREI-Is.
6. BOREI-II Class, Russia, SSBN, 166m / 545 ft. (Est.)
6. BS-136 Orenburg (DELTA-III Mod) Class, Russia, SSAN, 166m / 545 ft. (Est.)
8. BOREI-I Class, Russia, SSBN, 160m / 525 ft.
9. DELTA-III Class, Russia, SSBN, 155m / 509 ft.
9. OSCAR-II, Russia, SSGN, 155m / 509 ft.
Of the Top Ten, nine are Russian
The US Navy's Ohio Class submarine is the highest ranking non-Russian boat in 4th place. It did rank #1 in the World Submarine Weapons Load rankings however.
Like the Belgorod, Russia's other special mission host submarines (read: motherships for spy submarines) are not well known. The BS-64 Podmoskovye is a stretched DELTA-IV ballistic missile submarine. It has the missile tubes removed but carries a deep diving midget submarine under the keel. This was the mothership when the Losharik spy submarine suffered a fatal fire in July 2019.
11. Vanguard Class, United Kingdom, SSBN, 150m / 492 ft.
12. Virginia Class (Block V), United States, SSN, 140m / 459 ft.
13. SEVERODVINSK-I Class, Russia, SSGN, 139m / 456 ft.
14. Triomphant class, France, SSBN, 138m / 453 ft.
14. USS Jimmy Carter, United States, SSN, 138m / 453 ft.
16. Type-09IV Jin Class, China, SSBN, 135m / 443 ft.
17. SEVERODVINSK-II, Russia, SSGN, 130m / 427 ft.
18. Type-09II Xia Class, China, SSBN, 120m / 394 ft.
19. Virginia Class (Block IV), United States, SSN, 115m / 377 ft.
20. AKULA-II / III Class, Russia, SSN, 113m / 371 ft.
21. Arihant Class, India, SSBN, 111m / 364 ft.
22. AKULA-I Class, Russia, SSN, 110m / 361 ft.
22. SIERRA-II Class, Russia, SSN, 110m / 361 ft.
22. Type-093B Shang-II, China, SSN, 110m / 361 ft.
22. Improved Los-Angeles Class, United States, SSN, 110m / 361 ft.
26. Seawolf Class, United States, SSN, 108m / 354 ft.
27. SIERRA-I Class, Russia, SSN, 107m / 351 ft.
27. VICTOR-III Class, Russia, SSN, 107m / 351 ft.
29. Suffren Class, France, SSN, 99.5m / 326 ft.
30. Type-091 Han Class, China, SS, 98m / 322 ft.
31. Astute Class, United Kingdom, SSN, 97m / 318 ft.
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