The Alpha class combined about 41 knots of speed with a crew of only 31, all described as officers, and its construction difficulties limited the class to seven boats. Short conscript service of two or three years restricted the depth of training available to the wider fleet. Promising personnel could leave or become officers, reducing the pool for experienced non-commissioned officers, while political reliability also influenced junior NCO selection. Western navies could entrust highly technical duties to warrant officers and senior NCOs; Soviet personnel arrangements pushed those duties into commissioned ranks. An officer-only submarine supplied long-serving specialists, but its elite status sat awkwardly with the Soviet claim to an egalitarian force. Talented officers then performed junior shipboard work without commanding other sailors. Promotion to a conventional submarine could leave them with higher rank and little practical leadership experience. The class therefore created problems of recruitment and career development alongside those of machinery and construction.
Chapter · 30:32-36:37
Alpha-class speed and the all-officer crew
The Alpha class's speed and 31-officer crew exposed problems in conscript training, NCO recruitment, and the later careers of its technical specialists.