Successive Soviet nuclear attack-submarine classes were built in much smaller numbers than the conventional boats: the comparison gives 14 Novembers, 48 Victors, seven Alfas, 15 Akulas, and four Sierras, against 236 Whiskeys. The diesel lineage then runs through 133 Romeos, 74 Foxtrots, 18 Tangos, and 73 Kilos before reaching the Lada class and proposed Project Kalina. The Lada class can make 21 knots submerged and 10 knots on the surface. Each generation grew larger and more capable, but the production totals kept numbers at the centre of the problem. For the Royal Navy, that made another Atlantic convoy campaign a credible planning requirement rather than a Second World War relic. The Whiskey matters as a design and as the beginning of a large conventional submarine force able to reach Atlantic shipping routes.
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Whiskey-class numbers revive the Atlantic escort problem
Soviet production of Whiskey-class diesel submarines explains why Atlantic convoy protection again shaped British escort planning.
Akula Class SubmarinesAlfa Class SubmarinesAnti-Submarine WarfareCold WarConvoy EscortFoxtrot Class SubmarinesKilo Class SubmarinesLada Class SubmarinesNovember Class SubmarinesProject KalinaRomeo Class SubmarinesSierra Class SubmarinesSoviet NavyTango Class SubmarinesVictor Class SubmarinesWhiskey Class Submarines