In addition to their missile-launching capability, the class retained the traditional torpedo-launching quality: 6 x 533mm torpedo tubes were fitted in bow-facing positions towards the front of the boat.
Work on the Golf-class had been underway as soon as the middle of 1950s, even as the Zulu and Whiskey classes were continuing to come online. The Foxtrot-class, a diesel-electric patrol-minded attack submarine, then followed and these set the stage for the Golf-class who borrowed much from their hull design with the missile-launching capability of the Zulus. As with the Zulu-class, the Golf-class could only fire the missiles when surfaced (though it could still keep a slow forward speed during the action).
The Severodvinsk and Komsomolsk shipyards were both involved in the construction of the Golf-class and the boats served into the mid-1960s before they were revitalized in 1966 to the "629A" standard (NATO: "Golf II class"). The missile component was upgraded to support the R-21 family which was introduced back in 1963 and the boats could now fire these missiles while submerged and moving steadily. Other changes in the 629A model affected surfaced displacement (now registering between 2,300 and 2,800 tons) and overall length (to 324 feet) and draught (27.8 feet). The crew complement was also increased by three to 83.
With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989-1991, the boats were removed from the active Soviet naval inventory and decommissioned from service. Several other related forms emerged in the Project 629 line, mainly one-off boats of the series converted to test other armament / components or to help fulfill other vital naval roles.
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