R-21 (missile)

R-21
(NATO reporting name: SS-N-5 'Sark'/'Serb')
Typesubmarine-launched ballistic missile
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service15 May 1963 until 1991
Used bySoviet Union
Production history
DesignerMakeyev Rocket Design Bureau
Specifications
Mass16.5 t (16.2 long tons; 18.2 short tons)[1]
Length13.0 m (42 ft 8 in)[1]
Diameter1.2 m (47 in)[1]
Warheadsingle nuclear
Blast yield800kt or 1Mt[1]

Engineliquid-fuel rocket, single stage
Operational
range
1,300 km (700 nmi) upgraded to 1,650 km (890 nmi)[1]
Guidance
system
inertial[1]
Accuracy2.8 km CEP
Launch
platform
Golf II-class, Hotel II-class submarines

The R-21 (Russian: Р-21; NATO: SS-N-5 'Sark/Serb'; GRAU: 4K55) was a submarine-launched ballistic missile in service with the Soviet Union between 1963 and 1989. It was the first Soviet nuclear missile that could be launched from a submerged submarine, and also had twice the range of earlier missiles. It replaced the R-11FM and R-13 (SS-N-4) on many Golf and Hotel-class submarines, and was in turn superseded by the R-27 (SS-N-6 'Serb') missile carried by Yankee-class submarines.

  1. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference NIGSN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).