OVERVIEW: The Victor class is the NATO reporting name for a type of nuclear-powered submarine 

DETAILS: These vessels were primarily designed to protect Soviet surface fleets and to attack American ballistic missile submarines
 
Victor III
Project 671RTM

Soviet designation Project 671RTM/RTMK Shchuka (Pike) - entered service in 1979; 25 were produced until 1991. Quieter than previous Soviet submarines, these ships had 4 tubes for launching SS-N-21 or SS-N-15 missiles and Type 53 torpedoes, plus another 2 tubes for launching SS-N-16 missiles and Type 65 torpedoes. 24 tube-launched weapons or 36 mines could be on board. The Victor III class caused a minor furore in NATO intelligence agencies at its introduction because of the distinctive pod on the vertical stern-plane. Speculation immediately mounted that the pod was the housing for some sort of exotic silent propulsion system, possibly a magnetohydrodynamic drive unit. Another theory proposed that it was some sort of weapon system. In the end, the pod was identified as a hydrodynamic housing for a reelable towed passive sonar array; the system was subsequently incorporated into the Sierra and Akula-class SSNs. The Victor III class was continuously improved during construction and late production models have a superior acoustic performance. They were 106 m long. 21 disposed.

SOURCES:  Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. "Victor-class Submarine - Wikipedia." n.d. Accessed September 8, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor-class_submarine#Victor_III.