The ten largest submarine classes ever commissioned, ranked by submerged displacement, from the 48,000-tonne Soviet Typhoon down to China's Type 094.
Quick answer: 1. Typhoon class (Soviet Union / Russia), 2. Borei class (Russia), 3. Oscar class (Soviet Union / Russia), 4. Ohio class (United States), 5. Delta class (Soviet Union / Russia), 6. Vanguard class (United Kingdom), 7. Triomphant class (France), 8. Akula class (Soviet Union / Russia), 9. Yasen class (Russia), 10. Type 094 Jin class (China).
The biggest submarines ever built are almost all ballistic-missile boats: hulls sized around a battery of intercontinental missiles and a nuclear reactor to carry them on patrol for months. The largest of them, the Soviet Typhoon class, displaced 48,000 tonnes submerged, twice as much as any other submarine class before or since. This list ranks the ten largest submarine classes that have actually entered service, by submerged displacement. It is for anyone who wants to know how the famous names compare: where the American Ohio class sits against Russia's Borei, how far the British and French deterrent boats trail them, and which attack submarines are big enough to make the list at all.
The six Project 941 boats displaced 48,000 tonnes submerged, making them by far the largest submarines ever built: twice the size of the runner-up. Each was 175 m long and 23 m wide and carried 20 R-39 ballistic missiles. The last of them, Dmitry Donskoy, was decommissioned in February 2023.
Russia's current-generation missile submarine displaces 24,000 tonnes submerged, the largest of any class in service today. Eight have been completed, each carrying 16 Bulava ballistic missiles, and the class is replacing the Soviet-era Delta boats.
The largest cruise-missile submarines ever built, designed to attack US carrier groups with 24 Granit anti-ship missiles. The eleven Oscar II boats displace 19,400 tonnes submerged, up from 16,500 for the two original Oscar I hulls, and are unusually wide at 18.2 m.
The largest submarines the United States has put into service, at 18,750 tons submerged and 170 m long. Eighteen were built from 1981: fourteen carry up to 20 Trident II ballistic missiles, and four were converted to carry 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each.
The backbone of the Soviet missile-submarine fleet grew steadily across four variants, from 10,000 tonnes submerged for the Delta I of 1972 to 18,200 tonnes for the Delta III and Delta IV. Seven Delta IV boats were commissioned between 1984 and 1990, and most still serve with Russia's Northern Fleet.
The four Vanguard boats carry Britain's entire nuclear deterrent and, at 15,900 tonnes submerged, are the largest submarines the Royal Navy has operated. Each has 16 missile tubes for Trident II missiles and is 149.9 m long.
France's four deterrent submarines displace 14,335 tonnes submerged and carry 16 M51 ballistic missiles each. They are based at Ile Longue in Brittany; the lead boat, Le Triomphant, collided with Britain's HMS Vanguard in 2009.
The biggest pure attack submarine on the list, with no missile battery to explain its size: submerged displacement runs from 12,770 to 13,800 tonnes across its variants, on a hull just 110 to 113 m long. Its quietness when it appeared in the 1980s surprised Western navies.
Russia's newest attack submarine matches the Akula at 13,800 tonnes submerged but is longer, at 139 m, to fit eight vertical silos for Kalibr cruise missiles or Tsirkon hypersonic missiles. Five are in service, with twelve planned.
China's first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent displaces an estimated 11,000 tons submerged and carries 12 JL-2 or JL-3 ballistic missiles. The first boat entered service in 2007, and six were reported active as of 2025.
| # | Name | Country | Type | Submerged displacement | Length | First commissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Typhoon class (Soviet Union / Russia) | Soviet Union / Russia | Ballistic missile (SSBN) | 48,000 t | 175 m | 1981 |
| 2 | Borei class (Russia) | Russia | Ballistic missile (SSBN) | 24,000 t | 170 m | 2013 |
| 3 | Oscar class (Soviet Union / Russia) | Soviet Union / Russia | Cruise missile (SSGN) | 19,400 t | 154 m | 1980 |
| 4 | Ohio class (United States) | United States | Ballistic missile (SSBN) / cruise missile (SSGN) | 18,750 t | 170 m | 1981 |
| 5 | Delta class (Soviet Union / Russia) | Soviet Union / Russia | Ballistic missile (SSBN) | 18,200 t | 166 m | 1972 |
| 6 | Vanguard class (United Kingdom) | United Kingdom | Ballistic missile (SSBN) | 15,900 t | 149.9 m | 1993 |
| 7 | Triomphant class (France) | France | Ballistic missile (SSBN) | 14,335 t | 138 m | 1997 |
| 8 | Akula class (Soviet Union / Russia) | Soviet Union / Russia | Attack (SSN) | 13,800 t | 113 m | 1984 |
| 9 | Yasen class (Russia) | Russia | Attack / cruise missile (SSN/SSGN) | 13,800 t | 139 m | 2013 |
| 10 | Type 094 Jin class (China) | China | Ballistic missile (SSBN) | 11,000 t | 137 m | 2007 |
Ranked by submerged displacement, the weight of water a submarine displaces when fully underwater, which is the standard measure of submarine size. One entry per class, using the largest series-built variant where a class has several (Oscar II for the Oscar class, Delta III and IV for the Delta class, the later Akula boats for the Akula class). Only classes with at least one boat commissioned are included, so the US Columbia class (20,810 long tons submerged, none yet completed) and other boats still under construction are left out; decommissioned classes such as the Typhoon count, since this is an all-time list. One-off special-mission conversions of an existing design, notably Russia's Belgorod (a stretched Oscar II hull) and USS Jimmy Carter (a lengthened Seawolf at 12,139 tons), are excluded because they are single boats rather than classes. Figures are taken from each class's Wikipedia reference article and cross-checked against Naval Technology's survey of the world's biggest submarines. Sources disagree on the Oscar II: Naval Technology gives 24,000 tons, while this list follows the more widely cited 19,400 tonnes; the class ranks third either way. Published figures mix metric tonnes and long tons, which differ by under 2 percent and do not change the order, and the Russian and Chinese figures are open-source estimates rather than official specifications. The Akula and Yasen classes tie at 13,800 tonnes and are ordered by which entered service first.
The Soviet Typhoon class (Project 941), at 48,000 tonnes submerged, 175 m long and 23 m wide. Six were completed between 1981 and 1989, and the last was decommissioned in February 2023.
By class, Russia's Borei at 24,000 tonnes submerged. Russia also operates Belgorod, a one-off special-mission boat built on a stretched Oscar II hull and estimated at 184 m long, which is longer than any class on this list; it is excluded here because it is a single converted boat, not a class.
Third. The Columbia class is designed to displace 20,810 long tons submerged, more than the Ohio class it replaces and behind only the Typhoon and Borei. It is not ranked yet because no boat has been completed; the lead boat, USS District of Columbia, is scheduled to enter service in 2031.
A ballistic-missile submarine has to carry a dozen or more missiles that each stand over ten metres tall, which sets the diameter of the hull. Seven of the ten classes here are ballistic-missile boats, and an eighth, the Oscar, was built around 24 large anti-ship missiles.
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