Gents, if there is one thing you should take with a pinch of salt in the UNCLAS world of published statistics it is speed and range values given for warships!.

Jonesy, I think, or I would hope, that most of us are aware of that. True performance figures are still classified when it comes to cutting edge submerged forces. However, the Soviet subs in question, especially the Alfa have been tracked doing incredible submerged speeds, in fact speeds that sent shivers through NATO at the time. If I recall, the Alfa’s vaunted speed helped spawn the development of the American Mk.48 ADCAP and Mk.50 LW torpedos, and the British Spearfish too I think? While it is true to say that what we see in the UNCLASSIFIED world are probably at best estimates, it is also true to say that some subs have INDEED achieved speeds in excess of 40knts submerged and could have, with experimental reactors like the old liquid metal-cooled type, sustained that speed for some time.