B-39 Russian Foxtrot Challenge Coin

A beautiful 1.5-inch brass coin honoring the Soviet submarine B-39. One of the Soviet Navy’s diesel-electric submarines built under Project 641, B-39 was commissioned in the early 1970s and served on active duty for more than two decades.

Measuring just over 300 feet in length and displacing more than 2,000 tons submerged, B-39 was among the largest conventionally powered submarines of her era. Designed for long-range patrol and surveillance missions, she operated across the world’s oceans tracking U.S. and NATO naval forces. Assigned to the Soviet Pacific Fleet, she likely operated in regions frequented by U.S. Navy ships based in San Diego.

Project 641 submarines—known to NATO as “Foxtrot”-class—were an evolution of earlier diesel-electric designs influenced by German World War II U-boats, but larger and with improved range and endurance. Armed with 24 torpedoes, some were capable of carrying nuclear warheads. B-39 carried a crew of about 78 and had a test depth of roughly 900–1,000 feet.

Foxtrot-class submarines were built and deployed from the late 1950s through the early 1980s and served into the 1990s. They were present during some of the Cold War’s most tense moments, including the Cuban Missile Crisis. After the Cold War, B-39 found a second life as a museum ship in San Diego. However, that chapter has ended—she departed the Maritime Museum of San Diego on February 7, 2022, and was towed to Ensenada, where she was scrapped and recycled.

OPTIONAL: Our Air-Tite acrylic cases provide the ultimate long-term protection for your coin. They are made of crystal clear, hard Acrylic and will never yellow over time; the foam rings are made of Volara and both are free of PVC that could damage your coin.