Very close to Sevastopol (10 km) is the resort town of Balaklava. The secret submarine base is one of its popular attractions. Today, this previously classified property can be visited by tourists.
Balaclava. Submarine Base: A History of Creation
This secret facility began to be built in 1957. In those years, the Cold War broke out between the Soviet Union and the United States. To maintain confidentiality, it was decided to call the object GTS (city telephone station) No. 825. According to experts, today none of the military facilities (declassified) has surpassed the station in Balaklava in size and power.
During its construction, a huge tunnel was dug. One hundred twenty-five tons of soil were taken out. For the sake of conspiracy, the breed was taken out at night when the small southern city was sleeping. Barges unloaded it into the open sea. Initially, the task of constructing a secret facility was set before the military, but then, when the process of drilling the land became complicated, the USSR government turned to metro builders for help.
As a result, an underground canal with a depth of more than eight meters appeared. Its width in different sections ranged from eight to twelve meters. All the premises of the underwater base occupied a huge territory (5000 square meters). The water area under which the object is located is 3000 meters.
The underwater plant accommodated up to seven vessels. This figure is impressive even for builders of military facilities today.
Property Description
Familiar to many of our compatriots as the resort of Balaclava. The underground submarine base located here, as already mentioned, was classified. This is a huge building, located deep in the bowels of the earth. It is able to protect its contents from an atomic explosion - for example, when a nuclear bomb is destroyed, the power of which can reach 100 kilotons. In this case, all boats, ammunition and specialists working there will remain unharmed.
The great interest of technical specialists today causes Balaclava. The submarine base is divided into several parts: a combined water channel underground, which always had a dry dock, a mine and torpedo section of the GTS, a warehouse for fuel and lubricants, a workshop for repair of underwater equipment.
Where is the base located?
The underground submarine base in Balaclava is located in the bay of the same name, in a picturesque mountain called Tavros. It has two exits from the station, and an entrance to the canal has been created from the bay side. Employees called it an adit.
In emergency cases, when a threat could hang over the object, the entrance was blocked by a special batoport. Its weight reaches one hundred and fifty tons. A boat exit to the sea was built on the northern slope of the mountain. It is also closed with a bath port. All the holes in Mount Tavros were expertly hidden by fishing nets and other camouflage devices.
What was the strategic object created for?
Few cities in the world have such an underwater structure as Balaclava. Photos of the submarine base today can be seen in many special technical publications. Many are interested in what this unique object was intended for. Let us recall once again that it was built during the years of the Cold War, when the international situation was extremely tense. The base was intended for the maintenance and repair of military submarines of a certain class (633th and 613th).
Ammunition and spare parts were stored on the territory of this facility. The central adit contained seven boats of this type, and in an emergency all adits could accommodate up to fourteen submarines of various classes. But that is not all.
The designers provided for a special adit (in case of a nuclear threat) to submerge the submarines at the station under water. In addition, among all stocks of the special object, nuclear weapons were also stored.
Project disadvantages
We have already said that modern experts are still interested in this building. Sometimes they argue over whether the base was an ideal object, or if it had flaws. And they conclude that there were certainly minuses.
While the underwater station was being built, the Black Sea Fleet began to receive new models - boats of the 625th project, which were powered by diesel fuel. These vessels could not fit into the created channels. It was extremely difficult to get to the territory of the underwater base during even a slight storm on the other side of the mountain. New boats could be marked in the channels of the GTS no more than three units.
Base closure
Due to the fact that Balaklava (submarine base) was a secret object, the government decided in 1957 to join the city to Sevastopol. He lost his status, and a rather large settlement actually "disappeared" from the map of the USSR. Balaclava was closed to access. In 1994, after Perestroika, the last boat left the territory of the plant. In subsequent years, this huge and unique object was simply plundered.
Museum
Today, many tourists are interested in Balaclava (submarine base). The museum at the secret site of the 825 GTS will allow everyone to find out many interesting facts about the tense times of the Cold War between the USSR and the USA.
The museum complex in Balaklava was founded by the leadership of Ukraine in December 2002, opened for visits in 2003.
It consists of a part (600 meters) of the central tunnel, a nuclear weapons storage (empty), submarine docks, several utility rooms.
The museum is located in the western part of the bay, which runs through almost the entire city.
The cave labyrinths of this object extended 600 meters to the exit from the second hole, which is located on the opposite side of the mountain.
The part of the naval base that belongs to the museum is about 30% of the entire complex. Now this site is repaired and a constant temperature of +15 degrees is maintained in it.
The museum complex consists of curved tunnels and huge cut-off doors, which were designed to repay a nuclear strike and shock wave. If necessary, not only its employees, but also residents of the city could take refuge at the base.
In the museum you can visit the hall devoted to the history of the navy and submarines, see models of sea ships, elements of submarines and many other interesting exhibits.
The tenth anniversary of the complex was celebrated in June 2013. The celebration was attended by submarine veterans, former employees of the secret facility, government officials, the Armed Forces, as well as schoolchildren and students.
Interesting Facts
The ceiling and walls of the arsenal are covered with a very thick layer of concrete. Its thickness reaches several meters.
The weight of the concrete anti-nuclear door, which blocks the entrance to the adit, is twenty-four tons.
The Balaklava submarine base is by far the only underground harbor in the world. Boats entered the canal only at night, and at that time the lights were turned off in Balaklava.
When the boat entered the dock, water was lowered from it. A large number of fish remained at the bottom. Workers collected and smoked it. A fragrant smoke appeared, from which it could be understood that the next vessel was put up for repair.
When the leadership of independent Ukraine, with the approval of foreign "friends", abolished the security service of the underground base, almost the entire huge supply of equipment was stolen. Today, sightseers walk through half-empty tunnels and, with the help of their imagination, try to recreate their former surroundings.
Recovery
Nevertheless, tourists are impressed by the Balaclava (submarine base). The restoration of this unique facility by the Russian government is considering. Such reports appeared in the media in March 2014.
Balaclava: submarine base. Address, excursions
The museum is located at Tavricheskaya Naberezhnaya, 22. It awaits visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (in the summer until 19.00).
Every hour there are guided tours. Their duration is 1 hour.