The Soviet Union began to build diesel-electric submarines Som under project 641b in 1971 at the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod). "Tango" - such a NATO reporting name received this class of large oceanic submarines.
Design features
For that time, it was the largest non-nuclear submarine. Its length was 90 meters, the crew - 78 people, including seventeen members of the officers. Two versions of this class of boats were built. Later cars were slightly longer than their earlier counterparts. Design changes required more modern nuclear anti-submarine torpedoes SS-N-15, adopted in 1973.
The tango submarine had a well-streamlined double hull, without the many noisy free flooded holes or overhangs typical of many earlier Soviet submarines. This made her much quieter and faster than the predecessor of the Foxtrot class. Underwater speed increased to 16.6 knots versus 15.0 for boats built under the basic project 641.
The larger case size has significantly increased battery capacity. The boat could be under water for more than a week before ascent was required to take air.
Submarines of this class were equipped with modern electronic equipment. For the first time in the history of the Soviet fleet, a combat information and control system was installed on a diesel-electric submarine, a part of which was an automatic target guidance and fire control system.
The sonar system was also fundamentally new.
The crew accommodation conditions have also become more comfortable. The design of residential compartments provided for the possibility of placing additional weapons in wartime.
Benefits
In fact, seaworthiness indicators for the Som class submarines were comparable to nuclear submarines. But there was an undeniable advantage: diesel-electric submarines in swimming are more difficult to detect for enemy acoustics. Nuclear-powered submarines produce much more identifiable characteristic traffic noise.
The soundproofing of boats of this class was unique for its time. When installing the propulsion system, only soundproof foundations were used. The case had a special hydro-acoustic lining on a rubber basis. This design decision made the submarine Som 641b acoustically inconspicuous for the detection equipment of that time.
Navy zuboskaly immediately called the submarine "gum". But many dreamed of serving on a modern, well-equipped boat.
Application area
The submarine was intended for use in oceanic theaters of operations. Exploration at distant sea communications, mining, destruction of surface and submarines, escorting and protecting friendly convoys - to solve these problems, the submarine was equipped with all the necessary equipment and weapons.
Modern equipment, the ability to remain in a submerged position for a long time and the acoustic coating on the outer hull made the Som submarine ideal for hidden ambushes. There are several natural “locking points” in the oceans, and in the event of armed conflict, it was these submarines that would be waiting for enemy surface and submarine ships in these places to attack.
Armament
The armament of the submarine was six bow torpedo tubes with a caliber of 533 mm with an ammunition of 24 torpedoes or 44 mines. The design provided for the possibility of placing another 12 torpedoes or 24 minutes in the second residential compartment.
The submarine carried anti-submarine and anti-ship torpedoes with a homing head along a wake track weighing 2 tons and 8 m long. The torpedo tubes were charged using a special high-speed device. Mining was carried out through torpedo hatches.
Project 641b submarines in the fleet
The first submarine of this class left the Gorky Shipyard in 1972. After factory and state tests at the development base of the plant in Sevastopol, in a solemn ceremony, the submarine Som with the flag of the Navy was handed over to the Navy. A total of eighteen submarines of this class were built.
Western observers first saw the submarine in the Sevastopol Naval Parade on July 29, 1973.
At the end of the eighties of the last century, the Northern Fleet operated 15 tango submarines. And the Baltic Fleet - three. One or two (depending on the political tension in the region) submarines "Som" of the Northern Fleet carried constant duty in the Mediterranean Sea.
It is noteworthy that none of the ships of this class were sold for export, despite the fact that the Soviet Union and Russia were actively trading weapons at that time.
Removal from service
The Soviet fleet began to decommission tango-class submarines before the end of the Cold War. Most units of this class were decommissioned after 1995 and disposed of. The status of several submarines is currently unknown. Several submarines of this class became museum exhibits.
Submarine - Museum Exhibit
In the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the budget of the Russian fleet was sharply cut. In order to keep afloat the once so proud Navy, they were forced to resort to the old, as the world, way - to sell something unnecessary. Decommissioned ships and submarines turned out to be unnecessary.
Currently, you can visit many Soviet submarines around the world. B-39 - in Folkestone, B-143 - in Zeebrugge, B-413 - in Kaliningrad, B-39 - in San Diego, B-427 - in Long Beach (all foxtrot classes), B-80 - in Amsterdam (“Zulu”), B-515 - in Hamburg (“Tango”), U-359 - in Nakskov (“whiskey”) and K-77 - in Providence USA (“Juliet”). These are diesel submarines built in the sixties and seventies of the last century. From the above list it is clear that the tango class is a rare museum exhibit.
Soviet submarine B-515 - Hamburg landmark
The submarine of the tango class according to the NATO classification, or Som V-515, is renamed U434. The boat, which was in service with the Soviet Northern Navy from 1976 to 2002 and carried combat duty in the depths of the seas and oceans, was left practically unchanged. As a museum exhibit, it is very popular, allowing visitors to plunge into the life of a submariner for several hours.
The history of the submarine U-434
In 2002, the submarine was bought by the submarine museum in Hamburg and towed from Murmansk to Germany. Before selling, all weapons systems and electronic equipment were dismantled from the submarine.
The ship was restored at Blom und Voss, Hamburg's most famous German shipyard. At one time, Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Admiral Hipper, Wilhelm Gustloff and many other surface and submarine ships of the Cold War era were built on the slipways of the shipyard.
After the restoration, the diesel-electric Soviet submarine Project 641b, Som, got into eternal parking at Baakenhafen and is available to everyone.
In Polyarny and Ryazan, battle towers of decommissioned and disposed of Som class submarines are exhibited.
In Russia, a project 641b submarine can be visited at the Museum and Exhibition Complex of the Navy in Moscow and the Park Complex of the History of Technology named after K. G. Sakharov in Tolyatti.