Soviet submarine B-427
Encyclopedia
B-427 was a Project 641 diesel-electric attack submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
of the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
. The "B" (actually "Б") in her designation stands for большая (bolshaya, "large"). Foxtrots are among the largest non-nuclear submarines ever built. Commissioned in 1971, the submarine operated with the Russian Pacific Fleet until decommissioning in 1994. The boat was sold to a group of Australian businessmen, who converted her into a museum vessel and placed on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum
Australian National Maritime Museum
The Australian National Maritime Museum is a federally-operated maritime museum located in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After consideration of the idea to establish a maritime museum, the Federal government announced that a national maritime museum would be constructed at Darling Harbour, tied into...
(under the name Foxtrot-540) from 1995 until 1998, then at Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
(under the name Povodnaya Lodka B-427 Scorpion) in 1998. The submarine is still on display as of 2011.
Service history
Her keel was laid down on 10 April 1971 at Sudomekh Shipyard of LeningradSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. It was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 22 June 1971 and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 4 December 1971.
For twenty-two years B-427 patrolled the Pacific, protecting the ballistic missile submarine bastions of the Pacific Fleet while based out of Vladivostok, Russia with the exception of a few temporary postings as part of the Soviet Submarine Squadron that was for a time based at the former US Navy base at Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay
Cam Ranh Bay is a deep-water bay in Vietnam in the province of Khánh Hòa. It is located at an inlet of the South China Sea situated on the southeastern coast of Vietnam, between Phan Rang and Nha Trang, approximately 290 kilometers / 180 miles northeast of Hồ Chí Minh City / Saigon.Cam Ranh is...
, Vietnam. Such postings were normally for a period of between 8 to 12 months before returning to Vladivostok.
In 1989, B-427 was returning to Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
when it ran into a typhoon. A mechanical breakdown that could not be fixed in time prevented the sub from diving. The storm battered the boat, destroying the light hull and damaging the ballast tanks and high pressure air bottles. B-427 was taken back to Vladivostok where it was repaired and refitted with a new light hull.
Decommissioning and preservation
The submarine was decommissioned by the Russian Navy in December 1994. She was one of the last three Foxtrot class submarines to serve in the Russian Pacific Fleet. The boat was acquired by a group of Australian businessmen on a three-year lease purchase contractLease purchase contract
A lease purchase contract is a shortened name for lease with option to purchase contract. It is a form of real estate purchase which combines elements of a traditional rental agreement with an exclusive option of right of first refusal to later purchase the home.These contracts are commonly used...
, and was towed from Vladivostok on 25 July 1995. En route to Sydney, the tow company claimed that the deal for the Russian Navy to cover the cost of the tow was invalid, and claimed that A$150,000 in towing expenses was required. The submarine arrived in Sydney on 31 August, and after some modifications, was loaned to the Australian National Maritime Museum
Australian National Maritime Museum
The Australian National Maritime Museum is a federally-operated maritime museum located in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After consideration of the idea to establish a maritime museum, the Federal government announced that a national maritime museum would be constructed at Darling Harbour, tied into...
for display as a museum vessel under the designation "Foxtrot-540" (the submarine's last pennant number
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
while in service). As the submarine was still the property of the Russian Navy for the duration of the lease, an Australian ex-submariner was commissioned into the Russian Navy to command and look after Foxtrot-540, with the boat's former engineering officer assisting. The submarine was in near-operational condition; the diesel generators and electrical storage system, ballast tanks, and hotel load equipment were functional, and Russian personnel travelled out to Australia to teach museum staff about maintenance and operation of the boat. Foxtrot-540 spent three years berthed at the museum, attracting over 700,000 visitors during this period (including intelligence analyists from multiple nations during the first weeks on display).
In May 1998, the submarine was loaded onto a heavy lift ship
Heavy lift ship
A heavy lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normally equipped ships. They are of two types: semi-submerging capable of lifting another ship out of the water and transporting it; and vessels that augment unloading facilities at inadequately equipped...
and relocated to Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
; sailing from Sydney on 31 May and arriving on 25 June. On arrival, she was berthed next to , and opened to the public on 14 July under the designation "Povodnaya Lodka B-427 Scorpion". On 19 April 2011, the company operating Queen Mary (Delaware North) announced that they had acquired Scorpion, and were planning to increase attendance at both attractions through combined ticketing and joint marketing campaigns.
External links
- Russian Sub Long Beach, the website for B-427