Whiskey (on the rocks) Class submarine

[Kapitan]

Project 613/640T/644/665 Whiskey

C189 by B S, on Flickr


Many of you are aware of the Karlskrona incident in which a Soviet submarine under the command of Captain Piotr Gushchin ran aground and caused an international sensation, well this submarine was of the very numerous Project 613 class of boats known in the west as Whiskey.

From 1950 to 1958 some 215 boats were built in the Soviet Union a further 21 boats were built later in China, this means that the largest post war class of submarines remain the Whiskey class.
Heavily based on captured world war two technology based from the type XXI submarine the Whiskeys would have like many soviet vessels a long and very varied service life with many serving in the navy well into the 1980’s.

These boats have been converted into some radical designs such as the Whiskey long bin (Project 665) with its ugly squashed looking sail housing the SS-N-3c Shaddock anti-ship missile the more successful twin cylinder (Project 644) firing the same missile, some would also see conversion into Whiskey canvas bag type Project 640T) yet others would also be test platforms for ballistic missiles and one would be a tender for BE10 aircraft others would end up as salvage vessels.

So the Whiskey would lead a very varied life, these boats were designed to hunt down and sink merchant ships mainly and also warships so in a sense these boats were doing the same mission as the world war two German type VII & IX boats.

These were basic submarines remember it wasn’t long after the end of the second world war so computer technology was still not yet available, these boats were to head to the Atlantic / Pacific ocean and destroy convoys in the advent of war with the West.
These boats would be deployed to all fleets and would see service in nearly every corner of the globe, they would also be exported to China, Albania, Poland, Indonesia, Bulgaria Egypt and North Korea but as of today none remain in service (North Korea may be the only exception one was seen at sea in 2013)
C189 by B S, on FlickrC189 by B S, on Flickr

With the exception of North Korea only two Whiskey class submarines are left, one in St Petersburg the other in Indonesia, known as C189 the former S189 is a privately owned submarine it is open to the public and can be viewed by tour guide.

Her grey and green hull isn’t normal in fact its imperial colours like the Aurora is painted in, but neither the less this boat is a much seen attraction.

On-board you can see how dated it is its almost as if we have barely moved along from the type VII but every so often you notice things such as the PIRS navigation system and other more modern looking technology.

C189 by B S, on Flickr

Armed with four bow and two stern tubes for twenty two mines or unguided torpedoes these boats could never take on another submerged submarine, and by the mid 1950’s were obsolete and slowly being replaced by the incoming Project 641 Foxtrot and Project 633 Romeo class of submarines.
C189 by B S, on FlickrC189 by B S, on Flickr


The whiskeys by no means were finished classified as second rate these would bulk out and fill the navy and given Admiral Gorshkov’s stance on operations and his want for a pure sea denial stance these boats were perfect expendable weapons carriers.

At 75 meters long 6 meters wide and displacing surfaced 1,050 tons Submerged 1,350 tons these boats were capable of diving to around 250 meters, a top speed of 18 knots on the surface with 13 knots submerged shows us that the battery technology had advanced somewhat, however the amount of time dived was limited to around 36 hours then the submarine would have to surface or snorkel.

The whiskeys were powered by two 2,000hp diesel engines while surfaced or snorkelling, and two 150kw electric motors, the Whiskey carried roughly 120,000 litres of fuel oil which at a steady speed gave it a operational range of some 13,500 miles unrefuelled.
C189 by B S, on Flickr
C189 by B S, on Flickr

By the 1980’s many of the submarines were in reserve status most being ready for final decommissioning but some 45 boats remained active, one of these S-363 would run aground inside Swedish waters forcing the Swedish prime minister to issue the order to hold the borders.
Swedish officials granted immunity to Captain Gushchin and he was taken off the boat for questioning which he states repeatedly even to this day that his three navigation systems on board failed and that his navigation officer (who was senior to himself) kept making errors resulting in running aground.

The Swede’s covertly measured the radioactivity levels on the submarine in order to see if it was carrying nuclear weapons, it was confirmed by the Swedish government that indeed nuclear material had been detected and likely came from a nuclear tipped torpedo housed in one of the tubes.

The Submarine was re-floated and re-joined the Russian fleet outside Swedish waters, I personally think the incident was staged and not a co incidence I am not sure what the reason would be behind it but I remain sceptical of the whole affair.

By 1991 with the dissolution of the soviet union the now elderly submarines of the Whiskey class were removed from service, many were seen laying abandoned in the closed ports of Russia during the 1990’s however they have now all but gone to scrap, one Whiskey class S-194 sank while under tow to the breakers in 2009 and this was not made public until 2011.

Other incidents include:

The sinking of the S-80 which due to a valve in the snorkel caused the loss of the boat and its crew in the Barents Sea the submarine was later raised and believed scrapped.

In 1981 S-178 under the command of Captain 3rd rank Marango while Running surfaced collided with a refrigeration vessel near Vladivostok 31 men would die, as a result of the incident both the captain of the ship and submarine were given 10 year prison sentences.

C189 by B S, on Flickr
Periscope of C-189

[Rockstar]

I wonder, I was on the icebreaker Westwind/Severni Polius which was commissioned in 1943. Even in the 1980's she still had a ton of asbestos and cork insulation. Be careful while exploring, that stuff plastered on the inside hull and framing of that Whiskey looks awfully familiar


Just dont stop! I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate your presentations.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Rockstar

Just dont stop! I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate your presentations.

Seconded

[Commander Wallace]

And third-ed. As always, your presentations with pictures and narratives are great, Kapitan. I usually read them over 3-4 times to make sure I didn't miss anything.



Again, as always, thanks for taking the time and effort to post them.

[Kapitan]

Thanks i enjoy writing and sharing them still a few more to come in the near future