''B-427'' was a Project 641 () diesel-electric attack

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

of the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

. The "B" (actually "Б") in her designation stands for большая (''bolshaya'', "large"). Commissioned in 1971, the submarine operated with the

Russian Pacific Fleet The Pacific Fleet () is the Russian Navy fleet in the Pacific Ocean. Established in 1731 as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the fleet was known as the Okhotsk Military Flotilla (1731–1856) and Siberian Military Flotilla (1856–1918), for ...

until decommissioning in 1994. The boat was sold to a group of Australian businessmen, who converted her into a museum vessel, which was placed on display at the

Australian National Maritime Museum The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a Australian government, federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a nation ...

(under the name Foxtrot-540) from 1995 until 1998, then at

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

(under the name Podvodnaya Lodka B-427 ''Scorpion'') in 1998. The submarine fell into disrepair, and has been closed to the public since 2015.

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 contract A Lease-Purchase Contract, also known as a lease purchase agreement or rent-to-own agreement, allows consumers to obtain durable goods or rent-to-own real estate without entering into a standard credit contract. It is a shortened name for a lease ...

, and was towed from Vladivostok on 25 July 1995.Hyman & Dunsford, ''How to Value a Submarine'', p. 223 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 for display as a museum vessel under the designation "Foxtrot-540" (the submarine's last

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

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 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 analysts from multiple nations during the first weeks on display). In May 1998, the submarine was loaded onto a

heavy lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a ship, vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be transported by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to ...

and relocated to Long Beach, California. On arrival, she was berthed next to , and opened to the public on 14 July under the designation "Podvodnaya 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. Urban Commons took over the lease of the Queen Mary and the Scorpion in April 2016. The Scorpion Submarine is owned by NEWCO Pty Ltd and is on a long-term lease to Urban Commons.

Museum closure

In November 2012, the vessel was discovered to have flooding and as a result was listing 24 degrees to the starboard side. It was closed to the public in 2015, by which time the pressure hull had ruptured and raccoons had taken up residence on board. By 2021, when control of the ''Queen Mary'' returned to Long Beach, the city was attempting to have the submarine removed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:B-427 1971 ships Cold War submarines of the Soviet Union Foxtrot-class submarines Military and war museums in California Museum ships in California Museums in Long Beach, California Ships built in the Soviet Union

Decommissioning and preservation

Museum closure

See also

References