The Tango class was the
NATO reporting name
NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...
of a
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
of diesel-electric
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 ...
s that were built in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to replace the s assigned to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
and
Northern Fleet
The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic.
According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the terri ...
s. The Soviet designation of this class was Project 641B and it was also known as the Som (Catfish) class. The first of the class was completed in 1972 at
Gorky. A total of 18 were built in two slightly different versions. The later type was several metres longer than the first, possibly because of the installation of ASW missile equipment.
The
bow sonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
installations appear to be similar to those fitted to Soviet nuclear
attack submarine
An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants, and merchant vessels. In the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies ...
s. The propulsion plant was the same as the last subgroup of the Foxtrot class. The Tango class had far more battery capacity, far higher than any previous conventional submarine class in 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 ...
; as a result, pressure hull volume increased. This allowed an underwater endurance in excess of a week before
snorkeling
Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...
was required.
Coupled with new armament and sensor fit, the Tango class was ideal for ambush operations against Western
nuclear submarines
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear weapons, nuclear-armed.
Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically Marine diesel engine, diesel-elect ...
at natural
chokepoint
In military strategy, a choke point (or chokepoint), or sometimes bottleneck, is a geographical feature on land such as a valley, defile (geography), defile or bridge, or maritime transport, maritime passage through a critical waterway such as ...
s.
Because of its all-hull rubber coating, the sub class was nicknamed "rezinka"
ubber
Construction of this class has now stopped. The ''B-380'' of the Black Sea Fleet was the last to be decommissioned in 2016 and the scrapping began in Inkerman in 2020.
''B-380'' had been in layup in Sevastopol Harbor awaiting either refit or scrapping as of 2008, but during the night of December 14–15, 2019 the floating dock ''PD-16'', which contained ''B-380'', sank. B-380 capsized to port and partially sank, and by 19 December it was still unclear whether the submarine was afloat or resting on the bottom. By 11 May 2020 ''B-380'' was 70% scrapped.
By October 2021, the sail of submarine B-380 had been installed, with the assistance of the Russian Maritime Tradition Club Association, at the Mistral Hotel & Spa, Intra district of Moscow.
[
]
Museum ships
File:Tango class SS.svg, Schematic of the Tango class
File:B-307, Togliatti. Russia-1.JPG, ''B-307'', Togliatti
File:Tango b-396 1.JPG, ''B-396'', Moscow
File:Hamburg.U434.gesamt.wmt.jpg, ''B-515'', Hamburg
File:Tango B-396 Torpedo Room 1.JPG, Tango ''B-396'' torpedo room
Three 641B-class submarines operate as museum ships:
* ''B-307'', fully raised on ground – AvtoVAZ Technical Museum, Tolyatti
Tolyatti or Togliatti ( , ; , ), known before 1964 as Stavropol, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the largest city in Russia which is neither the administrative center of a federal subjects of Rus ...
, Russia
* ''B-396'', afloat in Tushino
Tushino ( rus, Тушино, p=ˈtuʂɨnə) is a former village and town to the north of Moscow, which has been part of the city's area since 1960. Between 1939 and 1960, Tushino was classed as a separate town. The Skhodnya River flows across the ...
reservoir – Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
Navy Museum
* , afloat near Fischmarkt in Hamburg – museum in Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
The conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
s of stricken ''B-319 and ''B-474'' are on display in Polyarny and Ryazan
Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...
.
References
*The Encyclopedia Of Warships From World War Two To The Present Day, General Editor Robert Jackson.
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
RussianWarrior page about the Tango Class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tango-class submarines
Submarine classes of the Russian and Soviet Navy
Submarine classes