Foxtrot class submarine
Encyclopedia
The Foxtrot class was the NATO reporting name
NATO reporting name
NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
of a class of diesel-electric patrol 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...
s that were built in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The Soviet designation of this class was Project 641.
The Foxtrot class was designed to replace the earlier Zulu class
Zulu class submarine
The Soviet Navy's Project 611, NATO reporting name Zulu class, were one of the first Soviet post-war attack submarines. They were roughly as capable as the American GUPPY fleet-boat conversions. They were a contemporary of the Whiskey class submarines and shared a similar sonar arrangement...
, which suffered from structural weaknesses and harmonic vibration problems that limited its operational depth and submerged speed. The first Foxtrot was laid down in 1957 and commissioned in 1958 and the last was completed in 1983. A total of 58 were built for the Soviet Navy at the Sudomekh division of the Admiralty Shipyard (now Admiralty Wharves), St. Petersburg. Additional hulls were built for other countries.
The Foxtrot class was comparable in performance and armament to most contemporary designs. However, its three screws made it noisier than most Western designs. Moreover, the Foxtrot class was one of the last designs introduced before the adoption of the teardrop hull
Teardrop hull
A teardrop hull is a submarine hull design which emphasizes hydrodynamic flow above all other factors. Benefits over previous types include increased underwater speed and a smaller acoustic signature, making detection by sonar more difficult...
, which offered much better underwater performance. The Foxtrot class was completely obsolete by the time the last submarine was launched. The Russian Navy retired its last Foxtrots between 1995 and 2000, although some may still be in service with other nations.
Cuban Missile Crisis
Foxtrots played a central role in some of the most dramatic incidents of the Cuban Missile CrisisCuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
. The Soviet Navy deployed four Foxtrot subs to Cuba. US Navy destroyers dropped Practice Depth Charges
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
near Foxtrot subs near Cuba in efforts to force them to surface and be identified. Three of the four Foxtrot subs were forced to surface, one eluded US forces.
Units
| # | Shipyard | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B-94 | Leningrad | October 3, 1957 | December 28, 1957 | December 25, 1958 | Decommissioned for scrapping |
| B-95 | Leningrad | February 2, 1958 | April 25, 1958 | September 30, 1959 | Decommissioned for scrapping |
| B-36 | Leningrad | April 29, 1958 | August 31, 1958 | September 30, 1959 | Decommissioned for scrapping |
| B-37 Soviet submarine B-37 Soviet submarine B-37 was a Project 641 or Foxtrot-class diesel submarine of the Soviet Navy's Northern Fleet.On 11 January 1962, the submarine was tied up at the pier in Ekaterininsky bay of Polarny naval base, with all watertight doors open, while conducting maintenance and testing of her... |
Leningrad | remainder of list in progress | Decommissioned for scrapping |
Operators
Most saw service in the Soviet NavySoviet 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...
. Foxtrots were also built for the Indian Navy
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
(8 units, from 1967 to 1974), Libyan
Libyan Navy
The Libyan Navy was the maritime force of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, established in November 1962. It was a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates, corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability...
(6 units, from 1978 to 1980), and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n (6 units, from 1978 to 1983) navies. Some Soviet Foxtrots later saw service in the Polish
Polish Navy
The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
, and Ukrainian
Ukrainian Navy
The Ukrainian Naval Forces is the navy of Ukraine and part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was established in 1992. It consists of 5 branches: surface forces, submarine forces, Navy aviation, coast rocket-artillery and marines...
navies.
- Soviet NavySoviet NavyThe 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...
(passed on to successor states) - Russian navy (ex-Soviet Navy)
- Indian NavyIndian NavyThe Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...
Variants known as Kalvari classKalvari class submarineKalvari class submarines were the first submarines inducted into the Indian Navy. They were variants of the early Soviet Foxtrot class submarines. Four of the class served in the Indian Navy. Four additional variants of the later Foxtrot class were inducted as the Vela class.INS Kursura has been...
, now decommissioned (INS Kursura (S20)INS Kursura (S20)INS Kursura was a diesel-electric submarine of the Indian Navy.After decommissioning in 2001, it has been preserved as a museum for public access on Ramakrishna Mission Beach in Visakhapatnam....
converted into a museum) - Libyan NavyLibyan NavyThe Libyan Navy was the maritime force of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, established in November 1962. It was a fairly typical small navy with a few missile frigates, corvettes and patrol boats to defend the coastline, but with a very limited self-defence capability...
6 units (2 left but probably abandoned) - Cuban Navy 6 units (all retired)
- Ukrainian NavyUkrainian NavyThe Ukrainian Naval Forces is the navy of Ukraine and part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was established in 1992. It consists of 5 branches: surface forces, submarine forces, Navy aviation, coast rocket-artillery and marines...
(ex-Soviet Navy) 1 unit - inoperative - Polish NavyPolish NavyThe Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
2 units (ex-Soviet Navy)- ORP Wilk (1987–2003)
- ORP Dzik (1988–2003)
On display
Several Foxtrots are on display as museums around the world, including:- B-15 at New Westminster Quay in New Westminster, British ColumbiaNew Westminster, British ColumbiaNew Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. - B-39Soviet submarine B-39B-39 was a Project 641 diesel-electric attack submarine of the Soviet Navy. The "B" in her designation stands for большая — Foxtrots are among the largest non-nuclear submarines ever built...
at the Maritime Museum of San DiegoMaritime Museum of San DiegoThe Maritime Museum of San Diego, established in 1948, preserves one of the largest collections of historic sea vessels in the United States. Located in the San Diego Bay, the centerpiece of the museum's collection is the Star of India, an 1863 iron bark. The museum maintains the MacMullen Library...
in San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - B-143 at the Seafront Maritime Theme Park in ZeebruggeZeebruggeZeebrugge is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with hotels, cafés, a marina and a beach.-Location:...
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. - B-427Soviet submarine B-427B-427 was a Project 641 diesel-electric attack submarine of the Soviet Navy. The "B" in her designation stands for большая . 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...
at the RMS Queen MaryRMS Queen MaryRMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
in Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, CaliforniaLong 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...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - Indian Foxtrot submarine INS Kursura S20 at the Rama Krishna Beach, VisakhapatnamVisakhapatnamVisakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. - B-413 at Kaliningrad, Russia.
In popular culture
- A Foxtrot made an appearance in seaQuest DSVSeaQuest DSVseaQuest DSV is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it was renamed seaQuest 2032. Set in "the near future", seaQuest mixes high drama with realistic scientific fiction...
in the episode "Whale Song", eco terroristEco-terrorismEco-terrorism usually refers to acts of violence or sabotage committed in support of ecological, environmental, or animal rights causes against persons or their property....
Max Scully was sinking whaling ships with a secondhand Foxtrot he purchased. - In the Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1Stargate SG-1 is a Canadian-American adventure and military science fiction television series and part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich...
Season 4 premiere "Small Victories", ReplicatorsReplicator (Stargate)In the military science fiction series Stargate SG-1, the Replicators are antagonistic self-replicating machines that propagate by ingesting the metals that make up civilizations and use them to create either blocks that form the bug-like version or smaller cells that compose the human-form...
take over a Russian Foxtrot. - In the sci-fi miniseries The Triangle a Foxtrot sub is used for a search mission.
- In the Tom ClancyTom ClancyThomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
techno-thrillerTechno-thrillerTechno-thrillers are a hybrid genre, drawing subject matter generally from spy/action thrillers, fantasy/war novels, and science fiction...
novel Red Storm RisingRed Storm RisingRed Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
Foxtrots are used to strike at NATO convoys in the Atlantic. - In the BBC Serial Drama BugsBugs (TV series)Bugs was a British television drama series which ran for four series from April 1995 to August 1999. The programme, a mixture of action/adventure and science-fiction, involved a team of specialist independent crime-fighting technology experts, who faced a variety of threats based around computers...
, Series 1 Episode 4, a Foxtrot Submarine is used by the villain.
External links
- http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/641.htm
- http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/index.html
- http://www.cybermodeler.com/naval/foxtrot/foxtrot.shtml
- HNSA Ship Page: Soviet B-413
- Foxtrot Class Submarines - Complete Ship List (English)