Tango-class submarine

Class overview
A Tango-class submarine in the North Atlantic.
Name:	Tango class (Project 641B)
Builders:	Gorky
Operators:	Soviet Navy
Preceded by:	Foxtrot class
Succeeded by:	Kilo class
Completed:	18
Active:	1
Retired:	14
Preserved:	3
General characteristics
Type:	Submarine
Displacement:	3,100 tons surfaced 3,800 tons submerged
Length:	91 m (298 ft 7 in)
Beam:	9.1 m (29 ft 10 in)
Draught:	7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)
Propulsion:	3 diesel engines 4.6 MW (6,200 shp) 3 electric motors 3 shafts.
Speed:	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) surfaced 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) submerged
Complement:	62 men (12 officers)
Armament:	6 x 533 mm (21.0 in) bow torpedo tubes 24 x 533 mm (21 in) anti-submarine and anti-ship torpedoes or equivalent load of mines

For the pre-1914 submarines also known as the Som class in Russia, see Som-class submarine.

The Tango class was the NATO reporting name of a class of diesel-electric submarines that were built in the Soviet Union to replace the Foxtrot-class submarines assigned to the Black Sea and Northern Fleets. 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 installations appear to be similar to those fitted to Soviet nuclear attack submarines. 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; as a result, pressure hull volume increased. This allowed an underwater endurance in excess of a week before snorkeling was required.

Coupled with new armament and sensor fit, the Tango class were ideal for ambush operations against Western nuclear submarines at natural chokepoints.

Because of its all-hull rubber coating, the sub class was nicknamed "rezinka" [rubber]

Construction of this class has now stopped. One unit remains in the Black Sea Fleet but it may have been decommissioned since 2010.

Museum ships

Schematic of the Tango class
B-307, Togliatti
B-396, Moscow
B-515, Hamburg
Tango B-396 torpedo room

Three 641B-class submarines operate as museum ships:

B-307, fully raised on ground - Togliatti Museum of Technology, Samara, Russia
B-396, afloat in Tushino reservoir - Moscow Navy Museum
B-515, afloat in Baakenhafen in Hamburg - museum in Hamburg

The conning towers of stricken B-319' and B-474 are on display in Polyarny and Ryazan.

References

The Encyclopedia Of Warships From World War Two To The Present Day, General Editor Robert Jackson.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tango-class submarines.

Tango-class submarines

B-30 B-97 B-146 B-215 B-225 B-290 B-303 B-307 B-312 B-319 B-380 Gorkovsky Komsomolets B-386 B-443 B-474 B-498 B-504 B-515 B-519 B-546

List of Soviet and Russian submarines List of Soviet and Russian submarine classes

Soviet and Russian submarine classes after 1945

Ballistic missile nuclear submarines – SSBN	658 Hotel 667A Yankee 667B Delta I 667BD Delta II 667BDR Delta III 941 Typhoon 667BDRM Delta IV 955 Dolgorukiy

Cruise missile nuclear submarines – SSGN	659 Echo I 675 Echo II 670 Charlie I 670M Charlie II 661 Papa^S 949 Oscar I 949A Oscar II

Nuclear attack submarines – SSN	627A November 671 Victor I 671RT Victor II 671RTM Victor III 705/705K Alfa 945 Sierra I 945A Sierra II 685 Mike^S 971 Akula 885 Severodvinsk

Conventional ballistic missile submarines – SSB	AV611 Zulu IV 629 Golf

Conventional cruise missile submarines – SSG	644/665 Whiskey (missile) 651 Juliett

Conventional attack submarines – SS or SSK	611 Zulu 613 Whiskey 615 Quebec 617 Whale^S 633 Romeo 641 Foxtrot 641B Tango 877 Kilo 636 Improved Kilo 677 St. Petersburg Amur S1000 Kalina

Auxiliary submarines – SSA	690 Bravo 940 India 1710 Beluga^S 1840 Lima^S 1910 Uniform 865 Losos Sarov^S

S Single ship of class

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