Russian Narval-class submarine
{{other ships|Narval-class submarine (disambiguation){{!}}Narval-class submarine}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2013}}
| {{Infobox ship begin |display title=Russian Narval-class submarine}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=Russian submarine Narwhal.png |Ship caption= Russian submarine Narval under construction }} {{Infobox ship class overview |Name=Narval class |Builders=Nikolayev Dockyard |Operators={{ubl|{{navy|Russian Empire}} |{{navy|Ukrainian People's Republic}}}} |Class before= |Class after= |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range= |In service range= |In commission range=1914–1919 |Total ships building= |Total ships planned= |Total ships completed=3 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active= |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost=3 |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship type= Submarine |Ship displacement=*621 tons surfaced
|Ship length= {{convert|70.1|m|ft|abbr=on|1}} |Ship beam= {{convert|6.5|m|ft|abbr=on|1}} |Ship draught= {{convert|3.5|m|ft|abbr=on|1}} |Ship power=*{{convert|640|hp|kW|abbr=on}} (diesel)
|Ship propulsion=*2 shafts
|Ship speed=*{{convert|9.5|kn|km/h|abbr=on}} (surfaced)
|Ship range=*12 days, 3500 miles at 6.5 knots
|Ship complement=47 |Ship armament=*2 × bow 450 mm (18-inch) torpedo tubes
|Ship notes= }} |
The Narval class were a group of submarines built for the Imperial Russian Navy. They were designed by the Electric Boat Company and ordered in the 1911 programme as the "Holland 31A" design (the Electric Boat company designation was EB31A).Friedman, pp. 88. "Holland 31A" was likely the Russian Navy designation. Submarines built by EB were colloquially known as "Holland types" in other navies. The Narval class had advanced features including watertight bulkheads, a crash diving tank and gravitationally filled ballast tanks which did not feature in contemporary Russian-designed boats. The boats were well regarded by the Russian Navy and served in the Black Sea Fleet during World War I, during which they sank 8 merchant ships and 74 coastal vessels.
At the end of 1917, the submarines were transferred to the reserve. The submarines were scuttled by British forces in April 1919 near Sevastopol.
Ships
Three submarines were built by Nikolayev Dockyard.
| class="wikitable" border="1" |
| Name
! Cyrillic ! Meaning ! Launched ! Fate |
|---|
| Narval
| Нарвал | Narwhal | 11 April 1915 | Scuttled in Sevastopol 26 April 1919 |
| Kit
| Кит | Whale | May 1915 | Scuttled in Sevastopol 26 April 1919 |
| Kashalot
| Кашалот | 22 August 1915 | Scuttled in Sevastopol 26 April 1919 |
Kit was raised by EPRON in 1934, but the hulls of the other two boats remain on the bottom in the place they were scuttled. The whereabouts of Narval was unknown until October 2014,{{cite news|last=Gulenko|first=Sergey|url= https://www.kp.ru/daily/26297.5/3174666/ |title=Моряки ЧФ РФ нашли под Севастополем субмарину времен Первой мировой войны|work=Komsomolskaya Pravda|date=18 October 2014|accessdate=2019-09-16|language=ru}} though some historians believe it was virtually discovered by the Soviet underwater laboratory Bentos-300 back in 1980.{{cite news|last=Savchenko|first=Nikolay|url=https://rg.ru/2014/10/23/reg-kfo/narval.html |title=Век под водой|work=Rossiyskaya Gazeta|number=6515|date=23 October 2014|accessdate=2019-09-16|language=ru}} In June 2018, a joint expedition of the Russian Geographical Society's Sevastopol branch, the Ministry of Defence and Sevastopol State University was undertaken to examine the wreck of five submarines, including Narval and Kashalot, by using a remotely operated underwater vehicle.{{cite news|last=Krymskaya|first=Yulia|url=https://rg.ru/2018/06/28/reg-ufo/u-sevastopolia-uchenye-obsledovali-zatoplennye-carskie-podlodki.html |title=У Севастополя ученые обследовали затопленные царские подлодки|work=Rossiyskaya Gazeta|date=28 June 2018|accessdate=2019-09-16|language=ru}} It was reported in May 2019 that the wreck site is to be listed as a cultural heritage.{{cite news|url=https://nauka.tass.ru/nauka/6422259|title=Эксперт: найденные под Севастополем первые русские подлодки станут культурными объектами|agency=TASS|date=13 May 2019|accessdate=2019-09-16|language=ru}}
File:Narval1911-1919Sevastopol.jpg in Sevastopol]]
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |last=Apalkov |first=Yu. V. |title=Боевые корабли русского флота: 8.1914-10.1917г |trans-title=Combat Ships of the Russian Fleet: 8.1914-10.1917|year=1996 |location=Saint Petersburg, Russia |language=Russian |publisher=ИНТЕК |isbn=5-7559-0018-3}}
- {{cite book|editor1-last=Gray|editor1-first=Randal|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921 |year=1985 |location=Annapolis, Maryland|publisher=Naval Institute Press|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp |last=Budzbon |first=Przemysław|chapter=Russia}}
- Friedman, Norman, US Submarines through 1945: An Illustrated Design History, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1995, {{ISBN|1-55750-263-3}}.
- {{cite book|last1=Polmar|first1=Norman|last2=Noot|first2=Jurrien|title=Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990 |year=1991 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-570-1 |name-list-style=amp}}
- {{cite book|author1=Zablocki V.P.|title=Submarines "Narwhal"|publisher=Marine Collection 12/2011}}
External links
- {{cite web|url=http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/under_1917/narval/list.htm|title=Тип "Нарвал" (проект "Голланд-31А" (Holland-XXXIA), США)|trans-title=Narval class (project "Holland-31A" (Holland-XXXIA), USA)|website=deepstorm.ru|accessdate=2011-08-13|language=ru}}
{{WWI Russian ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Narval class submarine, Russian}}