Romeo class submarine

Romeo class submarine
Class overview
Builders:	Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard, Gorky Wuchang Shipyard (Wuhan) Guangzhou Shipyard (Canton) Jiangnan Shipyard (Shanghai) Bohai Shipyard (Huludao)
Operators:	Soviet Navy  People's Liberation Army Navy  Korean People's Navy  Bulgarian Navy  Syrian Navy  Egyptian Navy
Preceded by:	Whiskey class submarine
Succeeded by:	Foxtrot class submarine
Completed:	133
Retired:	75
General characteristics
Displacement:	1,475 tons surfaced 1,830 tons submerged
Length:	76.6 m (251 ft 3 in)
Beam:	6.7 m (22 ft)
Draught:	5.2 m (17 ft 1 in)
Propulsion:	Two diesels delivering 2.94 MW (4000 shp) with two electric motors driving two shafts.
Speed:	15.2 knots surfaced 13 knots submerged
Range:	14,484km (9,000 miles) at 9 knots
Complement:	54 men (10 officers)
Armament:	8 × 533mm (21in) torpedo tubes. Six located in the bows and two in the stern. 14 × 533mm (21in) anti ship or anti submarine torpedoes (including Yu-4 and Yu-1 torpedoes) or 28 mines

The Romeo class (Project 633) is a class of Soviet diesel-electric submarine, built in 1950s. The origin of the Romeo class can be traced to the World War II German Type XXI Elektroboot U-boat. At the end of World War II, the Soviets obtained several Type XXIs, from which they were able to obtain certain key technologies. These technologies assisted in the design of the Zulu- and Whiskey-class. Further improvements on the design led to the Romeo class.

Only 20 of the Soviet Union's originally intended 560 were completed between October 1957 and the end of December 1961^[1] because of the introduction of the nuclear submarine into the Soviet Navy.

By today's standards, the Romeo class submarine is considered obsolete, but still has some value as training and surveillance vessels.

Operators of Romeo class submarine

Several navies operate or have operated Romeo class submarines:

• Russia and the Soviet Union had 20 Romeo class vessels in service. These vessels are no longer used as combat vessels in the Russian Navy, although one or two remain in service as immobile training facilities.
• China has operated an estimated 84 of the Type-33 submarine (Romeo) during the Cold War. Most have been scrapped, but 31 are still in use for training.
• North Korea operates 22 Romeo class submarines, that were both locally assembled with Chinese supplied parts and directly imported from China. The 4 Chinese imported units are based on the western coast.
• Bulgaria operates one Romeo class submarine, which is the last remaining of four boats that were exported from the Soviet Union.
• Syria has decommissioned the three Romeo class submarines that it imported from the Soviet Union.
• Egypt operates four of an original eight Romeo class submarines that are upgraded variants of the Chinese design.
• Algeria has decommissioned its two Soviet Romeo class submarines.
• Myanmar 2 in service in 1998.

Chinese Romeo class submarines and their derivatives

Under the 1950 Sino-Soviet Friendship and Mutual Assistance Treaty, the Soviets passed to China (and later to North Korea) the documentation necessary to produce ROMEO submarines in 1963^[1]. The Chinese variant is known as the Type 033 ROMEO. A total of 84 Type 033 submarines were built in China from 1962 to 1984, plus several exported to other countries. The Chinese Type 033 incorporated some improvements over the original ROMEO, including noise reduction of at least 20 dB. Sonar on board was also continuously upgraded: the original Soviet sonar was first replaced by domestic Chinese Type 105 sonar, which consequently was replaced by H/SQ2-262A sonar built by No. 613 Factory. A single Type 033 was modified to carry 6 YJ-1 (CSS-N-4) SSM, this variant is called Type 033G Wuhan. [3] [4] Today most of the Type 033 subs have been retired or preserved, with few remaining for training purposes. [5]

In the 1970s, China's Wuhan Ship Development and Design Institute (701 Institute) built an improved submarine based on the Type 033 hull, named Type 035 Ming. The 035 Ming had an improved diesel-electric engine, improved hull design with less hydrodynamic resistance, better underwater speed, and a more capable sonar, the H/SQZ-262 built by No. 613 Factory replacing the Type 105 sonar used on Type 033 submarines. ^[2]A total of 21 Type 035 Ming sub were built between 1971 and 2000. There are at least 4 known variants of the Type 035 Ming, ES5C, ES5D, ES5E, and ES5F. The last variant, ES5F, is sometimes referred to as the Type 035G, and upgrades included H/SQZ-262C sonar built by No. 613 Factory replacing the original H/SQZ-262 used on the original Type 035 submarines.^[3] Today, 17 Type 035 Ming subs remain in service with the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). One Type 035 Ming is said to have been modified as a test-bed for new Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system. [6]

Incidents involving submarines of the Romeo and Ming class

• On January 11, 1962, the Soviet Foxtrot class submarine B-37 exploded as the result of a fire which detonated all torpedo warheads in the submarine. The Romeo class submarine S-350, which was moored next to B-37, was heavily damaged. Eleven crew members of the S-350 were killed.
• On April 16, 2003, all 70 crew members of the Chinese Ming class submarine number 361 were killed when the diesel engine failed to shut down when the boat submerged and used up all the oxygen in the boat.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Korabli VMF SSSR, Vol. 1, Part 2, Yu. Apalkov, Sankt Peterburg, 2003, ISBN 5-8172-0072-4
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ [2]

The Encyclopedia Of Warships, From World War 2 To The Present Day, General Editor Robert Jackson.

External links

• Figures about the Romeo class
• Globalsecurity.org (Type 033 Romeo)
• Globalsecurity.org (Type 033G Wuhan)
• Globalsecurity.org (Type 035 Ming)
• Sino Defense Today (Type 033 Romeo)
• Sino Defense Today (Type 035 Ming)
• [7]
• Soviet Romeo class submarines - Complete Ship List (English)