Quebec class submarine

The Quebec-class submarine was the NATO reporting name of the Soviet Project 615 submarine class, a small coastal attack submarine of the late 1950s.

In 1912 a new principle for operating an internal combustion engine running in closed cycle with an oxygen supply was developed. Incorporating this new technology, the experimental submarine "M-401" was launched on July 1, 1941. Trials with the experimental submarine continued through to the end of World War II and eventually lead to the Project 615. [ [http://www.brtsis.com/quebec.htm Quebec Class Submarines ] ]

Quebec-class submarines were fitted with two regular diesel engines and a third, closed-cycle diesel engine, which used liquid oxygen (LOX) to provide air-independent propulsion while the submarine was submerged. This system produced remarkable submerged speed and range, and greatly increased the risk of explosion or fire.

The "M-256" was lost from this cause. Quebecs were referred to by their crews as "cigarette lighters" or "matchsticks."

Thirty were built between 1952 and 1957 [John Jordan, Soviet Submarines, 1945 to the Present, London, Arms and Armour Press, 1989, pp.26-28 cited in Sean Maloney, 'To Secure Command of the Sea,' University of New Brunswick thesis 1991, p.316] of the 100 planned before the project was abandoned and the Soviet Union followed the lead of the United States and developed nuclear powered boats. The last were retired in the 1970s.

An example, the "M-261" is on display in Krasnodar in Russia and another, the "M-302" in Odessa in the Ukraine.

External links

* [http://scalemodels.ru/modules/photo/viewcat_cid_152.html Walkaround "M-305" Quebec in Odessa]

References