The Quebec class was the NATO reporting name of a class of diesel-electric
patrol submarines that were built in the Soviet Union. The Soviet designation
of this class was Project A615. Quebec-class submarines were fitted with
two regular diesel engines and a third, closed-cycle diesel engine, which used
liquid oxygen to provide air-independent propulsion while the submarine was submerged. The
Quebec class had a streamlined conning tower with a fixed snorkel housing at the
rear end. They were armed with four torpedo tubes in the bow, for which no reloads
were carried, and earlier boats also had a twin 25 mm anti-aircraft gun faired
into the forward end of the tower, making them some of the last submarines to
be constructed with deck guns. The Quebec-class was plagued with problems
caused by liquid oxygen evaporation. Their endurance was limited to 10 days due
to continuous evaporation of the oxygen and lack of a re-liquefaction system,
and the propulsion system led to several serious incidents. In 1957 two submarines
were lost due to accidents caused by the oxygen system. M-256 suffered a fire
off Tallinn in the Baltic, which led to the loss of 35 men, while M-351 sank in
the Black Sea with no casualties. Other incidents caused oxygen-fueled flames
to burst out from the boats, which led to their crews to nickname them zazhigalka
("cigarette lighter"). Submarine M-351 laid down 24 March 1954
at the Shipyard No.194 named after A.Marti, Leningrad (yard No.801), launched
04 July 1955, commissioned 03 August 1956 and was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet.
22 August 1957 the submarine M-351 sank in the Black Sea with no casualties. Submarine
M-351 was decommissioned and excluded from the lists of the Black Sea Fleet in
1974 and scrapped. Specifications |
Displacement (tons): | Surfaced: | 406 |
Submerged: | 499 |
Dimensions (m): | Length: | 56,76 |
Beam: | 4,46 |
Draught: | 3,59 |
Speed (knots): | Surfaced: | 16,1 |
Submerged: | 15 |
Range: | Surfaced: | 3150
nmi (8,3 knots) | Under snorkel: | 2500
nmi (8 knots) | Submerged: | 410
nmi (3,5 knots), 56 nmi (15 knots) | Diving
depth (m): | Operational: | 100 |
Maximum: | 120 |
Endurance (days): | 10 |
Propulsion: | 1x900 hp 32D
diesel, 2x700 hp M-50P diesels, 1x100 hp PG-106 electric motor, 3 fixed pitch
propellers | Armament: | 4
533 mm bow torpedo tubes (4 K-45 torpedoes) - Tryum fire control system |
Electronics: | Flag surface
radar, RPN-47-03 radar, Tamir-5L sonar, Mars-16KIG noise detection sonar, GS-571
Anadyr sonar | Complement: | 41
(10 officers) |
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