Bars-class submarine (1915)
 Bars in 1914 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| In commission: | 1914–1941 |
| Completed: | 24 |
| Lost: | 9 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 650 tons surfaced 780 tons submerged |
| Length: | 68 m (223 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) |
| Draft: | 3.9 m (12 ft 10 in) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel-electric 2,640 hp diesel 900 hp electric 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) surfaced 9 knots (17 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 400 nmi (740 km) |
| Complement: | 33 |
| Armament: | 1 × 63 mm (2.5 in) or 75 mm (3.0 in) gun 1 × 37 mm (1.5 in) AA gun 4 × 457 mm (18.0 in) torpedo tubes 8 × torpedoes in drop collars (later removed) |
The Bars class were a group of submarines built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. A total of 24 boats were built between 1914 and 1917.
Design
These boats were designed by Ivan Bubnov and based on the preceding Morzh class. The Morzh design was enlarged with more powerful engines and a larger torpedo armament. They were single hulled boats with four internal 18 inch torpedo tubes and 8 external torpedoes in drop collars.
The design had numerous shortcomings, including a lack of internal bulkheads and a slow diving time. Surviving boats were modernized after the Russian Civil War by installing bulkheads, new diesels, pumps and extra torpedo tubes (the external drop collars were removed).
Ships
| Ship | Service/Fate |
|---|---|
| Bars БАРС (Snow Leopard) | Sunk 25 May 1917.
Wreck location is in the Swedish territorial waters to the north-east of Gotska Sandö island, found 10 September 2009. |
| Edinorog ЕДИНОРОГ (Unicorn) | Sunk 25 February 1918.
Wreck found on 28 May in 2009 by the Estonian Maritime Museum in the northern part of the Gulf of Finland. |
| Gepard ГЕПАРД (Cheetah) | Sunk 28 October 1917 |
| Kuguar КУГУАР (Cougar) | Hulked 1922 |
| Leopard ЛЕОПАРД | Renamed Krasnoarmeets. Hulked 1936 |
| Lvitsa ЛЬВИЦА (Lioness) | Sunk 11 June 1917 |
| Pantera ПАНТЕРА (Panther) | Sank British destroyer HMS Vittoria off the island of Seiskari during the British Intervention in Russia. Aksel Berg was navigating officer at the time. The ship was renamed Komissar and converted to a harbour training ship 1941 |
| Rys РЫСЬ (Lynx) | Renamed Bolshevik, sunk in an accident 13 September 1935 |
| Tigr ТИГР (Tiger) | Renamed Kommunar, broken up 1936 |
| Tur ТУР (Aurochs) | Renamed Tovarich, sunk in an accident 25 June 1935 |
| Ugor УГОРЬ (Eel) | Sunk 27 March 1920 |
| Vepr ВЕПРЬ (Wild Boar) | Hulked 1922 |
| Volk ВОЛК (Wolf) | Stricken 1936 |
| Yaguar ЯГУАР (Jaguar) | Stricken 1936 |
| Yaz ЯЗЬ (Ide (fish)) | Stricken 1922 |
| Zmeya ЗМЕЯ (Serpent) | Renamed Proletariy, sunk in an accident 22 May 1931 |
| Erzh ЕРШ (Ruffe) | Sunk in an accident 22 May 1931 |
| Forel ФОРЕЛЬ (Trout) | Stricken 1922 |
| Ship | Service/Fate |
|---|---|
| Burvestnik БУРЕВЕСТНИК (Storm Petrel) | Seized by the Germans as US-1 and transferred to the White Russian forces in 1918, interned in Bizerte with Wrangel's fleet and scrapped 1924 |
| Gagara ГАГАРА (Loon (bird)) | Seized by the Germans as US 4 and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Lebed ЛЕБЕДЬ (Swan) | Seized by the Germans and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Orlan ОРЛАН (Sea Eagle) | Seized by the Germans as US 2 and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Pelikan ПЕЛИКАН (Pelican) | Seized by the Germans and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Utka УТКА (Duck) | Seized by the Germans as US 3 and transferred to the White Russian forces in 1918, interned in Bizerte and scrapped 1924 |
See also
Media related to Bars class submarines at Wikimedia Commons
References
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1922
- V.Dygalo, The Fleet of the State of Russia. The Roots and Origin of the Russian Navy (extract)
- History of Bars class (Russian)
- Soome lahe põhjast leiti haruldane allveelaev
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