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Description:
The Foxtrot 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 641.
Moored Bridge Reach,River Medway,under restoration.
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Regards,
Doug.
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Service history
Black Widow was built at Sudomekh shipyard in Leningrad and commissioned in 1967. She was based at Riga and served with the Soviet Baltic Fleet before being used as a training vessel for crews from overseas who would be operating Foxtrot-class subs in their own navies. She was decommissioned in 1994 and sold.
Museum ship
After passing into private hands, and under the name "U-475 Black Widow" she was moored at Long's Wharf near the Thames Barrier in England where she was open to the public as a museum ship. in 1998 she was moved to Folkestone, where she was again opened to the public. In 2004 she was moved to her present location, in a state of disrepair, and is currently awaiting restoration.
Located at 51.395495, 0.503651
Naming
The submarine is currently referred to as "Foxtrot B-39 U-475 Black Widow".[1] The "B-" designation stands for Bolshaya ("Large"), and was used by the Soviet Navy during the Cold War era, but another Foxtrot B-39 also exists, now moored at San Diego as a museum ship. The "B-39" designation also suggests a vessel in the Soviet Pacific Fleet; Baltic Fleet vessels carried numbers in the 200's. The name “Black Widow” and the designation “U-475” were given to the boat by the new owners; Soviet submarines were not generally named, the "U-" designation was not used by the Soviets, and none of the Foxtrots known carried the number "–475".
In Soviet service she was actually known as B-49 and served in the Northern Fleet until November 1974 when she was reassigned to the Baltic.
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Regards.
Doug.
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And dare I say these subs are one of the most distinctive & maybe even beautiful ones? :D
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afloat.
Regards.
Doug.
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Considering the year of build,they were certainly a formidable class.
Regards.
Doug.
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http://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/row/rus/641.htm
Regards
Ken
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I remember seeing it at low tide from the bus in a schooltrip with fellow belgian students in 2008.
It was already an impressive sight
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there is also a B-39 in San Diego as a museum ship.
Regards,
Doug.
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