The only Soviet tourist submarine (8 photos)

The Neptune was tested in the cold Arctic Ocean to entertain tourists in the warm Caribbean Sea.





After World War II, the Soviet Union became a recognized world leader in the design and manufacture of military submarines boats, but only in the late 1980s, on the eve of the collapse of the country, thought about creating tourist submarines.



The first Soviet excursion underwater vehicle "Neptune" was launched in Severodvinsk on September 18, 1990, and in the summer of the next year was tested in the White Sea.





The Neptune was 28 meters long and 4 meters wide. Diving to a depth of up to 40 meters (maximum - 60 meters), underwater the boat could reach speeds up to 2 knots (3.7 km / h). However, in stormy weather with a wave of more than two points, he was never taken to sea.



The crew of the ship consisted of three people: the captain-pilot, mechanic and guide-steward. "Neptune" could accommodate up to 40 passengers, to whose services were 22 portholes. The duration of the underwater the tour was one hour.



Tourist submarine tested in the cold northern waters, was supposed to operate in the warm Caribbean Sea. To this end, in 1992 Design Bureau "Rubin" and Severodvinsk Engineering Plant (Sevmash) signed an agreement with the Italian company Cortina, which owned tourist complex on one of the Caribbean islands.



After several years of work in the exotic region "Neptune" returned to his native North for repairs and modernization. But the owners decided that the profit from the project no longer pays for the costs, so in the end eventually gave up.



The first (and last) Soviet tourist submarine for many years remained languishing in Severodvinsk. However, in recent years the idea arose to move it to Moscow and turn it into a cafe-museum.