Down in Long Beach, California berthed next to the Queen Mary there lies a submarine. Not just any submarine, but one formerly of the Soviet Navy. If you think you have what it takes (i.e. $10) you can board this mysterious and really cool vessel known as: the Russian Scorpion.
Why is it called the Russian Scorpion? Primarily it's a marketing thing. It sounds cool. But it is an apt name for this class of submarine known as Foxtrot. It's small and can deliver a really bad sting with it's nuclear tipped torpedos. YOWZA! The Soviet name for this type is Podvodnaya Lodka or Project 641 and this particular submarine's designation is b-427. Here is a head on shot of the conning tower where you can see the attack periscope with the navigational periscope above and behind it.
It is 300 feet long with 10 torpedo tubes and carried a crew of 78. Built in 1972 it partolled the Pacific, Mediterranean, Arctic and Atlantic oceans tracking western warships until the late 80's when it was transformed into a trianing vessel for countries such as Lybia and Cuba and was finally decommissioned in 1994. This is me next to the conning tower. Those silver squares next to my head are the underwater telephone antennae with the windows to the bridge above that.
I'm not sure what I was going for with this picture, but this is the bow of the ship that shows off some of the sonar apparatus and diving planes.
