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Built:
1956-1957. 256 Whiskey class submarines were
built on 9 different shipyards in the Soviet
Union.
Material: Steel, pressure hull thickness
25-30 mm. Max diving depth secret but said
to be around 500'.
Length: 75.2 meters
Beam: 6.3 meters
Draft: 3 meters in fore, 4.8 in aft.
Displacement:
1050 tons surfaced, 1350 tons submerged.
Today batteries and some other equipment is
removed and the displacement today could be
around 700 tonnes.
Main engine:
2 x 37-D diesels, 2000 bHp each.
Diesel-electric running. Smaller 150 kW
electric engines for creep drive.
Engines new 1987.
Cruising speed: Surface speed 17-18 knots.
Submerged 13-14 knots.
Bunkers:
Diesel - 120 000 litres giving a range of
12-15 000 nautical miles.
Accomodations:
When in service, the sub had a crew of 56 on
board. One shift sleeping and one on duty.
The vessel is divided into seven water tight
sections: Forward torpedo room, living
areas/ battery room,
aft torpedo room/living quarters, control
room/living quarters/galley and engine/
battery room.
The mess has about 40 table-seats. When
sailing, the vessel could be submerged for
three days in a row.
The armament consists of four 530 mm torpedo
tubes in the bow and two in the stern.
A 76mm and a 25 mm cannon were originally
fitted on deck.
Museum vessel
For 10 years, the U-194 has been used as a
floating museum vessel. She has toured along
the Swedish coastlines with much success. As
many as 100 visitors have been on board at
the same time, with long cues waiting on
land. Included in the asking price is a
ticket & souvenirshop as well as a truck
with Russian logos. A staff of two is
sufficient to keep the museum running.
The U-194 has also been used with success
for parties, weddings and dances.
As she is today the vessel is not able to
sail but has been towed between the Swedish
coastal towns.
It would require little work to install two
smaller diesel engines and have her running
in surface mode.
Restoring the submarine to diving capacity
would be possible in theory, but would
require much work.
All valves and chambers for diving have been
blinded, the batteries for underwater
running have been removed. Today the
submarine is not registered as a ship.
There are no "Projektu 613" submarines in
service in Russia today, the last remaining
were decommissioned in the early nineties.
There are some sisters in use as museum
vessels around the world, but we dare to say
that the 194 is the most complete and
historically most interesting of them.
Whisky on the rocks
The sister vessel U 137 is well known in
Sweden; in 1981 she ran aground outside the
Swedish naval base in Karlskrona.
Position: Landskrona, Sweden.
Price: 250 000 EURO
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