Pravda-class submarine

The Pravda class or P-class submarines were built for the Soviet Navy in the mid-1930s. They originally served as training ships, then later served in World War II for mainly transport duties.[1] They were intended to operate with the surface fleet but failed to meet specifications, particularly for surface speed. The initial design envisaged 130 mm (5.1 in) guns for surface action. These boats had a long building time, being laid down in 1931 and completed in 1936.


Class overview
NamePravda or P class
Operators Soviet Navy
In service1935–1956
In commission- 1956
Planned4
Completed3
Cancelled1
Lost1
Retired2
General characteristics
TypeSubmarine
Displacement
  • 1,200 tons surfaced
  • 1,870 tons submerged
Length90.0 m (295.3 ft)
Propulsion2-shaft diesel electric, 5,400 hp (4,027 kW) diesel, 1,400 hp (1,044 kW) electric
Speed
  • surface - 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph)
  • submerged - 11.8 knots (21.9 km/h; 13.6 mph)
Range5,700 nmi (10,600 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h)
Test depth340 ft (100 m)
Complement54
Armament
  • 4 × bow torpedo tubes
  • 2 × stern torpedo tubes
  • (10 torpedoes)
  • 2 × 100 mm (3.9 in) guns
  • 1 × 45 mm (1.8 in) guns,

They were double hull boats with eight compartments. Their main shortcomings were underpowered machinery, a long diving time and poor seakeeping. Weakness in hull strength had to be remedied by stiffening and weight cutting. Yakubov and Worth state that these were the least successful Soviet submarines of this era and were relegated to secondary duties on completion. The two surviving boats had their conning towers re-built to resemble the later K class.

Ships

Three boats were built by Ordzhinikidze Yard Leningrad. All served with the Baltic Fleet.

  • P1 Pravda (Truth) - Launched 3 January 1934 - sunk off Hango, Finland, 17 September 1941
  • P2 Zvezda (Star) - Launched 1935 - Broken up 1956
  • P3 Iskra (Spark) - Launched 1934 - Broken up 1952

A fourth boat was planned but not laid down.

References
  1. http://www.russiafile.com/pravda.htm

Bibliography
  • Budzbon, Przemysław & Radziemski, Jan (2020). "The Beginnings of Soviet Naval Power". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2020. Oxford, UK: Osprey. pp. 82–101. ISBN 978-1-4728-4071-4.
  • Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946
  • Vladimir Yakubov and Richard Worth, Raising the Red Banner -2008 Spellmount ISBN 978-1-86227-450-1
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