Yugo-class submarine

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Class overview
NameYugo class
Builders shipyard[1]
OperatorsSee Operators
Succeeded bySang-O class
In commissionLate 1960s
Completed8
Active4
Lost3
Retired1
Preservednone
General characteristics
Typemidget submarine
Displacement90 up to 110 tons (submerged)
Length20 m
Beam2 m
PropulsionSingle-shaft MTU diesel engine
Speed
  • 10 knots (19 km/h) surfaced
  • 4 knots (7.4 km/h) submerged
RangeUnable to reach the southern extreme of South Korea
Capacity4–6 Special forces troops
ArmamentSome armed with two 21-inch (530 mm) torpedoes, possibly in drop collars.
NotesFirst successful indigenous midget submarine

The Yugo class submarine is a class of four midget submarines used primarily for infiltration and espionage by North Korea. The Yugo class was given its name because it was built to plans supplied to North Korea by Yugoslavia in 1965.[2]

Design[]

The Yugo-class is a family of midget submarines which are not all identical. The displacement is either the standard 90 tons of the original Yugoslavian design for the early units, or 110 tons for the later units. Armament is either a pair of 400 mm torpedo tubes (early units) or a pair of 21 in (533mm) short torpedo tubes (later units).[citation needed]

All units have the same range: 550 nautical miles (1,020 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h) on the surface and 50 nautical miles (93 km) at 4 knots (7.4 km/h) submerged.[citation needed]

History[]

The final vessel was built in the 1980s, after which they were superseded by the Sang-O-class submarines. On June 12, 1998, one out of six submarines was captured by the South Koreans.[2][3]

In the early 2000s, Vietnam "gained experience" with these craft prior to ordering Russian Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines for denial of area capabilities, specifically against China's fleet per the Foreign Policy Research Institute.[4]

In March 2016, it was announced that the North Korean Navy had lost one of the ships during exercises.[5][6][7]

Operators[]

  •  North Korea[8]
  •  Vietnam: Purchased in 1997.[2] These were used for swimmer delivery operations aside from conventional submarine operations.[2] The purchase was done by bartering.[9] Kim Jong-il personally approved of the delivery to make amends for not paying Vietnam for purchasing 20,000 tons of rice.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ "North Korea – Military Industry". www.globalsecurity.org.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "SSM Yugo and P-4 class (Midget Submarine) (SSW)". web.archive.org. December 26, 2015.
  3. ^ Roblin, Sebastien (March 18, 2017). "How a North Korean Spy Submarine's Mechanical Meltdown Ended in Shocking Tragedy". The National Interest.
  4. ^ "Building from Scratch: Rebirth of the Philippine Navy – Foreign Policy Research Institute". www.fpri.org.
  5. ^ "North Korea has reportedly lost a submarine". CBS News. Reuters. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  6. ^ "North Korea submarine 'missing' as US-South Korea drills continue". BBC. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  7. ^ Payton, Matt (13 March 2016). "North Korean submarine that went missing is believed to have sunk, new reports claim". The Independent. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  8. ^ "38 NORTH SPECIAL REPORT: A NEW EMPHASIS ON OPERATIONS AGAINST SOUTH KOREA" (PDF). www.38north.org. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  9. ^ "Russian Subs in Vietnam". August 20, 2012.
  10. ^ "The colorful history of North Korea-Vietnam relations | NK News – North Korea News". web.archive.org. March 31, 2015.


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