Submarines of the Tsarist Navy: A Pictorial History [Hardcover]

I. D. Spassky (Editor), V. P. Semyonov (Editor), Norman Polmar (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1998

From the turn of the century through the 1917 revolution, Russian submarine design and construction underwent its own revolution. This book captures that critical stage of submarine development in a series of extremely rare and historic photos, many never before published in the West. Straight from the Russian State Naval Archives, the Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering Rubin, and private collections, these images take the reader to the shipyards, ports, and icy Baltic and Black Sea waters of tsarist Russia to reveal the world's largest submarine fleet prior to World War I. They show the submarines under construction, being launched, on trials, being armed and provisioned, and, later, being abandoned. Drawings of the boats' interiors and photos of their designers are also provided. The editors, I. D. Spassky and V. P. Semyonov, both veteran submarine designers, provide a fascinating historical profile of this pivotal period that saw sixty-nine submarines join the fleet in fifteen years. The book also includes detailed tables of specifications, propulsion, and armament, as well as operational highlights for each submarine - from the twenty-man Delfin of 1903, which made five knots submerged and carried two torpedoes, to the twenty-boat Bars class of 1915-17, which made eight and a half knots submerged and carried twelve torpedoes and a complement of thirty-three.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 94 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507716
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507716
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,221,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is exactly what it says it is, December 10, 2004

By 

Y. Khusid (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Submarines of the Tsarist Navy: A Pictorial History (Hardcover)

This book is exactly what it says it is - a pictorial history. It consists of pictures, drawings, accompanying comments and really not much more. After about 2-3 pages of introductory text it goes right into showing you the photos you will not find anywhere, but in this book or russian navy archives. There are photos of every type of submarine in the tsarist army shown, in fact I think there is one photo for every submarine built for the tsarist navy. In addition for every type of a submarine, a submarine's drawing showing its layout is included. Every type of a submarine is briefly described including technical specs, submarines built and their end. Overall it's a must have for people interested in submarine history as well as Russian navy of that period. I would recommend buying another book along with this, which will tell you in detail about operations and detailed history of the submarines pictured. I am planning to get "Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990", which looks very promising in that respect. Enjoy your book!