333 
ment throughout the 1960’s which has yet to be even remotely chal- 
lenged by the Soviet Union, which has continued to invest the bulk 
of its undersea technology resources in the development of advanced 
nuclear submarines.'* 
OPERATIONAL SUBMERSIBLES 
Since the early 1960’s, the Soviet Union has developed about 15 
manned and unmanned types of undersea research vehicles. During 
the same period, the United States and other Western countries 
developed more than 60 such vehicles. In terms of technological so- 
phistication and depth and operational capabilities, Soviet vehicles 
have not been particularly impressive by Western standards. The major 
characteristics of Soviet manned and unmanned submersibles are sum- 
marized in tables | and 2. 
14 Shenton, E. H. Diving for Science. op. cit. 
TABLE 1.— Operational Soviet manned submersibles and submarines 
[1957 to present] 
: Year Depth 
Vehicle Sponsor developed _ capability Crew Status and comments 
Severs oY PINRO,? ' 1957 600 (m) 1 Operational; tethered 
Murmansk. observation cham- 
ber; several variants 
; believed developed. 
GyvidonS? 5... 2.4 & VNIRO,2 1970 250 2 Operational; semi- 
Moscow autonomous, unteth- 
ered observation 
chamber. 
Atlant-I______________- _AtlantNIRO,3 1963 100 1 Restored for further 
Moscow. _ | use. 
Atlant-II (also known BO ee name 1972 100 2 Operational; improved 
as ‘‘Tetis”). { variant of Atlant-I. 
MEVEIOI 5. es PINRO, 1969 2000: 3-4 Operational; conven- 
Murmansk. tional, self-propelled 
é submersible. 
sHinto-Wy_ == TINRO,* _ 1973 300-400 2: | Operational; self- 
Vladivostok. propelled submer- 
: sible. 
OSA-3-600 (2 _VNIRO, 1975 600 3\ Operational; self- 
models). Moscow. propelled diving 
, saucer. 
Pisces (possibly 3 IOAN, 5 1975 600 3. One vehicle pur- 
models). _ Moscow. chased from Canada 
in 1975; possibly two 
more on order; self- 
propelled submersi- 
ble. 
Anguse 32 leaOirit | IOANZII S27 OE 1975 600 3 Undergoing testing. 
Severyanka___________ VNIRO, 1958 200 60 | Decommissioned 
Moscow. (6 scientists) around 1967: con- 
verted diesel 
submarine. 
Vega (possibly 2) ______ Soviet Navy (hydro- 1970 ? ? Status and specifica- 
_ graphic surface). tions unknown. 
Unnamed _____________ Soviet Navy__________. 1972 200+ 8 divers | Operational; con- 
1 PINRO -— Polar Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography. 
? VNIRO-— All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography. 
verted diesel sub- 
marine used for diver 
lockout missions. 
$ AtlantNIRO-— Atlantic Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography. 
4TINRO-—Pacific Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography. 
5 IOAN — Institute of Oceanology, Academy of Sciences, USSR. 
