The Pride of Visakhapatnam - The Submarine Museum

Visakhapatnam is a traveler's delight. There are so many various types of places to explore. If you visit all those places and miss the Submarine Museum alone, you cannot claim to have seen Vizag. Instead, if you visit this museum alone and omit the other locations, you can still claim to have visited Vizag. Come; let us explore the most critical site of Vizag, the Submarine Museum; we can call this the pride of Visakhapatnam. 

INS Kursura is the name of the submarine. It was constructed by Russia in 1969 and reached Vizag the very next year. Since then, it served for the Indian Navy. It has played a significant role many times, especially during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. After 31 years of service, it was decommissioned in 2001. It was brought to Vizag, converted into a museum, inaugurated on 9th August 2002 and ultimately opened to the public on 24th August 2002.

This is the first submarine museum in India and even in the whole of South East Asia. Also, it is the only museum of this kind to date in India. Chennai harbor has a decommissioned submarine, which could very well be converted into a museum. But unfortunately, that has not yet happened. 

One distinct feature of the museum is that it retains the originality of the functioning submarine. Also, it is well maintained. Even some of the submarine museums I have visited in the developed nations are no match for this.

Being the fourth submarine of India, Kursura belongs to the first generation submarine. The Dressing Ship honor has been extended for this decommissioned submarine to recognize its status and service during the war. During Republic Day every year, the National Flag and 52 official flags of the Indian Navy are hoisted on Kursura.

The weapons, control room, engines, torpedo tubes, the dining room, Sonar room, radar room, cabins, communication devices, hydro suits, radio receivers, crests, fuel level indicators and so many other materials/sections are at display. There are a total of six compartments in the entire submarine. Traversing through all these compartments gives us an excellent visual idea about the functioning of a submarine and its various vital parts. We also understand about the life of sailors inside a submarine and their hardships.

There are few items for display outside the submarine such as a reflector, battery cell, compressor, high-pressure air bottle, torpedo, and indicator buoy. 

Happy travelling.