My visit to INS Kursura Submarine museum Visakhapatnam
You might have seen a submarine virtually, but have you ever seen a real one from inside? I did so on my visit to Visakhapatnam, when I went to RK beach to see the INS Kursura Submarine Museum. In this museum, we could enter the real submarine and see it from inside.
After passing through a long queue, I finally got a chance to enter the submarine. What a unique sight it was! It had complex machinery all around, like mines, sound reproduction equipment, exhaust flaps etc. It had 22 Torpedoes. Torpedoes are the weapons which submarines use to attack enemies.
I walked through the submarine and was surprised to see the arrangements inside. It was equipped with a kitchen, washrooms, washbasins, bedrooms- however, everything was really compact. Also, it had a lifelike mannequin doing various jobs like navigating the submarine and radio-controlling. I also saw how the crew of a submarine used to eat, sleep and follow their everyday routine inside the submarine.
Actually, this submarine used to be in the ocean, but they pulled it out and brought it to the shore. If you want to know how INS Kursura was brought to the shore from the ocean, read more about it. You must visit this marine vehicle to experience the thrill.
I was surprised to see that there was a flag on the submarine, but I wonder what would have happened to it when the submarine went under water!
After visiting this submarine, I watched some videos and made my own submarine using plastic bottles, batteries, motors etc. My submarine is almost ready but I need to add some more parts to keep it underwater.
Some facts about INS Kursura.
INS Kursura was the fourth submarine of the Indian Navy, and after decommissioning, it has been converted into a submarine museum on RK beach, Visakhapatnam.
1) It was made in the USSR and was brought to India on 8th December 1969.
2) It was in the service for 31 years.
3) It was a part of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 and played a key role in military engagement.
4) It is 300 ft long