# Bars-class submarine (1915)

The Bars class were a group of submarines built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. A total of 24 boats were built between 1914 and 1917. A number of them saw action during the First World War, and three were lost in the conflict. The surviving boats were taken over by the Soviets after the Bolshevik Revolution and a number of them remained in service until the 1930s.

## Design

The Bars-class submarines were ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy under their 1912 construction programme. 24 boats were ordered; 12 for the Baltic Fleet, six for the Black Sea, and six for the Siberian flotilla. The Baltic Fleet units were built at the Baltic Yard, St. Petersburg, and the Noblessner Yard, Reval (now Tallinn). The Black Sea units were built at Nikolayev, at the Baltic and the Naval Yards. The Siberian units were also built in the Baltic, but the outbreak of the First World War made their transfer impossible, and they were reassigned to the Baltic Fleet in 1915.
These boats were designed by Ivan Bubnov and based on the preceding Morzh class. They were single-hulled, but like the Morzh boats lacked internal bulkheads. The Morzh design was enlarged with more powerful engines, a larger torpedo armament, and larger guns.
As designed the boats were to have two 900 horsepower (670 kW) electric and two 2,640 bhp (1,970 kW) diesel engines, but a shortage of these diesels meant the boats had a variety of machinery fitted. Only Kuguar and Zmeya had the diesels originally intended for them. This and greater than expected hull resistance left them with lower than intended underwater speeds.
The gun armament too was problematic; the intended armament was one 63-millimetre (2.5 in) and one 37 mm (1.5 in) gun, but this too, varied according to availability. Three units (Bars, Vepr, and Volk) carried two 63 mm guns, while four others had an additional 75 mm gun. The Black Sea boats had one 75 mm and one 37 mm gun.
The torpedo armament comprised four internal 18-inch (460 mm) torpedo tubes and eight external torpedoes in drop collars mounted in recessed niches low in the hull. Trials with Bars and Vepr showed these to be unsuitable and subsequent vessels had the niches and drop-collars moved to the upper deck; Bars and Vepr were later refitted to this pattern, before their ultimate complete removal.
The design had numerous shortcomings, including a lack of internal bulkheads and a slow diving time. Surviving boats were modernized after the Russian Civil War by installing bulkheads, new diesels, pumps and extra torpedo tubes (the external drop collars were removed).
* Vepr, showing the original low mounting of the external torpedoes
* Volk in 1916 showing the re-positioned external torpedo mountings
* Pantera in 1916–1917 with external torpedoes removed
* Ersh, showing minelaying tubes at stern

## Service history

The Baltic Fleet units saw action during the First World War and made numerous war patrols in the Baltic, despite being limited by the short operating season. In the 1915 ice-free season they targeted German warships but with little success, these being generally fast and well-protected. In the 1916 and 1917 seasons they were employed attacking German iron-ore shipments along the Swedish coast, though again with little success, due to the restrictions imposed by Swedish neutrality.
Three vessels (Bars, Lvitsa and Gepard) were lost in action. Two (Edinorog and Ugor) were lost in marine accidents and two (Forel and Yaz)were left unfinished. Another two (Kuguar and Vepr) were designated as training units. With the onset of the Bolshevik Revolution and the start of the Russian Civil War the surviving units in the Baltic were taken over by the Soviets and saw some action against Allied Intervention forces; in 1919 Pantera sank the British destroyer Vittoria.
The Black Sea units were unfinished during World War I and were seized by the German occupation forces before being surrendered to the Allies and the White Russian forces of General Wrangel. With the end of the Civil War the surviving Bars-class vessels remained in service until the 1930s before being discarded.

## Ships

Baltic Fleet :
| Ship | Namesake | Builder | Launch date | Service/Fate |
| Bars БАРС | (Leopard) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 2 June 1915 | Lost May 1917; cause unknown |
| Gepard ГЕПАРД | (Cheetah) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 2 June 1915 | Sunk 28 October 1917 |
| Kuguar КУГУАР | (Cougar) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 1916 | Hulked 1922 |
| Leopard ЛЕОПАРД | (Leopard) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 1916 | Renamed Krasnoarmeets. Hulked 1936 |
| Lvitsa ЛЬВИЦА | (Lioness) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 23 October 1915 | Sunk 11 June 1917 |
| Pantera ПАНТЕРА | (Panther) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 26 April 1916 | Sank British destroyer HMS Vittoria off the island of Seiskari during the British Intervention in Russia. Aksel Berg was navigating officer at the time. The ship was renamed Komissar and converted to a harbour training ship 1941 |
| Rys РЫСЬ | (Lynx) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 1916 | Renamed Bolshevik, sunk in an accident 13 September 1935 |
| Tigr ТИГР | (Tiger) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 18 September 1915 | Renamed Kommunar, broken up 1936 |
| Tur ТУР | (Aurochs) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 1916 | Renamed Tovarich, stricken in 1936 |
| Vepr ВЕПРЬ | (Wild Boar) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 1915 | Hulked 1922 |
| Volk ВОЛК | (Wolf) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 1915 | Stricken 1936 |
| Yaguar ЯГУАР | (Jaguar) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 1916 | Renamed Krasnoflotets. Stricken 1936 |
Black Sea Fleet :
| Ship | Namesake | Builder | Launch Date | Service/Fate |
| Burevestnik БУРЕВЕСТНИК | (Petrel) | Naval Yard, Nikolayev | 1916 | Seized by the Germans as SM US-1 and transferred to the White Russian forces in 1918, interned in Bizerte with Wrangel's fleet and scrapped 1924 |
| Gagara ГАГАРА | (Loon/Diver) | Baltic (Admiralty) Yard, Nikolayev | 7 October 1916 | Seized by the Germans as US 4 and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Lebed ЛЕБЕДЬ | (Swan) | Naval Yard, Nikolayev | 1917 | Seized by the Germans and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Orlan ОРЛАН | (Sea eagle) | Naval Yard, Nikolayev | 1916 | Seized by the Germans as US 2 and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Pelikan ПЕЛИКАН | (Pelican) | Naval Yard, Nikolayev | September 1917 | Seized by the Germans and scuttled 26 April 1919 |
| Utka УТКА | (Duck) | Baltic (Admiralty) Yard, Nikolayev | 1916 | Seized by the Germans as US 3 and transferred to the White Russian forces in 1918, interned in Bizerte and scrapped 1924 |
Siberian Flotilla (served at Baltic Fleet) :
| Ship | Namesake | Builder | Launch Date | Service/Fate |
| Edinorog ЕДИНОРОГ | (Unicorn) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 1916 | Sunk 25 February 1918. Wreck found on 28 May 2009 by the Estonian Maritime Museum in the northern part of the Gulf of Finland. |
| Zmeya ЗМЕЯ | (Serpent) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 1916 | Renamed Proletariy, sunk in an accident 22 May 1931 |
| Ugor УГОРЬ | (Eel) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 1916 | Sunk 27 March 1920 |
| Yaz ЯЗЬ | (Ide/Orfe) | Noblessner Yard, Reval | 1917? | Never commissioned. Used by Kommuna for training purposes. Stricken 1922 |
| Erzh ЕРШ | (Ruffe) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 1917? | Converted to minelayer Sunk in an accident 22 May 1931 |
| Forel ФОРЕЛЬ | (Trout) | Baltic Shipyard, St. Petersburg | 1916 | Converted to minelayer Stricken 1922 |