Nuclear sub can be museum

13.07.2010 The Soviet Union's first nuclear submarine, K-3 – Leninski Komsomol, can be placed in the central harbor of Murmansk and serve as a museum.

It is the administration of Murmansk Oblast that has taken the initiative to preserve the first nuclear power submarine and re-build it to a museum open for the public. K-3 is currently laidup at the Nerpa shipyard northwest of Murmansk on the Kola Peninsula.

The plan is to tow the submarine to the central harbor of Murmansk and place it next to the icebreaker Lenin that today serves as a museum for the nuclear powered icebreaker fleet. Lenin was the world's first nuclear powered civilian surface vessel.

K-3, Leninski Komsomol was delivered to the Soviet northern fleet in December 1958. It was then based in Zapadnaya Litsa on the coast of the Kola Peninsula. The submarine was later on re-located to the Gremikha naval base where it was based until it was taken out of operation in the 80ties.

According to estimates made by the Nerpa naval yard, it will cost some 500 million rubles to convert the submarine into a museum, reports newsland.ru.