Yugo-class submarine explained

The Yugo-class submarine is a class of four midget submarines used primarily for infiltration and espionage by North Korea. The Yugo class was given its name because it was built to plans supplied to North Korea by Yugoslavia in 1965.^[1]

Design

The Yugo class is a family of midget submarines that are not all identical. The displacement is either the standard 90 tons of the original Yugoslavian design for the early units or 110 tons for the later units. Armament is either a pair of torpedo tubes (early units) or a pair of short torpedo tubes (later units).

All units have the same range: 550nmi at 10kn on the surface and at submerged.

History

The final vessel was built in the 1980s, after which they were superseded by the s. On 12 June 1998, one out of six submarines was captured by the South Koreans.^{[1] [2]}

In the early 2000s, Vietnam "gained experience" with these craft prior to ordering Russian diesel-electric submarines for denial of area capabilities, specifically against China's fleet per the Foreign Policy Research Institute.^[3]

In March 2016, it was announced that the North Korean Navy had lost one of the ships during exercises.^{[4] [5] [6]}

Operators

• ^[7]
• : Purchased in 1997.^[1] These were used by Vietnam People's Navy for swimmer delivery operations aside from conventional submarine operations.^[1] The purchase was done by bartering.^[8] Kim Jong-il personally approved of the delivery to make amends for not paying Vietnam for purchasing 20,000 tons of rice.^[9]
• Cuba: Classified as a 'Delfin-class submarine' and is rumored to have either been built in North Korea or locally assembled in Cuba with North Korean assistance.^{[10] [11]}

See also

• , Yugoslav midget submarines

Notes and References

1. Web site: SSM Yugo and P-4 class (Midget Submarine) (SSW). December 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151226195501/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/dprk/s-yugo.htm. 2015-12-26.
2. Web site: How a North Korean Spy Submarine's Mechanical Meltdown Ended in Shocking Tragedy. Sebastien. Roblin. March 18, 2017. The National Interest.
3. Web site: Building from Scratch: Rebirth of the Philippine Navy – Foreign Policy Research Institute. www.fpri.org.
4. News: North Korea has reportedly lost a submarine. 14 March 2016. CBS News. Reuters. 14 March 2016.
5. News: North Korea submarine 'missing' as US-South Korea drills continue. 14 March 2016. BBC. 12 March 2016.
6. News: Payton. Matt. North Korean submarine that went missing is believed to have sunk, new reports claim. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/north-korean-submarine-that-went-missing-is-believed-to-have-sunk-new-reports-claim-a6928616.html . 2022-05-07 . subscription . live. 14 March 2016. The Independent. 13 March 2016.
7. Web site: 38 NORTH SPECIAL REPORT: A NEW EMPHASIS ON OPERATIONS AGAINST SOUTH KOREA . 11 June 2010 . www.38north.org . 2021-07-21.
8. Web site: Russian Subs in Vietnam. August 20, 2012.
9. Web site: The colorful history of North Korea-Vietnam relations | NK News – North Korea News. March 31, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150331053558/https://www.nknews.org/2013/08/the-colorful-history-of-north-korea-vietnam-relations/. 2015-03-31.
10. Web site: H I Sutton - Covert Shores.
11. Web site: New Photos Reveal Details of Cuba's Tiny, Lethal Attack Submarine . 17 May 2021 .