U-434 submarine

U-434 submarine, Hamburg - darkometer rating : 3 - A Russian submarine, used by the Soviet navy during the Cold War on spying missions, now permanently moored as a floating museum in the harbour of Hamburg . > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: Current tourist brochures in Hamburg advertise the U-434 as "one of the largest submarines in the world" – which is only true, though, if you add: of those that are/were conventionally powered. Nuclear powered submarines are usually much, much bigger. The U-434 is nowhere near the huge size of, say, the "Kursk" or the " Le Redoutable ". It belongs to a type of submarine code-named "Tango Class" by NATO during the Cold War . Its total length of 300 feet / 90m sounds like a lot, but inside it's still as typically cramped and claustrophobic as you'd expect, e.g. from having seen movies like "Das Boot" ('the boat'). The vessel was built in the mid 1970s and only decommissioned in 2002, when it was bought by a German enthusiast. Before it could be turned into the private museum it is today, it had to be 'de-militarized' by the Russian navy, i.e. significant portions of (presumably sensitive) electronic gear were removed, weaponry disarmed and so on. Still, much of the interior of the submarine is in its original state. But why is it listed here as part of dark tourism? Well, the 'dark' attraction lies in the fact that the U-434 allows you to glimpse into a formerly secret world, a glimpse behind the former Iron Curtain , as it were. After all, this vessel was an active participant in the Cold War, and a highly secretive one at that: spying missions included forays right up the coast of the USA .