US Army and Navy rescuing sunken Russian submarine

The former Russian submarine K-77, aka Juliett 484, had been operating as a museum in downtown Providence, RI since 2002 when it was swamped by a powerful storm that swept through the region on April 17, 2007. (Where the Russian sub used to be: The floating museum succumbs to the storm’s battering and sinks – Projo.com – April 18, 2007)

FOX News reporter Laura Ingle posted “Sunken Submarine Becomes Training Ground for Army and Navy Divers” on her blog, Laura’s Lowdown.

Regularly updated website of the salvage progress. Check out the recent photos of the Army and Navy divers’ efforts as well as some photos of the sub’s current predicament.

Approximately 35,000 tourists, school children and naval history enthusiasts have visited the submarine museum which is proposed to be part of the USS Saratoga Museum, an Air, Land, & Sea Heritage and Technology Park. This proposed major maritime heritage complex located in Rhode Island with the USS Saratoga is the vision of Frank Lennon (pictured right) “a native of Providence, a West Point graduate, and a former Green Beret Vietnam combat veteran. His corporate experience is in the airline and travel industries. After 20 years of running his own marketing business he opted for a career change, taking on the challenge of relocating the National Warplane Museum in New York. He returned to Rhode Island in late 1997 and shortly thereafter launched this museum effort.” (from the USS Saratoga Foundation, Inc. website.) Frank is also a Rhode Island Foundation Fellow and this is where I originally met him. Frank is a great guy with a big vision in a little state (Rhode Island) and that’s a good thing.

While the sub was certainly a significant part of the USS Saratoga Museum project, it will be interesting to see what the future holds.

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Technorati tags: Russian submarine, USS Saratoga, maritime heritage