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INS Kursura (S20) was
a Kalvari-class (variant
of
the Foxtrot-class)
diesel-electric submarine of
the Indian
Navy.
She
was
India's
fifth
submarine. Kursura was
commissioned
on
18
December
1969
and
was
decommissioned
on
27
February
2001
after
31
years
of
service.
She
participated
in
the Indo-Pakistani
War
of
1971,
where
she
played
a
key
role
in
patrol
missions.
She
later
participated
in
naval
exercises
with
other
nations
and
made
many
goodwill
visits
to
other
countries.
After
decommissioning,
It
was
dedicated
to
the
Nation
by
the
Chief
minister N.
Chandrababu
Naidu on
9
August
2002 and
was
preserved
as
a
museum
for
public
access
from
24
August
2002
making
its
final
journey
to Visakhapatnam on RK
Beach. Kursura has
the
distinction
of
being
one
of
the
very
few
submarine
museums
to
retain
originality
and
has
been
called
a
"must-visit
destination"
of
Visakhapatnam.
Despite
being
a
decommissioned
submarine,
she
still
receives
the
navy's
"Dressing
Ship"
honour,
which
is
usually
awarded
only
to
active
ships.
After
decommissioning,
the
ship
was
towed
to RK
Beach in Visakhapatnam and
was
established
as
a
museum
ship,
which
is
the
first
submarine
museum
in
South
Asia.
The
idea
of
the
boat's
conversion
to
a
museum
is
credited
to
Admiral
V
Pasricha. Towing
the
submarine
600 metres
to
its
final
location
took
18
months
and
cost ₹ 55 million.
It
was
converted
as
a
museum
by N.
Chandrababu
Naidu government
launching
from
9
August
2002,
and
it
was
open
to
the
public
from
24
August
2002. Six
retired
naval
personnel
serve
as
guides
and
another
one
as
the
curator.
Kursura has
the
distinction
of
being
one
of
the
very
few
submarine
museums
to
retain
originality.
She
has
become
a
famous
tourist
attraction
of
the
city
and
has
been
called
a
"must-visit
destination"
of
Visakhapatnam
by The
Hindu.
Out
of
the ₹ 10 million
revenue
generated
every
year
by
the
museum, ₹ 8 million
is
used
for
the
submarine's
maintenance.
During
the
first
four
months
of
the
museum's
operation,
it
was
visited
by
about
93,000
people. Daily
visitors
usually
range
between
500
and
600
and
shoot
up
to
1,500
during
the
tourist
season.
In
September
2007, Vice
Admiral Carol
M.
Pottenger of
the
United
States
Navy
visited
the
submarine
when
she
wrote
in
the
guestbook
"What
a
fantastic
experience.
The
Indian
Navy
should
be
very
proud
of
this
awesome
display".
She
said
that
the
submarine
was
very
well
preserved
and
they
did
not
have
anything
similar
to
it
in
the
United
States. A
major
overhaul
was
done
in
December
2007
to
repair
her
hull's
corrosion.
New
steel
plates
were
arranged
at
a
cost
of ₹ 1.5 million. As
of
August
2008,
about
1.5
million
people
had
visited
the
museum,
and
in
2010,
she
was
visited
by
270,000
people.
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