The four ocean-going Russian submarines which passed through the Straits of Dover last week are en route to join the United Arab Republic fleet, informed British sources reported today. They said the submersibles are among the most modern in the world.
The four W-class underwater craft were reported accompanied by a submarine depot ship. They have a surface displacement of 2,000 tons, a submerged speed of 16 knots and an operational range of more than 20,000 miles. The British Admiralty reportedly was maintaining watch on the passage of the vessels.
The British sources stressed that Egypt has already received four similar submarines, as well as two 2,000-ton Skoryi destroyers and four minesweepers, under the 1955 arms pact with Czechoslovakia. With eight modern ocean-going submarines, the British experts claimed, Egypt has become a real menace for shipping.
The British sources said they had no information on whether the four new submarines would join the first four in Alexandria harbor, or whether some or all would be stationed in the Syrian port of Latakia or in the Gulf of Akaba. They pointed out that because of their unusual range, the submarines could exercise powerful control over the entire Mediterranean Sea.
The fact that the submarines are ocean-going led the British experts to believe they were destined for the Gulf of Akaba and the Persian Gulf. They added that while Russian technicians were on the submarines, part of the crews were Egyptian.
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