VMRDA INS Kursura Submarine Museum
The INS Kursura Submarine Museum in Visakhapatnam is India’s first submarine museum, created by permanently beaching the decommissioned Soviet-built submarine S20 INS Kursura on Ramakrishna Beach. Opened in 2002, the museum allows visitors to walk through the actual interior of a Cold War-era submarine, offering a rare and vivid encounter with naval history and the realities of undersea warfare. It is one of the most visited heritage attractions on India’s eastern coast.
At a glance
- Type
- Naval museum — decommissioned submarine open for public visits
- Period
- INS Kursura (S20) commissioned 1969; decommissioned 2001; museum opened 2002
- Style
- Soviet Kalvari-class (Foxtrot class) submarine displayed on beach
- Location
- Ramakrishna Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Coordinates
- 17.7172° N, 83.3279° E
Overview
INS Kursura (S20) was a Kalvari-class (Soviet Foxtrot-class) diesel-electric submarine that served the Indian Navy for over three decades. Following decommissioning in 2001, the Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) sponsored its conversion into a public museum on Ramakrishna Beach, making Visakhapatnam — a major Indian naval base — home to a unique naval heritage landmark. The submarine lies on its side on the beach, fitted with walkways and lighting to enable safe visitor access through its compartments.
History
INS Kursura was built at the Sudarmash shipyard in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and commissioned into the Indian Navy on 18 December 1969 as part of India’s Cold War-era naval expansion. The submarine participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, during which it conducted patrols in the Arabian Sea. Over its operational life, it covered more than 72,000 nautical miles. After 31 years of service, it was decommissioned in February 2001. The VMRDA project to beach and convert the vessel into a museum was completed rapidly, and the museum opened to the public in 2002, fulfilling a dual purpose of heritage preservation and public education about the Indian Navy.
What you see
Visitors enter through the conning tower and are guided through the submarine’s successive compartments: the torpedo room with its launch tubes, the officers’ wardroom, the control room with its navigation and diving controls, the engine room with its diesel and electric motors, and the crew quarters where the realities of submarine life — extreme confinement, narrow bunks, and minimal space — become immediately apparent. Interpretive panels in English and Telugu explain the function of each area and the history of the vessel and its crew. On the exterior, plaques commemorate the submarine’s service record and the Indo-Pakistani War operations.
Cultural significance
The INS Kursura museum is a rare example of adaptive heritage preservation for a military vessel in India, transforming a Cold War instrument of war into a public educational resource. It records a significant chapter in the Indian Navy’s history and the technological transfer relationship between India and the Soviet Union during the non-alignment era. For Visakhapatnam — India’s largest naval base city — the museum reinforces a distinctive civic identity centred on maritime heritage.
Practical information
- Address
- Ramakrishna Beach, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530002, India
- Opening hours
- Check VMRDA or official tourism sources for current times; typically open daily except certain public holidays
- Admission
- Paid entry; nominal fee
Getting there
Visakhapatnam (Vizag) is served by Visakhapatnam Airport with domestic and limited international flights, and by Visakhapatnam Railway Station on the Howrah–Chennai main line. Ramakrishna Beach is located approximately 7 km from the railway station and is accessible by local bus, auto-rickshaw, and taxi. The beach road (Beach Road) runs directly along the seafront past the museum.