The Soviet submarine S-363, a Whiskey-class submarine of the Baltic Fleet, became famous under the designation U 137 when it suffered the extreme embarrassment of having to surface in Swedish territorial waters after accidentally striking an underwater reef 6.2 miles from the main Swedish naval base at Karlskrona. The already damaged Soviet submarine’s misfortune had only just begun: the underwater collision occurred in the midst of a Swedish naval exercise, which was testing new equipment in the area. Swedish naval forces quickly responded to the apparent breach of sovereignty, demanding an explanation from the captain, who initially claimed that simultaneous navigation equipment failures had caused the vessel’s loss (despite the fact that the vessel had navigated with precision through a treacherous series of reefs, straits, and islands to get so close to the Swedish naval base). The Whiskey-class submarine incident became known as “Whisky on the Rocks.”
