“Question: How do you tell a sailor from the Northern Fleet [where a lot of Russia's SSN and SSBN fleet is located].
Answer: They glow in the dark.”
The radiation shielding around the reactors on many Soviet-era Northern Fleet SSN and SSBN boats was very bad. The boats would typically deploy for shortened patrols to reduce the chances of radiation poisoning for their crews.
Since the USN went nuclear in 1954 with the launch of USS NAUTILUS (SSN-571), there have been only two major accidents were boats were lost at sea: 1) USS THRESHER (SSN-593) [lost April 19, 1963] and USS SCORPION (SSN-589) [lost June 5, 1968].
The Soviets/Russians have lost six boats to date:
* K-27: The only Project 645 submarine, it was irreparably damaged by a reactor accident (control rod failure) on May 24, 1968. 9 were killed in the reactor accident. After shutting down the reactor and sealing the compartment, the Soviet Navy scuttled her in shallow water [108 ft (33 m)] in the Kara Sea on September 6, 1982, contrary to the recommendation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
* K-8: A Project 627 November class submarine was lost April 11, 1970, while being towed in rough seas following a fire on board. The submarine was initially evacuated, but 52 crew reembarked for the towing operation. All hands on board were lost when the boat foundered, but 73 crewmen survived on the rescue vessel. Location: Bay of Biscay, 490 kilometers (260 nmi) northwest of Spain in the Atlantic Ocean.
* K-219: A Project 667A Yankee I class sub was damaged by a missile explosion October 3, 1986, then sank suddenly while being towed after all surviving crewmen had transferred off. 6 crew members were killed. Location: 950 kilometers (510 nmi) east of Bermuda in the North Atlantic Ocean.
* K-278 Komsomolets: The only Mike-class sub built sank due to a raging fire April 7, 1989. All but 5 crewmen evacuated prior to sinking. 42 perished, many from smoke inhalation and exposure to the cold waters of the Barents Sea. A total of 27 crew members survived.
* K-429: This Soviet submarine sank twice, but was raised after each incident.
* K-141 Kursk: The Oscar II class sub sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000, after an explosion in the torpedo compartment. All 118 men on board were lost. However, all except the destroyed bow section was later salvaged.
* K-159: The hulk of the decommissioned Soviet-era November class submarine sank in the Barents Sea on August 28, 2003, when a storm ripped away the pontoons necessary to keep it afloat under tow. 9 men perished in the accident.
The K-19 was a really bad one. There’s a mournful Russian navy ballad that was written about it.