17:05 K-19 Submarine Tragedy Caused by Lack of Knowledge

PRAVDA.Ru ^ | Dec, 11 2002 | Alexander Pokrovsky

[Jasonconley]

The presentation of the American blockbuster “K-19. The Widowmaker” is over. The movie starring Harrison Ford has been shown in cinemas across Russia. It seems that almost all Russian and Soviet submariners accept the certain rough edges of its plot. The word “almost” is an important in this sentence. The controversy continues.

[martin_fierro]

K-19 was one of the few movies that I didn't feel like a schmuck for having shelled out $$ to have seen.

I thought it showed the Soviet sailors' honorable-though-misguided dedication to a political system that clearly didn't give a damn about them.

[struwwelpeter]

K-19 was a good movie, though Harrison Ford makes an awful Russian. It was not the only fatal Soviet nuke sub accident, nor the worst:

K-8

The first accident involving a Soviet nuclear submarine involved the Project 627 A - November class vessel K-8, which sank in the Bay of Biscay on April 8, 1970 while returning from the exercise OKEAN.

Two fires started simultaneously in both the third (central) and eighth compartments. The submarine surfaced, but the crew was unable to extinguish the fires. The reactor emergency systems kicked in, leaving the submarine with virtually no power. The auxiliary diesel generators could not be started either. The control room and all the neighbouring compartments were filled with fumes from the fire. Air was pumped into the aft most main ballast tanks in an attempt to keep the vessel afloat.

By April 10, the air tanks had been emptied, and water began to flow into the seventh and eighth compartments. On the evening of April 10, part of the crew was evacuated to an escorting ship.

On the morning of April 11 at 06:20, the submarine sank at a depth of 4680 metres following a loss of stability in pitch. Fifty two people died, including the captain of the vessel. Details of this accident were kept secret until 1991.

K-219

In October 1986, the strategic nuclear submarine K-219 (Project 667 A - Yankee class) sank in the Atlantic ocean north of Bermuda with ballistic missiles on board after an explosion in one of the missile tubes. The explosion caused a leak in the fourth compartment (missile compartment). Steam and smoke from the missile fuel began to stream out of the damaged missile tube. At the time of the explosion, only one of the vessel's two reactors was running.

The submarine surfaced and the other reactor was started up. Despite the fact that water was beginning to come in, a fire broke out in the fourth compartment. A short in the electrical system tripped off one of the submarine's emergency systems. One life was lost in the struggle to lower the control rods. Though still in a surfaced position, the buoyancy of the submarine was steadily impaired when water filled the main ballast tank.

When the second reactor broke down, the crew was transferred to a rescue vessel. The captain and nine crew members remained in the conning tower, but when the bow began to sink, they were obliged to abandon ship. On October 6, at 11:03, the submarine sank with a loss of four lives.

The reason for the explosion in the missile tube is unclear. There are two theories of how the accident happened: a defect in the missile tube itself or a fire that broke out following a collision with an American submarine. The submarine had two nuclear reactors and carried 16 nuclear missiles.

K-278 (Komsomolets)

In April, 1989, the nuclear submarine K-278, Komsomolets, (Project 685 - Mike class) sank in the Norwegian Sea following a fire. Komsomolets was a unique titanium-hulled submarine that could dive to depths of 1000 metres.

On the morning of April 7, 1989, the vessel was on the way back to her base at Zapadnaya Litsa, positioned at a depth of 160m approximately 180km south of Bear Island. At 11:03 the alarm sounded due to a fire in the seventh compartment. Eleven minutes after the fire had broken out, the vessel surfaced. However, the fire had caused short circuits in the electrical system which set off the reactor's emergency systems. The fire was so fierce that a leak was sprung in the compressed air system, and this led in turn to a spreading of the fire.

Attempts by the crew to extinguish the flames were futile. The submarine lost power, and finally ran out of compressed air. By 17:00, the leak had worsened, and the submarine lost buoyancy and stability. The crew began to be evacuated into life rafts, but there were not enough rafts. The life rafts that were lowered were too far away for the crew to reach. At 17:08, the submarine sank at a depth of 1685 meters, with a loss of 41 lives and her commander.

The Aleksandr Khlobystsov which came to the rescue after 81 minutes took aboard 25 survivors and 5 fatalities. The exact cause of the fire is unknown. One speculation is that the concentration of oxygen in the seventh compartment was too high, setting off short circuits in the electrical system.

The nuclear submarine Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea on April 7, 1989, south of Bear Island. The submarine sank with its reactor and two nuclear warheads on board, and lies at a depth of 1 685 metres.

It has also been asserted that shortly before the accident, the vessel had completed a test that indicated it was not seaworthy. Others claim that K-278's crew was not qualified to serve on the Komsomolets.

And then, of course, the Kursk:

[struwwelpeter]

Here's a page of nice sub pictures.

[TeleStraightShooter]

"A reactor compartment always had fresh air in, because it was ionized with radiation. It often happened that an officer, who preferred to sleep in a reactor compartment, would lose his eyesight, but it would happen only later...."

[Mr. C]

Wasn't the K-219 the subject of an HBO movie which, naturally, blamed the United States for causing the disaster to begin with? I remember Martin Sheen playing the role as the Boat's (American) Commander and portrayed him as being on the verge of a nervous breakdown....Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Hanging Chad]

God Bless the sailors of our own Thresher and Scorpion.

[ArrogantBustard]

K-219 was the subject of a book titled Hostile Waters, which suggests that some rather rash conduct on the part of a US submarine skipper may have prevented the Russkis salvaging the boat. I believe the US Navy officially denies such.

[bribriagain]

I served on board the USS Dace, SSN 607, a Thresher class sub.

[Hanging Chad]

Then God Bless you, too !

[Mr. C]

Thanks, now I remember the title. All I remember about the mivie was that it really pissed me off that as usual the swine in the entertainment industry blamed the United States for the catastrophe. From what I remember, both from interviews with Sub Commanders, the men of the service and otehrs is that these guys impressed me as being cool customers who were/are consummate professionals at what they do. I've always felt that the Movie was an insult to the brave men of the American Submarine force.

Some one should Nuke Hollywood....Sorry, just kidding!

[ArrogantBustard]

The book sort of fairly presents both the Russian claim that the US skipper was a hotdogging jerk, and the US claim that he was a responsible professional. I didn't see the movie. I don't buy HBO. It's a matter of policy: I don't pay good money for dreck.

[struwwelpeter]

I think the Soviets/Russians had no one to blame but themselves. They may have expected a break, but the sea makes her own rules and accepts no excuses. Mistakes are not tolerated.

Bless all who go down to the sea in ships. And boats.

[Voronin]

That's odd. I've got K-13, The 'Coffee Maker' outside my office...

As far as I can remember, K-13 was recomissioned and called (officially/un-?) the Hiroshima. Just finished Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 'Das Boot'. You must read it if you haven't (the film seriously rocks too).

VRN

[r9etb]

The really interesting thing about this article is how slipshod the Russians were, and how cavalier they were about the lives of their sailors.

You can get away with that in a surface ship, I suppose, but once you enter a punishing environment, the margins start to get mighty narrow.

Another interesting thing: the Russians weren't stupid, obviously, but they were apparently more concerned about launching something -- anything -- than they were about doing it right. They were willing to trade lives for results. IOW, it indicates that the USSR considered itself seriously to be at war with us -- something that the apologists never seemed to understand (or admit).