Water and cold. Darkness.
And somewhere from above there was a knock of metal.
I have no strength to say: we are here, here …
Hope is gone, I'm tired of waiting.
The bottomless ocean keeps its secrets securely. Somewhere out there, under the dark arches of the waves lie the wreckage of thousands of ships, each of which has its own unique fate and history of tragic death.
In 1963, the thickness of sea water crushed the most modern American submarine "Thresher" … Half a century ago, it was hard to believe in this - the invincible Poseidon, who drew strength from the flame of a nuclear reactor, capable of circling the globe without a single ascent, turned out to be weak as a worm in front of the onslaught of the ruthless elements.
"We have a positive increasing angle … We are trying to blow … 900 … north" - the last message from the Thresher cannot convey all the horror that the dying submariners experienced. Who could have imagined that a two-day test trip accompanied by the rescue tug Skylark could end in such a disaster?
The reason for the death of "Thresher" remains a mystery. The main hypothesis: when immersed to the maximum depth, water entered the strong hull of the boat - the reactor was automatically drowned out, and the submarine without progress fell into the abyss, taking with it 129 human lives.
USS Tresher rudder blade (SSN-593)
Soon the terrible story continued - the Americans lost another nuclear-powered ship with a crew: in 1968, it disappeared in the Atlantic without a trace. multipurpose nuclear submarine "Scorpion".
Unlike the Thresher, with which underwater communication was maintained until the last second, the Scorpion's death was complicated by the lack of any clear idea of the coordinates of the crash site. An unsuccessful search continued for five months until the Yankees deciphered data from deep-sea stations of the SOSUS system (a network of US Navy hydrophone buoys for tracking Soviet submarines) - on the recordings of May 22, 1968, a loud bang was found, similar to the destruction of the durable hull of a submarine. Further, by the method of triangulation, the approximate location of the lost boat was restored.
USS Scorpion wreckage (SSN-589). Deformations are visible from the monstrous water pressure (30 tons / square meter)
The Scorpion wreck was found at a depth of 3000 meters in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, 740 km southwest of the Azores. The official version associates the death of the boat with the detonation of the torpedoes' ammunition load (almost like the Kursk!). There is a more exotic legend according to which the Scorpion was sunk by the Russians in revenge for the death of the K-129.
The mystery of the Scorpion's sinking still haunts the minds of sailors - in November 2012, the United States Navy's Veteran Submarine Organization proposed launching a new investigation to establish the truth about the sinking of the American submarine.
Less than 48 hours later, the wreckage of the American "Scorpion" sank to the seabed, a new tragedy happened in the ocean. On experimental nuclear submarine K-27 The Soviet Navy got out of control of a reactor with a liquid metal coolant. A nightmarish unit, in whose veins molten lead was boiling, "dirtied" all compartments with radioactive emissions, the crew received terrible doses of radiation, 9 submariners died from acute radiation sickness. Despite a severe radiation accident, Soviet sailors managed to bring the boat to the base in Gremikha.
The K-27 has turned into an incapacitated pile of metal with positive buoyancy, emitting deadly gamma rays. The decision on the further fate of the unique ship hung in the air, and finally, in 1981, it was decided to sink the damaged submarine in one of the bays on Novaya Zemlya. As a keepsake for descendants. Maybe they can find a way to safely dispose of the floating Fukushima?
But long before the "last dive" of the K-27, the group of nuclear submarines at the bottom of the Atlantic replenished submarine K-8 … One of the first-borns of the nuclear fleet, the third nuclear submarine in the ranks of the Soviet Navy, which sank during a fire in the Bay of Biscay on April 12, 1970. The struggle for the survivability of the ship lasted 80 hours, during which time the sailors managed to shut down the reactors and evacuate part of the crew on board the approaching Bulgarian motor ship.
The death of K-8 and 52 submariners was the first official loss of the Soviet nuclear fleet. At the moment, the wreckage of the nuclear-powered ship rests at a depth of 4,680 meters, 250 miles off the coast of Spain.
In the 1980s, the USSR Navy lost a couple more nuclear submarines in military campaigns - strategic missile submarine K-219 and the unique "titanium" submarine K-278 "Komsomolets".
K-219 with a ruined missile silo
The most dangerous situation was around the K-219 - on board the submarine, in addition to two nuclear reactors, there were 15 R-21 submarine-launched ballistic missiles * with 45 thermonuclear warheads. On October 3, 1986, there was a depressurization of the No. 6 missile silo, which led to the explosion of a ballistic missile. The crippled ship demonstrated fantastic survivability, having managed to surface from a depth of 350 meters, having damaged its solid hull and a flooded fourth (missile) compartment.
Three days after the missile explosion, the nuclear-powered ship sank in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of 5 kilometers. 8 people became victims of the disaster. It happened on October 6, 1986
Three years later, on April 7, 1989, another Soviet submarine, K-278 Komsomolets, lay on the bottom of the Norwegian Sea. An unrivaled titanium-hulled ship capable of diving over 1000 meters.
K-278 "Komsomolets" at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea. The photos were taken by the Mir deep-sea vehicle.
Alas, none of the outrageous performance characteristics saved the Komsomolets - the submarine fell victim to a banal fire, complicated by the lack of clear ideas about the tactics of fighting for survivability on non-kingston boats. 42 sailors died in the flaming compartments and icy water. The nuclear submarine sank at a depth of 1,858 meters, becoming the subject of a fierce debate between shipbuilders and naval sailors in an effort to find the "culprit."
New times have brought new challenges. The bacchanalia of the "free market", multiplied by "limited funding", the destruction of the supply system of the fleet and the massive dismissal of experienced submariners inevitably led to disaster. And she did not keep herself waiting.
August 12, 2000 did not get in touch Nuclear submarine K-141 "Kursk" … The official cause of the tragedy is the spontaneous explosion of a "long" torpedo. Unofficial versions - from the nightmarish heresy in the style of "Submarine in troubled water" from the French director Jean Michel Carré to quite plausible hypotheses about a collision with the aircraft carrier "Admiral Kuznetsov" or a torpedo fired from the American submarine "Toledo" (the motive is unclear).
Wreckage of "Kursk" in the dock SRZ-82
Nuclear submarine - "killer of aircraft carriers" with a displacement of 24 thousand tons. The depth at the place where the submarine was sunk was 108 meters, 118 people were trapped in the "steel coffin" …
The epic with the unsuccessful operation to rescue the crew from the Kursk lying on the ground shook the whole of Russia. We all remember the smiling face of another bastard with admiral's shoulder straps on TV: “The situation is under control. Contact has been established with the crew, air is supplied to the emergency boat”.
Then there was an operation to raise the Kursk. Sawed off the first compartment (for what ??), the found letter of Captain Kolesnikov … was there a second page? Someday we will learn the truth about those events. And, for sure, we will be very surprised at our naivety.
On August 30, 2003, another tragedy occurred, hidden in the gray gloom of naval everyday life - during the towing to the cutting, it sank old nuclear submarine K-159 … The reason is the loss of buoyancy due to the poor technical condition of the boat. It still lies at a depth of 170 meters off the island of Kildin, on the way to Murmansk.
The question of lifting and disposing of this radioactive pile of metal is periodically raised, but so far the matter does not move beyond words.
In total, today at the bottom of the World Ocean are the wreckage of seven nuclear submarines:
- two American: "Thresher" and "Scorpio"
- five Soviet: K-8, K-27, K-219, K-278 and K-159.
However, this is not a complete list. In the history of the Russian Navy, a number of incidents were noted that were not reported by TASS, in each of which nuclear submarines were killed.
For example, on August 20, 1980, there was a severe accident in the Philippine Sea - 14 sailors were killed in the fight against a fire on board the K-122. The crew was able to save their nuclear submarine and bring the burned boat in tow to their home base. Alas, the damage received was such that the restoration of the boat was deemed inappropriate. After 15 years of standing, the K-122 was disposed of at the Zvezda shipyard.
Another fierce incident known as the "radiation accident in Chazhma Bay" occurred in 1985 in the Far East. In the process of recharging the nuclear submarine K-431 reactor, the floating crane swayed on the wave and "ripped" the control grids out of the submarine's reactor. The reactor turned on and instantly went into an outrageous mode of operation, turning into a "dirty atomic bomb", the so-called. "Pop". In a bright flash, 11 officers standing nearby disappeared. According to eyewitnesses, the 12-ton reactor lid flew up a couple of hundred meters and then fell onto the boat again, almost chopping it in half. The fire that began and the release of radioactive dust finally turned the K-431 and the nearby nuclear submarine K-42 into incapacitated floating coffins. Both damaged nuclear submarines were scrapped.
When it comes to accidents at the nuclear submarine, one cannot fail to mention the K-19, which received the speaking nickname "Hiroshima" in the Navy. The boat has been the source of serious problems at least four times. The first military campaign and the reactor accident on July 3, 1961 are especially memorable. K-19 was heroically saved, but the episode with the reactor nearly cost the life of the first Soviet missile carrier.
After reviewing the list of dead submarines, the layman may have a vile conviction: the Russians do not know how to control ships. The accusation is serious. The Yankees lost only two nuclear submarines - Thresher and Scorpion. At the same time, the Russian fleet has lost almost a dozen nuclear submarines, not counting diesel-electric submarines (the Yankees have not built diesel-electric boats since the 1950s). How can this paradox be explained? The fact that the Soviet Navy's nuclear-powered ships were controlled by the crooked Russian Mongols?
Something tells me that the paradox has a different explanation. Let's try to find it together.
It is worth noting that an attempt to "blame" all the failures on the difference in the number of nuclear submarines in the USSR Navy and the US Navy is deliberately useless. In total, during the existence of the nuclear submarine fleet, about 250 submarines (from K-3 to the modern "Borey") passed through the hands of our sailors, the Americans had slightly less than 200 units. However, the Yankee's nuclear-powered ships appeared earlier and were operated two or three times more intensively (just look at the operational stress coefficient of SSBNs: 0, 17 - 0, 24 for ours and 0, 5 - 0, 6 for American missile carriers). Obviously, the whole point is not in the number of boats … But then what is it?
Much depends on the counting technique. As the old joke goes: "It doesn't matter how you did it, the main thing is how you calculated it." A dense train of accidents and fatal accidents stretched through the entire history of the nuclear fleet, regardless of the flag of the submarine.
- On February 9, 2001, the US Navy's multipurpose nuclear submarine Greenville rammed the Japanese fishing schooner Ehime Maru. Nine Japanese fishermen were killed, the US Navy submarine fled the scene without providing any assistance to those in distress.
Nonsense! - the Yankees will answer. Navigational accidents are everyday life in any fleet. In the summer of 1973, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-56 collided with the research vessel Akademik Berg. 27 sailors were killed.
But the Russians' boats were sinking right at the pier! Here you are:
September 13, 1985 K-429 lay on the ground at the pier in Krasheninnikov Bay.
So what?! - our sailors may argue. The Yankees had the same case:
On May 15, 1969, the US Navy nuclear submarine "Guitarro" sank right at the quay wall. The reason is common negligence.
USS Guitarro (SSN-655) lay down to rest at the pier
The Americans will scratch their heads and remember how on May 8, 1982 at the central post of the nuclear submarine K-123 ("submarine fighter" of the 705th project, reactor with liquid metal core) received the original report: "I see silvery metal spreading over the deck." The first circuit of the reactor was broken through, the radioactive alloy of lead and bismuth so “stained” the boat that it took 10 years to clean the K-123. Fortunately, none of the sailors died then.
The Russians will only grin sadly and tactfully hint to the Americans how USS Dace (SSN-607) accidentally "splashed" into the Thames (a river in the USA) two tons of radioactive liquid from the primary circuit, "dirtiening" the entire Groton naval base.
Stop
We're not going to get anywhere. It is pointless to denigrate each other and remember the unsightly moments from history.
It is clear that a huge fleet of hundreds of ships serves as a rich soil for various emergencies - smoke occurs somewhere every day, something falls, explodes or lands on stones.
The true indicator is the major accidents leading to the death of ships. "Thresher", "Scorpion", … Are there other cases when nuclear-powered ships of the US Navy received heavy damage in military campaigns and were permanently excluded from the fleet?
Yes, there have been such cases.
Shattered USS San Francisco (SSN-711). Consequences of a collision with an underwater rock at 30 knots
In 1986, the US Navy's strategic missile carrier Nathaniel Green crashed on rocks in the Irish Sea. Damage to the hull, rudders and ballast tanks was so great that the boat had to be scrapped.
February 11, 1992. Barents Sea. The multipurpose nuclear submarine Baton Rouge collided with the Russian titanium Barracuda. The boats collided successfully - repairs on the B-276 took six months, and the history of the USS Baton Rouge (SSN-689) turned out to be much sadder. The collision with the Russian titanium boat led to the appearance of stresses and microcracks in the strong hull of the submarine. Baton Rouge hobbled to the base and soon ceased to exist.
Baton Rouge goes on nails
It's not fair! - the attentive reader will notice. The Americans had purely navigational errors; there were practically no accidents with damage to the reactor core on the ships of the US Navy. In the Russian Navy, everything is different: the compartments are on fire, molten coolant is pouring onto the deck. There are design mistakes and improper operation of the equipment.
And it is true. The domestic submarine fleet has exchanged reliability for exorbitant technical characteristics of the boats. The design of submarines of the USSR Navy has always been distinguished by a high degree of novelty and a large number of innovative solutions. The approbation of new technologies was often carried out directly in military campaigns. The fastest (K-222), the deepest (K-278), the largest (Project 941 "Shark") and the most secretive boat (Project 945A "Condor") were created in our country. And if there is nothing to blame the "Condor" and "Shark" for, then the exploitation of the rest of the "record holders" was regularly accompanied by major technical problems.
Was it the right decision: weapons and immersion depth in exchange for reliability? We have no right to answer this question. History does not know the subjunctive mood, the only thing that I wanted to convey to the reader: the high accident rate on Soviet submarines is not a mistake of designers and not a mistake of crews. This was often inevitable. A high price paid for the unique characteristics of submarines.
Project 941 strategic missile submarine cruiser
Memorial to the fallen submariners, Murmansk
