Wikipedia

Soviet submarine K-278Komsomolets

TheK-278Komsomoletswas theProject-685 Plavnik(Russian: проект-685 плавник, meaning "fin",also known by herNATO reporting nameof"Mike" -class),nuclear-poweredattack submarineof theSoviet Navy;the only submarine of herdesign class.

K-278Komsomoletsprofile
K-278 underway in 1986
K-278 upon deployment on 1 January in 1986.
History
Soviet naval pennantSoviet Union
Name
  • K-278(1983–1988)
  • K-278Komsomolets(1988–1989)
BuilderSevmash
Yard number510
Laid down22 April 1978
Launched9 May 1983 (3 June 1983)
Commissioned28 December 1983
Decommissioned6 June 1990
HomeportBolshaya LopatkaatZapadnaya Litsa
FateSank due to fire on 7 April 1989, killing 42
NotesLocated in theBarents Seain 1,700 m (5,600 ft) of water
General characteristics
Class and typeNATO reporting name"Mike" -classsubmarine
Displacement4,400–5,750tonssurfaced, 6,400–8,000 tons submerged
Length117.5 m (385 ft)
Beam10.7 m (35 ft)
Draft8 to 9 m (26 to 30 ft)
PropulsionOne 190 MWOK-650 b-3PWR(HEU<= 45%[1]), two 45000shpsteam turbines,one shaft
Speed14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced, 26 to 30 knots (48 to 56 km/h; 30 to 35 mph) submerged
Test depth1,000 m safe, 1,250 m design, 1,500 m crush
Complement64 (30 officers, 22 warrant officers, 12 petty officers and enlisted)
Armament

In theinventory of the Soviet military,K-278was unique for hersubmarine depth rating,having reached a depth of 1,020 metres (3,350 feet) in theNorwegian Seaon 4 August 1984.[2]AlthoughK-278wascommissionedin theSoviet Navyto evaluate the technology for thefourth-generationof Russiannuclear submarines,she was capable of combat maneuvering and deployment. During her third operational patrol in the Arctic Ocean in 1989, a serious fire in the aft compartments led to her sinking in theBarents Seaoff the coast of Norway.[3]

Despite the fire in the engineering compartment,K-278was able to surface and remained afloat for approximately five hours before sinking.[4]Many of the crew perished before rescue, leading to 42 total dead (and 27 survivors).

The wrecked submarine is on the floor of theBarents Sea,about 1.7 km (1 mile) deep, with her nuclear reactor and two nuclear warhead-armed torpedoes still on board.

Design

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The Project 685 was designed by theRubin Design Bureauin response to a challenge to develop an advanced submarine that could carry a mix of torpedoes and cruise missiles with conventional or nuclear warheads. The order to design the submarine was issued in 1966 and design was completed in 1974. The keel was laid down on 22 April 1978 atSeverodvinsk.K-278waslaunchedon 3 June 1983 andcommissionedon 28 December 1983.

K-278had a double hull, the inner one being composed oftitanium,which gave her an operating depth far greater than that of the best American submarines.[5]The pressure hull was composed of seven compartments with the second and third protected by stronger forward and aft bulkheads creating a "safety zone" in case of an emergency. Anescape capsulewas fitted in thefinabove these compartments to enable the crew to abandon ship in the event of an underwater emergency. Initial Western intelligence estimates ofK-278's speed were based on the assumption that the boat was powered by a pair ofliquid metal cooled reactors.When theSoviet Unionrevealed that the submarine used a singleOK-650b-3conventionalpressurized-water reactor,these speed estimates were lowered.[a]

Crew

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According toNorman Polmarand Kenneth J. Moore, two Western experts on Soviet submarine design and operations, the Project 685's advanced design included many automated systems which allowed for fewer crew members than usual for a submarine of her size. The manning table approved by theSoviet Ministry of Defensein 1982 called for a crew of 57 men. This was later increased to 64: 30 officers, 22 warrant officers, and 12 petty officers and seamen.[6]At the time of the boat's sinking, 69 were aboard.

Name

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In October 1988,K-278became one of the few Soviet submarines to be given a name:Komsomolets(Комсомолец,meaning "a member of theKomsomol"), and her commanding officer,Captain 1st rankYuriy Zelenskiy was honoured for diving to 1,020 metres (3,350 ft).

Sinking

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On 7 April 1989, while under the command of Captain 1st Rank Evgeny Vanin and running submerged at a depth of 335 metres (1,099 ft) about 180 kilometres (100 nmi) southwest ofBear Island (Norway),[7]a fire broke out in an engineering compartment[3]due to a short circuit,[8]and even though watertight doors were shut, the resulting fire spread throughbulkheadcable penetrations. The reactorscrammedand propulsion was lost. Electrical problems spread as cables burned through, and control of the boat was threatened. An emergencyballast tankblow was performed and the submarine surfaced eleven minutes after the fire began. Distress calls were made, and most of the crew abandoned ship.

The fire continued to burn, fed by thecompressed airsystem. At 15:15,[9]several hours after surfacing, the boat sank in 1,680 metres (5,510 ft) of water, about 250 kilometres (135 nmi) SSW off Bear Island.[9]The commanding officer and four others who were still on board entered the escape capsule and ejected it. Only one of the five to reach the surface was able to leave the capsule and survive before it sank in the rough seas. Captain Vanin was among the dead.

Rescue aircraftarrived quickly and dropped small rafts, but winds and sea conditions precluded their use. Many men had already died fromhypothermiain the 2 °C (36 °F) water of theBarents Sea.The floating fish factory B-64/10Aleksey Khlobystov(Алексей Хлобыстов)[10]arrived 81 minutes afterK-278sank, and took aboard survivors.[11]

Of the 69 crewmen, 27 survived the incident and 42 died: nine during the accident and the subsequent sinking, 30 in the water of hypothermia or injuries, and three aboard the rescue boat. The crew were awarded theOrder of the Red Bannerafter the incident.[12]

Aftermath

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As well as eight standard torpedoes,K-278was carrying two torpedoes armed with nuclear warheads. Under pressure from Norway, the Soviet Union useddeep sea submersiblesoperated from the oceanographic research shipKeldyshto search forK-278.In June 1989, two months after the sinking, the wreck was located. Soviet officials stated that any possible leaks were insignificant and posed no threat to the environment.

In 1993, Vice Admiral Chernov, commander of the submarine group of which theKomsomoletswas part, founded theKomsomoletsNuclear Submarine Memorial Society,a charity to support the widows and orphans of his former command. Since then, the Society's charter has expanded to provide assistance to the families of all Soviet and Russian submariners lost at sea, and 7 April has become a day of commemoration for all submariners lost at sea.

An expedition in mid-1994 revealed someplutoniumleakage from one of the two nuclear-armed torpedoes. On 24 June 1995,Keldyshset out again fromSaint Petersburgto theKomsomoletsto seal the hull fractures in Compartment 1 and cover the nuclear warheads, and declared success at the end of a subsequent expedition in July 1996. A jelly-like sealant was projected to make the wreck radiation safe for 20 to 30 years, that is, until 2015 to 2025.[13]

Norwegian authorities from the Marine Environmental Agency and Radiation Agency take water and ground samples from the vicinity of the wreck on a yearly basis.[14]

In July 2019, a joint Norwegian-Russian expedition found "clouds" emitted from a ventilation pipe and a nearby grille. They took water samples from the pipe and from several metres above, and analysed them forcaesium-137.That pipe had been identified as a leak in severalMirmissions up to 1998 and 2007. The activity levels in the six samples out of the pipe were up to 800Bq/L (9 July). No activity could be detected in the free-water samples. Due to dilution, there is no threat to the environment. The Norwegian limit on caesium-137 in food products is 600 Bq/kg. The background activity of caesium-137 in the water body is as low as 0.001 Bq/L. More sensitive measurements of the samples were reported to be in progress.[15]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^TheOK-650 reactorwas also installed on Project 971 (Akula), Project 945 (Sierra), and in pairs on the Project 941 (Typhoon) submarines.

References

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  1. ^"Marine Nuclear Power:1939 – 2018"(PDF).July 2018.Retrieved30 December2022.
  2. ^"Хождение за три глубины".Военно-промышленный курьер. Archived fromthe originalon 30 April 2021.Retrieved9 May2013.
  3. ^ab"Ход развития аварии и борьбы за живучесть ПЛА" КОМСОМОЛЕЦ "".26 July 2006.
  4. ^Pope, Brian (May 1989). "Soviet Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarine Sinks Off Norway".Arms Control Today.19(4): 24.JSTOR23624029.
  5. ^George Montgomery:The Komsomolets Disaster.1994, posted asCIAReport 14 April 2007.
  6. ^Norman Polmar, and Kenneth J. Moore;Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines;2004, Brassey's, Inc. (Dulles, Virginia); pp. 286–287;ISBN1-57488-594-4
  7. ^Weir, Gary E.; Boyne, Walter J. (2003).Rising tide: the untold story of the Russian submarines that fought the Cold War.New York: Basic Books.ISBN978-0-465-09112-6.
  8. ^"A lot lost at sea".The Economist.15 April 1989. Archived fromthe originalon 9 April 2016.Retrieved3 May2015.
  9. ^abBarnaby, Frank (1989). "The Release of Radioactivity into the Sea from the Sunken Soviet" MIKE "Submarine".Ambio.18(5):296–297.JSTOR4313590.
  10. ^Fishing Fleet of Communist and Post-Communist Countries:"Pionersk" type multi-purpose mother ship project B-64.
  11. ^Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey:In Memory of Komsomolets.Archived2 September 2019 at theWayback MachinePravda.ru,7 April 2013.
  12. ^Sergey Petrovich Bukan:On the Trail of Submarine Disasters.pp 130-163CIAtranslation, 15 September 1992.
  13. ^Matthew Bodner:Soviet Nuclear Submarine Wrecks at Bottom of Arctic Ocean.The Moscow Times, 14 November 2014.
  14. ^Michalsen, Kathrine (22 August 2008)."Sjekker atomubåten" Komsomolets "for radioaktiv lekkasje".Havforskningsinstituttet. Archived fromthe originalon 9 July 2019.Retrieved16 January2019.
  15. ^Hilde Elise Heldal, Stine Hommedal:Researchers discovered leak from Komsomolets.Institute of Marine Research, 10 July 2019, updates 11 July and 29 August 2019, and personal communication 29 August 2019.

Bibliography

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