Post-war losses submarine fleet USSR
After the end of the Second World War, a new confrontation began - the Cold War. The guns did not fire, the planes did not bomb the enemy, and the ships did not exchange artillery and missile salvoes, but this did not protect against dozens of losses human lives. And some of the biggest losses on the fronts " cold war" suffered the submarine sailors.
IN post-war period soviet fleet lost nine boats, including three nuclear ones. In addition, many boats were seriously damaged, and the nuclear-powered K-429 sank, but was subsequently raised and put back into operation. At first, the destruction of submarines in the USSR concerned only diesel submarines. Between 1952 and 1968, people died from various reasons six boats, including one at the base, while several more boats were damaged in the explosion. Died in total 357 people. Accidents also occurred on nuclear boats during this period, but they all managed without “ irrecoverable losses" in technology.
The sunken submarines of the USSR belonged to different fleets: two boats each from the Northern, Pacific and Baltic Fleet. On April 12, 1970, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-8 was lost, on board of which there was a fire during a military campaign. Fires became the main problem Soviet submariners, regularly breaking out on boats of various projects. The crew fought the fire for four days, but were unable to save the boat, and the flames “took” the lives of 52 crew members.
On next year It was a miracle that the nuclear submarine K-56, which was holed as a result of a collision with the scientific vessel Akademik Berg, did not perish. The accident cost the lives of 27 sailors who battened down the compartment and saved the lives of others. This was followed by a long period of calm. Largest quantity The number of sunken submarines in the USSR dates back to the 1980s, marked by glasnost and perestroika. And if the death of the diesel boat S-178 on October 21, 1981 did not cause a resonance (collision with a cargo ship), then the death of the nuclear-powered K-219 in October 1986 had great publicity. For three days in the Sargasso Sea, the crew fought the fire, but the boat could not be saved. Fortunately, only four people died.
In the interval between the two accidents, on June 24, 1983, the K-429, which went out for testing after repairs, sank. As a result, the boat took on water during the dive, and incorrect actions by the crew led to the boat sinking to the bottom. 104 people made it to the surface, and another 16 died. The boat was later raised and returned to service.
But the most famous death of a submarine in the USSR occurred on April 7, 1989, when, as a result of a fire and subsequent flooding, the newest submarine “Komsomolets”, returning from combat duty, sank. 42 sailors were killed in the accident. It is worth noting that the death of submarines in the USSR occurred much more often than in the United States, which lost only two of its nuclear submarines.
There were also losses in Russian time. And if the K-159 towed for scrapping cannot be considered a full-fledged combat boat, then the death of the 12th August 2000 nuclear submarine cruiser Project 945A Kursk was a real tragedy that led to the death of 118 submariners.
Finally, we note that sunken Soviet submarines are located in all parts of the world, from their native shores to the Sargasso Sea, Hawaii and the Bay of Biscay, indicating the location of the Cold War front line.
Until the sad date - the anniversary of the nuclear submarine tragedy, former pride Russian fleet, only a month left. And the closer it is, the stronger the pain is felt.
“Why didn’t they save the people?” – the question of what happened on August 12, 2000 in the Barents Sea remains open many years after the tragedy. Then the third day of Russian Navy exercises took place. K-141 “Kursk” – pride domestic fleet, a nuclear-powered ship the size of two huge airplanes, looked like an unshakable pillar.
The explosion that reached Alaska
There were 118 people on board the submarine. On August 11, the work done by the Kursk was observed from the ship Pyotr Velikiy, which was also undergoing exercises. He successfully completed firing missiles and went to another sector of the exercise. Afterwards it was planned to launch torpedoes at surface ships. But on August 12, three submarines completed the task, but the Kursk remained silent.
The explosion occurred at 11.28 am - so powerful that it was recorded even in Alaska. Experts say its strength was equivalent to an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale. A couple of minutes later there was a second explosion. Communication with the submarine ceased, and by the end of the day the Kursk was declared “emergency.”
On August 13, hydroacoustics found the nuclear-powered ship. He was lying on seabed. The rescuers who were on the Peter the Great, which led the operation, were sure that they heard knocks similar to SOS signals.
Two ships, the Altai and the Rudnitsky, were sent to the site to provide electricity and oxygen to the sunken sailors. Three attempts to get the submariners out of the boat using rescue capsules ended in nothing. The two emergency hatches available on the Kursk were inaccessible. It was possible to exit only through the third and last one, which was located above the ninth compartment, where a special coaming platform was equipped. Virtually zero visibility and strong undercurrent they did not allow sailors to be rescued from captivity.
Distress signals were received five days later. The government was convinced that the submariners would live for at least 5-6 days: there was still time. But all new attempts failed due to bad weather.
On August 20, Norwegian specialists began work. They managed to turn the Kursk valve, but were unable to lift the lid. On August 21, the hatch was opened. No survivors were found here.
Mysterious SOS sounds
Vladimir Ustinov, who served as Prosecutor General from 2000 to 2006, wrote in his book “The Truth about Kursk” that the sailors on the submarine died long before help arrived. According to the Prosecutor General, after the second explosion, the crews of the sixth, seventh and eighth moved to the potentially life-saving ninth compartment, where they died of suffocation in a room where there were many carbon monoxide.
Advocate Boris Kuznetsov Following this book, he published his own - as if an addition to the official’s publication: “She drowned... The truth about the Kursk, which was hidden by Prosecutor General Ustinov.”
Kuznetsov argued: no matter how many times the Prosecutor General repeated his lie that the submariners died very quickly, the statement would not become more truthful. In his opinion, the people who were imprisoned in water frantically hammered with a sledgehammer or other heavy object on the walls for at least two days. Their SOS signals were caught and recorded by Peter the Great.
As the midshipman of Peter the Great said Fedor N. about the events of that day, he also heard the signals being given. They were very deaf, they resembled an alarm bell, he even had doubts that they were knocking on iron. Later it turned out that the signals did not come from the nuclear submarine - the only surviving people could only be in the ninth compartment, but a day later they were dead, which is a proven fact. And the investigation was never able to identify the unnamed sailor who was sending signals from the underwater part of a certain ship.
Emergency torpedo version
In "The Empty Pier" Vladimir Shigin it is said that on August 12, the nuclear-powered ship was supposed to fire blanks at surface ships. The author explained that this type of shell has been used by the Russian Navy for more than two decades. But the Kursk torpedo was different from previous models: it contained a different battery. Therefore, representatives of the plant and military acceptance were present at the scene of the accident on the day when news of the crash arrived. There were reports that the submarine commander Gennady Lyachin Even before the tragedy, he asked for permission to shoot the emergency torpedo. But this version was not confirmed by the author of the book. Shigin writes that if Lyachin had actually informed management about the emergency on the submarine, the torpedo attack would have been canceled or postponed to another time.
Now everyone knows for sure that the nuclear submarine crashed due to a shell explosion in the first torpedo compartment. But the root cause is still unclear, the author writes. It could not explode on its own, since the engineers structurally incorporated a multi-stage protection system. The only thing that could serve as a catalyst was strongest impact from outside. Perhaps it was an underwater ram. Theoretically, this could happen when Russian boat floated up, and the foreign one sank - if there really was one.
Three versions, three riddles
According to the first, most obvious and officially recognized by the government version, the K-141 Kursk sank to the bottom due to the explosions of the torpedoes on it. 65-76A "Kit" exploded in torpedo tube No. 4 after a fuel leak, causing other shells to detonate.
The second version put forward by the chief of staff Northern Fleet Mikhail Motsak and fleet commander Vyacheslav Popov, said that the Kursk had collided with another submarine - most likely American or British. Vice Admiral Motsak said that near the nuclear-powered ship there was “a mass indirect signs the presence of a second underwater object, also possibly an emergency one.” According to him, the foreign object was detected by the sonar equipment of the Peter the Great. It was also noticed by sailors who were engaged in removing emergency buoys from the water.
In the third version, which the former Deputy Prime Minister leaned towards Ilya Klebanov, it was said that the Kursk ran into an anti-ship mine from the times of the Great Patriotic War, and then the projectile detonated. But experts said that even a small atomic explosion would not be enough to destroy this submarine, so the version seemed untenable.
When will the “secret” classification be lifted?
About 15 years after the tragedy, information appeared that the government was preparing to organize a commission that would determine the possibility of disclosing the true causes of the death of the Kursk.
The secrecy stamp was imposed for 30 years, but, as the head said Central Archive Russian Ministry of Defense Igor Permyakov, documents about the tragedy may be disclosed before this date - if the government decides so.
According to the plan for the exercises that took place in August 2000, the nuclear-powered submarine K-141 was supposed to carry out a simulated torpedoing of an enemy surface ship between 11-40 and 13-20 hours on August 12. But instead, at 11 hours 28 minutes 26 seconds, an explosion with a power of 1.5 on the Richter scale was heard. And after 135 seconds - a second one - more powerful. The Kursk did not get in touch until 13:50. The commander of the Northern Fleet, Vyacheslav Popov, orders “to begin acting on the worst case scenario at 13.50” and flies from the nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Velikiy to Severomorsk, apparently to discuss the situation. And only at 23-30 he announces a combat alert, recognizing the “loss” of the best submarine of the Northern Fleet.
By 3-30 o'clock the approximate search area is determined, and by 16-20 technical contact is established with the Kursk. The rescue operation itself begins at 7 a.m. on August 14.
On the one hand, the actions of the rescuers, which seemed sluggish to an outside observer, on the other, the seeming inaction of the country’s president, who continued to rest in Sochi for four days after the accident, on the third, data on the technical defects of the submarine, on the fourth, contradictory information from the authorities, as if who tried to confuse everyone who followed the fate of the crew - all this gave rise to rumors about the incompetence of the leaders.
People, according to Vladimir Putin, indulged in their beloved folk pastime: searching for those to blame. And subsequently they were indignant that, by and large, no one was punished. But the trouble is that if we were to punish, then many would have to be punished - all those who had a hand in the collapse of the fleet, who turned a blind eye to it, who did not work in full force for a meager (1.5-3 thousand rubles) salary. But this did not matter: even if the military had started searching for the Kursk at 13:00 on August 12, they still would not have had time to save the crew.
Who gave the distress signals?
The reason for numerous speculations was the SOS signals by which the Kursk was discovered and which continued for two days. The signals were recorded on different ships, and some eyewitnesses even claimed to have heard the call sign of the submarine - “Vintik”.
Until August 15, the leaders of the operation continued to assure that the connection with the crew, established through tapping, was continuing. And already on the 17th it was established as official a new version: Most of the Kursk sailors died in the first minutes after the explosion, the rest lived only a few hours.
And SOS signals were recorded on magnetic tape and studied by experts. It was proven that it was not a person who was tapping, but an automatic machine, which could not have been and was not on board the Kursk. AND this fact provided new evidence for the theory of a collision between a nuclear-powered ship and a foreign submarine.
Did the Kursk collide with an American submarine?
The cause of the first explosion on the Kursk was the deformation of the torpedo. This is recognized by most researchers. But the cause of the deformation itself remains a matter of debate. Wide use received a version of a collision with American submarine"Memphis". It is believed that it was she who gave the notorious distress signals.
In the Barents Sea, Memphis, along with other American and British submarines, monitored Russian naval exercises. Carrying out a complex maneuver, its officers made a mistake with the trajectory, came close and crashed into the K-141, which was preparing to fire. "Memphis" sank to the bottom, like "Kursk", plowed the soil with its nose and stood up. A few days later she was found undergoing repairs in a Norwegian port. This version is also supported by the fact that K-141 was a kilometer or two from the place from which the distress signal was sent.
When did the crew die?
The question of the time of death of the crew of the Russian submarine became fundamental. The fleet command actually admitted that at first they misled everyone: there was no chatting with the submariners. Most of The crew actually died as a result of the first and second explosions. And the survivors locked in the ninth compartment could have lasted longer if not for the tragic accident discovered during the autopsy of the corpses.
The sailors' attempts to get to the surface on their own were unsuccessful. They had to sit patiently and wait for rescue. At 19 o'clock, when those above were still hesitating whether to declare a combat alert, oxygen starvation began in the compartment. The sailors needed to charge new regeneration plates. The three went to the installation, and someone apparently dropped the plate into the oily water. To save his comrades, one of the submariners rushed in and covered the plate with his body. But it was too late: there was an explosion. Several people died from chemical and thermal burns, the rest were suffocated by carbon monoxide in a matter of minutes.
Note from Captain-Lieutenant Kolesnikov
Indirectly, the hypothesis about the death of the crew on August 12 is confirmed by a note left by Lieutenant Commander Kolesnikov: “15.15. It's dark to write here, but I'll try by touch. There seems to be no chance: 10-20 percent. Let's hope at least someone reads it." That is, already at three o'clock in the afternoon, the team members saved light, sat quietly in the dark and waited. And the uneven handwriting in which this second note was written indicates that Dmitry Kolesnikov had little strength left.
And then in the note there was a now famous testament to all of us who are still alive: “Hello everyone, there is no need to despair. Kolesnikov." And - some phrase, missed, hidden from the public by the investigation.
From that phrase new speculations grew: as if the commission was covering up someone’s sloppiness, as if the lieutenant commander responded with that phrase to the question of who was to blame or, at least, what was the cause of the accident. For a long time, investigators tried to convince us that for ethical reasons they were not revealing the contents of the rest of the note, that it contained a personal message to my wife that had no meaning for us. Until then, the public did not believe it until the contents of the classified part were revealed. But the investigation never gave the note itself to Dmitry Kolesnikov’s wife - only a copy.
Why was the captain of the Kursk awarded the title of Hero of Russia?
On August 26, 2000, by order of the President, the submarine commander Gennady Lyachin was awarded the title of Hero of Russia, and everyone on board was awarded the Order of Courage. This news was met rather with skepticism: they decided that the country’s leadership was in this way trying to atone for their sins before the crew, to make up for the mistakes made during the rescue operation.
But the commander of the Northern Fleet explained: the Kursk submariners were nominated for the award much earlier, after the operation successfully completed in the Mediterranean in 1999, at the height of NATO aggression in Yugoslavia. Then the K-141 crew managed to conditionally hit enemy ships five times, that is, destroy the entire American sixth fleet, and escape unnoticed.
But in fairness, it is worth noting that many of those who died in August 2000 did not participate in the Mediterranean campaign the year before.
Would the Norwegians have saved?
Almost from the very beginning of the rescue operation, the British and Americans offered their help, and a little later the Norwegians. The media actively promoted the services of foreign specialists, convincing them that their equipment was better and their specialists were more skilled. Then, in hindsight, accusations were poured in: if they had been invited earlier, the 23 people locked in the ninth compartment would have been saved.
In fact, no Norwegians were able to help. Firstly, by the time the Kursk was discovered, the submariners had already been dead for a day. Secondly, the amount of work that our rescuers did, the level of self-sacrifice and dedication with which they worked and which allowed them to conduct the operation around the clock, without interruptions, was unthinkable for foreign specialists.
But - the main thing - even if the members of the Kursk crew were still alive on the 15th and 16th, it was impossible to save them for technical reasons. Submersible vehicles could not attach themselves to the submarine due to damage to its hull. And here the most modern and perfect technology was powerless.
The submarine and its crew became the victim of a confluence of thousands of different circumstances. And her death, in which there is no one’s personal fault, is perhaps for the first time in long years, united the embittered country.
On October 6, 1986, a Soviet nuclear submarine sank strategic purpose K-219. It was one of the most dangerous submarines of that time. K-219 combined a submarine and a missile depot capable of bringing about the end of the world. Soon after the dive and departure towards the United States, a leak was discovered in one of the shafts, which ultimately led to the complete depressurization of the compartment. As a result, the rocket inside exploded, causing the release of a huge amount of harmful substances into the ocean. Today we will talk about five equally dangerous submarines left on the bottom of the oceans.
This American nuclear submarine died on April 10, 1963 in Atlantic Ocean near Boston with the entire crew. It was impossible to immediately determine the cause of the sinking, because at some point the connection with the boat was simply lost. Subsequently, based on numerous photographs, it became clear that, most likely, the boat was depressurized and, due to water that got inside, a short circuit occurred, which led to the shutdown of the reactor.
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USS Thresher
K-8. Killed during a training exercise
The submarine, which was on combat duty in the Mediterranean Sea, was sent to the area North Atlantic to participate in the largest exercise in the history of the Soviet Navy, Ocean-70. Its task was to designate the “enemy’s” submarine forces breaking through to the shores Soviet Union. On April 8, 1970, as a result of a fire in one of the compartments, the boat sank off the coast of Spain, where it is still located. The boat had four nuclear torpedoes.
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Submarine K-8
K-27 - legendary boat
Before your crash soviet boat was a ship that won various awards; its crew included admirals and Heroes of the Soviet Union. But due to an accident that occurred on it in 1968, it was decided to exclude the submarine from the Navy and sink it in the Barents Sea. The nuclear reactor was mothballed, but the boat was sunk in the Kara Sea and is still located at a depth of 75 m. In 2013, a project was adopted to raise the boat from the bottom for further disposal.
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The last trip of the “Goldfish” K-27
K-278 "Komsomolets" - third generation submarine
This Soviet submarine holds the absolute record for diving depth - 1027 m. It sank in the Norwegian Sea on April 7, 1989. A fire broke out in one of the compartments, as a result of which she sank with her entire supply of torpedo shells.
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Nuclear submarine K-278 "Komsomolets"
K-141 "Kursk"
This boat sank in the Barents Sea at a depth of 108 m as a result of a disaster that occurred on August 12, 2000. All 118 crew members on board were killed. The submarine sank during an exercise. On board the boat there were 24 P-700 Granit cruise missiles and 24 torpedoes. Several versions of the death of this boat have been put forward, including a torpedo explosion, a mine explosion, torpedoing, and a collision with another object.
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A quarter of a century ago, one of the most major disasters in the history of the Russian submarine fleet - on April 7, 1989, the nuclear submarine K-278 Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea. And even after 25 years, debate continues about the causes and culprits of that terrible tragedy.
The submarine "Komsomolets" was unique, the only representative of the "685" project "Plavnik".
Back in 1966, the command of the USSR Navy set the designers the task of creating an experimental submarine with an increased diving depth.
The design of the unique nuclear submarine took eight years. To solve this problem, the designers used titanium to create a lightweight and durable body.
The laying of the boat at the enterprise in Severodvinsk took place in 1978, and K-278 was launched in 1983.
Due to the use of ultra-expensive titanium, as well as the length of time it took to design and build, the boat was nicknamed the “goldfish” in the navy.
But K-278 really was a unique ship. It could operate at depths where it was not detected by any enemy surveillance means and was inaccessible to any weapon with a conventional explosive. Nuclear submarine was armed with torpedoes and Granat cruise missiles. The weapon system allowed the K-278 to attack enemy ships and submarines from the depths of the ocean in a submerged position, remaining out of reach of them.
Failed Hero
Since 1984, K-278, included in the Northern Fleet, has been operated as an experimental submarine and a base for experiments in the field of ultra-deep diving.
It was assumed that the operation of the K-278 would allow one to gain experience to create a whole series of the latest next-generation submarines.
On August 4, 1985, K-278, under the command of Captain 1st Rank Yuri Zelensky, set an absolute world record for diving depth - 1027 meters. When surfacing at a depth of 800 meters, successful shots were fired from the torpedo tubes.
These tests showed that the Soviet Union received a submarine that has no analogues in the world. Captain Zelensky was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, but the award was not approved.
At the end of 1986 - beginning of 1987, K-278, under the command of Yuri Zelensky, made its first autonomous combat campaign. In the summer of 1987, the boat changed its status from “experienced” to “combat”. In August - October 1987, the boat successfully completed the second "autonomy". Under the command of Captain Zelensky, she received the very prestigious title of “excellent ship” in the navy.
Submarine "Komsomolets", January 1, 1986. Photo: Public Domain
Fire in the depths
In January 1989, the submarine K-278 was given the name “Komsomolets”. A month later, K-278 set off on its third autonomous voyage, this time with a replacement crew, led by 1st Rank Captain Evgeniy Vanin.
Since the first voyage with a new crew is an extremely important event, representatives of the naval command in the person of the deputy commander of the submarine division and the head of the political department were also on board.
The autonomous campaign was successful until the return home, when it seemed that nothing extraordinary could happen.
On April 7, 1989 at 11:03, while the Komsomolets was sailing at a depth of 380 meters at a speed of 8 knots, a powerful fire broke out in the 7th compartment of the boat for an unknown reason. The main version is considered to be an electrical equipment fire.
The fire quickly engulfed the entire 7th compartment and claimed the life of the sailor on watch Nodari Bukhnikashvili. When the fire signal was received at the central control panel, an attempt was made to use the boat volumetric chemical system fire extinguishing (LOH), but this did not produce results.
The temperature in the 7th compartment reached 1000 degrees, the fire penetrated into the 6th compartment, where midshipman Vladimir Kolotilin died.
By this time, an emergency alarm was announced on the boat, and Komsomolets began to ascend. At a depth of 150 meters, due to damage caused by the fire, she lost speed, and further ascent occurred due to the purging of the main ballast tanks. At 11:16, 13 minutes after the fire started, the boat reached the surface.
When later the search for the culprits begins and the Komsomolets crew begins to be accused of incompetence, the same deputy division commander who was on the boat, Captain 1st Rank Kolyada, will notice that if the crew were incompetent, the boat would not have risen to the surface.
Reproduction of the drawing “Norwegian Sea. Nuclear boat" Photo: RIA Novosti / Sergey Kompaniychenko
The fight for survivability
The situation on Komsomolets was very difficult - the 6th and 7th compartments were on fire, the 2nd, 3rd and 5th were filled with smoke. There are many burnt and poisoned people in the crew. The emergency protection triggered, automatically blocking atomic reactor boats, Komsomolets switched to using batteries.
The first signal about the accident was sent at 11:37, but due to increasing problems at the headquarters, it was received only at 12:19. An Il-38 aircraft with rescue containers was sent to the scene of the accident.
The IL-38 cannot land on water, so in this situation it could only observe and direct ships coming to the rescue to the scene of the accident.
Navy helicopters and seaplanes could not reach the accident site, located 980 kilometers from the Soviet border.
In addition, the first messages from Captain Vanin were quite calm - the ship has surfaced, the crew is fighting for survivability.
The IL-38, under the command of pilot Gennady Petrogradsky, took up a position over the accident area at 14:20. By this time, the Alexey Khlobystov floating base was coming at full speed to help Komsomolets, which was supposed to arrive at the site by 18:00.
By three o'clock in the afternoon it seemed that the worst was over. Three circled over the area Soviet aircraft, the ships rushed at full speed to the scene of the accident, the fire, although not extinguished, was localized. Help should have arrived soon.
Most of the crew were on the upper deck without life jackets. The people who got out of the smoke-filled compartments were confident that the Komsomolets was unsinkable and did not imagine that they would soon have to leave the ship.
The boat sank in a few minutes
At 16:35, the Il-38 crew noticed that the K-278 began to settle to the stern. As a result of a powerful fire, the tightness of the boat’s durable hull was broken, and the Komsomolets began to flood. It happened quickly.
At 16:40, the boat commander gave the order to prepare for the evacuation of the crew, prepare a pop-up rescue chamber (PSC), and leave the compartments. Personnel began to hand over life rafts, but only one of them was able to be launched.
Seven minutes later, the conning tower was half submerged in water. At 17:00, the crew without personal life-saving equipment began to evacuate onto a life raft. A rescue container was dropped from the Il-38, but it malfunctioned and the sailors were unable to use it.
At 17:08, K-278 Komsomolets quickly went into depth. IN ice water There were 61 people in the Norwegian Sea. People who did not even have life jackets, were poisoned by carbon monoxide during the fire, burned, held on with all their strength.
Captain 3rd rank Anatoly Ispenkov remained inside the strong hull of the boat. The commander of the electrical division until the last ensured the operation of the diesel generator of the dying Komsomolets. He did not have time to get out of the sinking boat...
Abyss Survivor
K-278 was equipped with a pop-up rescue chamber, which allows the entire crew of the boat to escape from the depths. At the moment when the Komsomolets sank, five people were in the VSK: the boat commander Evgeny Vanin, captain 3rd rank Yudin, midshipmen Slyusarenko, Chernikov and Krasnobaev.
Captain Vanin rushed inside the boat, hearing the voices of people in it. Those who remained on the surface barely had time to batten down the hatch behind it - only this left a chance for those remaining inside to escape with the help of a rescue chamber. Yudin, Slyusarenko, Chernikov and Krasnobaev, who were climbing the ladder at the time of flooding, were literally thrown down due to the fact that the sinking boat stood almost vertically. Midshipman Slyusarenko was the last to be dragged into the cell. Yudin and Chernikov desperately tried to close the bottom cover of the chamber, which weighed more than 250 kg. They managed to do this with incredible difficulty.
The chamber, filled with smoke, sank along with the boat to the bottom, which in this place was at a depth of more than one and a half kilometers. The divers tried to disconnect the camera from the boat.
Captain 3rd Rank Yudin suddenly shouted: “Everyone put on breathing apparatus!” Only Slyusarenko and Chernikov managed to do this - the rest, including Yudin himself, died.
Submariners died due to carbon monoxide, whose effect increases many times with increasing pressure.
The camera separated from the boat almost at the bottom when the Komsomolets hull was damaged under the pressure of the water column.
The escape capsule was thrown to the surface like a champagne cork. The top hatch cover, secured with one latch, was torn off, and Chernikov and Slyusarenko were thrown out with it. But the first died after hitting his head, and only Slyusarenko survived, ending up in the water. The rescue chamber was overwhelmed by waves, and after a few seconds it finally sank to the bottom.
Midshipman Slyusarenko was picked up by rescuers some time later. Viktor Fedorovich Slyusarenko - only person in the world, who escaped from a submarine that sank at a depth of one and a half kilometers.
Last refuge
About 70 minutes passed from the moment the Komsomolets was scuttled until the mother ship "Alexei Khlobystov" arrived at the scene of the disaster. These minutes turned out to be fatal for most crew members. 16 people drowned, another 16 died from hypothermia, and their bodies were brought on board along with the remaining 30 sailors.
Three more died on board the mother ship, although at first glance their condition did not cause concern. Doctors later explained that staying in cold water had already triggered irreversible changes in their bodies, and it was impossible to save them.
As a result, out of 69 crew members, 42 died and 27 survived. May 12, 1989 Presidium Supreme Council The USSR issued a decree awarding all members of the Komsomolets crew - living and dead - with the Order of the Red Banner.
Funeral procession during the funeral of sailors of the Komsomolets submarine, 1989. Photo: RIA Novosti / V. Kuznetsov
The Komsomolets submarine has been resting at a depth of 1,650 meters at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea for a quarter of a century. From 1989 to 1998, seven expeditions were carried out using the Mir deep-sea submersibles, during which the condition of the boat was monitored, as well as work to ensure radiation safety. It was determined that the boat's reactor was securely shut down and it currently does not pose a threat to the environment.
In 1998, the investigation into the sinking of the Komsomolets submarine was suspended due to the “failure to identify the person to be charged as an accused” and the fact that “to establish real reasons fire and flooding before the submarine is raised and inspected is not possible.”