Back in 1980, the famous soothsayer Vanga uttered a prophecy that any sane person would not take seriously. Who knew that this prediction would come true exactly, making millions of people go cold with horror.
"At the end of the century, in August 1999 or 2000, Kursk will be under water, and the whole world will mourn it." Who then, in the distant eighties, could understand that this was not about the city of Kursk, which is located at a great distance from the nearest sea, but about a future submarine named after this city. The prophecy turned out to be a terrible truth, and on August 12, 2000, the whole world learned about a terrible tragedy in the cold waters of the Barents Sea. The disaster of the submarine K-141 "Kursk" to this day remains a mysterious, full of contradictions, an event that has left a deep scar on the history of modern Russia.
History of creation
The nuclear submarine Kursk is a submarine that has long been considered the best in the Russian Navy. The project was developed in the USSR in the late 1960s.
The Soviet Union was significantly inferior to its main enemy, the United States, in the number of aircraft carriers, so the main goal of the Antey nuclear-powered ships was the ability to quietly approach a well-guarded enemy ship at a strike distance and destroy the target.
The Kursk submarine was laid down in Severodvinsk in 1992.
Already in 1994, she was launched and attached to the Northern Fleet. The submarine was considered a special pride also because it was built in a very difficult time for the country. She was considered a symbol of the new Russia.
The Kursk nuclear submarine was armed with Granit missiles and torpedoes to counter enemy nuclear submarines. Being an inconspicuous vessel, with a low noise level, she could deliver a lot of inconvenience to the enemy by her mere presence in the waters where enemy ships were based. The submarine's armament was the most modern and made it possible to deliver high-precision strikes against both surface and underwater targets.
The size of the submarine was impressive. Its length was gigantic 154 meters, and the displacement in immersion mode was estimated at almost 24 thousand tons.
Service of the submarine K-141 "Kursk"
The Kursk submarine was the pride and flagship of not only the Northern Fleet, but the entire Russian Navy.
Repeatedly, the submarine was involved in military exercises, including large-scale ones.
So, in 1999, in the Mediterranean Sea, a submarine in the autonomous navigation mode successfully carried out a training destruction of NATO ships. Thus, the Kursk eliminated the main enemy forces alone, proving its high efficiency in practice.
Disaster and rescue work
The exercise, taking place in the Barents Sea in August 2000, was considered the largest since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course, the most important role in the scenario was played by Russia's best submarine, the nuclear submarine Kursk.
During the tests, the submarine was supposed to hide from probable detection, and at the scheduled time to carry out a training torpedoing of a mock enemy ship. But the plans were not destined to come true.
At 11-28 local time there was an explosion, according to various sources, from 1.5 to 4 points on the Richter scale. It is known that it was recorded by many seismic stations and sensors. It was reported that he was caught even in Alaska. After 135 seconds there was a second explosion, much more powerful than the first.
Already at 13-50 the first “bells” are heard about the misfortune that has happened. The crew of the submarine does not communicate at the scheduled time. The commander of the Northern Fleet immediately flies to the base in Severomorsk. While no official announcement follows, but it becomes clear that something irreparable has happened.
On the same day, at 23-30, the "alarm" mode is announced - from that moment the military begins the search for the missing ship.
In the middle of the night, on August 13, the approximate search area clears up, but only by 16-20 is it possible to detect the Kursk nuclear submarine. Technical contact is established with it, but it is obvious that the submarine is lying on the ground, that is, it has crashed.
It can be said that from this moment the actions of the leadership begin, which cause at least a shock. The rescue operation is not announced for a long time - only on August 14 at 7 am the first rescuers begin timid attempts to go down to the depth. The big ranks look as if they themselves do not understand what is happening and do not know how to act in this situation.
This causes a flurry of negative emotions from all Russians, but above all from relatives of sailors in distress. The world is flying around frames with the President of the country vacationing in Sochi. Since then, many have witnessed no less heartbreaking video footage of Vladimir Putin meeting with relatives of the submariners. Without exaggeration, the whole world is following the fate of the nuclear-powered ship.
Almost immediately, Norway offers its help, which has a well-trained search fleet. Her bathyscaphes are capable of conducting search and rescue operations at great depths. But the leadership of Russia refuses any kind of assistance for a long time, and when it agrees, it becomes clear that invaluable time has been irretrievably lost.
Only on August 21, the first rescuers were able to open the hatch and enter the sunken boat. At that moment, it became clear that there was no one to save. "Kursk" was completely flooded.
Following the results of the investigation, the command of the Northern Fleet announced that the cause of the death of the Kursk submarine was an exploding training torpedo. After that, the submarine hit the bow on the ground, which led to the detonation of the rest of the warhead. The crew almost completely died, and those who miraculously managed to stay alive were measured no more than 6 hours.
The list of the dead was 118 people.
Thus ended the history of the submarine, on which the Russian military leadership had placed special hopes. And the reasons for her death are still shrouded in a series of secrets and coincidences.
Alternative versions of the death of the submarine
It so happened that the Kursk disaster became one of the biggest mysteries in Russian history. And there were more than enough reasons for this.
First, the actions of the Russian leadership are sometimes not amenable to logical justification.
Secondly, a lot of doubts are generated by the rescue operation, which seemed to be artificially delayed as much as possible.
Thirdly, the Russian military was extremely reluctant to raise the submarine, although it is logical to assume that this would simplify the investigation and shed light on the cause of the tragedy. As a result, it was decided to raise the nuclear submarine in parts, with a sawn off bow, and this is at least alarming.
The justifications of the country's leadership that it was a necessity because of the incomprehensible state of the atomic engine still left doubts.
Fourthly, today there is a huge amount of materials that are similar to the truth, proving the presence of American submarines in the Barents Sea, which, by pure chance, could cause the death of the flagship of the Russian fleet.
It will probably never be possible to find out the whole truth about the tragedy with the Kursk. To understand what it was: the possible beginning of the Third World War or banal carelessness, most likely, even future generations will not succeed.
And all this mystery, of course, gives rise to a large number of conspiracy theories and theories with a lot of evidence and refutation. The most popular alternative versions of the Kursk tragedy are as follows:
- Accidental encounter with an American spy submarine;
- Criminal negligence in the installation of combat torpedoes;
- Deliberate sabotage of exercises. It is known that there were representatives of China in the fleet, who were interested in concluding large contracts for the supply of Russian weapons. Probably due to the actions of some third party, the submarine was liquidated for an unknown reason. Of course, at the highest level, the truth was quickly revealed, but then a political game followed, and the people were "fed" the most plausible version of what happened.
Perhaps no version was as popular as a likely collision with too "curious" NATO submarines.
It is known for sure that large-scale exercises in the North of Russia attracted special attention from the United States.
Later it turned out that the Memphis submarine had the task of getting as close as possible to the exercise arena and observing the unfolding events. From this moment, the most controversial hypotheses begin, which are often supported by a lot of facts.
One of the main engines of this version is the investigative film of the French director Jean Michel Carré "Submarine in Troubled Waters". So, it is known (photo and video evidence was even cited for this) that the Memphis was getting urgent repairs at the nearest Norwegian base immediately after the disaster with the Russian submarine.
Many eyewitnesses and rescuers claim that they heard distress signals from the Kursk, which means that the crew could stay alive for a long time. This does not fit with the official conclusion that almost all sailors died instantly from explosions and flooding.
On the other hand, distress signals could have come from the damaged Memphis, which either collided with a Russian submarine or was hit by a torpedo fire in response.
The proven fact of fixing two explosions also speaks of a possible “shootout”.
In addition, a rescue buoy launched from a submarine was found in the waters near the crash site. In turn, most sources state that the buoy remained in its place on the Kursk.
The official version of the explosion of a training torpedo on board the nuclear submarine also caused a great resonance. In some sources, you can find facts that simply speak of unacceptable sloppiness in the Russian fleet.
The newest hydrogen-fueled torpedo was delivered incorrectly, which led to the leakage of a combustible substance, its further ignition, and then the detonation of the main warhead. According to this theory, the submarine was not adapted to the installation of weapons of this class, and in preparation for the exercises, a number of egregious mistakes were made, which, overlapping each other, eventually led to a tragic outcome.
Some time after the tragedy, a version gained high popularity, according to which Vladimir Putin deliberately concealed from the public the true causes of the disaster in the Barents Sea. In favor of this theory is the fact that all the big bosses who had access to information or carried out rescue work were sent on vacation soon after the end of the investigation.
The decision taken by the president, of course, according to which the submarine was raised in a sawn state, also made the public doubt the transparency of the investigation.
The entire crew was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously, and the captain was honored to become a hero of Russia. And even here it seemed that the government was trying to get out, because formally high ranks were given for exercises in the Mediterranean in 1999.
There is a large amount of evidence that the Russian leadership was in close contact with the American intelligence services immediately after the incident. In addition, it became known that a few days later the United States forgave Russia a large debt, and the CIA director secretly visited Russia a few hours after the incident, when the boat was not even searched. In turn, this leads to believe that the Russian president deliberately took into account the version with the mistake of his own military and made it public in order to avoid a possible military conflict with the United States.
Popular discontent was also provoked by Vladimir Putin's interview with the well-known American journalist and TV presenter Larry Obrian, which followed much later. To the host’s question, “What happened to the Kursk submarine?”, the President of Russia replied with a smirk: “She drowned.”
A wide public outcry broke out again when the bodies of the submariners were raised. Among other things, it became known about the letter of Captain Dmitry Kolesnikov. People's minds were excited by a part of the note, which was immediately labeled "Secret." The management referred to the fact that the cut out part of the letter was purely personal, but the captain's wife still has not received the original note from her husband.
Who knows, perhaps the surviving sailors, in complete darkness, by touch, wrote words that ordinary people are not supposed to know.
Memory
The tragic death of the newest Russian submarine did not leave anyone indifferent, it would seem. Since that time, many poems and books have been written that are dedicated to the memory of the dead sailors. The movie 72 meters, based on the tragedy, received wide success in cinemas.
People's memory is immortalized in many monuments and monuments that are installed throughout the country.
The most famous of them are located in Moscow, Kursk, Severodvinsk and Murmansk.
All this is evidence that the tragedy with the nuclear submarine "Kursk" is a big wound in the memory of the people of Russia, which is why there is so much misunderstood and unaccepted in this story, and the unsaid still resonates with pain and impotence in the minds of millions of people.
Video
The idea of a submarine itself appeared in the 15th century. This idea came to the brilliant head of the legendary Leonardo da Vinci. But, fearing the devastating consequences of such a hidden weapon, he destroyed his project.
But this always happens, if the idea already exists, then sooner or later humanity will embody it. For more than half a century, submarines have been plying the seas and oceans. And, of course, from time to time they get into accidents. Of particular danger in this case are nuclear submarines equipped with nuclear power plants. Let's talk about them today.
USS Thresher
The first nuclear submarine to sink in history was the American USS Thresher, which sank in the already distant 1963. Built three years earlier, she was the first Thrasher-class submarine of its kind.
On April 10, the USS Thresher was taken out to sea to test deep-sea dives and test the strength of the hull. For about two hours, the boat sank and periodically transmitted data on the state of its systems to headquarters. At 09:17 USS Thresher stopped communicating. The last message read: "... limiting depth ...".
When they found it, it turned out that it fell apart into six parts, and all 112 crew members and 17 researchers died. The reason for the death of the boat is called a factory marriage in the welding of the hull, which could not withstand the pressure, cracked, and the water that got inside caused a short circuit in the electronics. The investigation will establish that the shipyards where the USS Thresher was serviced had extremely low quality control, and in addition, deliberate sabotage could occur. This was the reason for the death of the submarine. Her hull still rests at a depth of 2560 meters east of Cape Cod.
USS Scorpio
In the entire history of the US Navy, only two submarines have been definitively and irrevocably lost. The first was the USS Thresher mentioned above, and the second was the USS Scorpion that sank in 1968. The submarine sank in the Atlantic Ocean near the Azores. Literally five days after the accident, she was supposed to return to the base in Norfolk, but she did not get in touch.
In search of the USS Scorpion, 60 ships and aircraft set off, which found a lot of interesting things, including a sunken German submarine from World War II. But the sought-after boat was discovered only five months later at a depth of 3000 meters. The entire crew of 99 perished. The causes of the disaster are not completely known, but there is a version that one of the torpedoes could explode on board the boat.
USS San Francisco
But the case of the American boat USS San Francisco is just the story of a miraculous rescue. On January 8, 2005, a collision occurred 675 kilometers southeast of Guam. At a depth of 160 m, San Francisco collided with an underwater rock.
The rock broke through the ballast tanks, so that the ship could go to the bottom very quickly. But by the joint efforts of the team, they managed to maintain buoyancy and raise the USS San Francisco to the surface. The hull was not broken, and the nuclear reactor was not damaged.
At the same time, there were victims. Ninety-eight crew members received various injuries and fractures. Mate Second Class Joseph Allen died of head injuries the next day.
Let's move on to the Soviet submarines. The submarine K-8, which sank in the Bay of Biscay on April 12, 1970, was the first such loss of the Soviet fleet.
The cause of death was a fire in the hydroacoustic cabin, which began to spread rapidly through the air ducts and threatened to destroy the entire ship. But he was saved by simple human heroism. When the sailors from the first shift of the main power plant realized that the fire continued to spread, they drowned out the nuclear reactors and battened down all the doors to other compartments. The submariners themselves died, but did not let the fire destroy the submarine and kill the rest. A nuclear reactor did not release radiation into the ocean.
The surviving sailors were taken on board by the Bulgarian motor ship Avior, which was just sailing nearby. Captain 2nd rank Vsevolod Bessonov and 51 members of his crew died fighting the fire.
K-278 "Komsomolets"
The second sunken Soviet nuclear submarine. K-278 "Komsomolets" also destroyed the fire that broke out on board on April 7, 1989. The fire broke the tightness of the boat, which quickly filled with water and sank.
The sailors managed to send a signal for help, but due to damaged electronics, they were able to receive and decipher it only from the eighth time. Some crew members managed to get out and swim to the surface, but they ended up in icy water. As a result of the disaster, 42 sailors died, and 27 survived.
K-141 "Kursk"
We have already written about the mysterious death of the Kursk submarine, the strange behavior of the Russian authorities and questions that no one has answered yet. So now let's focus on the main points.
On August 2, 2000 at 11:28 a.m., the systems of the cruiser Pyotr Veliky recorded a strong bang, followed by a slight shake of the ship. "Kursk" participated with the cruiser in the exercises of the Northern Fleet and six hours later was supposed to get in touch with him, but disappeared.
After almost two days, the submarine will be found at a depth of 108 meters, already at the bottom. All 118 crew members were killed. The reasons for the death of the Kursk are still not completely clear, since the official version of the fire in the torpedo room raises too many questions.
Ukraine is out of competition
If any conclusion can be drawn from all these stories, it is to understand that the work of submariners is harsh and dangerous. And Ukrainians know how to cope with any dangerous work. Therefore, despite the fact that we do not yet have a submarine fleet, this is a matter of time. As soon as Ukraine has free resources for its creation and development, it will be created.
And we have plenty of strong sailors, whose Cossack ancestors sailed on seagulls all the way to Turkey, and whose fathers and grandfathers served on Soviet submarines, we will find in abundance. Ukraine usually has no shortage of heroes.
Finished model length: 154 cm
Number of sheets: 44
Sheet format: A3
Description, history
K-141 "Kursk" - nuclear submarine with cruise missiles of project 949A "Antey", (NATO designation - "Oscar-II"). Laid down at Sevmash in 1992, put into operation on December 30, 1994. From 1995 to 2000 - as part of Northern Fleet of Russia, Vidyaevo base point.
| K-141 "Kursk" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Ship history | ||
| flag state | Russia | |
| Home port | Vidyaevo, Ara-lip | |
| Launching | 16th of May 1994 | |
| Withdrawn from the Navy | 12th of August 2000 (sank) | |
| Modern status | disposed of, felling fence preserved | |
| Main characteristics | ||
| ship type | SSGN | |
| Project designation | 949A "Antey" | |
| NATO classification | "Oscar II" | |
| Speed (surface) | 15 knots | |
| Speed (underwater) | 33 knots | |
| Operating depth | 420 m | |
| Maximum immersion depth | 500 m | |
| Autonomy of navigation | 120 days | |
| Crew | 130 people | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Displacement surface | 14 700 t | |
| Underwater displacement | 23 860 t | |
| The maximum length (according to KVL) | 154 m | |
| Hull width max. | 18.2 m | |
| Height | 18.4 m [source? ] | |
| Average draft (according to design waterline) | 9.2 m | |
| Power point | ||
| Nuclear, 2 reactors OK-650V, thermal output 2 x 190 MW, shaft power 2 x 50,000 hp | ||
| Armament | ||
| Torpedo- mine armament |
2x650mm and 4x533mm TA 24 torpedoes |
|
| Missile weapons | RCC complex P-700 Granite 24 missiles ZM-45 |
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Sunk in the Barents Sea, 175 km from Severomorsk, ( 69°40?00? With. sh. 37°35?00? in. d.) at a depth of 108 meters as a result of the disaster that occurred on August 12, 2000. All 118 crew members on board were killed. By number of dead the accident was the second in the post-war history of the domestic submarine fleet, after the explosion of ammunition on the B-37.
Building
The crew of the K-141 APRK was formed in the Northern Fleet in June 1991, the first commander was Captain 2nd Rank Rozhkov Viktor Nikolaevich.
Laid down in Severodvinsk ( PO "Northern Machine-Building Enterprise", serial number 662) in 1992, launched in May 1994, put into operation on December 30, 1994.
In April 1993, in honor of the feat of the Soviet people on the Kursk Bulge during the Great Patriotic War, by the directive of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy K-141, the honorary name "Kursk" was given.
Service History
In August-October 1999, the boat participated in an autonomous trip to Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, having previously performed “excellent” rocket firing for the prize of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy.
The campaign of the Kursk APRK was carried out according to the plan and under the control of the commander of the KSF, Admiral Popov V.A., who gave him the following description: “The commander of the Kursk managed to fully realize our plan. The ship secretly broke into the Mediterranean through Gibraltar. It was not a breakthrough, but a song!”
"Kursk" conducted covert surveillance of the group 6th Fleet of the US Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, including aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt, aircraft from which attacked Serbia during NATO operations against Yugoslavia. During the Mediterranean campaign, the Kursk worked out 5 conditional attacks on real targets. As a result of the campaign, 72 crew members were presented for government awards.
The sudden appearance in the Mediterranean of the latest "aircraft carrier killer" caused panic in the ranks of the US 6th Fleet. The anti-submarine forces of all Mediterranean NATO countries were involved in the search for the Kursk ...
However, K-141 disappears as suddenly as it appeared, dealing a devastating blow to American ego. Several chiefs at once, including the commander of the anti-submarine defense of the Gibraltar zone, are deprived of their posts, and the Kursk and its commander are, in fact, elevated to the rank of "America's personal enemies." The commander of the nuclear submarine was presented to the title of Hero of Russia.
From official document
| In the course of carrying out the tasks of combat service in the Mediterranean Sea, the Kursk anti-submarine missile system operated in conditions of overwhelming superiority of the anti-submarine forces of a potential enemy. Carried out the task of monitoring enemy carrier strike multi-purpose groups. He monitored them and carried out a passing search for nuclear submarines of foreign states, while maintaining secrecy and combat stability. Based on the results of combat service, 72 crew members were presented for government awards. Captain 1st rank G. Lyachin presented to the title of Hero of Russia. APRK "Kursk" is recognized as the best submarine of the Northern Fleet. The governor of the Murmansk region presented the commander of the ship with the prize "The Best Submarine of the Northern Fleet". |
According to the results of the competition for 1999, the K-141 Kursk was the best in the 7th division. Five of its combat units are "excellent". 23% of the crew members are masters of military affairs. The remaining 77% are specialists of the 1st and 2nd classes.
In the last year of the 20th century, Captain 1st Rank G.P. Lyachin was preparing the crew for a new long-distance voyage, but not alone, but as part of a powerful group. Russia, after the collapse of the USSR, was again preparing to return to the Mediterranean Sea.
On July 30, 2000, the crew of the Kursk took part in the naval parade dedicated to the Day of the Navy in Severomorsk.
On the On October 15, 2000, it was planned to leave Severomorsk for Mediterranean Sea aircraft carrier maneuver group of the Northern Fleet, which included the Kursk.
Catastrophe
AT 2002 Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Kuroyedov said that in the course of preparation, the command committed a number of violations that did not contribute to the favorable conduct of the exercises, but at the same time were not the cause of the accident. On board the boat were 24 P-700 Granit cruise missiles and 24 torpedoes. It was necessary to launch a cruise missile and torpedo fire at a training target. The ascent and communication with the report was planned for 13 or 15 hours. The captain of the 1st rank G.P. Lyachin commanded the ship.
According to the exercise plan, the Kursk was supposed to start preparations at 09:40, and from 11:40 to 13:40 to carry out a training attack on an aircraft carrier group of ships. The last entries in the logs are marked 11 hours 15 minutes on August 12, 2000.
Possible causes of death
Training torpedo explosion
Official version
Official report published in 2002 by Prosecutor General Ustinov: at 11 hours 28 minutes 26 seconds Moscow time, an explosion occurred torpedoes 65-76A ("Kit") in torpedo tube No. 4. The cause of the explosion was the leakage of torpedo fuel components ( hydrogen peroxide). After 2 minutes, the fire that arose after the first explosion led to the detonation of torpedoes located in the first compartment of the boat. The second explosion led to the destruction of several compartments of the submarine. Torpedoes on hydrogen peroxide have not been used in most fleets of the world for more than 50 years precisely for reasons of safety and reliability, on the Kursk there were such torpedoes - model 65-76 "Kit", developed in 1976 - since they are cheaper than torpedoes with expensive silver-zinc batteries. Shortly after the investigation, the hydrogen peroxide torpedo, which had been attempted to be returned to the Navy in order to save money, was finally withdrawn from service.
Version of Vice Admiral Ryazantsev
According to Valery Dmitrievich Ryazantsev, who was a member of the government commission to investigate the causes and circumstances of the Kursk submarine disaster, the cause of the first explosion was the so-called “thick” torpedo 65-76 PV, replenished with non-fat high pressure air on August 11, 2000. Until August 12, non-skimmed air could not enter the oxidizer tank, since the practical torpedo was on the rack, the air shut-off valve on it was closed, and safety devices were installed on the air trigger valve. The uncontrolled decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide began after the torpedo was loaded into the torpedo tube. Due to the lack of design of submarines of this class, in order to prevent an increase in pressure in the 1st compartment during salvo firing of torpedoes, the crew leaves the shutters of the ship's general ventilation system open, as a result of which the shock wave from the explosion of a torpedo 65-76 PV hit the 2nd compartment and the entire personal the composition of the command compartment received severe contusions and was inoperable. The second explosion, according to Valery Ryazantsev, occurred due to the collision of the nuclear submarine with the ground, and not as a result of a massive fire in the first compartment - the nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk, with the first compartment filled with water, at a speed of about 3 knots, with a trim of nose 40-42 degrees at a depth of 108 meters collided with the ground. Torpedo tubes No. 1, 3, 5 and 6 with live torpedoes equipped with fuses were crushed and destroyed, which caused the live torpedoes to explode.
torpedoing
Immediately after the disaster, several admirals and officials claimed that the Kursk had been torpedoed by an American submarine. Then this version began to be silent in favor of the official version. However, the French director Jean-Michel Carre (Jean-Michel Carr?), in his film Kursk. Submarine in troubled water"(fr. Koursk: un sous marin en eaux troubles ), which was shown on January 7, 2005 on French television France 2, claims that the Kursk was torpedoed by the American submarine Memphis. According to his version, the Kursk carried out a demonstrative shot of the new Shkval torpedo, these tests were observed by two American submarines Memphis and Toledo.
"Toledo" was walking dangerously close under the cover of "Memphis", which was "in the shadows." At one point, the Kursk and the Toledo collided (the video of the Kursk lying at the bottom shows long gaps on its hull) and, in order to prevent the Kursk from firing at the Toledo, (it is assumed that the opening of the torpedo tube was heard apparatus "Kursk"), "Memphis" opened fire with a torpedo Mk-48 on the "Kursk".
Carré claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin deliberately concealed the truth about what happened in order to prevent a sharp deterioration in relations, and possibly a military conflict with the United States.
Canadian documentarians and some retired military men adhere to the same version.
Mina from the 2nd World WarWhen analyzing the version about the torpedoing of the Kursk APRK, it must be taken into account, however, that the information that was called official in the film directed by Carré, in fact, in the first days after the tragedy, was put forward in a presumptive manner along with other versions, including the most incredible ones. The materials available today do not provide any basis for its confirmation. Strictly speaking, even in the French film itself, the only actual proof of its plausibility is a freeze-frame showing a hole in a light hull on the right side. However, this hole is located in close proximity to the cut-off line of the bow compartment, but there are no clear signs of the origin of this defect from a torpedo hit, and the strong hull is intact in this area. The American Mk-48 torpedoes discussed in the film explode outside the hull and do not leave such holes. As a result, it can be assumed that the hole could have been formed as a result of lifting and towing operations, when docking the boat, etc. Another strong counterargument against the torpedoing version is the discrepancy between the powers of the 1st and 2nd explosions on the Kursk, recorded by seismologists, and the power of an American torpedo.
Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov expressed the version of the collision between the Kursk and anti-ship mine during the Second World War, which may also have led to the detonation of the torpedo. After choosing the official version of the "torpedo explosion", the assumption disappeared by itself.
Experts familiar with the strength characteristics of nuclear submarines of this class initially rejected this version.
Collision with an underwater object
One of the members of the state commission, who accepted this submarine from industry, captain of the first rank Mikhail Volzhensky believes that the torpedo in the apparatus could be jammed due to a strong mechanical blow to the hull of the boat. Volzhensky considers the most likely cause of the disaster to be a collision with a foreign submarine. In his opinion, "a sliding blow of the steering pen (horizontal rudders) could lead to severe deformation of the Kursk torpedo tubes."
This conclusion is very similar to the probable causes of the Kursk disaster, outlined on November 29, 2000 in “ Nezavisimaya newspaper". Indeed, both practical torpedoes: USET-80 and 65-76, as a rule, are loaded into the right torpedo tubes (TA). In a collision at a sharp heading angle with a foreign nuclear submarine, the right outer TA of 650 mm caliber, in which the practical 65-76 torpedo lay, would be the first to be crushed. With a relative approaching speed of the submarines of about 20 knots (10 m/s), this TA was crushed together with the torpedo in one second. During this second, almost instantly, the entire supply of fuel (kerosene) and oxidizer (hydrogen peroxide) were combined in a closed volume, which led to their explosive ignition, enhanced by the explosion of a powder accelerator installed in the tail section of the torpedo. The pressure of the hull of the foreign nuclear submarine from the head of the torpedo to its tail sent this explosion (equivalent to an explosion of 150 kg of TNT, as recorded by the Norwegian seismic station) to the rear cover of the TA, which was torn out, and the force of fire hit the first compartment, which instantly led to a fire.
The commander of the Northern Fleet, which included the Kursk, Admiral Popov also expressed strong confidence in such a version. According to him, an unidentified submarine unintentionally hit "the most vulnerable spot of this submarine project", as a result of which, having lost its buoyancy, it hit the ground with high speed and trim, where the torpedo ammunition exploded.
Missile hit
Captain of the first rank Alexander Leskov, pointing out that a submarine of this size was not entitled to be under water in this place for physical reasons, suggested that an anti-ship ballistic missile had hit the boat. However, the chairman of the St. Petersburg club of submariners, Captain 1st Rank Igor Kurdin, said that this version is "complete nonsense."
On September 8, 2000, an article appeared in the Berlinliner Zeitung newspaper with a version that the Kursk was sunk by an accidental hit by a P-700 missile equipped with a new warhead designed to destroy underwater targets launched from nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great". This version was kept silent due to the fact that it could "discredit the entire Russian military command." This version does not explain the origin of the hole. In addition, the Russian armed forces do not have such a "diving" modification of the P-700 anti-ship missiles.
The resulting fire caused the torpedoes to detonate, causing a series of explosions.
rescue work
Rescue work was carried out by the Northern Fleet and took place from August 13 to 22, but were unsuccessful. Underwater vehicles (autonomous projectiles) AS-15, AS-32, AS-34 and AS-36 were used. The press service of the Main Staff of the Navy attributed the failures to a strong undercurrent, low water transparency, rough seas and a large roll of the Kursk - about 60 degrees.
However, the captain of the 3rd rank A. Sholokhov, who dived three times on deep-sea submersible "Priz", claimed that the speed of the undercurrent was not more than 0.7 knots, the visibility was acceptable for rescue operations, and there was no roll. All attempts at suction to the coaming area of the boat were unsuccessful, since the rubber anti-noise coating on boats of this type does not properly cover the hatch coaming area and interferes with docking.
On August 20, the Norwegian ship Seaway Eagle was allowed to work, divers from which were able to open the aft rescue hatch of the nuclear submarine the next day.
The reaction of the authorities
President Vladimir Putin interrupted his vacation, which he spent in Sochi, only five days after the tragedy - August 17, 2000.
When asked by Larry King about what happened to the submarine, V.V. Putin replied: “She drowned.” On August 28, 2000, ORT went on air Sergey Dorenko's author's program with the latest issue and sharp criticism of Putin over the death of the Kursk APRK.
In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of August 26, 2000 No. 1578, all those on board were posthumously awarded Order of Courage, and the commander of the ship was given the title Hero of the Russian Federation.
Investigation
On August 14, at the direction of President V.V. Putin, a Government Commission headed by I.I. Klebanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, was created to investigate the causes of the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine.
detailed survey at the end of September with the help of deep-sea manned submersibles "Mir-1" and "Mir-2" from the research vessel " Academician Mstislav Keldysh»,
In September 2000, all Russian ships participating in the exercises were inspected at the pier from the outer surface and inner underwater sides. Inquiries about the possible participation of foreign objects were sent, many of them were answered, but they did not contain permission to inspect the alleged objects.
AT In 2000, several surveys of the sunken submarine were carried out [
- in October - November - by uninhabited underwater vehicles and divers of the Norwegian company Halliburton AS from the vessel Regalia.
AT In 2001, an investigation team of 43 people was created to examine the raised Kursk. The group gathered in full force on September 27, its core was made up of investigators who had been working since the initiation of the criminal case. From September 27 to October 22, the group underwent special training; a submarine of the same project, along with the crew, was placed at its disposal. In the process of preparation, a certain compartment was assigned to the investigators, and movement in gas masks and with gas cylinders behind their backs was also practiced. About 50 specialists from the Rubin Central Design Bureau, as well as compartment commanders from submarines of the same project, were involved in the inspection of the raised Kursk.
According to one commentator, there was a strong smell in the compartments after lifting, in some compartments there was a large concentration of carbon monoxide. The 9th compartment was waist-deep filled with fuel oil, water and other substances, the 5th and 6th were relatively clean, there was practically no water and carbon monoxide.
In the bulkheads between the compartments there are airtight bulkhead cups designed to save items in case of unforeseen situations. There were two of them between the 8th and 9th compartments, in both there were only blank sheets of paper with pencils provided for by the regulations.
The investigation established the reason why the rescue apparatus could not stick to the site in the area of the 9th compartment, up to 6-7 suction experiments were carried out per day. This reason was the chips of the "mirror" platform.
It was found that there were more people in the 4th compartment than there should have been.
Logs and recorders
According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Vladimir Kuroyedov, in the 5th compartment of the nuclear-powered ship, where the control panel for the Kursk's main power plant was located, a recorder and watch documentation badly damaged by water were found. According to him, a search was carried out for a recorder and watch documentation in the 3rd compartment, where the combat posts of radio operators, chemists and radiometrists were located. The decoding of 22 cassettes of tape recordings from the Kursk nuclear-powered ship was carried out by specialists from the St. Center for Speech Technologies».
It was found that on the day of the accident, the Snegir tape recording equipment was turned off, recording the conversations over the speakerphone, the corresponding toggle switch was in the “off” position. According to the regulations, during the preparation of a training attack, the Snegir equipment must be turned on. It also turned out that the emergency buoy signaling was not turned on on the nuclear-powered ship and the emergency antenna ejection system was turned off for several years. The factory fastening device was not removed from the emergency buoy, which prevented the buoy from surfacing.
Logs of the central atomic post, a draft logbook, logbooks for the control of the left and right side of the nuclear submarine were found. There were no records of an emergency or an emergency situation in them. Three divers' notes were also found.
On the basis of one of the notes, an assumption was made about the absence of light and smoke in the 9th compartment.
Identification of the dead
During the year, part of the investigators collected identification signs, interviewing relatives, friends, colleagues of the dead submariners, requesting information from medical institutions, up to children's clinics. 9 volumes were collected. Also, the medical books found in the 4th compartment were provided to the forensic doctors.
In February 2002, it was reported that the commander of the crew, Captain 1st Rank Gennady Lyachin, and the senior in the campaign, the Chief of Staff of the 7th Division of the Northern Fleet, Captain 1st Rank Vladimir Bagryantsev, were identified.
To On March 20, 2002, the bodies of 115 dead submariners were found and identified. The bodies of two sailors - Dmitry Kotkov (Koshkov) and Ivan Nefedkov (Nefednov), as well as the chief specialist of the Dagdiesel, Mammad Gadzhiev, could not be found.
According to the conclusion of the forensic medical examination, the submariners who were in the 9th compartment died from acute carbon monoxide poisoning within 7-8 hours after the disaster.
Trial involving Boris Kuznetsov
Lawyer B. A. Kuznetsov in 2002-2005 represented the interests of the victims in the criminal case “On the death of the Kursk APRK and members of its crew.” To them, including in his book “She drowned. The truth about the Kursk, which Prosecutor General Ustinov hid, "was subjected to sharp criticism of the results of the official investigation into the circumstances of the disaster. He believed that if the Russian authorities had immediately asked for foreign help, “they managed to save those 24 sailors who were in the ninth compartment and lived for more than two and a half days” (according to official data, the sailors were alive only for a few hours). At the same time, he agreed with the conclusions of the investigation that there was an explosion of torpedoes on the boat and rejected the version of her collision with an American submarine.
destruction
The first explosion caused an intense fire in the first compartment, the shock wave passed into the second compartment. Through the ventilation pipelines, the smell of burning was thrown into other compartments.
The second explosion cut off the bulkhead between the first and second compartments (22nd frame), which, moving like a piston, crushed equipment and 22 mm decking, cut off the welds into a strong hull. After lifting, the bulkhead of the first / second compartments was found at the site of the bulkhead of the second / third compartments (frame 43). The second shock wave was stopped only by the aft bulkhead of the 5 bis compartment. The bulkhead was arched, but held.
Ascent of the Kursk
On August 19, 2000, I. D. Spassky, chief designer of the Rubin Central Design Bureau, reported to the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin on the work plan to eliminate the consequences of the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster.
On August 28, 2000, the Government of the Russian Federation issued Decree No. 1190-R, which entrusted the organization of preparatory work for the evacuation of the bodies of the dead from the Kursk nuclear submarine and its rise to Federal State Unitary Enterprise "TsKB MT" Rubin "".
Kursk lifting project
Strict requirements were imposed on the lifting of the Kursk nuclear submarine - to raise it without heeling and trim, without affecting the outer hull, etc. They were dictated by the fact that as a result of the explosion, the mechanisms of the nuclear submarine were torn off their foundations, and the state of the ammunition is unknown.
In February 2001, Mammoet Transport BV (Holland) proposed the following technical solution: to raise the boat using hydraulic jacks installed on the vessel. Each jack was provided with a dynamic compensator, which was supposed to compensate for the dynamic forces when the Kursk was lifted off the ground and at the final stage of its ascent when approaching the surface. Its mechanism, based on gas compensation (nitrogen), damped each of the jacks and made it possible to have vertical movements of up to two meters under dynamic influences.
In turn, the Central Design Bureau MT "Rubin" together with the Institute. Academician Krylov, the 1st and 40th institutes of the Navy developed the design of the grips of lifting devices. The essence of the project was as follows: holes were cut out in the strong hull of the boat between the frames, and hooks with retractable paws were inserted there. Department of strength of the Institute. Academician Krylov, it was calculated that the frames and a strong hull could withstand such a load.
- A detailed project for directly lifting and transporting the Kursk was carried out by Mammoet Transport BV (Holland)
- The overall project of the entire operation as a whole is the Rubin Central Design Bureau of MT, with the participation of the Academician Krylov Central Research Institute, the 1st and 40th institutes of the Navy (Russia)
Manufacture of technical means of lifting, principles of their work
All lifting equipment was placed on the Giant 4 barge. The barge has undergone a major modernization at the Shipdock Amsterdam shipyard (Holland). The hull of the barge was reinforced in many places. Twenty-six jacks and compensators with large-diameter coils with all the necessary energy and working media were installed on it. All this was equipped with appropriate systems and control panels. On the barge, a living block and storage for the supply of working media (nitrogen and the like) were organized. Each jack provided lifting with 54 strands.
- Strand - a kind of cable with a diameter of 18 mm, consisting of seven strong metal rods: one central, close in shape to a cylinder, and six trapezoidal sections.
The strands were wound on coils with a diameter of about three meters. The working part of the strands from the jack went through the hawse pipe welded into the barge hull to the hook and was fixed on it. A bundle of 54 strands withstood a load of about 1000 tons.
The bottom of the barge was redesigned for the configuration of a submarine with a depression for the cabin of the Kursk and "saddles" along the entire length of the submarine pressing against the bottom of the barge. During the lifting operation, the barge was pulled down by the force of the jacks and increased its draft. As a result, an Archimedean force arose and actually tore the Kursk off the ground. Further, the "Kursk" was attracted to the bottom of the barge with the help of cable hydraulic jacks, while the bundles of strands were wound on coils.
The lowering of the hooks to the holes was carried out along two of the four special guide cables attached to the guide ring. The ring, in turn, was attached to a "basket" installed directly above the hole cut in the Kursk's rugged hull. After inserting the hooks into the holes, their paws were moved apart using hydraulics and fixed with a stopper.
To bring the boat into the floating dock PD-50, two L-shaped pontoons were made, designed by Mammoet Transport BV. The fact was that the maximum depth of the dock allows ships with a draft of no more than 14 meters to be brought into it. The draft of the Giant barge with the Kursk pulled to its bottom was 20.7 meters. Consequently, the "Giant" - "Kursk" system had to be raised by about 7 meters. The weight of the system was 19,500 tons. The rise of the barge and the boat to the required height was carried out by placing two pontoons under its sides.
- The development of the control system for jacks and compensators was carried out by lgH (Germany)
- Supply of jacks and compensators with related equipment - Hydrospex (Holland)
- Supply of holds - Huisman company (Holland)
- Model seaworthy tests and strength testing of load-carrying ties - Academician Krylov Central Research Institute (Russia)
- Production of giant pontoons - Sevmashpredpriyatie (Russia)
- And also about a dozen factories - equipment suppliers from different countries.
Calculation of lifting parameters
When calculating the lifting parameters, the specialists of the Rubin Central Design Bureau of MT solved two complex technical problems.
The first was that it was impossible to accurately calculate the force with which the ground attracted the boat. Soil studies by three specialized institutes gave a very wide range of results.
Second: the degree of destruction of the first compartment made it possible to assume its possible detachment from the body of the boat during the ascent, which could lead to serious, irreparable consequences.
As a result, it was decided to preliminarily give a uniform load to the lifting system, equal to approximately 50% of the boat's weight, hold it for about 6 hours, then increase the load on the stern asymmetrically. In addition, a fallback was also provided in case the boat still did not come off the ground. Under the aft end of the Kursk, a cable was wound up. The cable was attached to two tugs: SmitWijs Singapore and Artek. The tugs were ready, if necessary, to stretch the cable along the boat under the keel as far as it would be possible.
As for the problem of the first compartment, it was decided to cut it off.
Preparing the Kursk for lifting
"Academician Mstislav Keldysh"
To start organizing the recovery of the Kursk, a detailed external examination of the ship and the bottom surface in the area of flooding, as well as radiation monitoring, was necessary. For these purposes, two expeditions were carried out. The first - from September 3 to September 15, 2000 with the involvement of the rescue vessel of the Northern Fleet "Mikhail Rudnitsky" with AS-34 deep-sea submersibles
Fragment notes of Dmitry Kolesnikov
In October 2000, Operation Regalia also took place to open the hull of the Kursk nuclear submarine and search for the dead sailors. The operation was carried out by Halliburton (Norway) with the involvement of Russian divers. The divers were based on a special Norwegian semi-submersible platform "Regalia". As a result of the operation, 12 bodies of dead sailors were evacuated from the ninth compartment, including the body of Lieutenant Commander Kolesnikov, who left a suicide note. It was not possible to penetrate into the remaining compartments, as well as evacuate 11 more bodies found from the 9th compartment.
Halliburton also carried out a detailed inspection of the bow of the dead boat, lifting heavy structures from the seabed, cutting off fragments of the light hull in the area of the destroyed first compartment and lifting them, which, using the technical means of the Mikhail Rudnitsky and "Academician Mstislav Keldysh" was not possible.
Next, it was necessary to carry out a segment of the part of the first compartment destroyed by the explosion, cutting holes for hooks in the part durable housing in areas with coordinates indicated by Rubin. Smit and Mammoet Transport BV proposed to cut the first section using the technology used for cutting large diameter pipelines. A kind of saw is used as the main link in this cutting system. It consists of a cable, cylindrical elements strung on it, the surface of which has the appearance of a mountain surface with randomly located pointed peas of different heights, made of high-strength cutting material. The run of the cable in one direction is about 20 meters.
On both sides of the boat in the area of the first compartment, large cylindrical towers with only upper bottoms were to be installed. On the towers there were wheel guide blocks with running saw cables and hydraulic cylinders for the cross-return pulling of the cable. When water was pumped out of the tower, due to the pressure drop on the upper bottom, a huge force was created outside, which pressed the tower into the ground as it sawed with a saw thrown over the top of the boat.
As the saw was checked, changes were made to its design, control systems, and cutting elements. The sawing off of the first compartment itself was very difficult, requiring frequent labor-intensive connections of divers to rebuild the system in case of breaks in the running or cutting saw cable, as well as when manually cutting off individual elements of hull structures. This operation took place in August 2001 and involved two vessels: the barrage Carrier (Smit) with cutting equipment, the ship Mayo (DSND) providing all diving operations.
The results of the operation of lifting the "Kursk"
The act on the completion of the operation of lifting, transporting and docking the nuclear submarine "Kursk" was signed by the management of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "TsKB MT" Rubin "and the company" Mammut Transport Antilless N. V. " October 22, 2001.
As a result of the operation of lifting the Kursk boat, 115 bodies of dead submariners were found and buried. Three bodies were never found. From the bottom of the Barents Sea, the potentially dangerous ammunition of the boat and two nuclear reactors were evacuated. The study of the boat in dry dock made it possible to restore with a high degree of accuracy the sequence of tragic events in the last hours of the life of the boat and its crew, as well as to establish the cause of the disaster.
Disposal
In March 2009, the cutting fence was located in Murmansk, on the street. IndustrialIn February 2003, an operation began to remove the Imandra floating technical base with spent fuel from the dry shed of the Nerpa plant.
"Kursk" and the Russian Orthodox Church
In March 1995, the rector of the Kursk Theological Seminary, Bishop of Belgorod Vladyka John, consecrated the nuclear submarine. Then he presented the crew with a list of the 700-year-old Kursk Icon of the Mother of God, and each submariner received small icons depicting Saint Nicholas, the patron and protector of sailors. On August 15, 2000, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and members of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church offered up a prayer for the salvation of the crew of the Russian submarine Kursk, which was in distress in the Barents Sea.
Commemorative events and monuments, the city where the ship was built.
- Memorial to the crew of the nuclear submarine "Kursk"- in Moscow opposite Museum of the Armed Forces.
On the Communards cemetery in the Sevastopol
A memorial plaque was installed in the 12th North Sea School.
The suburban electric train ED4M-0107 of the Ramenskoye locomotive depot of the Moscow Railway, departing from the Kazansky railway station in Moscow, is named after the crew of the nuclear submarine Kursk.
In the Crimea, one of the caves on the Ai-Petri plateau is called "In memory of the Kursk submariners."
Secondary school No. 134 in St. Petersburg is named after Sergei Dudko, one of the crew members of the deceased submarine.
Secondary school No. 29 in Belgorod bears the name of captain of the third rank Dmitry Borisovich Murachev, commander of the propulsion division of the Kursk nuclear submarine.
In the village of Gerasimovo, Suvorov District, Tula Region, a chapel was built, which is dedicated to the memory of the sailors who died on the Kursk. At the entrance there is a mourning memorial plaque, and inside there is a stand with photographs of 118 submariners.
August 12, 2000. This date will forever enter the modern history of Russia. It was on this day that one of the most advanced ships of the Russian Navy, the nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk, crashed in the Barents Sea. This disaster led to the death of the entire crew of the boat, in the mournful list of the dead 118 people. To this day, many questions related to this tragedy have not been disclosed. The truth is being hidden from Russian society and whether we will ever know the true causes of the death of K-141, no one knows.
Submarine K-141 "Kursk"
The nuclear-powered ship "Kursk" belonged to the ships of project 949A "Antey". The history of submarines of this project dates back to the late 60s of the last century. Submarines of the Antey project are considered by specialists to be one of the most advanced multi-purpose boats to date. The boat "Kursk" was laid down in Severodvinsk in 1992, in 1994 it was launched, and in the same year it was accepted into the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. The first commander of the Kursk was Captain 2nd Rank Rozhkov. At the time of her death, this ship was one of the most advanced in the Russian fleet.
Boats of the Antey class (Oscar-II, according to NATO classification) were designed in the USSR to counter enemy aircraft carrier formations and its nuclear submarines. Submarines of this class are armed with Granit missiles and torpedoes. They have very low noise and are hardly noticeable. These are real "aircraft carrier killers", inconspicuous and deadly.
Here are the main characteristics of the K-141 Kursk.
The submarine "Kursk" was considered one of the best ships of the Northern Fleet. In 1999, the boat made an autonomous voyage to the Mediterranean Sea, having successfully completed all the tasks of the command. The last commander of the Kursk was Captain 1st Rank Lyachin.
Disaster - details about the death of the nuclear submarine K-141 "Kursk"
On August 10, 2000, K-141 took part in exercises in the Barents Sea. The submarine was supposed to carry out rocket and torpedo firing.
On August 12, at 11.28, the acoustics of the nuclear cruiser Peter the Great recorded a strong bang, after which the Kursk did not launch the planned torpedo attack, and then did not go out for a communication session at the set time. August 13 nuclear submarine was found lying on the bottom.
From that moment, rescue work began, which, however, was not crowned with success. The military reported that they had established contact with the submarine. Russian and Norwegian divers descended to the sunken ship, deep-sea descent vehicles worked. All of Russia watched the rescue work with bated breath.
On August 21, Norwegian divers managed to open the hatch and get inside the ship. The boat was filled with water. On the same day, the leadership of the Northern Fleet officially announced the death of the entire crew.
The following year, the wrecked submarine was towed to a shipyard. An investigation has begun. According to the official version, the nuclear submarine Kursk sank due to the explosion of a training torpedo, followed by an explosion of all ammunition. The explosion completely destroyed the first few compartments of the boat, and it filled with water within six to eight hours. Prosecutors said the fire raged along the entire length of the boat.
During the investigation, several logbooks of the ship were examined. There are no records of any emergency situations in them.
Alternative versions of the death of the submarine K-141
From the moment the authorities announced the official version to the present day, disputes regarding the causes of the death of one of the best ships of the Russian fleet have not ceased. Too many believe that the authorities are not telling the whole truth. Among the doubters are many professional sailors and specialists associated with the navy. Now there are several different versions explaining what exactly happened on that ill-fated day and why Captain Lyachin could not bring his ship back to his native harbor.
There is a version of Vice Admiral Ryazantsev. He believes that the original cause of the disaster was the explosion of a torpedo, which led to the flooding of the first compartment and the collision of the submarine with the ground. Hitting the bottom led to the detonation of the remaining torpedoes, which led to such terrible consequences.
One of the popular versions of the cause of the death of the Kursk is a torpedo attack by an American submarine. The French director Jean-Michel Carré even made a documentary confirming this hypothesis. According to its supporters, two American submarines "Toledo" and "Memphis" observed the exercises of the Northern Fleet (this is a common practice). Russian and American submarines collided, and a second American submarine launched a torpedo attack on the Kursk after the commander of the K-141 ordered to attack the enemy.
Supporters of this version argue that the Russian authorities deliberately concealed the truth about the torpedo attack in order to prevent a conflict (perhaps even a military one) with the United States.
As a variant of this version, there is a hypothesis about the collision of the Kursk with a submarine of one of the NATO countries, which led to the explosion of torpedoes on the Russian nuclear-powered ship. Moreover, after the disaster, information appeared in the media about the discovery of a rescue buoy in the disaster area. Perhaps it was released by a "foreign" submarine also injured in the collision.
The history of the underwater confrontation between the two superpowers during the Cold War confirms this version.
This version has been studied in detail by the Russian media and has its adherents among military sailors. In their opinion, the scheme of events was as follows: the impact of a foreign boat on a torpedo tube, then the explosion of one torpedo, impact on the ground and the detonation of the entire ammunition.
There is also a version about a mine from the Second World War, but few people believe in this version.
There is also a version that the Kursk was accidentally sunk by the latest missile fired from the nuclear cruiser Peter the Great.
Representatives of the crew members' relatives do not believe in the official version and believe that the authorities are not telling the truth. They believe that in the ninth compartment after the disaster, the sailors were alive for more than two days. In their opinion, if the leadership of the Navy immediately turned to foreigners for help, then perhaps the list of the dead would be smaller. Many investigation materials have not been made public.
It is hard to believe that we will get all the answers in this tragic story.
Versions of the death of the submarine Kursk
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1990 March 22
Laid down at the production association "Sevmashpredpriyatie" in Severodvinsk as KrPL;
1993 April 6
Got a name "Kursk" in honor of the victory at the Kursk Bulge in 1943;
1993 October
The crew arrived at the Sevmashpredpriyatie to receive the ship from the industry. Subordinated to the command of the 339th ObrSRPL BelVMB;
1994 October 4 - December 30
Factory running and state tests were carried out;
1994 January
Made the transition from the city of Severodvinsk to the place of permanent deployment in the Ara Bay;
1995 March 1
Included in the Northern Fleet, became part of the 7th DiPL of the 1st FPL of the Northern Fleet, based on the Ara Bay (Vidyaevo);
1997 December - 1998 February
Sevmashpredpriyatie underwent a warranty repair with docking in the Sukhona floating dock;
1998 September
Carried out a program of extended hydroacoustic tests in the White Sea;
1998
At the end of the year, the crew was recognized as the best in the connection;
1999 July 5 - October 19
He completed the tasks of autonomous combat service (commander - cap.1r. Lyachin G.P., senior - cap.1r. Kobelev V.V.) in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, as a result of which the commander of the agro-industrial complex cap.1r. Lyachin G.P. was presented to the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, and 72 crew members - to government awards;
1999
At the end of the year, the crew was declared the best in the Northern Fleet. The crew was awarded the challenge prize of the Governor of the Murmansk region "The best submarine of the Northern Fleet";
2000 July
The agro-industrial complex began preparations for performing combat service tasks as part of an aircraft carrier group of ships of the Northern, Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, with an expected release date of October 15;
2000 July 30
Participated in the parade of ships in honor of the Navy Day on the roads of Severomorsk;
2000 August 11
After reloading the ammunition in the Okolnaya Bay, the agro-industrial complex went to the combat training ground to participate in the exercises of the various forces of the fleet, the plan provided for the implementation of rocket and torpedo firing;
2000 August 12
In the morning, the agro-industrial complex conditionally attacked with a cruise missile a squadron led by the TAKR "Admiral Kuznetsov" and the flagship of the fleet, the nuclear cruiser "Pyotr Veliky". According to the exercise plan, the APK was to begin preparations at 09.40, and from 11.40 to 13.40 to carry out a training attack on an aircraft carrier group of ships. The Norwegian seismic station recorded 2 shocks at the point with coordinates: 69°38’ N, 37°9’ E. The first, at 11.30.42 with a force of 1.5 points on the Richter scale, which can be equated to an explosion of 100 kg of TNT, the second - at 11.32.57 with a force of 3.5 points on the Richter scale, which corresponds to an explosion of 1 - 2 tons of TNT. After not contacting the APK K-141 a combat alert was announced in the fleet at 23.00;
2000 August 12
During the exercises of the fleet, after internal explosions in the torpedo room, she sank in the Barents Sea at a depth of 108 m, the entire crew (118 people) died. The reasons for this explosion have not been finally established. According to the conclusion of the government commission, the most likely is an emergency in the torpedo compartment (according to the official report prepared in 2002 by Prosecutor General Ustinov, at 11 hours 28 minutes 26 seconds Moscow time, a torpedo 65-76A (“Kit”) exploded in torpedo tube No. 4 , the cause of the explosion was the leakage of torpedo fuel components (hydrogen peroxide). After 2 minutes, the fire that arose after the first explosion led to the detonation of torpedoes and missiles located in the first compartment of the boat. The second explosion led to the destruction of several compartments of the submarine);
2000 August 13
At 00.55, the operational duty officer of the Northern Fleet gave permission for the release of the Mikhail Rudnitsky rescue vessel, on board of which there were two underwater vehicles: AS-32 and AS-34. At 02.22, the nuclear cruiser "Peter the Great" established hydroacoustic contact with an underwater object, and at 03.20, clear knocks of 5 hits lasting 8 seconds were recorded. In total, two magnetic anomalies were found at the alleged crash site at a distance of 1 nautical mile from each other. At 10.30 the commander of the fleet gave the order to the deep-water station AS-15 follow the disaster area. At 16.20 technical contact was established with the sunken submarine, and at 18.32 with the submersible AS-34 discovered submarine classified as APC K-141. Warships and support vessels of the Northern Fleet arrived in the area;
2000 August 14
At 14.22, the coordinates of the sunken APC were specified: 69°37.075’ N, 37°34.58’ E;
2000 August 16
From 14.30 to 23.00 deep-water station AS-15 inspection and documentation of the destruction of the agro-industrial complex building K-141;
2000 August 19
The Norwegian rescue ship "Normand Pioneer" arrived in the rescue area;
2000 August 20
The ship "Seaway Eagle" with Norwegian deep-sea divers arrived in the rescue area. In view of the failure of numerous attempts to suction to the coaming platform of an emergency submarine, diving underwater vehicles AS-32, AS-34 and AS-36 terminated;
2000 August 21
At 07.36, the underwater vehicles operated from the Seaway Eagle opened the upper hatch cover of the submarine, and at 12.25 - the lower one, after which an intensive release of air from the 9th compartment began, which continued until 13.40. An analysis of the air remaining in the 9th compartment showed that the oxygen content in it did not exceed 7 - 8%. The death of the entire crew was legally ascertained;
"At present, the survey of the Kursk APRK located in the Roslyakovo floating dock is coming to an end. Despite the fact that the cause of the disaster is still unknown to date, it is now possible, based on the conclusions of experts and specialists of the Navy, to restore the picture of the events that took place in boat, both at the time of the explosion and after it.
The first explosion (the cause of which is still unclear) caused an instant intense fire in the 1st compartment. All the people who were there died within the first few seconds. APRK "Kursk" at that time was at periscope depth, preparing for a training torpedo attack, and therefore its retractable devices were raised.
The blast wave of the first explosion passed into the Central Post (CP), located in the 2nd compartment. Some of the people who were there probably died immediately, others were stunned by the impact. Further, the blast wave passed through the ventilation pipelines, bent the rods of the hydraulic lifters of the retractable devices, which is why they all remained raised. The same blast wave threw into all the compartments and the smell of burning. That is why all the personnel who had survived by that time immediately joined the portable breathing apparatus (PDA), and the officers who were on the control panel of the Main Power Plant (GEM) of the nuclear reactor, into hose breathing apparatus (SDA).
Due to the fact that the entire staff of the CPU was out of order, and there was no one to control the boat, the Kursk began to sink rapidly. The fire in the 1st compartment continued, and therefore the submariners in the 3rd compartment began to move towards the stern. However, they did not manage to go further than the 4th compartment.
Even before sinking to the bottom, the emergency protection of the reactor worked on the Kursk and almost immediately this was followed by a second explosion (only some 130 seconds had passed since the first), much more powerful than the first. The cause of this explosion was the ongoing fire in the 1st compartment, which reached the racks with torpedoes, followed by their detonation.
The new shock wave was several times more powerful than the first. From her impact, the bulkhead between the 1st and 2nd compartments, working like a piston, moved to the stern, crushing and sweeping away everything in its path, cutting off even high-pressure air pipelines (HP). As a result, HP air began to intensively flow from the tanks into the 1st, 2nd and 3rd compartments and exit through a hole in the 1st compartment. A new blast wave destroyed the ventilation pipelines, up to the 5-bis compartment. This wave caught up and killed all those who tried to find salvation in the 4th compartment. They were found there, thirty people lying on top of each other in the corridor of the 4th compartment.
In the 5th compartment from the impact of the blast wave, the combat shift of the power plant control panel died in full force: captain 2nd rank V.Isaenko, captain 3rd rank D.Murachev, lieutenant commanders D.Pshenichnikov, A.Vasilyev, S.Lyubushkin and senior lieutenant A .Mityaev. Some of the officers were thrown out by the wave into the cut-off corridor. All of them remained in the SDA.
The murderous tornado of the second shock wave was stopped only by the aft bulkhead of the 5-bis compartment. In the interval between the first and second shock waves (130 seconds), one of the submariners who were in the 6th compartment managed to slam the light bulkhead door, thereby giving the personnel of the aft compartments a chance to escape. When the "Kursk" was raised and placed in the floating dock, it turned out that the aft bulkhead of the 5-bis compartment was arched. However, she completed her task and still withstood the residual force of the explosion.
The surviving submariners in the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th compartments at that time did everything possible to seal their compartments. There was no panic, let alone flight to the 9th compartment. The compartment commanders kept in touch with each other and consulted on further joint damage control. Then the specialists will find deployed emergency telephones in all 4 aft compartments, through which this communication was carried out.
At the same time, the personnel of the 6th compartment, under the leadership of Lieutenant Commander Rashit Aryapov, despite all the tragedy of what was happening to him, manually connected an additional high-pressure gas group to compensate for thermal expansion of the 1st circuit of the reactor. By this they ensured reliable tightness of the reactor for the environment.
Later, after the ascent of the Kursk, experts would be unanimous that it was the actions of the personnel of the 6th compartment that turned out to be decisive for maintaining a normal radiation situation.
At the same time, it still remains a mystery why the personnel of the 8th compartment did not ensure the ascent of the signal buoy, which was achieved by turning the lever from the 8th compartment, especially since the system was not affected by the explosion.
However, intensive filtration of water into the 6th compartment from the flooded 5-bis soon began, and therefore the divers decided to retreat to the aft compartments. It was established that the 6th, 7th and 8th compartments were left in an organized manner and without panic. When leaving, the submariners took with them all the V-64 regeneration kits, individual breathing apparatus for ascent (IDA-59) and SGP rescue diving suits. They did not run away from the battlefield, but retreated in order to gain a foothold on their last line and take the last unequal battle in the 9th compartment.
By 18-19 pm on August 12, all 23 submariners who had survived by that time gathered in the aft compartment 9. "On August 13, all survivors of the explosions died.
2000 August 22
At 00.18 the order of the commander of the Northern Fleet was announced: “In connection with the death of the nuclear submarine Kursk on August 22, 2000, the flags on all ships of the Northern Fleet should be lowered from 08.00. Finish rescue work";
2000 September
a detailed survey of the hull of the agro-industrial complex was carried out using deep-sea manned vehicles "Mir-1" and "Mir-2" from the research vessel "Akademik Mstislav Keldysh";
2000 October
The operation to extract the bodies of submariners from the aft compartments using divers;
2000 October - November
A detailed survey of the hull of the agro-industrial complex was carried out by uninhabited underwater vehicles and divers of the Norwegian company Halliburton AS from the Regalia vessel;
2000 December 4
Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Admiral of the Fleet Kuroyedov V.I. gave the prize cup "For the best shooting at a sea target", won by the crew of the agro-industrial complex K-141 "Kursk", for eternal storage in the museum of the 7th DiPL;
2001 September - October
After a preliminary separation of the bow, it was raised by the Dutch company "Mammmoet Transport Antilles N. V." by order of the Russian government;
2001 October
It was put into a floating dock in the village of Roslyakovo to study the causes of the accident, conduct investigative measures and subsequent disassembly for metal. All the bodies of the dead submariners were removed, identified and interred;
2002 April 14
In Roslyakovsky dock, in accordance with the plan, the main work was completed to prepare the agro-industrial complex for the last trip - for disposal at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "SRZ" Nerpa "(Snezhnogorsk);
2002 April 26
Transferred from PD-50 to PD-42 and towed to Federal State Unitary Enterprise "SRZ "Nerpa" for disposal;
2002 May - June
Operation to lift fragments of the 1st compartment and destroy the remains at the bottom;
2002 August 12
On the anniversary of the death in Moscow, a solemn ceremony was held to open a monument to the deceased crew of the APKR. The monument by Lev Kerbel was inaugurated in front of the Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow. The composition is called "Grieving Sailor" and is a bronze figure of a sailor and a submarine lying at his feet;
2003 January - February
The core was unloaded at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "SRZ "Nerpa" in Kut Bay (Snezhnogorsk);
2003 August 12
On the anniversary of the death in St. Petersburg, a solemn ceremony of opening a monument to the deceased crew of the APKR took place. In the center of the memorial (a necropolis of 32 graves), according to the plan of the architect Gennady Peychev, there is an 11-ton black cube (denoting the thickness of the ocean) with a bronze petrel - a "symbol of trouble";
2003 summer
According to RIA Novosti, it was planned to install a submarine cabin in Murmansk near the Church of the Savior on the Waters. The cabin of the "Kursk" in granite design was to become part of the memorial complex in memory of the dead sailors. By this time, the project of the monument was already ready. felling apkr "Kursk" by this time she was in Snezhnogorsk at the Nerpa shipyard. The monument to the dead sailors was planned to be installed in Murmansk as soon as the regional administration finds the necessary funds for this. However, the felling ended up in a scrap yard, where it was discovered in March 2009. The attention of the authorities to the relic was attracted by submariners and journalists. It was decided to turn the cabin into a monument to submariners who did not return from campaigns in peacetime;
2003 - 2004
Dismantled at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "SRZ" Nerpa "(Snezhnogorsk) with the formation of the reactor block, which was later transferred and put afloat for temporary storage in the temporary storage facility" Saida ";
2009 August 12
Opening of a monument to submariners who did not return from campaigns in peacetime, next to the Church of the Savior on the Waters in Murmansk. The basis of the monument is the front end of the fence felling APKR "Kursk";
2015 spring
The block continued to be stored afloat in the Saida storage facility, awaiting to be placed on the storage facility for long-term storage.
