It had broken in two aft of the conning tower. [6] K-219 weapons officer Alexander Petrachkov attempted to cope with this by disengaging the hatch cover and venting the missile tube to the sea. [11][12] in a depth of about 6,000 m (18,000 ft). On October 3, 1986, the Soviet Yankee-class ballistic missile submarine K-219, equipped with 16 R-27 nuclear missiles was on patrol in the North Atlantic, about 700 miles off the coast of Bermuda. Captain Igor Britanov took the submarine from Gadzhiyevo, Russia near the Arctic Circle, west toward the United States. After leaving the home port, she went to the shores of America to perform patrol service. The atomic submarine K – 219 made its last trip in 1986. It was a politically delicate time as a summit meeting between United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev was coming up. Read another story from us: Stern of World War II Destroyer Hit by Japanese Mine Finally Found in the Bering Sea. On its initial voyage on 4 July 1961, it suffered a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. K-219 was involved in what has become one of the most controversial submarine incidents in the Cold War. Displeased with Britanov's inability to repair his submarine and continue his patrol, Moscow ordered Valery Pshenichny, K-219’s security officer, to assume command, transfer the surviving crew back to the submarine, and return to duty. The United States Navy categorically denies that any U.S. submarine collided with the Russian Yankee submarine (K-219) or that the Navy had anything to do with the cause of the casualty that resulted in the loss of the Russian Yankee submarine. The K219 and its crew of one hundred and twenty men were on their way to waters off the east coast of the United States for a covert patrol during the era of the Cold War. An article on the U.S. Navy's website posted by Captain 1st Rank (Ret.) As established by a special commission, the cause of the accident was an “incident” in the missile silo that for some reason became unsealed, and the subsequent leak of poisonous rocket fuel into the rocket section. One Yankee-class submarine, K-219, was lost on 6 October 1986 after an explosion and fire … At 0514, the BCh-2 officer and the hold machinist/engineer in compartment IV (the forward missile compartment) discovered water dripping from under the plug of missile tube No. It had broken in two aft of the conning tower. Soviet submarine K-219 ... Media in category "K-219 (submarine, 1971)" The following 8 files are in this category, out of 8 total. The team needed pictures that would offer precise measurements to create the grappling arm and other … Navaga -class ballistic missile submarine (NATO reporting name "Yankee I") of the Soviet Navy. The interview was conducted for the BBC2 series "The Silent War". ISBN. Before those orders could be carried out, however, the flooding reached a point beyond recovery and on 6 October 1986 the K-219 sank to the bottom of the Hatteras Abyssal Plain, more than three miles down. It carried 16 R-27U liquid-fuel missiles powered by UDMH with nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and equipped with either 32 or 48 nuclear warheads. [citation needed] K-219's full complement of nuclear weapons was lost along with the vessel. K219-DN-SN-87-07255.JPEG 2,790 × 2,245; 1.49 MB. In October of 1986 a 667-A project Yankee class submarine, K219, belonging to the Soviet Union was on a routine patrol of the waters off the coast of Bermuda when it was damaged and inevitably sank eighteen thousand feet under the sea. The U.S. Government denied this[2] and the U.S. Navy issued a statement about the book and film:[15]. It mixed with the liquid fuel used for the missiles, creating potentially explosive and poisonous nitrogen dioxide gas. K-19 (Russian: К-19) was the first submarine of the Project 658 (Russian: проект-658, lit: Projekt-658) class (NATO reporting name Hotel-class submarine), the first generation of Soviet nuclear submarines equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles, specifically the R-13 SLBM. Though the U.S. Navy denies it, the authors say the American submarine USS Augusta struck the Soviet nuclear submarine K-219 during an underwater chase off Bermuda. K-219, damaged by the explosion. On 30 May 1987, Defense Minister Sergey Sokolov was dismissed as a result of the Mathias Rust incident two days earlier, and replaced by Dmitry Yazov; the charges against Britanov were subsequently dismissed. The following casualties were directly attributed to the incident:[17], Coordinates: 31°25′N 54°42′W / 31.417°N 54.7°W / 31.417; -54.7. On 4 July 1961, under the command of Captain First Rank Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev, K-19 was conducting exercises in the North Atlantic close to Southern Greenland when it developed a major leak in its reactor coolant system, causing the water pressure in the aft reactor to drop to zero and causing failure of the coolant pumps. Pravda.ru reports that although Gorbachev was concerned that President Reagan would bring up the matter, it was never mentioned. The K-219 was a Soviet nuclear strategic submarine. Soviet submarine K-219 From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia K-219 was a Project 667A Navaga -class ballistic missile submarine (NATO reporting name Yankee I) of the Soviet Navy. The result was a novelized version of events. Join 1000s of subscribers and receive the best Vintage News in your mailbox for FREE, Police arrest a 72-year-old “suburban grandfather” suspected of being the Golden State Killer, “I’m not dead yet”: some Buddhist monks followed self-mummification, Project Azorian: Howard Hughes’ secret mission, 1960s U.S. satellite that started transmitting again in 2013, The “Walk of Shame” in Game of Thrones historical inspiration, The only unsolved skyjacking case in U.S. history might have a break, Kurt Gödel became too paranoid to eat and died of starvation, “Little Ease”: One of the most feared torture devices in the Tower of London, The humble English girl who became Cora Pearl, Walt Disney softened the original Snow White story. On Friday 3 October 1986, while on an otherwise routine, Cold War nuclear deterrence patrol in the North Atlantic 680 miles (1,090 km) northeast of Bermuda, the 15-year old K-219 suffered an explosion and fire in a missile tube. K-219 was a Project 667A. A + A-Email Print. Huchthausen, Peter; Kurdin, Igor; White, R. Alan (1997). Twenty-two crew members died during the following two years. This August 30 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine K-159 in the Barents Sea. K-219 was a Project 667A Navaga-class ballistic missile submarine launched on 8 October 1971. Britanov ordered the craft to rise to a higher depth but the opening in the hull caused by the explosion allowed water to rush in and the sub went even lower. The K219 and its crew of one hundred and twenty men were on their way to waters off the east coast of the United States for a covert patrol during the era of the Cold War. In early September 1986, the Soviet Union’s K-219 ballistic missile submarine left the Northern Fleet’s base at Gadzhievo for the Atlantic Ocean … Quite the same Wikipedia. On October 3, 1986, the Soviet Yankee-class ballistic missile submarine K-219, equipped with 16 R-27 nuclear missiles was on patrol in the North Atlantic, about 700 miles off the coast of Bermuda. That's it. The BCh-2 officer reported water in missile tube No. Damaged Yankee class submarine 2.jpg 640 × 479; 84 KB. [14] Russian media reported that the filmmaker paid a settlement totaling under a $100,000. The True story of how an antiquated Soviet Project 667a "Yankee" Class Submarine, K-219 collides with a Hunter Killer "Los Angeles" Class American submarine causing a leakage in the K-219's missile bays, almost leading to nuclear meltdown in it's reactors off the shores of Bermuda. In any case, by 1986, American subs were using more … In a BBC interview recorded in February 2013, with the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Navy at the time, Vladimir Chernavin, Chernavin says the accident was caused by a malfunction in a missile tube and makes no mention of a collision with an American submarine. "Hostile Waters". Although personnel assigned to other compartments left the space, nine people remained in compartment IV. Arrow Books, UK. To install click the Add extension button. On October 3rd 1986, while on patrol 680 miles (1100 km) northeast of Bermuda, the Soviet 'Yankee' Class Ballistic Missile Submarine K-219 suffered an explosion and fire in one of her missile tubes caused by a seal failure, allowing seawater to leak into the missile tube and react with residue from the missile's liquid fuel. K-219 Karte.jpg 759 × 807; 23 KB. He dismissed the charges in 1987 but discharged Britanov from the military. She carried 16 (later 15) SS-N-6 liquid-fuel missiles powered by UDMH with IRFNA, equipped with an estimated 34 nuclear warheads.[1]. On 3 October 1986 the Soviet Yankee-class ballistic missile submarine K-219, while on combat patrol in the Atlantic, suffered the explosion of a liquid-fuelled SS-N-6 missile in one of its 16 missile tubes. Britanov remained aboard K-219. Castle Bravo. [8] The remains of the RSM-25 rocket and its two warheads were ejected from silo six into the sea.[9]. Several years later Seaman Pregy was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Star for preventing a nuclear accident as well as the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. Send keyboard focus to media. Captain Britanov was ordered to have the ship towed by a Soviet freighter back to Gadzhievo, her home port, some 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) away. K-219 was involved in what has become one of the most controversial submarine incidents in the Cold War. Red November: Inside the Secret US – Soviet Submarine War, contained an inside account of the Project Azorian by Joe Houston. The source code for the WIKI 2 extension is being checked by specialists of the Mozilla Foundation, Google, and Apple. The captain declared an accident alert. Later in 1986 and in early 1987 the Soviet Institute of the Sea sent a deep water probe and found the sub broken in half but sitting upright on the ocean floor with empty missile tubes dangling open. Both countries somewhat glossed over the incident with assurances from United States Vice Admiral Powell Carter and the Soviet Navy Commission agreeing that there was little danger of nuclear explosion or contamination by radioactivity. Although a towline was attached, towing attempts were unsuccessful, and after subsequent poison gas leaks into the final aft compartments and against orders, Britanov ordered the crew to evacuate onto the towing ship. Three sailors were killed in the explosion, and Officer Belikov and Senior Seaman Sergei Preminin who shut down the reactors were not able to get off the submarine. Captain Britanov himself also denies a collision. K219-DN-SN-87-07261.JPEG 2,960 × … The Soviet submarine K-129 was on a secret mission in the Pacific, trying avoid America’s network of underwater listening posts. The Tragic History of the Russian Nuclear Submarine K-159 Sunk in the Barents Sea. 6, and at 0525, the captain ordered an ascent to a safe depth (46 meters) while a pump was started in an attempt to dry out missile tube No. The previous incident had been fixed by simply sealing the damaged compartment. Soviet submarine K-219. He was never imprisoned, but waited for his trial in Sverdlovsk. The boat was hastily built by the Soviets in response to United States' developments in nuclear submarines as part of the arms race. 6. The commander of the cruiser in its last trip was an experienced submariner Igor Britanovs. The Soviets realized the possibility of other countries finding the nuclear weapons or sensitive communications inside the sub and have classified all of the photographs taken of the submarine. Irza, John (2004), "Soundings", IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society VOLUME XXXVIII (4), Kurdin, Igor; Grasdock, Wayne (Fall 2005), "Loss of a Yankee SSBN", Undersea Warfare 2005 Vol.7, No.5. You could also do it yourself at any point in time. Even more incredibly, this was not the first time a missile had exploded aboard the K-219. On Friday 3 October 1986, while on an otherwise routine, Cold War nuclear deterrence patrol in the North Atlantic 680 miles (1,090 km) northeast of Bermuda, the 15-year old K-219 suffered an explosion and fire in a missile tube. [3] K-219 had previously experienced a similar casualty; one of her missile tubes was already disabled and welded shut, having been permanently sealed after an explosion caused by reaction between seawater leaking into the silo and missile fuel residue. Shipping Accidents. However, because the submarine came to periscope depth - above the sound layer - prior to detonation, no tell-tale sound "event" was recorded. Latitude and longitude of Soviet submarine K-219. In 2001, Captain Britanov filed suit, claiming Warner Bros. did not seek or get his permission to use his story or his character, and that the film did not portray the events accurately and made him look incompetent. Three days later the ship sank in 18,000 feet of water. The vessel surfaced to permit its twin nuclear reactors to be shut down, which was only accomplished when a 20-year old enlisted seaman, Sergei Preminin, sacrificed his life to secure one of the onboard reactors. Five minutes later, at 0538, an explosion occurred in missile tube No. 6. Igor Kurdin, Russian Navy - K-219's XO (executive officer) at the time of the incident - and Lieutenant Commander Wayne Grasdock, USN described the explosion occurrence as follows: Three sailors were killed outright in the explosion. Sacrificing their own lives, the engineering crew jury-rigged a secondary coolant system and kept the reactor from a meltdown. The United States Navy normally does not comment on submarine operations, but in this case, because the scenario is so outrageous, the Navy is compelled to respond. On October 3, 1986, the Soviet Yankee-class ballistic missile submarine K-219, equipped with 16 R-27 nuclear missiles was on patrol in the North … After three years of hearing, the court ruled in Britanov's favor. It took the crew no more than one minute to carry out initial damage control measures, which included hermetically sealing all compartments. Rumors began to fly, and some said the K-219 had been rammed by the Augusta, a United States Navy submarine. [11] Britanov was charged with negligence, sabotage, and treason. As a … It was based on the book by the same name mentioned above, which claimed to describe the loss of K-219. Several missile silo hatches had been forced open, and the missiles, along with the nuclear warheads they contained, were gone. The History Guy remembers the K-219 Soviet Submarine Missile Disaster. [4], The authors of the book Hostile Waters reconstructed the incident from descriptions by the survivors, ships' logs, the official investigations, and participants both ashore and afloat from the Soviet and the American sides. In 1988, the Soviet hydrographic research ship Keldysh positioned itself over the wreck of K-219, and found the submarine sitting upright on the sandy bottom. 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