April 7 is a special day in Russia - the Day of Remembrance of the Fallen Submariners. It is celebrated in memory of all the dead sailors submarine fleet, but the immediate reason for setting the date is 7...

April 7 is a special day in Russia - the Day of Remembrance of the Fallen Submariners. It is celebrated in memory of all the dead sailors of the submarine fleet, and the immediate reason for setting the date on April 7 was the tragedy that occurred on this day in 1989 in the Norwegian Sea. Then the combat nuclear submarine K-278 "Komsomolets" crashed. Of the 69 crew members of the submarine, 42 were killed.

The submariner is a heroic profession. Unfortunately, its specificity is such that, going to sea, officers, midshipmen, foremen, sailors of submarines do not know if they will see their relatives and friends again. The history of the Soviet and Russian submarine fleet is not only achievements, more and more advanced submarines and military victories. These are human losses, thousands of submariners who did not return from combat missions both in wartime and in peacetime.

So, from 1955 to 2014. only six nuclear submarines sank - 4 Soviet and 2 Russian (although K-27 was sunk for disposal, but before that the boat had a serious accident, which later became the reason for the decision to sink it).

The Soviet nuclear submarine "K-27" was launched in 1962 and received the nickname "Nagasaki" among the sailors. On May 24, 1968, the K-27 submarine was in the Barents Sea. The crew of the boat carried out a check of the parameters of the main power plant on running modes after the completion of work on the modernization of equipment. At this time, the power of the reactor began to decline, and the sailors tried to raise it. At 12:00, a release of radioactive gases occurred in the reactor compartment. The crew dropped the emergency protection of the left reactor. The radiation situation on the boat worsened. The accident led to serious consequences for the crew. All sailors of the boat were irradiated, 9 crew members died - one sailor suffocated in a gas mask on board the boat, eight people died later in the hospital from the effects of radiation doses received on board the boat. In 1981 the boat was scrapped in the Kara Sea.

April 12, 1970, exactly 47 years ago, in the Bay of Biscay, 490 km from the Spanish coast, K-8, the Soviet nuclear submarine of project 627A "Kit", sank. The K-8 boat was commissioned into the USSR Navy on March 2, 1958, and launched on May 31, 1959. Like other nuclear submarines of the first generation, the K-8 was not perfect - it often had accidents associated with various equipment failures. For example, on October 13, 1960, a cooling circuit pipe burst in one of the reactors, a coolant leak occurred, as a result of which the crew received various doses of radiation. On June 1, 1961, a similar incident occurred again, as a result of which one of the crew members had to be commissioned with acute radiation sickness. On October 8, 1961, the accident happened again.

Vsevolod Bessonov, commander of the nuclear submarine "K-8".

However, despite the attempts of the crew to save the boat, K-8 sank within a short time. In total, 52 people died on the submarine. Thus, 46 crew members managed to escape. By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated June 26, 1970, Captain 2nd Rank Vsevolod Borisovich Bessonov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The entire crew of the submarine received state awards. The death of K-8 and 52 sailors was the first such loss of the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet and opened the account for other similar tragedies.

nuclear submarine strategic purpose"K-219" was laid down in 1970 - the very year when the terrible accident occurred on the nuclear submarine "K-8". In 1971, the nuclear submarine was launched. During the fifteen years of service of a nuclear submarine, she has repeatedly encountered a wide variety of problems associated with nuclear missile launchers and missile silo covers. For example, already in 1973, the tightness of rocket shaft No. 15 was broken, as a result of which water began to flow into the shaft, which reacted with the propellant component. The resulting aggressive nitric acid damaged the fuel lines of the rocket and an explosion occurred. One member of the crew became his victim, and the missile silo was flooded. In January 1986, there was a problem with the launch of a missile during an exercise, which forced the boat to surface after launch and return to the surface of the naval base. Nevertheless, on September 4, 1986, the K-219 nuclear submarine set off on a trip to the US coast, where it was to carry out patrol duty with 15 nuclear missiles on board. The submarine cruiser was commanded by Captain 2nd Rank Igor Britanov. Before the K-219 went to sea, 12 officers of the submarine out of 32 were replaced. They had to go on a campaign with a new senior assistant, assistant commander, commanders of missile and mine-torpedo warheads, chief radio engineering service, commander of the electrical division, commanders of 4 compartments, ship's doctor. In addition, 12 warrant officers out of 38 crew warrant officers were replaced, including two foremen of the BCH-2 missile teams. When the cruiser sank into the Barents Sea, a leak opened in missile silo No. 6. The officer in charge of missile weapons did not inform Britanov, commander of K-219, about this incident. It is likely that he was guided by considerations of his own career - he did not want to be responsible for the consequences of returning the boat to the naval base. Meanwhile, a malfunction in the missile silo had been known for a long time, but the higher command was not reported - the remark was removed by the flagship specialist of the division.

When the boat was between the UK and Iceland, it was detected by the US Navy's sonar systems. At the same time, K-219 made every effort not to be detected. On October 3, K-219 was discovered by the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Augusta, which was heading for the coast of the USSR - also to perform patrol functions. By this time, it was already necessary to pump water out of missile silo No. 6 twice a day. However, in the end, in the early morning of October 3, 1986, missile silo No. 6 completely depressurized and water poured into it. The officer in charge of missile weapons, Petrachkov, put forward his proposal - to surface to a depth of 50 meters, fill the missile silo with water, and then fire the missiles with an emergency start of sustainer engines. So he hoped to protect the rocket from destruction in the mine itself. However, there was not enough time, and the rocket exploded in the mine itself. The explosion destroyed the outer wall of the hull and the missile's warhead. Parts of it fell into the cruiser. The hole contributed to the rapid immersion of the ship to 300 meters - almost to the maximum allowable depth. After that, the cruiser commander decided to blow out the tanks in order to get rid of ballast water. Two minutes after the explosion, K-219 abruptly floated to the surface. Personnel left the missile bay and battened down hermetic bulkheads. Thus, the boat was divided into halves - the command and torpedo compartments were isolated by an emergency missile compartment from other compartments - the medical, reactor, control and turbine compartments located in the stern of the ship.

In memory of the fallen submariners. The largest accidents on Soviet and Russian nuclear submarines The commander of the reactor compartment, senior lieutenant Nikolai Belikov, and 20-year-old special hold sailor Sergei Preminin (pictured) went to the reactor enclosure - they were about to lower the compensating grids. The temperature in the cell reached 70 °C, however, Senior Lieutenant Belikov nevertheless lowered three of the four bars, and only then fell unconscious. The sailor Preminin lowered the last fourth grate. But he could not go back - because of the pressure difference, neither he nor the sailors on the other side could open the hatch of the compartment. Preminin died, at the cost of his life preventing nuclear explosion. It is noteworthy that then his feat was not appreciated on merit - the sailor was posthumously given the Order of the Red Star, and only in 1997, already in the post-Soviet period national history, Sergei Preminin was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

K-219 established contact with the Soviet civilian refrigerator Fedor Bredikhin. In addition to the refrigerator, the Bakaritsa timber carrier, the Galileo Galilei tanker, the Krasnogvardeysk dry cargo ship and the Anatoly Vasilyev ro-ro ship approached the accident site. Then the US Navy ships arrived - the USNS Powhatan tug and the USS Augusta submarine. The command of the Soviet Navy decided to tow the K-219. There was a great danger that the boat, if left by its crew, would be captured by the US Navy. Due to the spread of poisonous gas, in the end, the Soviet command decided to evacuate the crew, but the commander of K-219 Britanov remained on the boat - to protect it from the possible penetration of the Americans with weapons in their hands. He was the last to leave the boat with a group of officers and secret documents - on a boat. As a result of the accident on K-219, 4 people died - the commander of the BCH-2, Captain 3rd Rank Alexander Petrachkov; armaments sailor Nikolai Smaglyuk; driver Kharchenko Igor; reactor engineer Sergey Preminin. Upon his return to the USSR, Igor Britanov was under investigation, then the charges against him were dropped, but he was fired from the ranks of the USSR Navy. A lot of articles have been written about the accident on K-219, various versions have been and are being put forward. possible causes accidents. Without going into more detailed coverage of this issue, it should be noted that the sailors of the boat, at the cost of their lives, tried to correct the emergency situation that arose on the submarine. Eternal memory to them for this.

On October 6, 1986, the Soviet strategic nuclear submarine K-219 sank. It was one of the most dangerous submarines of that time. K-219 combined a submarine and a missile depot capable of leading to the end of the world. Shortly after the dive and departure towards the United States, a leak was discovered in one of the mines, which eventually led to a complete depressurization of the compartment. As a result, the rocket inside exploded, provoking the release of a huge amount of harmful substances into the ocean. Today we will talk about five no less dangerous submarines left at the bottom of the oceans.

This American nuclear submarine was lost on April 10, 1963 in Atlantic Ocean near Boston along with the entire crew. It was impossible to immediately determine the cause of the sinking, because at some point the connection with the boat simply broke off. Subsequently, based on numerous photographs, it became clear that, most likely, the boat was depressurized and due to the water that got inside, short circuit which led to the shutdown of the reactor.

Video

USS Thresher

K-8. Died in training

The submarine, which was on combat duty in the Mediterranean Sea, was sent to the North Atlantic region to participate in the Ocean-70 exercises, the largest in the history of the Soviet Navy. Its task was to designate the submarine forces of the “enemy” breaking through to the shores of the Soviet Union. On April 8, 1970, as a result of a fire in one of the compartments, the boat sank off the coast of Spain, where it is still located. The boat had four nuclear torpedoes.

Video

Submarine K-8

K-27 - the legendary boat

Before its crash, the Soviet boat was a ship - the winner of various awards, admirals and Heroes of the Soviet Union left its crew. But because of the accident that occurred on it in 1968, it was decided to exclude the submarine from the Navy and flood it in the Barents Sea. The nuclear reactor was mothballed, but the boat was sunk in the Kara Sea and is still at a depth of 75 m. In 2013, a project was adopted to raise the boat from the bottom for further disposal.

Video

The last campaign of the "Golden Fish" K-27

K-278 "Komsomolets" - third generation submarine

This Soviet submarine holds the absolute record for diving depth - 1027 m. It sank in the Norwegian Sea on April 7, 1989. A fire broke out in one of the compartments, as a result of which she sank with her entire stock of torpedo shells.

Video

Nuclear submarine K-278 "Komsomolets"

K-141 "Kursk"

This boat sank in the Barents Sea at a depth of 108 m as a result of a disaster that occurred on August 12, 2000. All 118 crew members on board were killed. The submarine sank during an exercise. There were 24 on board the boat. cruise missiles P-700 "Granit" and 24 torpedoes. Several versions of the death of this boat are put forward, including a torpedo explosion, an explosion on a mine, torpedoing, a collision with another object.

Video

February 1968
These days the world has never been so close to World War III. Only a few people knew that the fate of the planet depended on one submarine - the Soviet submarine K-129, which, at the height of the Vietnam War, was tasked with targeting big cities Pacific coast and ships of the US Seventh Fleet.

However, American coasts the submarine did not appear.

On March 8, the crew did not contact the base. 70 days of searching yielded no results. The Soviet submarine disappeared into the ocean like the Flying Dutchman. There were 98 people on board the submarine.

This story is still considered the most mysterious and closed in the Soviet submarine fleet. For the first time, the documentary tells what really happened to the K-129 submarine. Specialists and relatives of the missing talk about why they were forbidden to talk about the missing submarine for thirty years. How did it happen that the crew members were recognized as "simply dead", but not killed while performing a combat mission? Why was the K-129 discovered not by the Soviet special services, but by the Americans, having spent several years searching for it?

Which version of the submarine's death turned out to be correct: a crew error, a technical accident - a hydrogen explosion in the submarine's hull compartment, or the third - a collision with another underwater object, the American Swordfish submarine?

The mystery of the death of the submarine K-129

Source of information: All the greatest mysteries of history / M. A. Pankova, I. Yu. Romanenko and others.

Over the mystery of the disappearance of K-129 hung iron curtain. The press kept deathly silence. For officers Pacific Fleet It was forbidden to conduct any conversations on this subject.
To unravel the mystery of the death of the submarine, you need to go back 46 years ago, when all the participants in this tragedy were still alive.
K-129 was not supposed to go to sea then, because just a month and a half before this tragedy, she returned from a planned campaign. The crew was exhausted by a long raid, and the materiel required refurbishment. The submarine, which was to sail, was not ready to go. In this regard, the command of the Pacific Fleet decided to send the K-129 on patrol instead. The situation developed on the principle of "for myself and for that guy." It is still not known whether the commander of the unprepared submarine was punished. It is only clear that by his sloppiness he saved not only his own life, but also the lives of all the members of the crew entrusted to him. But at what cost!
AT urgently K-129 began preparing a new campaign. Only a part of the officers were recalled from leave. The missing composition was forcedly understaffed from other submarines. In addition, a group of apprentice sailors from the submarine was taken on board. Witnesses of those events recall that the crew went to sea in a bad mood.
On March 8, 1968, the operational duty officer at the central command post The Navy announced an alarm - K-129 did not give a signal about the passage of the control line, due to the combat order. And then it turned out that at the command post of the squadron there was not even a list of the crew signed personally by the submarine commander and certified by the ship's seal. With military point view, this is a serious malfeasance.
From mid-March to May 1968, an operation unprecedented in scope and secrecy was carried out to search for the disappeared submarine, in which dozens of ships of the Kamchatka flotilla and aviation were involved. Northern Fleet. Stubbornly searched at the calculated point of the route K-129. The weak hope that the submarine was drifting on the surface, without a course and radio communications, did not materialize after two weeks. The congestion of the ether with constant negotiations attracted the attention of the Americans, who accurately indicated the coordinates of a large oil slick in the ocean, located in Soviet waters. Chemical analysis showed that the spot is solarium and is identical to the fuel used in the submarines of the Soviet Navy. Exact location the death of K-129 in official documents was designated as the "K" point.
The search for the submarine continued for 73 days. After their completion, the relatives and friends of all crew members received a funeral with a cynical record "declared dead." It was as if they forgot about 98 submariners. And the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy, S. G. Gorshkov, made an unprecedented statement, refusing to acknowledge the death of the submarine and the entire crew. The official refusal of the government of the USSR from the sunken
K-129 resulted in her becoming "orphan property", thus any country that discovered the missing submarine would be considered its owner. And of course, everything that is inside the submarine. If we take into account that in those days all submarines leaving the coast of the USSR were painted over the number, then if K-129 was found, it would not even have identification marks.
Nevertheless, to investigate the causes of the death of the K-129 submarine, two commissions were created: a government commission under the leadership of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR L. Smirnov and the Navy, which was headed by one of the most experienced submariners, First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Navy V. Kasatonov. The conclusions reached by both commissions were similar. They acknowledged that the fault of the crew of the submarine in the death of the ship is not.
The most reliable cause of the disaster could be a failure to a depth below the limit due to freezing of the float valve of the RDP air shaft (mode of operation of diesel engines under water). An indirect confirmation of this version was that the command of the fleet headquarters ordered the commanders to use the RDP regime as much as possible. Subsequently, the percentage of sailing time in this mode became one of the criteria for the success of the cruise tasks. It should be noted that the K-129 submarine has never lagged behind in this indicator during long-term navigation at extreme depths. The second official version was a submerged collision with a foreign submarine.
In addition to the official ones, there were also a number of unofficial versions expressed in different years by various specialists: collision with a surface vessel or transport at periscope depth; failure to depths exceeding the maximum immersion depth, and due to this violation of the design strength of the hull; falling on the slope of the internal waves of the ocean (the nature of which has not yet been precisely established); explosion of a storage battery (AB) during its charging as a result of exceeding the permissible concentration of hydrogen (American version).
In 1998, a book by Sherri Sontag and Christopher Drew, The Blind Man's Bluff. The Untold History of American Underwater Espionage. It presented three main versions of the death of K-129: the crew lost control; a technical accident that developed into a catastrophe (AB explosion); collision with another ship.
The version of the AB explosion on the submarine was deliberately false, because in the entire history of the world's submarine fleets, many such explosions were recorded, but not one of them caused the destruction of the strong hulls of the boats, at least because of the outboard water.

The most plausible and proven is the version of the collision of the K-129 submarine with the American submarine "Swordfish" (translated as "swordfish"). Already its name makes it possible to imagine the structure of this submarine, the conning tower of which is protected by two "fins" similar to sharks. The same version is confirmed by photographs taken at the site of the death of the K-129 from the American nuclear submarine Hellibat using the Glomar Explorer deep-sea vehicle. They depict the hull of a Soviet submarine, on which a narrow deep hole is visible from the left side in the bulkhead area between the second and third compartments. The boat itself was lying on the ground on an even keel, which meant that the collision occurred when it was under water at a depth safe for a surface ship to ram. Apparently, the Swordfish, which was following the Soviet submarine, lost hydroacoustic contact, which forced it to follow the K-129 location, and the short-term restoration of contact between them a few minutes before the collision could no longer prevent the tragedy.
Although now this version is subject to criticism. The journalist of the newspaper "Sovershenno sekretno" A. Mozgovoy rejects it, referring primarily to the damage to the K-129, because the Swordfish's heel angle did not allow it to cause such damage to the Soviet submarine. A. Mozgovoy defends the version that the K-129 died as a result of a collision with a surface transport. And there is also evidence for this, although the same “swordfish” appears again in them. In the spring of 1968 in foreign press reports began to appear that a few days after the disappearance of the K-129 submarine, the Swordfish entered the Japanese port of Yokosuka with a crumpled barrier of the conning tower and began emergency repairs. The entire operation was classified. The boat was under repair for only one night, during which it was redecorated: patches were applied, the hull was touched up. In the morning she left the parking lot, and a non-disclosure agreement was taken from the crew. After this incident, Swordfish did not sail for a year and a half.

The Americans tried to explain the fact that their submarine was damaged by its collision with an iceberg, which clearly did not correspond to reality, since icebergs are not found in the central part of the ocean in March. And in general, they do not “swim” into this area even at the end of winter, and not just in spring.
Even in defense of the version of the collision of two submarines, the fact that the Americans surprisingly accurately and quickly determined the place of death of the K-129 speaks. At that time, the possibility of detecting it with the help of an American satellite was excluded, meanwhile they indicated the area with an accuracy of 1-3 miles, which, according to military experts, could only be established by a submarine located in the same zone.
Between 1968 and 1973, the Americans examined the place of death of the K-129, its position and the condition of the hull with the Trieste-2 deep-sea bathyscaphe (according to other sources, Mizar), which allowed the CIA to conclude that the Soviet submarine could be raised. The CIA has developed a covert operation under code name"Jennifer". All this was carried out in the hope of obtaining cipher documents, combat packets and radio communication equipment and using this information to read the entire radio traffic of the Soviet fleet, which would make it possible to open the deployment and control system of the USSR Navy. And most importantly, it made it possible to find key foundations cipher development. In connection with the genuine interest in Soviet missile and nuclear weapons in the years cold war such information was of particular value. Only three were aware of the operation dignitaries in the USA: President Richard Nixon, CIA director William Colby and billionaire Howard Huoz, who financed these works. Their preparation took almost seven years, and the costs amounted to about $350 million.
To lift the K-129 hull, two special vessels were designed: the Glomar Explorer and the NSS-1 docking chamber, which had an expanding bottom equipped with giant gripping pincers resembling the shape of a Soviet submarine hull. Both ships were built in parts at different shipyards on the west and east coasts of the United States, as if repeating the tactics of creating Captain Nemo's Nautilus. It is also important that even during the final assembly, the engineers had no idea about the purpose of these ships. All work was carried out in complete secrecy.
But no matter how the CIA tried to classify this operation, the activity of American ships in a certain place Pacific Ocean did not go unnoticed. The head of the USSR Navy, Vice Admiral I. N. Khurs, received a cipher message stating that the American vessel Glomar Explorer was completing the stage of preparatory work to lift the K-129. However, he answered the following: "I draw your attention to the better implementation of planned tasks." In principle, this meant - do not meddle with your nonsense, but mind your own business.
As it later became known, in Washington, a letter was planted under the door of the Soviet embassy with the following content: “In the near future, US intelligence services will take action to covertly raise a Soviet submarine that sank in the Pacific Ocean. Well-wisher."
The operation to lift the K-129 was technically very difficult, since the boat rested at a depth of more than 5000 m. All work lasted 40 days. When lifting, the Soviet submarine broke into two pieces, so only one was able to be lifted, consisting of the first, second and part of the third compartments. The Americans rejoiced.
The bodies of six dead submariners were removed from the bow of the ship and buried at sea according to the ritual adopted in the Soviet fleet. The sarcophagus with the bodies was covered with the flag of the Soviet Navy and lowered into the sea to the sound of the national anthem of the Soviet Union. Having paid their last respects to the Soviet sailors, the Americans began to search for the ciphers they were so interested in, but did not reach the desired goal. The reason for everything was the Russian mentality: during the repair of K-129 in 1966-1967 in Dalzavod, the chief builder, at the request of the commander of the submarine, Captain 1st Rank V. Kobzar, transferred the cipher-cabin to the missile compartment. He could not refuse this tall, heavily built man, who was tormented in the cramped and tiny cabin of the second compartment, and therefore retreated from the project.

But the secret of lifting the sunken submarine was not observed. An international scandal erupted around Operation Jennifer. The work had to be curtailed, and the CIA never got to the aft part of K-129.
Soon, the main actors who organized this operation also left the political arena: Richard Nixon was removed from his post in connection with the Watergate scandal; Howard Hughes went mad; William Colby left intelligence for unknown reasons. Congress barred the CIA from engaging in such dubious operations.
The only thing that the motherland did for the dead submariners after the boat was raised was that the USSR Foreign Ministry sent a note to the US State Department, in which it accused the Americans of violating international maritime law (lifting a foreign ship from the ocean floor) and desecrating the mass grave of sailors. However, neither one nor the other had any legal basis.
Only in October 1992, the film, on which the burial of six bodies of Soviet submariners was filmed, was handed over to Boris Yeltsin, but did not give any information shedding light on the causes of the tragedy.
Later, the American-Russian film "The Tragedy of Submarine K-129" was shot, which reveals only twenty-five percent of the factual material, is replete with errors and embellishment of reality, which is familiar to Americans.
There are many half-truths in the picture, which are much worse than outright lies.
On the proposal of the Minister of Defense I. Sergeez, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation of October 20, 1998, all members of the crew of the K-129 submarine were awarded the Order of Courage (posthumously), but the awards were presented only to eight families of the dead sailors. In the city of Cheremkhovo, a monument was erected to the heroes of submarines K-129, who were born and raised in the Irkutsk region.
The circumstances that led to the tragedy on board the missile submarine are still unknown. His death is considered one of the biggest mysteries of the Cold War period, which unfolded between the two superpowers - the USSR and the USA.
Vladimir Evdasin, who once served on this submarine, has his own version of her death
March 8, 2008 marked the 40th anniversary of the death and rest in the abyss of the Pacific Ocean of the K-129 submarine. The media on this day were busy with banal congratulations to women, and the memory of the dead sailors was not paid attention. Including in Novosibirsk. Meanwhile, among the 99 submariners who died on K-129, seven were our countrymen: assistant commander captain 3rd rank Motovilov Vladimir Artemyevich, foreman of the bilge machinist team, chief foreman of extra-long service Ivanov Valentin Pavlovich, commander of the launch department foreman of the 2nd article Saenko Nikolai Yemelyanovich , senior electrician senior sailor Bozhenko Vladimir Alekseevich, electricians sailors Vladimir Matveevich Gostev and Dasko Ivan Aleksandrovich, minder sailor Kravtsov Gennady Ivanovich.
Only thirty years after the death, our fellow countrymen, like all members of the K-129 crew, were awarded "for courage and bravery shown in the performance of military duty" posthumously with the Order of Courage. And ten years later, few remembered the fate of this crew. And it's not fair. The crew of the K-129 did not die in an accident. He fell victim to the forty-five-year war of 1946-1991, designated in history as the cold war (meaning: conditional, bloodless). But there were direct confrontations in this war, there were also victims - the fate of the K-129 is an example of this. This should not be forgotten.
In 1955, the United States, three years ahead of the USSR, commissioned a nuclear submarine with torpedo weapons. But on September 16 of the same 1955, the USSR launched the world's first successful launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine in the surface position, which made it possible to deliver a nuclear strike against enemy ground targets. In July 1960, American submariners took the lead by launching ballistic missiles from under the water. But already in October of the same year, the launch of a rocket from under the water was also carried out in the USSR. So rapidly unfolded the battle of submarine fleets for superiority in the oceans. At the same time, the cold war under water was fought on the verge of a hot war. Submarines of the United States and other NATO countries constantly monitored the warships of the USSR. Soviet submarines responded in kind. These reconnaissance operations, and sometimes acts of intimidation, often led to incidents on the verge of a foul, and in the case of the K-129, they led to the death of the ship and its crew.
On February 24, 1968, on a ninety-day trip (the return was planned for May 5), from the submarine base in the Kamchatka Bay, whose name is translated from French as a grave, the K-129 diesel-electric submarine with three ballistic missiles and two torpedoes with nuclear warheads on board. Until now, the secret mission has not been disclosed, which was stored in a package, which the commander had the right to open only after arriving in given point World Ocean. It is only known that the submarine was prepared for the campaign in an emergency order, and the officers were “whisted out” (withdrew) from vacations by telegrams, no matter where in the country they rested.
One can guess about the goals of the campaign, knowing what kind of events were taking place at that time in the zone of responsibility of the Pacific fleets of the USSR and the USA, the degree of tension in the international situation.
It began with the fact that on January 23, 1968, the American reconnaissance ship "Pueblo" invaded North Korean territorial waters. He was attacked and captured by Korean border guards, and his crew was captured (one American was killed). The North Koreans refused to give up the ship and its crew. Then the United States sent two aircraft carrier formations of ships to the East Korean Gulf, threatening to release compatriots by force. North Korea was an ally, the USSR was obliged to provide it military aid. The commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Amelko, secretly brought the fleet to full combat readiness and in early February deployed 27 submarines, a squadron of surface ships led by the Varyag missile cruiser, and long-range naval reconnaissance aircraft in the maneuvering area of ​​American aircraft carriers. Vigelent carrier-based attack aircraft began to take off from American aircraft carriers and tried to intimidate our sailors, flying, almost touching the masts above the Soviet ships. Admiral Amelko radioed to the Varyag: “The order to open fire should be given only in the event of a clear attack on ships. Maintain composure and safety measures. Nobody wanted to fight "hot". But the Americans had to be stopped. A regiment of 21 Tu-16 missile carriers was raised from the ground airfield of naval aviation with orders to fly around aircraft carriers and other ships of the American squadron at extremely low altitudes, demonstrating a threat with missiles fired from hatches. This had the right effect. Both carrier formations turned around and left for Sasebo, the American military base in Japan. The transformation of the cold war into a real war was prevented. But the threat persisted for another year, because the crew of the Pueblo was returned to the Americans only in December 1968, and the ship itself even later.
Here, against the background of what events, the K-129 submarine received an order to urgently and preparing for the trip. War could break out at any moment. Judging by the armament, the K-129, if necessary, was ready to deliver nuclear strikes with two torpedoes against naval aircraft carrier formations and three ballistic missiles against ground targets. For this, they had to patrol in the zone of a possible theater of operations.

Leaving the bay, the submarine moved south, reached the fortieth parallel and turned along it to the west, towards Japanese islands. At the appointed time, the command received control radiograms from her. On the twelfth day, March 8 at night, K-129 did not get in touch. At this time, she was supposed to be in the area of ​​​​the next turning point of the route of transition to the combat mission area at a distance of about 1230 miles from the coast of Kamchatka and about 750 miles northwest of the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian archipelago.
When the radiogram from K-129 was not received on the next scheduled communication session, the hope that the silence was due to malfunctions in the radio equipment melted away. On March 12, active searches began. More than 30 ships and aircraft along and across furrowed the alleged area of ​​the disappearance of the submarine, but did not find any traces of it either on the surface or in the depths of the ocean. The country and the world were not informed about the tragedy, which was in the tradition of the then authorities. The causes of the tragedy are still being debated.
The main version of the death of the K-129 of our submariners and experts: the submarine collided with another submarine. This happens and more than once has led to disasters and accidents with boats from different countries.

I must say that American submarines are constantly on duty in neutral waters off the coast of Kamchatka, detecting our submarines leaving the base into the open ocean. It is unlikely that the “roaring cow”, as American sailors called our diesel-electric submarines for the noise, managed to break away from the high-speed nuclear submarine, and therefore, experts believe, there was probably a spy nuclear submarine in the area of ​​the K-129 sinking. The commanders of American atomic marines consider it a special chic to conduct surveillance, approaching at critically small distances from one side, then from the other, then diving under the bottom of the observed ship on the verge of a collision. Apparently, this time the collision occurred, and experts call the culprit of the death of the K-129, the American atomic submarine Swordfish (Swordfish), which was specially designed for underwater reconnaissance operations, which had already had to collide with another of our submarines, however, then both submarines escaped with minor damage. The fact that it was Swordfish that collided with K-129 is believed on the basis that shortly after the disappearance of our submarine, Swordfish reached the Japanese port of Yokosuka and, in an atmosphere of extreme secrecy, began repairing the bow and cabin with periscopes and antennas. Such damage to an atomic marine could only be received in a collision with another ship, and being under it. Another confirmation of the guilt of the American nuclear submarine is the fact that when the Americans attempted, a couple of months after the death of the K-129, to examine it with deep-sea submersibles, and in 1974 to raise the bow of the dead submarine with espionage targets from a depth of 5 km, they knew exactly the coordinates of her death and did not waste time on a long search.
The Americans, even now that the Cold War has become history, deny the involvement of their submarine in the death of the K-129, and explain the damage to the Swordfish by a collision with an ice floe. But in those latitudes in March, floating ice floes are nothing more than a myth. They present images taken by deep-sea submersibles of the K-129 lying at the bottom. A three-meter hole in a strong and lightweight hull, a destroyed stern part of the cabin fence, a bent stern and damaged middle ballistic missile silos, torn off covers of these silos and missile warheads thrown somewhere - all these damages are above or near the battery pit in the fifth compartment and, the Americans say , could be obtained from the explosion of hydrogen released by batteries. They are not embarrassed that there are dozens of such explosions in the history of the submarine fleet of all countries, but they always led only to destruction and fires inside the submarine. Calculations show that the power of such an explosion is not enough for the submarine to receive fatal injuries, which were recorded by the cameras of American naval spies.
From June 1960 to March 1961 I had a chance to serve on K-129. Her fate is not indifferent to me, and therefore I dare to give such, it seems, not yet voiced in the United States, version of the death of this submarine.
I think that shortly before the scheduled communication session on the night of March 8, 1968, K-129 surfaced and sailed on the surface. In the surface position on the bridge, in the fence of the felling, according to the staffing table, three people went up and kept watch: the watch officer, the steering signalman and the “watcher in the stern”. The body of one of them in a fur raglan was recorded by an American spy camera in the cabin fence, which confirms that at the time of the disaster the boat was on the surface, because inside the submarine on the second day of the underwater course the air temperature reaches 40 or more degrees, and "in furs" divers don't flaunt. Since hydroacoustics lose control of the situation under water during the operation of diesel engines, they did not notice the noise of a maneuvering alien submarine. And she carried out transverse diving under the bottom of the K-129 at a critically dangerous distance and unexpectedly hooked the hull of our submarine with the wheelhouse, and she capsized without even having time to squeak a radio signal. Water rushed into the open hatch and air intake shaft, and soon the submarine fell to the bottom of the ocean. Upon impact with the bottom upside down, the hull of the boat broke. Rocket launchers were also destroyed. Let me remind you that the boat fell to a depth of 5 km and began to collapse even at a depth of 300 m - the maximum calculated immersion depth. It took a few minutes for everything.

This version of what happened is quite real. Submarines 629 of the project, and hence the K-129, were the very first specially designed missile submarines in the world. But, alas, they were not "roly-poly". Ballistic missiles did not fit into the hull of the submarine, launchers had to be placed in a special compartment, and a special fence was built above it, rising above the upper deck to the height of a three-story building. In the bow of the fence, a cabin with a bridge and all retractable devices were placed. With the length of the submarine itself about 100 m, about a quarter of this distance fell on the fence. In width, from side to side, it was no more than 10 m. This design made the submarine very unstable on the surface, it swayed from side to side quite strongly even with the wind. And when an external powerful force intervened, the center of gravity shifted to a catastrophic line, the boat capsized and fell to the bottom, dragging 99 divers with it. Eternal memory to them.
It would be nice to introduce a tradition in Novosibirsk to commemorate our fellow countrymen and the entire crew of the K-129 by laying flowers, and even salute at the Monument to sailors and rivermen who gave their lives for the Fatherland. Let every year on March 8, on the day of the death of K-129, veterans of the Navy, cadets of the river command school, cadets, members of children's and youth military patriotic associations come to the monument on the Ob embankment near the pier River Station. Those who gave their lives in the service of the Motherland during the Cold War deserve such attention.

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE

On March 8, 1968, during combat duty in the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet diesel submarine K-129 sank with three ballistic thermonuclear missiles on board. All 105 crew members were killed. There was an explosion on the boat, and it lay on the ground at a depth of more than 5,000 meters.

The crash was kept under wraps. Some time later, the US military decided to raise the nuclear submarine, for which, in an atmosphere of the strictest secrecy, a special vessel, the Explorer, was built. The lifting operation cost $500 million. Apparently, the price of Soviet military secrets was higher.

Around the lifting of the boat, a large spy game. Until the last moment, the Soviet side believed that lifting the submarine was impossible and did not confirm the information about the loss of the boat at all. And only after the start of work on raising the boat by the Americans, the Soviet government protested, threatening even the bombing of the disaster area. But the Americans successfully completed their task of lifting the boat. A scandal erupted. However, the CIA obtained Soviet military ciphers and other classified information.

The submariners did not return from the military campaign, they were eagerly awaited at home.
Mothers, wives, children, they all lived in hopes of a speedy meeting. But sometimes life brings us terrible things. Fighting guys died, going into the depths of the ocean.

One of the last photos of the K-129 submarine team, in the center Zhuravin Alexander Mikhailovich, senior assistant to the boat commander.

Staff officers:

1. KOBZAR Vladimir Ivanovich, born in 1930, captain of the 1st rank, submarine commander.
2. ZHURAVIN Alexander Mikhailovich, born in 1933, captain of the 2nd rank, senior assistant to the boat commander.
3. LOBAS Fedor Ermolaevich, born in 1930, captain III rank, deputy. political boat commander.
4. Vladimir Artemyevich MOTOVOLOV, born in 1936, captain of the 3rd rank, assistant boat commander.
5. PIKULIK Nikolai Ivanovich, born in 1937, captain-lieutenant, commander of BC-1.
6. DYKIN Anatoly Petrovich, born in 1940, lieutenant, commander of the BCH-1 electric navigation group.
7. PANARIN Gennady Semenovich, born in 1935, captain of III rank, commander of BCH-2. graduate of VVMU named after P.S. Nakhimov.
8. ZUEV Viktor Mikhailovich, born in 1941, captain-lieutenant, commander of the control group BC-2.
9. KOVALEV Evgeny Grigorievich, born in 1932, captain of the III rank, commander of the BC-3.
10. OREKHOV Nikolai Nikolaevich, born in 1934, engineer-captain III rank, commander of warhead-5.
11. ZHARNAKOV Alexander Fedorovich, born in 1939, senior lieutenant, head of the RTS.
12. EGOROV Alexander Egorovich, born in 1934, engineer-captain-lieutenant, commander of the motor group BCh-5.

Seconded officers.

1. Sergey Pavlovich CHEREPANOV, born in 1932, major of the medical service, doctor of the submarine, by order of the Civil Code of the Navy N 0106 dated 01/18/1968, due to difficult family circumstances, was transferred to Vladivostok as a teacher at the medical institute. By permission of the OK, KTOF was left on the submarine to ensure the campaign.
2. MOSYACHKII Vladimir Alekseevich, born in 1942, senior lieutenant, commander of the OSNAZ reconnaissance group. Seconded for the period of going to sea. Commander of the reconnaissance group OSNAZ submarine "B-50".

Ratings.

1. Borodulin Vyacheslav Semenovich, born in 1939, midshipman, foreman of the team of helmsmen-signalmen.
2. LAPSAR Pyotr Tikhonovich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the helmsman-signalers department.
3. OVCHINNIKOV Vitaly Pavlovich, born in 1944, sailor, helmsman-signalman.
4. KHAMETOV Mansur Gabdulkhanovich, 1945. birth, foreman 2 articles, foreman of the team of electricians navigation.
5. KRIVIKH Mikhail Ivanovich, born in 1947, senior sailor, senior navigational electrician.
6. GUSHCHIN Nikolai Ivanovich, born in 1945, senior sailor, commander of the control department.
7. Viktor Ivanovich BALASHOV, born in 1946, senior sailor, senior electrician operator.
8. SHUVALOV Anatoly Sergeevich, born in 1947, sailor, senior electrician operator.
9. KIZYAEV Alexey Georgievich, born in 1944, foreman of the 1st class, foreman of the preparation and launch team.
10. LISITSYN Vladimir Vladimirovich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, squad leader board. appliances.
11. KOROTITSKIKH Viktor Vasilievich, born in 1947, sailor, senior gyroscope operator.
12. SAYENKO Nikolai Emelyanovich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the launch department.
13. CHUMILIN Valery Georgievich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the torpedo squad.
14. KOSTUSHKO Vladimir Mikhailovich, born in 1947, sailor, torpedo pilot.
15. MARAKULIN Viktor Andreevich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the torpedo electricians department.
16. TERESHIN Vitaly Ivanovich, born in 1941, midshipman, foreman of the radiotelegraph team.
17. ARKHIVOV Anatoly Andreevich, born in 1947, sailor, radiotelegrapher.
18. NECHEPURENKO Valery Stepanovich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the telegraph department.
19. PLYUSNIN Viktor Dmitrievich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the minders department.
20. TELNOV Yury Ivanovich, born in 1945, senior sailor, senior minder.
21. ZVEREV Mikhail Vladimirovich, born in 1946, sailor, senior minder.
22. SHISHKIN Yuri Vasilyevich, born in 1946, sailor, senior minder.
23. VASILYEV Alexander Sergeevich, born in 1947, sailor, minder.
24. OSIPOV Sergey Vladimirovich, born in 1947, sailor, minder.
25. BAZHENOV Nikolai Nikolaevich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the department of electricians.
26. KRAVTSOV Gennady Ivanovich, born in 1947, sailor, minder.
27. GOOGE Petr Ivanovich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, minder.
28. ODINTSOV Ivan Ivanovich, born in 1947, sailor minder.
29. OSHCHEPKOV Vladimir Grigorievich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the electricians department.
30. POGADAEV Vladimir Alekseevich, born in 1946, sailor, senior electrician.
31. BOZHENKO (sometimes BAZHENNO) Vladimir Alekseevich, born in 1945, senior sailor, senior electrician.
32. OZHIMA Alexander Nikiforovich, born in 1947, sailor, electrician.
33. GOSTEV Vladimir Matveyevich, born in 1946, sailor, electrician.
34. DASKO Ivan Alexandrovich, born in 1947, sailor, electrician.
35. TOSHCHEVIKOV Alexander Nikolaevich, born in 1947, sailor, electrician.
36. DEGTYAREV Anatoly Afanasyevich, born in 1947, sailor, electrician.
37. IVANOV Valentin Pavlovich, born in 1944, chief sergeant-major beyond conscript service, sergeant-major of the bilge machinist team.
38. SPRISHEVSKY (sometimes - SPRISCHEVSKY) Vladimir Yulianovich, born in 1934, midshipman, foreman of the RTS team.
39. KOSHKAREV Nikolay Dmitrievich, born in 1947, sailor, Senior Radiometrist.
40. ZUBAREV Oleg Vladimirovich, born in 1947, sailor, radiometrist.
41. BAKHIREV Valery Mikhailovich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, medical chemist.
42. LABZIN (sometimes - LOBZIN) Viktor Mikhailovich, born in 1941, chief foreman beyond military service, senior cook instructor.
43. MATANTSEV Leonid Vladimirovich, born in 1946, senior sailor, senior cook.
44. Chichkanov Anatoly Semenovich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the radio telegraph department.
45. KOZIN Vladimir Vasilyevich, born in 1947, sailor, radiotelegrapher.
46. ​​LOKHOV Viktor Aleksandrovich, born in 1947, senior sailor, senior hydroacoustic engineer.
47. POLYAKOV Vladimir Nikolaevich, born in 1948, sailor, apprentice bilge engineer.
48. TORSUNOV Boris Petrovich, born in 1948, sailor, electrician
49. KUCHINSKY Alexander Ivanovich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, senior instructor.
50. KASYANOV Gennady Semenovich, born in 1947, sailor, student of navigational electrician.
51. POLYANSKY Alexander Dmitrievich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the bilge machinists department.
52. SAVITSKY Mikhail Seliverstovich, born in 1945, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the bilge machinists department.
53. KOBELEV Gennady Innokent'evich, born in 1947, senior sailor, senior bilge engineer.
54. SOROKIN Vladimir Mikhailovich, born in 1945, senior sailor, senior bilge engineer.
55. YARYGIN Alexander Ivanovich, born in 1945, senior sailor, bilge engineer.
56. KRYUCHKOV Alexander Stepanovich, born in 1947, sailor, bilge engineer.
57. KULIKOV Alexander Petrovich, born in 1947, senior sailor, commander of the hydroacoustic department.
58. KABAKOV Anatoly Semenovich, born in 1948, sailor, minder.
59. REDKOSHEEV Nikolai Andreevich, born in 1948, sailor, minder.

By replacement:

1. KUZNETSOV Alexander Vasilievich, born in 1945, foreman of the 1st article, foreman of the motor team = 453 submarine crew.
2. TOKAREVSKIH Leonid Vasilvich, born in 1948, senior sailor, helmsman-signalman = 453 submarine crew.
3. TRIFONOV Sergey Nikolaevich, born in 1948, sailor, senior helmsman-signalman = 453 submarine crew.
4. DUBOV Yuri Ivanovich, born in 1947, sailor, senior electrician-mechanic = 453 submarine crew.
5. SURNIN Valery Mikhailovich, born in 1945, foreman 2 articles, senior electrician-mechanic = 453 submarine crew.
6. NOSACHEV Valentin Grigorievich, born in 1947, sailor, senior torpedo pilot = 453 submarine crew.
7. SHPAK Gennady Mikhailovich, born in 1945, foreman of the 1st article, senior minder = 453 submarine crew.
8. KOTOV Ivan Tikhonovich, born in 1939, midshipman, foreman of the team of electricians = 337 submarine crew.
9. NAIMISHIN (sometimes - NAIMUSHIN) Anatoly Sergeevich, born in 1947, senior sailor, commander of the radiometric department = submarine “K-163”.
10. KHVATOV Alexander Vladimirovich, born in 1945, foreman of the 1st article, foreman of the radiotelegraph team = submarine “K-14”.
11. GUSHCHIN Gennady Fedorovich, born in 1946, foreman of the 2nd article, SPS specialist = 337 submarine crew.
12. BASHKOV Georgy Ivanovich, born in 1947, sailor, bilge engineer = 458 submarine crew.
13. ABRAMOV Nikolai Dmitrievich, born in 1945, chief foreman beyond military service, commander of the electricians department = 337 submarine crew.
14. KARABAZHANOV (sometimes - KARABOZHANOV) Yuri Fedorovich, born in 1947, senior sailor, senior helmsman signalman = submarine “K-163”.

1. KOLBIN Vladimir Valentinovich, born in 1948, sailor, minder = 453 submarine crew.
2. MINE (sometimes - RUDNIN) Anatoly Ivanovich, born in 1948, sailor, minder = 453 submarine crew.
3. PESKOV Evgeny Konstantinovich, born in 1947, sailor, senior hold = 453 submarine crew.
4. KRUCHININ Oleg Leonidovich, born in 1947, sailor, radiotelegraph operator = 453 submarine crew.
5. Crybaby Vladimir Mikhailovich, born in 1948, sailor, apprentice radiotelegrapher = submarine “K-116”.
6. MIKHAILOV Timur Tarkhaevich, born in 1947, senior sailor, commander of the radiometric department = 453 submarine crew.
7. ANDREEV Alexey Vasilyevich, born in 1947, foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the hydroacoustic department = submarine “K-163”.
8. KOZLENKO Alexander Vladimirovich, born in 1947, sailor, torpedo pilot = 453 submarine crew.
9. CHERNITSA Gennady Viktorovich, born in 1946, sailor, cook = submarine “K-99”.
10. Alexander Alexandrovich PICHURIN, born in 1948, sailor, senior hydroacoustic engineer. Arrived on "K-129" as a hydroacoustic student on February 1, 1968. By order of the division commander, he was transferred to the 453rd crew. However, in fact, he was not transferred to the crew and participated in the preparation of the submarine for combat service. Before the K-129 left, the senior assistant commander, captain of the 2nd rank, Zhuravin, did not report to the division commander about the presence of sailor PICHULIN on board the submarine and did not correct the list submitted by him earlier.
11. SOKOLOV Vladimir Vasilyevich, born in 1947, sailor, electrician = submarine “K-75”.

On October 22, 1998, on the basis of the Decree of the President, the commander's son Andrey, the wife of the first mate Zhuravina Irina Andreevna, the wife of the group commander Zueva Galina Nikolaevna were awarded the Order of Courage. Thanks to the perseverance of Irina Andreevna Zhuravina, the work of restoring the good memory of the submariners of the K-129 submarine crew has been moved forward.

Here are some photos of the K-129 submarine crew.

Senior assistant RPL K-129 Zhuravin Alexander Mikhailovich, captain 2nd rank.

The commander of the warhead-1 Zhuravin A.M. ON the K-129 submarine, an earlier photo.

Kozlenko Alexander Vladimirovich, sailor BCh-3, torpedo pilot, born in 1947. Photo from the only surviving negative.

The personnel of the RPL K-129

Commander of the submarine K-129 Kobzar Vladimir Ivanovich

"Project Azorian" - code name covert operation, which later became one of the main scandals of the Cold War. It was in those distant years that a camouflaged US warship pulled a sunken Soviet K-129 out of the ocean.

On a dark bottom in the North Pacific lies the remains of the most courageous submarine in the history of the world. These fragments testify to the terrible tragedy that happened on March 11, 1968 with the Soviet nuclear submarine K-129, as a result of which 98 officers died. The place of the tragedy was kept secret from the USSR and only 6 years later it was announced ...

The Americans found and examined the sunken submarine during the first 2 weeks. Possessing modern technologies, the CIA launched a unique project to raise part of the K-129 boat from the seabed in August 1974.



Since K-129 sank at a very great depth, about 5000 m, the ship Glomar Explorer was designed and built specifically for the operation, equipped with unique equipment for ultra-deep sea work. The operation was carried out in secret international waters and was disguised as exploration work on the sea shelf.



Trouble course

... Under the cover of darkness in the early morning of February 24, 1968, the K-129 diesel-electric submarine, tail number “574”, left Krasheninnikov Bay and headed for the Pacific Ocean, to the Hawaiian Islands.

Submarine project 629-A. Maximum immersion depth - 300 m. Armament - 3 R-21 ballistic missiles, torpedoes with nuclear warheads. Autonomy -70 days. Crew - 90 people.



On March 8, at the turning point of the route, the submarine did not give a signal about the passage of the control line. The faint hope that the boat was drifting on the surface, devoid of power and radio communications, dried up after two weeks.

A truly massive search operation has begun. For 70 days, three dozen ships of the Pacific Fleet surveyed the entire K-129 route from Kamchatka to Hawaii. All along the way, water samples were taken for radioactivity (there were atomic weapon). Alas, the boat has sunk into obscurity.

The crew of the lost boat.



In the autumn of 1968, mournful notices were sent to the relatives of the missing sailors from the K-129 crew in the cities of the Soviet Union, where the column “cause of death” read: “deem dead.” The military-political leadership of the USSR hid the fact of the disappearance of the submarine from the whole world, quietly excluding the K-129 from the Navy.

The only one who remembered the lost boat was the US Central Intelligence Agency.

The nuclear submarine Barb (SSN-596) was on duty in the Sea of ​​Japan when something unexpected happened. A large detachment went to sea Soviet ships and submarines. It was surprising that the sonars of the ships of the Soviet Navy, including submarines, constantly "worked" in active mode.

It soon became clear that the Russians were not looking for American boat. Their ships were rapidly moving eastward, filling the airwaves with numerous messages. The commander of the USS "Barb" reported to the command about what had happened and suggested that, judging by the nature of the "event", the Russians were looking for their sunken boat.

Place of death of K-129



US Navy specialists began to listen to kilometers of tape recordings received from bottom acoustic stations of the SOSUS system. In the cacophony of ocean sounds, they managed to find a fragment where the “clap” was recorded.

The signal came from a bottom station installed on an elevation of the Imperial Mountains (a section of the ocean floor) at a distance of over 300 miles from the alleged crash site. Given the SOSUS direction finding accuracy of 5-10 °, the position of K-129 was determined as a “spot” 30 miles in size.

The Soviet submarine sank 600 miles northwest of about. Midway (Hawaiian archipelago), in the middle of an ocean trench at a depth of 5000 meters.

The Soviet government's official rejection of the sunken K-129 resulted in it becoming "orphaned property", thus any country that discovered the missing submarine would be considered its owner. Therefore, in early 1969, discussions began in the CIA about the possibility of lifting valuable equipment from a Soviet submarine from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

The Americans were interested in literally everything: the design of the submarine, mechanisms and instruments, sonars, documents. Particularly tempting was the idea of ​​penetrating into the radio communications of the USSR Navy, "breaking" the ciphers of radio traffic.

If you manage to extract the radio communication equipment, you can use a computer to open the algorithms for encoding information, to understand the key laws of the development of ciphers in the USSR, i.e. open the entire deployment and management system Navy Soviet Union. Of no less interest was nuclear weapons on board the boat: design features of the R-21 ICBM and torpedo warheads.

By July 1969, a clear plan was prepared for several years ahead, and work began to boil. Given the enormous depth at which the K-129 sank, the success of the operation was estimated at 10%



Mission Khalibat

To begin with, it was necessary to establish the exact location of the K-129 and assess its condition. This was done by a nuclear submarine for special operations USS Halibut (Halibut).

The former missile carrier was thoroughly modernized and filled to capacity with oceanographic equipment: side thrusters, an anchor device with a bow and stern mushroom anchor, a diving camera, far and near side sonars, as well as a deep-sea towed Fish module equipped with photo and video equipment and powerful spotlights.



When "Khelibat" was at the calculated point, the days of hard work dragged on. Every six days, a deep-sea submersible was raised to reload film in cameras. Then the photo lab worked at a frantic pace (the camera did 24 frames per second).

And then one day a picture with a clearly defined submarine rudder fell on the table. "K-129" lay on the bottom of the ocean, according to unofficial information, at the point 38 ° 5' N. latitude. and 178°57′ E. (according to other sources - 40 ° 6 ′ N and 179 ° 57′ E) at a depth of 16,500 feet.

The exact coordinates of the location of "K-129" are still a US state secret. After the discovery of the K-129, Khalibat took another 22,000 photographs of the Soviet submarine.

Initially, it was planned to open the K-129 hull with the help of remote-controlled underwater vehicles and extract the materials needed by the American special services from the submarine without lifting the boat itself. But during the Khalibat mission, it was found that the K-129 hull was broken into several large fragments, which made it possible to raise the entire compartments of interest to scouts from a five-kilometer depth.

Of particular value was the bow of the K-129, 138 feet (42 meters) long. The CIA and Navy turned to Congress for financial support, Congress to President Nixon, and the AZORIAN project became a reality.



History of Glomar Explorer

The fantastic project required special technical solutions.

In April 1971, at the Shipbuilding Dry Dock Co. (Pennsylvania, US East Coast) the MV Hughes Glomar Explorer was laid down. The giant, with a total displacement of 50,000 tons, was a single-deck vessel with a “central slot” above which was a giant A-shaped tower, an aft engine room, a bow two-tier and aft four-tier superstructures.



Layout on the deck of the ship "Hughes Glomar Explorer" of the main equipment used in the installation of pipe columns (lifting pipes): 1-bridge crane; 2-main deck; 3-"lunar pool"; 4-A-shaped frame; 5-external gimbal suspension; 6-internal gimbal suspension; 7-base of the cargo device; 8-tower; 9-pipe tray; 10-trolley of the pipe-feeding tray; 11-pipe transfer crane; 12-lift for pipes.

One of the myths about the Azorian project - "K-129" broke during the ascent and most of fell to the bottom - is refuted by the discrepancy between the dimensions of the Lunar Pool (length 60 meters) and the length of the K-129 hull (length according to design waterline - 99 meters). It was already initially planned that only part of the submarine would be raised.

At the same time, at the shipyards of National Steel Shipbuilding Corp. in San Diego (California, West Coast of the USA) the HMB-1 barge (Hughes Marine Barge) and the Clementine deepwater capture were under construction. Such a dispersal of production ensured complete secrecy of the operation.

Even the engineers directly involved in the project, individually, could not understand the purpose of these devices (ship, capture and barge).

After a series of tests on the East Coast, on August 13, 1973, the Glomar Explorer set off on a 12,000-mile cruise around Cape Horn and arrived safely in Long Beach (California) on September 30. There, far from prying eyes, in a quiet bay of Santa Catalina Island, the barge HMB-1 with a grapple mounted on it was waiting for him.



The process of loading "Clementine" on the Glomar Explorer

The barge was slowly loaded and fixed at a depth of 30 m, the Glomar Explorer stood above it; the shutters of its central connector were moved apart and two columns were lowered into the water; at that moment, the roof of the barge opened, and the columns, like Chinese chopsticks, moved the Clementine inside the ship - into the Moon Pool.

As soon as the capture got on board the ship, the massive underwater shutters were closed and water was pumped out of the internal pool. After that, a huge, invisible to prying eyes, work began on the vessel to mount the gripper, attach all cables, hoses and sensors.



Clementine

The cold summer of 1974, a depression north of the island of Guam in the Western Pacific. The depth is 5000 meters… Every 3 minutes a section 18.2 m long is fed by a crane. There are 300 such sections in total, each one is as strong as a gun barrel.

The lowering and lifting of the deep-sea grip "Clementine" occur with the help of a pipe string - a lifting pipe, 5 kilometers long. Each section of the pipe has a conical thread, the sections are carefully screwed into each other, the grooves provide a secure locking of the entire structure.

The actions of the Glomar Explorer were watched with interest by Soviet sailors. The very purpose of the operation is not clear to them, but the fact that deep-sea work was carried out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean aroused suspicion among the command of the Soviet Navy.



As a result of technical problems during the lifting of the boat, its hull broke and most of it sank again, finally collapsing upon contact with the ground, only the bow section was raised aboard the Glomar Explorer.

Although official information remains classified, researchers believe that ballistic missiles, code books and other equipment remained at the bottom, therefore it is believed that the goals of the operation were not fully achieved.

The Chazhma measuring complex ship and the SB-10 rescue tug, which were nearby, caused a lot of trouble for the Yankees. Out of fear that the Russians would take the Glomar Explorer by storm, they had to fill up the helipad with boxes and raise the entire crew to their feet.

Alarming data came from the "Moon Pool" - the wreckage of the boat is radioactive, one of the nuclear charges apparently collapsed.

"Clementine" with parts of "K-129" boards the ship, "Glomar Explorer" and leaves with its prey for Hawaii ...



Memorial to the submariners "K-129" in the garrison Vilyuchinsk

On December 14, 1952, the Shch-117 submarine set out on its last voyage. She went missing.

The reasons for her death have not yet been established. On this occasion, we will tell you about six submarines that died under unclear circumstances.

Soviet diesel-electric torpedo submarine of the Second World War, belongs to the V-bis series of the Shch - "Pike" project.


December 14, 1952 Shch-117 left on her last trip as part of the TU-6 exercises to practice attacking targets by a group of submarines. Six submarines of the brigade were to take part in the exercises, and Shch-117 was supposed to direct them to the ships of the mock enemy. On the night of December 14-15, the last communication session took place with the boat, after which it disappeared. There were 52 crew members on board, including 12 officers.

The search for the Shch-117, which was carried out until 1953, did not give anything. The cause and place of the death of the boat is still unknown.

According to the official version, the cause of death could be the failure of diesel engines in a storm, an explosion on a floating mine, and others. However, the exact cause has not been established.

American nuclear submarine "Thresher" sank in the Atlantic Ocean on April 9, 1963. Biggest disaster submarine fleet in peacetime claimed the lives of 129 people. On the morning of April 9, the boat left the harbor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. There were then vague signals from the submariners that "some problems" existed. After some time, the US military stated that the boat, which was considered missing, had sunk. The causes of the disaster have not yet been fully established.





The Thresher nuclear reactor still rests somewhere at the bottom of the ocean. As early as April 11, 1963, the US Navy measured the radioactivity of ocean water. The indicators did not exceed the norm. Top American officers assure that the reactor is not dangerous. The sea depths cool it and prevent the melting of the core, and the active zone is limited by a strong and stainless container.

Diesel-electric submarine of the "Pike" type, Shch-216, was presumed dead but undetected for many years. The submarine was lost on February 16 or 17, 1944. It is believed that the submarine was damaged, but her crew fought desperately trying to get to the surface.

In the summer of 2013, researchers found a boat near the Crimea: they saw an exploded compartment and rudders brought to the ascent position. At the same time, in addition to one destroyed compartment, the hull looked intact. Under what circumstances this boat died has not been established so far.

C-2, a Soviet IX series diesel-electric torpedo submarine, set sail on January 1, 1940. The S-2 commander, Captain Sokolov, was assigned the following task: a breakthrough into the Gulf of Bothnia and actions on enemy communications. On January 3, 1940, the last signal from S-2 was received. The boat did not get in touch anymore, nothing was reliably known about her fate and the fate of 50 members of her crew.





According to one version, the submarine died on a minefield set by the Finns in the area to the east of the lighthouse on Merket Island. The mine explosion version is official. In the history of the Russian fleet, until recently, this boat was listed as missing. There was no information about her, the location was unknown.

In the summer of 2009, a group of Swedish divers officially announced the discovery of the Soviet submarine S-2. It turns out that 10 years ago, the lighthouse keeper on the island of Merket Ekerman, who probably watched the destruction of C-2, showed his grandson Ingvald the direction with the words: "There lies a Russian."

U-209- medium German submarine type VIIC from the Second World War. The boat was laid down on November 28, 1940 and launched on August 28, 1941. The boat entered service on October 11, 1941 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Heinrich Brodda. U-209 was part of the "wolf packs". She sank four ships.





U-209 went missing in May 1943. Until October 1991, historians believed that the cause of death was the attack of the British frigate HMS Jed and the British sloop HMS Sennen on May 19, 1943. However, it later turned out that U-954 actually died as a result of this attack. The cause of the death of U-209 remains unclear to this day.
"Kursk"

K-141 "Kursk"- Russian nuclear submarine missile-carrying cruiser of project 949A "Antey". The boat was put into operation on December 30, 1994. From 1995 to 2000 she was part of the Russian Northern Fleet.





"Kursk" sank in the Barents Sea, 175 kilometers from Severomorsk, at a depth of 108 meters on August 12, 2000. All 118 crew members were killed. In count dead accident became the second in the post-war history of the domestic submarine fleet after the explosion of ammunition on the B-37.

According to the official version, the boat sank due to the explosion of torpedo 65-76A ("Kit") in torpedo tube No. 4. The cause of the explosion was the leakage of torpedo fuel components. However, many experts still do not agree with this version. Many experts believe that the boat could have been attacked by a torpedo or collided with a World War II mine.

In the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union built a superboat like no other. This submarine "Komsomolets", accepted into the fleet in 1984, had high speed and could fight at great depths. A new era has begun in the Soviet Navy.

But five years have passed, and "Komsomolets" with its nuclear weapons ended up at the bottom of the ocean, and two-thirds of his crew died due to another manifestation of Soviet incompetence.

The history of Komsomolets began in 1966. The team of the design bureau "Rubin" under the leadership of N. A. Klimov and the chief designer Yu. Research and development work continued for eight years. Obviously, this was due to the lack suitable metal, which could withstand the colossal pressure at depth. But in 1974, the construction of a double hull was completed, and its inner part was made of a titanium alloy.

The boat of project 685 (aka K-278) was supposed to be prototype for testing as part of the construction of deep-sea Soviet submarines of the future. Construction began at the Sevmash plant on April 22, 1978, and was officially completed on May 30, 1983. The unusually long period of construction was due to the difficulties that arose in the processing of titanium.


Context

For 10 years, there were no plans to raise the sunken nuclear submarine

The Independent Barents Observer 08.09.2013

Russian submarines have no equal

Echo24 09/13/2016

For the first time in the recent history of Russia

ABC Nyheter 07/04/2016
The length of the boat K-278 was 110 meters, and the width was 12.3 meters. The inner hull was about eight meters wide. The displacement of the submarine was 6,500 tons, and thanks to the use of titanium instead of steel, it turned out to be noticeably lighter. The inner hull was divided into seven compartments, two of which were reinforced to become a safe area for the crew. There was also a pop-up rescue chamber built into the wheelhouse, which allowed the crew to leave the ship, located at a depth of up to 1,500 meters.

The boat was equipped with a pressurized water reactor OK-650B-3 with a thermal power of 190 MW, which powered two steam generators with a capacity of 45 thousand Horse power on the shaft. This allowed the boat to develop an underwater speed of 30 knots, and a surface speed of 14 knots.

The submarine was equipped with the MGK-500 Skat low-frequency passive-active hydroacoustic system, the same one that is currently used in attack submarines of the Yasen project. He transmitted data to the Omnibus-685 combat information and control system. The armament of the boat consisted of six standard 533 mm torpedo tubes with ammunition from 22 type 53 torpedoes and Shkval anti-submarine missile torpedoes moving in the cavitation cavity.

The submarine Komsomolets entered service with the Red Banner Northern Fleet in January 1984 and began a series of deep-sea diving experiments. Under the command of Captain 1st Rank Yuri Zelensky, she set an absolute world diving depth record - 1027 meters. This was an outstanding achievement, considering that the American submarine of its class "Los Angeles" had a maximum diving depth of 450 meters. The estimated diving depth of this submarine was approximately 1370 meters. The boat had a special Iridium ascent system with gas generators to purge ballast systems.

In the Soviet Navy, the K-278 boat was considered invulnerable at depths of more than a thousand meters. At such depths, it is extremely difficult to detect any enemy torpedo, especially the American Mark 48, which has a maximum depth of 800 meters. Initially, the boat was planned to be a test boat, but by 1988 it had become a fully combat-ready ship. She was given the name "Komsomolets", as the members were called. communist union youth.

April 7, 1989, being at a depth of 380 meters, "Komsomolets" ran into problems right in the middle of the Norwegian Sea. According to Norman Polmar and Kenneth Moore, there was a second crew on board who had just completed training. In addition, it was a test boat, and therefore there was no emergency team on it to ensure damage control.

A fire started in the seventh compartment aft, and the flames damaged the air supply valve, due to which compressed air began to flow into the fire. Measures to combat the fire did not give results. The reactor was shut down and the ballast tanks were purged to make the boat float. But the fire continued to spread, and the crew fought it for another six hours before the command was given to abandon the boat. According to Polmar and Moore, the fire was so intense that due to high temperature plates of rubber coating began to peel off from the outer hull, increasing the secrecy of the ship.

The ship's commander, Captain First Rank Evgeny Vanin, together with four crew members, returned inside the boat in search of those crew members who might not have heard the evacuation order. Far Vanin with his rescue team failed to advance, because the boat gave a trim to the stern of 80 degrees, and he was forced to climb into the rescue chamber. At first, the camera could not undock from the mortally wounded boat, but then broke away from it. When she was on the surface, the hatch was torn off from the pressure difference and two submariners were thrown into the sea. The camera, where the commander and members of the rescue team were located, went under water.

At that time, only four people died, but after the boat sank, many sailors underwent hypothermia in the water, the temperature of which was only two degrees Celsius. An hour later, the floating base "Aleksey Khlobystov" and the fishing vessel "Oma" approached, which saved 30 people. Some of them later died from hypothermia and from wounds. Of the 69 crew members on board, 42 people died, including the boat commander, Captain 1st Rank Vanin.

The Kosomolets sank to the bottom to a depth of 1,600 meters, along with a nuclear reactor and two nuclear-armed Shkval torpedoes. Between 1989 and 1998, seven expeditions were carried out to secure the reactor and isolate the torpedo tubes. Russian sources claim that during these expeditions traces of unauthorized entry into the boat by "foreign agents" were found.

Kyle Mizokami lives and works in San Francisco and writes on defense and national security. His articles have appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast; he is also a founding member of Japan Security Watch, a defense and security blog.