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On December 14, 1952, the submarine Shch-117 set out on its last voyage. She went missing.
The reasons for her death have not yet been established. On this occasion, we will talk about six submarines that were lost during the unclear circumstances.
Soviet diesel-electric torpedo submarine of the Second World War, belongs to the V-bis series of the Shch project - “Pike”.
December 14, 1952 Shch-117 went on its last trip as part of the TU-6 exercise to practice attacking targets with a group of submarines. Six submarines of the brigade were supposed to take part in the exercises, and Shch-117 was supposed to guide them towards 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 searches for Shch-117, carried out until 1953, yielded nothing. The cause and place of the boat's death are still unknown.
According to the official version, the cause of death could have been a failure of diesel engines in a storm, an explosion on a floating mine, and others. However, the exact reason has never been established.
American nuclear submarine "Thrasher" sank in the Atlantic Ocean on April 9, 1963. Major disaster submarine fleet in peacetime it claimed the lives of 129 people. On the morning of April 9, the boat left the harbor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Then there were vague signals from the submariners that there were “some problems.” After some time, the US military stated that the boat, which was considered missing, sank. The causes of the disaster have not been fully established.
The Thresher nuclear reactor still rests somewhere on the ocean floor. Back on April 11, 1963, the US Navy measured the radioactivity of ocean water. The indicators did not exceed the norm. Senior American officers insist that the reactor is harmless. The depths of the sea cool it and prevent the core from melting, and the active zone is limited by a durable 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. The submarine is believed to have been damaged but its crew struggled desperately to reach the surface.
In the summer of 2013, researchers discovered a boat near Crimea: they saw an exploded compartment and rudders set to the floating position. At the same time, apart from one destroyed compartment, the hull looked intact. Under what circumstances this boat perished has not yet been established.
S-2, a Soviet Series IX diesel-electric torpedo submarine, set sail on 1 January 1940. The S-2 commander, Captain Sokolov, was given the following task: to break into the Gulf of Bothnia and operate on enemy communications. On January 3, 1940, the last signal from S-2 was received. The boat never made contact again; nothing was known for certain about its fate and the fate of the 50 members of its crew.
According to one version, the submarine died on a minefield laid by the Finns in the area to the pier 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 in action. There was no information about her, her location was unknown.
In the summer of 2009, a group of Swedish divers officially announced the discovery Soviet submarine S-2. It turns out that 10 years ago, the lighthouse keeper on the island of Merket Ekerman, who probably observed the destruction of S-2, showed his grandson Ingvald the direction with the words: “There lies a Russian.”
U-209- a medium-sized German Type VIIC submarine from World War II. 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 was actually killed 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 Project 949A “Antey”. The boat was put into operation on December 30, 1994. From 1995 to 2000 it was part of the Russian Northern Fleet.
The 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 terms of the number of deaths, the accident became the second in the post-war history of the Russian submarine fleet after the explosion of ammunition on a B-37.
According to the official version, the boat sank due to the explosion of torpedo 65-76A (“Whale”) in torpedo tube No. 4. The cause of the explosion was a leak of torpedo fuel components. However, many experts still disagree with this version. Many experts believe that the boat could have been attacked by a torpedo or collided with a mine from World War II.
Exactly 15 years ago, a tragedy occurred - the Kursk submarine sank in the Barents Sea, killing all 118 crew members. The result of the investigation was the dry formulation “the criminal case was discontinued due to the lack of corpus delicti.”
That is, more than a hundred people died, but no one is to blame for this. Naturally, few people were happy with this interpretation of events, so journalists, experts and sailors began to build their own hypotheses about the death of the nuclear-powered ship. On the 15th anniversary of this tragic date, the site collected the most common versions of the reasons for what happened.
Official version
The official version says that at 11 hours 28 minutes 26 seconds Moscow time, a 65-76A (“Kit”) torpedo exploded in torpedo tube No. 4, caused by a leak of torpedo fuel components, or more precisely, hydrogen peroxide. The resulting fire led to the detonation of the main ammunition and the death of the submarine.
Although there are many questions about this version. If everything is so simple, then why, just two days after the death of the Kursk, the director of the CIA suddenly visited Moscow, and Russia was forgiven a large debt and even given a loan of 10 billion. Perhaps it was these events that gave rise to numerous speculations.
World War II mine
According to one of the earliest versions, there was a mine explosion. But the water areas where the exercises are held have long been repeatedly checked and trawled, and they have been used for decades. In addition, the Kursk was equipped with a special sonar system that was capable of detecting mines.
Photo: news. pn The damage sustained by the ship is also not in favor of a mine explosion. Firstly, they had to have a characteristic shape, and secondly, a mine of those years could not cause such significant damage to the ship. And if there had been a mine explosion from the First or Second World War, no other versions would have arisen. By the way, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov shared this point of view.
Criminal negligence
In the book “In the Wake of Death,” Vice Admiral Valery Ryazantsev, who in 1999 headed the commission that inspected the submarine division, which included the Kursk submarine, expressed his version. Having the opportunity to observe what is happening from the inside, the author directly names the perpetrators, due to whose criminal negligence the disaster occurred in the Barents Sea in August 2000.
According to Ryazantsev, the cause of the tragedy was the explosion of a 65-76 PV torpedo, which was mistakenly replenished with low-fat high-pressure air on August 11, 2000. This happened because the crew were given incorrect instructions.
Until August 12, non-degreased air could not enter the oxidizer tank, since the practical torpedo was on the rack, the locking air valve on it was closed, and safety devices were installed on the air trigger valve.
After loading the torpedo into the torpedo tube, an uncontrolled decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide began. All Project 949A Antey boats have a design flaw due to which, to prevent pressure build-up in the first compartment during salvo firing of torpedoes, submariners always leave the flaps of the ship’s general ventilation system open.
Therefore, in the case of the Kursk, after the detonation of the 65-76 PV torpedo, the blast wave hit the second compartment and the entire personnel of the command compartment received severe concussions and found themselves inoperative.
After the explosion, the boat lost control and at a speed of about 3 knots, with a bow trim of 40-42 degrees, at a depth of 108 meters, it hit the ground. During the collision, the combat torpedoes equipped with fuses in tubes No. 1, 3, 5 and 6 were crushed and destroyed. At that moment, the ammunition itself detonated.
Torpedoing by a foreign submarine
On the part of the Kursk that was recovered from the seabed, a smooth round hole is clearly visible, the edges of which are bent inward. Many experts take this hole as the point of impact of the American MK-48 torpedo, which is capable of passing through steel plating thanks to a special mechanism located on the nose and capable of melting copper.
On the day of the tragedy, the Russian submarine was being watched by two foreign submarines at once: the American Memphis and Toledo (spying on each other is a common practice for the Russian and NATO fleets). The last nuclear submarine was “in the shadow” of its American counterpart. At some point, “Toledo” and “Kursk” collided (if you carefully watch the video of a Russian nuclear submarine lying for days, you can see long tears on the hull), and it seemed to the Americans that the Russians were opening the cover of the torpedo tube. As a result, Memphis fired an MK-48 torpedo at Kursk.
This version was also called French, since the French director Jean-Michel Carré dedicated an entire movie“Kursk. Submarine in troubled waters."
Collision with an unknown submarine
There is a version according to which the Kursk was rammed by the American submarine Memphis. This scenario looks quite plausible - on that day, Memphis was indeed observing exercises in the Barents Sea. Also nearby were the US Navy's Memphis and Toledo submarines and the British Navy's Splendid submarine.
The Memphis hull is made of a special alloy that can withstand not only a 1-kilometer dive, but also a collision with another submarine. It is likely that the collision occurred at an acute heading angle at a speed of about 20 knots. The impact caused the right torpedo tube, where the ill-fated 65-76 torpedo was located, to be crushed in less than a second. In an instant, the entire supply of fuel (kerosene) and oxidizer (hydrogen peroxide) was mixed, which led to their explosive ignition, enhanced by the explosion of the powder accelerator installed in the tail of the torpedo.
The power of the explosion under such conditions could be about 150 kg in TNT equivalent (by the way, an explosion of exactly this power was recorded by a Norwegian seismic station that day). As a result, a severe fire broke out in the first compartment, causing a short circuit in the main power network. Kursk lost speed, the emergency protection of the nuclear reactors was activated, and the temperature in the compartment jumped to 500-700 degrees, causing 18 stacked combat torpedoes lying in this compartment to detonate. Also, a short circuit caused a fire in the main electrical distribution panels and control panels in the 7th and 8th turbine compartments. When the opportunity finally arose to raise the bodies of the dead, many of them had traces of burns received in the struggle for the survivability of the boat.
By the way, subsequently, on the seabed, rescuers discovered a conning tower fence, which is usually installed on American submarines.
In addition to those listed, there are many more versions of the death of the Russian submarine, but none of them can explain exactly what happened that day.
The surviving submariners could shed light on what happened. But by a strange coincidence, foreign specialists who had all the necessary equipment were allowed to participate in the rescue operation only a week after the sinking of the Kursk. The Norwegian ship Normand Pioneer with the British rescue mini-boat LR5 arrived at the scene of the tragedy only on August 19.
The Norwegians managed to make a special tool for opening the hatch and on August 21 at 13:00 they entered the 9th compartment of the nuclear submarine. But by this time it was all over, there were no living witnesses left on the Kursk. Therefore, today only one thing is thoroughly known: “she drowned.”
All 118 crew members died on the submarine [photo, video, audio]
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August 12 marks fifteen years since the tragedy of the nuclear submarine Kursk, in which all 118 crew members died.
"THE DEVICES WERE FITTED"
The hero's star on the jacket of the commander of the special detachment of divers, Captain 1st Rank Andrei Zvyagintsev, is the only award that is both a reason for pride and sorrow. Nothing in this world could make him forget August 2000, when his team, leisurely getting ready for scheduled exercises, was given an urgent order to go to the Barents Sea. The nuclear-powered icebreaker "Kursk" did not get in touch.
It immediately became clear that the matter was serious, recalls Andrey. “However, we didn’t even come close to understanding how scary everything was.” There was no panic. We got ready and let's go. Along the way, the conversation was only about work.
Divers were among the first to learn about the tragedy. And for good reason. During the exercises they planned to practice a similar scenario. They just didn’t count on the fact that they would have to face him in life and so soon.
Some kind of instant confusion, some kind of pain,” Zvyagintsev shares. “But she didn’t shackle us, but on the contrary, she forced us to pull ourselves together.”
The commander honestly admits: the rescuers were not ready. Not spiritually or professionally, but technically.
We didn’t have the technical power that the Soviet Union had,” the diver sadly explains. - There were prepared people, yes. But this was not enough.
The rescuers spent a long time preparing for the dive. However, time was running out. And then there was the weather, as if it intended to prevent the submariners from being pulled out of the steel coffin. It was hard to realize that they were unable to help the sailors. All this put pressure on the psyche.
The first thought was that sailors were dying Russian fleet. Our colleagues. Our brothers. Our friends,” Andrey recalls.
Fortunately, the rescuers had no time for news and did not hear the criticism addressed to them, which was heard from the pages of newspapers and television channels. But the foreign colleagues who came to help assessed their actions as professional and correct. True, this did not make it any easier.
FIRST DESCENT
And then, finally, the descent into the water. The dive took place in difficult conditions, but the rescuers were not going to retreat. Twenty meters, fifty, one hundred...
You know, even now it hurts me to remember how I saw the Kursk that time,” Zvyagintsev pauses, trying to find the words. - Imagine, a nuclear cruiser, the pride of the Russian fleet. And here he is, lifeless there, in the darkness of the water. Seeing a dead boat at depth and in this condition is painful.
Andrey made more dives to the Kursk than anyone else. More than 870 hours spent underwater at a depth of one hundred meters. But it was that first time that became for him a moment that he will remember all his life, which he will dream about.
The diver does not like to say that he was the first to enter the mangled submarine. Although at that time even foreign professionals could not cope with this work. But his squad could. Perhaps the parting words of the crew's relatives helped.
We were just deciding how dangerous it would be to try to get on board when the relatives of the guys from the Kursk came to us,” shares Zvyagintsev. “They already knew then what we wanted to do, and asked our management not to allow us this operation if the risk was too great. They said: “If the sea has already taken our guys, then at least let it not touch the rest.” But we decided anyway.
DEAD SUBMARINE
Few people know the details of the first visit to the boat. At that time, rescuers had no time for journalists. They reported only to their superiors and the prosecutor's office. So the nightmare of a sunken submarine did not become public knowledge.
Everything inside was upside down. Only the fixed devices remained in place. There are black stains everywhere on the walls. It was clear that the water filled the compartments several times, and then, on the contrary, subsided,” says the rescuer. - A lifeless hull, not a combat vessel.
Zvyagintsev recalls that no personal belongings came into his sight at that moment. And there was no time to look for them. Only later, when they found the body of Captain Kolesnikov and a note with him, as well as other personal belongings of the sailors, it was possible to piece together a picture of the tragedy.
We needed to assess the condition of the submarine and what could have happened in it. But unlike many who were not there, we made no assumptions about why the accident happened - predicting my future question, Andrey clarifies. - We are broadcasters. They saw something, rose to the surface and told it. We didn't have time to build theories.
A few years later, for this work, Zvyagintsev will receive the title of Hero of Russia. But the honorary award is less valuable to him than the gratitude of the crew’s relatives. He still communicates with many of them. And at times he cannot understand what he did to deserve their attention, because they still could not save the guys. And then you want to take the high award off your jacket.
TOLD!
“I hope the state will continue to work to raise all Soviet and Russian boats and ships resting on the ocean floor.”
(Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV, captain 1st rank.)
THERE WERE NO FEELINGS
The widow of Captain 1st Rank Vladimir Bagryantsev, Ekaterina, refused to communicate with the press for many years. But Komsomolskaya Pravda still made an exception for journalists.
We meet in a chain diner on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, and Ekaterina Dmitrievna hurries: let's ask questions quickly. It can be seen that the 56-year-old woman is physically having a hard time returning to August 2000, and she is simply trying to make this pain a little less loud.
My two sons and I were on vacation in Crimea, in Sevastopol. We phoned Volodya on August 9, everything was fine. Neither I nor he had any bad premonitions,” admits Ekaterina Dmitrievna.
The next day, the Bagryantsevs boarded a train to Moscow. The woman planned to spend time in the capital usefully. September 1 is just around the corner - the boys need to look out for something. Yes, and make a few purchases for my husband.
But all this became unimportant on the platform of the Kursk station, where friends met the family.
They asked me if I knew the news. I say: no, where from? And they told me that the boat lay on the ground,” recalls Ekaterina Bagryantseva.
THE YOUNGEST SON FOLLOWED IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS FATHER
What happened next, in her own words, was a blur. They went somewhere, got a ticket to Vidyaevo, where they lived then, and then waited in their apartment for news. Ten long days.
Journalists have a surefire trick: they say that the family believed in the best until the very end. This is already a cliche, a hackneyed phrase - who wouldn’t believe it when a loved one is in mortal danger? But years later, Bagryantseva admits: officers’ wives always face the truth.
Yes, I hoped, but Volodya and I saw the death of the Komsomolets before our eyes (the submarine sank in 1989 in the Norwegian Sea. - Ed.). And when you're married to a military man, you know that anything can happen. Somehow subconsciously I’m ready for anything,” says Ekaterina Dmitrievna.
Just a few months later, she moved with her sons to her native St. Petersburg. Then, with the help of the submariners’ club, the governor allocated a three-room apartment in a new building. The remains of Vladimir Bagryantsev were identified only in February 2002.
By the way, he should not have been on the Kursk at all, but at the last moment the management appointed him as one of the most experienced commanders.
Catherine categorically refuses to comment on the progress of the rescue operation: they say, this is a political moment.
And at first he speaks about his family with caution: his eldest son - he is 33 - became an engineer, is married, and is raising two daughters. And the youngest, 26-year-old Igor, followed in his father’s footsteps. Serves on a nuclear-powered ship in the Northern Fleet. Didn't they try to dissuade you?
No, what are you talking about! - Bagryantseva is surprised. - This is a man's job, this is his desire. I always supported him in this.
A little later, Ekaterina found it on her mobile phone and showed us a photo of Igor. A handsome guy with a surprisingly clear look and a charming smile is holding his niece in his arms. Bagryantsev Jr. does not yet have his own family. Only service is on my mind.
FATHER VASILY SPAS
We have been talking for almost an hour, and it seems that all the key questions have been asked, but the conversation is not going well. Bagryantseva keeps her most secret things to herself. Where did you meet your husband? Why did you choose the Northern Fleet? “Look on the Internet, because so much has already been written...”
And only when we start talking about the family’s confessor, the famous St. Petersburg priest Vasily Ermakov, Ekaterina Dmitrievna’s eyes literally light up.
Father Vasily served as rector of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov at the Seraphim Cemetery for more than 35 years. The Bagryantsevs first came to him in 1996.
For a Soviet-trained military man to go to church, much less have his own confessor, was, to put it mildly, atypical. Vladimir Bagryantsev did not see anything unnatural in this.
Perhaps his soul was ready. He didn’t hide it and wasn’t embarrassed,” says Ekaterina now.
Father Vasily, having learned about the Kursk tragedy, called the woman in Vidyaevo: come home to St. Petersburg. And if it weren’t for him, it is still unknown how the fate of Catherine and the boys would have turned out.
He didn’t just support us, it was only thanks to him that I got back on my feet and was able to return to life,” says Bagryantseva. She says this so sincerely and with such fervor that I know for sure: Father Vasily shared this pain with her family.
Ekaterina worked at the Church of Seraphim of Sarov until the death of Father Vasily in 2007. All these years she was next to her husband’s grave - he was buried right at the Serafimovskoye cemetery. Now she works in another temple, but she asks not to mention the name - she doesn’t want increased attention to herself.
RETURN TO THE NORTH
Ekaterina Dmitrievna will celebrate the anniversary of the death of the Kursk in Murmansk. Events are also planned in Vidyaevo. She will return there for the first time in fourteen years.
“I’m going to pay tribute to my husband,” explains Bagryantseva. And he adds: he expects nothing from either the authorities or his husband’s colleagues.
An amazing fact: almost a month before his death, Vladimir gave his father Vasily a steering wheel with a clock. He thought about the gift for a long time. I wanted it to be not a simple trinket, but something with meaning. This is what happened in the end.
This is symbolic: Volodya handed over the helm of our family to Father Vasily. And no one would have done more for us than Father,” says Bagryantseva.
Fifteen years after the death of her beloved man, Catherine seems to have found the answers to all the questions: why this happened and what to do next. And although the memories of the days when the Kursk was lost are still difficult for her, she accepted her fate - the fate of the wife of a naval officer.
ECHO OF TRAGEDY
All of St. Petersburg collected help for the crew's relatives
Many articles and books have been written about how they tried to save the crew, how relatives waited for news, and the authorities tried to understand the situation. But few people know about the significant role that ordinary St. Petersburg residents played in helping the crew’s families. Komsomolskaya Pravda learned how residents of the Northern capital tried to provide assistance during those terrible days for the families of submariners.
NUCLEAR BOATS DO NOT LAY ON THE GROUND
Like all Russians, St. Petersburg residents learned about the Kursk tragedy not on August 12 or even on the 13th, but only on the morning of the 14th, on Monday, when they turned on the radio. And the very first words of the announcer unsettled many sailors. In a serious, almost mechanical voice, he said that in the Barents Sea, during an exercise, one of the nuclear boats was forced to lie on the ground.
The first thing that came to my mind then was: “Nuclear boats don’t lie on the ground.” After all, they are not structurally designed for this,” says Igor Kurdin, head of the St. Petersburg club of submariners. - Well, of course, the thought immediately crept into my head that the situation was much worse than the media described it. Unfortunately, our premonition did not deceive us at all.
He did not yet know that at that moment journalists and relatives of the crew members literally organized vigils at all places where information could be obtained.
It was the family of officer Milyutin who first turned to us. He was the commander of the combat survivability division on the Kursk,” recalls the head of the club. His mother, a teacher, called. She said that her friends advised her to contact us. The others could not be reached by phone. People were at a loss, and no one explained anything to them. Terrible situation.
On that day, the first accurate information was leaked to St. Petersburg residents at the Rubin design bureau. They said little: everything happened on Saturday and the boat really lies on the ground at a depth of more than a hundred meters with a huge list. However, it later turned out that this information was not entirely accurate. The boat actually lay on an even keel. Then it became clear that this was not a problem with ascent. The submarine actually sank.
Calls from relatives became widespread. They urgently needed help.
THE FIRST RELATIVES WERE TAKEN AWAY BY JOURNALISTS
It all started with the Milyutins, the family of the commander of the survivability division of the BC-5 Kursk. They had just returned from vacation, there was no money at all, but they had to fly there,” says Kurdin. - Then I caught the journalists who approached me for comments, and let’s blackmail them. They say that if they want contacts with relatives, they must buy this family a ticket to Murmansk. And the reporters did not disappoint. We bought this ticket.
Well, then word of mouth began to work, and everything started to spin. At that time, no more than ten families from Kursk lived in the Northern capital. The rest arrived only for a while - few had enough money to buy both tickets and things necessary for the trip for the entire journey. People flew not even with bags - just with packages.
Then St. Petersburg submariners and sailors independently organized the sending of the crew’s relatives to the North. Within a day, the process was brought to automaticity.
We were friends then with Pulkovo Airport. What can I say, then I drove up to the plane in my car,” the submariner clarifies. - And in Murmansk they were met by our man - Oleg Gorelov, captain of the 1st rank. We called him and simply said: “Meet him.” And he rushed to the airport to pick up people. I remember how one day I gathered another group in Pulkovo to board a flight to Murmansk. And suddenly an elderly man in a short shirt came up to me, under which a vest was visible. He says: “Listen, I’m here trying to fly to Murmansk, and you’re doing something here, helping somehow.” And I told him: “Who are you?” And a quiet answer: “Father of captain 1st rank, chief of staff of the division Bagryantsev. I am flying from Sevastopol, they promised to send us on a military plane, but in two days nothing was decided. But I don’t have enough money to get to Murmansk.” And then I take out a wad of money from my pocket and ask only one thing: “Find a warm jacket somewhere, it’s cold there.” As a result, it was handed over to him upon arrival.
STERLING IN PACKAGING FOR TV
From the first days, St. Petersburg residents began to bring money to help the sailors.
At first, the organizers were even confused: there was so much help that they didn’t have time to remember everyone. Created a statement. But there were some oddities here too.
People came to us with gold chains as thick as a thumb on their necks and reasonably said that they would not sign anything. They have never signed anything in their lives and are not going to gather here,” those who tried to organize the gathering share their memories. - However, they gave their own money.
Well, even then, at the time of the accident, the British military attaché, Captain 1st Rank Jeff MacReady, brought a TV box with money. Imagine, a whole box containing about ten thousand pounds in small bills from English submariners,” Kurdin is still surprised. - He came to present it with his youngest 6-month-old son.
By the way, it was the British who were the first foreign sailors to decide to support Russian submariners. They even organized a charity raffle, raising twenty thousand pounds.
Ordinary St. Petersburg residents brought medicines - from valerian to expensive drugs, and warm clothes. The city was constantly in touch with Vidyaevo. Everything was needed. After all, they still believed that the crew was still alive. What can I say, but even on the cruiser Aurora there was a small box into which people threw bills. They brought several thousand and a hundred rubles.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE TRAGEDY
23.30 - during naval exercises of the Russian fleet in the Barents Sea, the nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk did not enter the communication session.
03.21 - the echo sounder of the cruiser "Peter the Great" discovered an "anomaly" on the seabed, which, as it became clear later, turned out to be the "Kursk" lying on the bottom.
10.00 - the first rescue ship arrived on the scene and began attempts to rescue the submarine.
11.00 - The Navy reports for the first time about the sinking of the Kursk. According to the military, radio contact was established with the boat, but this information was later refuted by reports that the only way to communicate with the crew was “knock.”
14.00 - NTV reports about the flooding of the bow of the submarine.
16.00 - the military denies flooding and for the first time reports the time of the accident.
05.00 - a severe storm prevents rescuers from starting work.
09.00 - according to the military, they heard acoustic signals from the crew and know that the sailors are alive.
15.00-18.00 - According to officials, the rescue operation has begun. A Navy spokesman claims that there is little oxygen left on board the Kursk.
21.00 - the first rescue capsule goes under water. Less than an hour later, the attempt was abandoned due to a severe storm.
15.00 - the head of the government commission, First Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, says that there are no signs of life on board the submarine.
16.00 - Moscow officially requested help from London and Oslo.
Six attempts are made to dock the escape capsule to the submarine's hatch, but all fail due to harsh weather conditions.
Morning. Another attempt is being made to dock the rescue vehicle. The strength of the storm is two points, the wind speed is ten meters per second. Information about the condition of the boat and crew is still unreliable.
Evening. The head of the press service of the Russian Navy calls the situation on board the Kursk beyond critical.
Night. Vladimir Putin, upon returning from Crimea to Moscow, states that there remains little hope of saving anyone on board the nuclear-powered ship.
17.00 - Chief of Staff of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Mikhail Motsak, makes a statement that there is no one left alive on board the Kursk.
Morning. The British and Norwegians are joining the rescue operation.
12.30 - the Norwegian robotic arm reached the submarine.
17.00 - reports appear that Norwegian divers managed to unscrew the Kursk hatch valve, but they cannot lift the lid. However, divers believe there is a person in the airlock who appears to be trying to get out.
07.45. Norwegian divers managed to open the hatch. No people were found in the airlock chamber.
17.00 - Chief of Staff of the Northern Fleet, Vice Admiral Mikhail Motsak, officially confirmed the death of the crew of the K-141 Kursk nuclear submarine.
"Kursk". 10 years later. Film by Arkady Mamontov. It was a tragedy new Russia, which touched everyone’s heart... In August 2000, Russian sailors in the Barents Sea celebrated a holiday - in accordance with annual plan began to be carried out in the Northern Fleet comprehensive training ships of the multi-purpose group. These were large-scale exercises. Everything went smoothly. But suddenly there is an urgent message. On August 12 at 23:00, the commander of the Kursk nuclear submarine did not get in touch. A rescue operation began, a struggle for the lives of 118 submariners. Norwegian and English specialists arrived in the area of operation. Rescue submersibles began to dive to a depth of 100 meters. The hardest hours for everyone were the hours of waiting. Everyone hoped that there might still be living sailors in the submarine... The whole world was watching the progress of the rescue operation. Submersibles descended to a depth of 100 meters, despite difficult weather conditions. But it soon became clear that there was no one to save. The entire crew of the Kursk nuclear submarine was killed. There were many versions of the tragedy...
KP military observer Viktor Baranets on the conclusions after the tragedy:
SEE PHOTO GALLERY
On August 12, 2000, 18 years ago, the nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk, which was conducting exercises in the Barents Sea, crashed in the Barents Sea. The ship was commanded by Captain 1st Rank G.P. Lyachin; there were a total of 118 people on board at the time of the disaster.
Everyone died along with the missile-carrying cruiser.
But even today, after so many years, the tragedy has more questions than answers.
"Antey"
This is what the Project 949A nuclear submarine missile-carrying cruisers are called. These boats are also proudly called “aircraft carrier killers.” Be that as it may, Project 949A Antey submarines are very powerful ships carrying deadly weapons. The boat has two hulls: its design includes a lightweight outer hull and a durable inner hull. The distance between them is 3.5 m, and this feature increases the chances of surviving a collision with another submarine. The submarine's hull is divided into ten compartments. Project 949A boats are very wide and can lie on the ground if necessary. Project 949A Antey boats were built in a fairly large (by nuclear submarine standards) series, including eleven submarines.
Currently, eight more of these boats continue to serve in the Northern and Pacific fleets, and they will soon be supplemented by the K-139 Belgorod. Their partial replacement will be Project 885 Yasen submarines.
"Kursk": a trip to nowhere
But let's return to the lost submarine. Whether it is possible to reconstruct the chronology of events in detail is a controversial issue. Many aspects are classified and we will never know about them. It is known that the submarine cruiser set off on its last voyage on August 10, 2000. And just two days later, on August 12, the ship did not make contact. According to the exercise plan, the crew had to practice launching the P-700 cruise missile, as well as fire at targets with torpedoes near the Kola Bay. The boat carried a full complement of cruise missiles, as well as all possible ammunition for torpedoes (24 pieces).
Meanwhile, combat training torpedo attacks were not detected, and the command post did not receive the corresponding report. The naval exercises that took place with the participation of the Kursk became the largest since the collapse of the USSR.
Of course, Russia's prestige as a great maritime power was involved here. This partly explains the confusion in the words of the Navy leadership. Only two days after the tragedy did the first official reports of the disaster appear, and until that moment simple people could only guess about it. No official statements were made.
Need 
It must be assumed that fears crept in on August 12, when at 11:28 am local time a bang was recorded on the nuclear cruiser Peter the Great. Then the fate of the submariners and their commander - Captain 1st Rank Gennady Lyachin - did not seem predetermined, and the strange sound was attributed to the activation of the radar station antenna. 2 minutes 15 seconds after the first explosion, a second, more powerful one followed. But even despite this, the radiogram to the Kursk was sent only five and a half hours later. The Kursk crew did not make contact either at 17:30 or at 23:00 on the same day. The situation was recognized as an emergency, and in the morning at 4:51 a.m. the submarine lying on the bottom was discovered by the Peter the Great hydroacoustic complex. The ship was at the bottom Barents Sea at a depth of 108 m, 150 km from Severomorsk. After lowering the diving bell, the boat was found visually, and the rescuers heard the faint knocks of “SOS. Water". The long epic of saving the boat began, revealing many problems of the domestic fleet. 
Western countries quickly responded to the tragedy. The UK and the USA offered their assistance. In the West, they proposed using their deep-sea vehicles to save the surviving sailors. But Russia flatly refused help... On August 15, it turned out that the bow of the boat was badly damaged and, in the most favorable development of the situation, there would be enough air on board until August 18. At the same time, the British sent their deep-sea vehicle LR-5 to a Norwegian port - they did not wait for permission from the Russian Federation. The next day, Russia nevertheless allowed the Europeans to provide assistance, and the Norwegian ships Normand Pioneer and Seaway Eagle went to the rescue. The first of them transported the LR-5 apparatus, and the second - a group of divers.
The official version says that the submarine lying on the bottom had a roll of 60 degrees. Combined with poor visibility and rough seas, this led to the fact that the underwater vehicles AS-15, AS-32, AS-36 and AS-34 did not were able to complete their task. However, this is what the commander of the rescue squad, Briton David Russell, says about this: “We realized that the information given to us is a lie. There was good visibility and calm sea. The position of the Kursk boat was accessible, and it was possible to help the surviving sailors.” Norwegian Admiral Einar Skorgen, who participated in the operation, also reported misinformation: “The divers dived very quickly - the nuclear submarine was there. Its position is completely horizontal, there is no strong current. The Russians told us that the rescue lock ring was damaged, but this turned out to be untrue.” So it was possible to dock with the Kursk, and subsequent events proved this. Almost immediately upon arrival, the Norwegians were successful. At 13:00 on August 20, after docking the rescue vehicle, they opened the 9th compartment of the submarine. Within two hours, authorities officially announced that there were no survivors on board.
The fact that the nuclear submarine was completely flooded became known on August 19 after divers tapped the hull of the Kursk. In the fall of 2001, the boat was raised to the surface and towed to a dry dock using pontoons. Before that bow the dead cruiser was cut off and left at the bottom of the sea, although many experts proposed raising it completely.
The mystery of the death of the Kursk submarine. Official version
The official report in 2002 was prepared by the then Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov. According to this version, the Kursk was lost as a result of the explosion of a 650 mm Kit torpedo in the fourth torpedo tube. This is a fairly old torpedo, created in the 1970s, one of the components of its fuel is hydrogen peroxide - it was its leak that triggered the explosion. After this, other torpedoes located in the bow of the boat detonated. Hydrogen peroxide torpedoes have not been used in many other navies for more than half a century due to their unsafety. The nature of the damage to the first compartment is such that the version of a torpedo explosion seems plausible. Parts of the torpedo tube and hydroacoustic station, and other equipment were literally torn off from the hull of the nuclear submarine. Analysis of the deformation of the fragments of the torpedo tube gives reason to believe that an explosion actually occurred inside it. Another question is why it happened. It is known that torpedo fuel leaks and comes into contact with environment could There were means of rescue on board the Kursk. There was a rescue capsule that, in theory, could lift all 118 people to the surface. If the depth is shallow, the crew can leave the board through torpedo tubes, although in this case decompression sickness is possible, even threatening death. Finally, the ninth compartment located at the tail of the boat serves as a refuge for sailors; underwater vehicles can be docked to it.
As for the cause of the leak itself, the question is open. Some experts point to a defect, others believe that the torpedo could have been damaged during loading onto the boat. Vice Admiral Valery Ryazantsev, who outlined his version in the book “In the Wake of Death,” is also leaning towards the “torpedo” version. And although he also talks about the explosion of a torpedo on board, his conclusions largely do not coincide with the official interpretation. The design flaws of the boat, according to Ryazantsev, force the flaps of the ship’s general ventilation system to be left open during a salvo launch of torpedoes (this prevents a sharp rise in pressure in the first compartment). As a result of this feature, the shock wave hit the second command compartment and disabled all personnel. Then the uncontrollable boat crashed into the ground and the remaining ammunition detonated. After the first explosion, the first compartment was engulfed in flames. The second compartment also felt the shock wave. The second explosion was much stronger, and the partition of the first/second compartments crashed into the partition of the second/third. Only the aft partition of compartment 5-bis withstood the impact, although it was bent. If you follow the official version, then the intercompartment doors were closed and battened down. At least 23 sailors survived the explosions and took refuge in the aft ninth compartment of the ship, which has a rescue lock.
The mystery of the death of the Kursk submarine. Submarine collision
One version says that the Kursk could have collided with an American submarine. Captain 1st Rank Mikhail Volzhensky also adheres to this version. The submarine is said to be the main culprit. In the fifth compartment of the Kursk there was a recorder, as well as watch documentation damaged during the tragedy. At the time of the disaster, the Snegir tape recording equipment was turned off, although the regulations require that it be turned on during firing practice. Thus, it was not possible to restore the speakerphone conversations at the time of death. A total of 22 tape recordings were deciphered. Three notes from the submariners themselves were also found on board, but none of them answered the question about the causes of the tragedy. At least that's what was officially stated. "Toledo", belonging to the type of nuclear submarine "Los Angeles". US Navy submarines actually monitored the Russian navy's exercises. All of them have high stealth, which allows them to get as close as possible to domestic ships. This version has a number of contradictions. Any Western multi-purpose submarine is incomparably smaller than the Kursk: the length of the Los Angeles-class boat is 109 m versus 154 for the Kursk. The most powerful American multi-purpose submarine of the Seawolf type has a length of 107 m. Let us add that Project 949A boats are incomparably wider and, in general, more massive than those overseas. In other words, the collision with the Kursk was supposed to cause even greater harm to the Americans themselves. But none of the US Navy boats were damaged then.
The hypothesis about a collision with a surface ship has similar roughnesses. To sink the Kursk, the blow had to be of colossal force, and still the probability of the death of such a large boat would be insignificant.
The mystery of the death of the Kursk submarine. Torpedo attack
Much more interesting is the version about the torpedoing of the Kursk by a NATO submarine. Of course, the North Atlantic Alliance did not set out to destroy it, just difficult situation, when the ships were nearby, the captain of the American boat could give the order to launch torpedoes. The creators adhere to this point of view documentary film“Kursk. Submarine in troubled waters." According to it, the attack was carried out by the Memphis boat, a Los Angeles class boat. The Toledo boat was also present there, covering the attacking submarine. Proof of the attack can be a hole in the front right side of the Kursk. Some photographs clearly show a circle with concave edges. But what could have left such damage? US Navy submarines use Magk-48 torpedoes, but their detailed characteristics are not known for certain. The fact is that these torpedoes have been modernized many times since they were put into service in 1972. Some experts say that Magk-48 hits the boat with a directed explosion and, accordingly, cannot leave such damage on board (we are talking about a smooth, almost round hole). But in the already mentioned film by Jean-Michel Carre it is stated that Magk-48 has a penetrating effect and such a hole is its business card. The film itself is replete with a lot of technical flaws, and it is very difficult to separate truth from fiction in this case. In other words, the question of a torpedo attack still remains open.
The mystery of the death of the Kursk submarine. Mine
In general, the version of the Kursk colliding with a mine was never on the agenda. Writers and journalists did not see anything “mysterious” in it: this version certainly did not resemble a conspiracy. The technical side of the issue also raises doubts, because the Kursk was one of the largest nuclear submarines in the world, and its destruction by an old mine from World War II is hardly possible. However, there is a much more plausible hypothesis. As you know, there are different types of mines, and not all of them were created during the Second World War. There is, for example, the American sea mine Mark-60 Captor, which is an anchor container with a Mk.46 torpedo. Special equipment recognizes the noise of enemy submarines, and a torpedo with a cumulative warhead is aimed at the front, most vulnerable part of the boat. A number of experts believe that this is precisely what can explain the presence of a round hole in the front of the Kursk.
The mystery of the death of the Kursk submarine. Alternative version
One of the versions was the hypothesis of captain 1st rank Alexander Leskov. In 1967, he survived a fire on the K-3 nuclear submarine, and in addition was the commander of the K-147 nuclear submarine. The officer criticized official version, according to which the Kursk was under water during the first explosion. Having a length of 154 m, such a boat, according to Leskov, should not have dived at such a shallow sea depth (remember, it was found at a depth of 108 m). According to safety requirements, diving requires a depth of three times the length of the submarine itself. The former submariner claims that the boat was found at the bottom with retractable devices that are raised only when the ship is on the surface.
He calls the version of a torpedo explosion erroneous, since torpedoes have four levels of protection and the detonation of one of them does not entail the explosions of others. A reasonable question arises: what then destroyed the boat? Leskov unequivocally states that it was a Russian missile launched during the exercise. It could have been a surface-to-surface coastal missile. The officer believes that the Kursk was hit not by one, but by two missiles, which was the cause of both explosions. Note that Leskov’s hypothesis, like all others, also suffers from a lack of evidence. In addition to the main ones, there are at least two more conspiracy theories. One of them says that a riot could have occurred on the Kursk due to the captain’s unwillingness to obey the orders of the authorities. Allegedly, the government itself decided to liquidate the boat. The second version is that the boat was captured by Chechen militants and, as a consequence, its death. Moreover, supporters of this version say that the authorities could have gotten rid of Kursk themselves, so as not to make unnecessary noise in the press. Both assumptions have no evidence.
Instead of an epilogue
The truth about the tragedy nuclear submarine We will probably never know “Kursk”. This is the case when the official version and conspiracy theories are separated only by a thin line, and it is unknown on whose side the truth is. The Russian Federation’s refusal of international assistance and confusion in the words of high-ranking officials can be attributed to self-defense. Indeed, neither the commander Northern Fleet Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, nor another active participant in those events, Vice Admiral Mikhail Motsak, were ever held accountable. They really didn’t want to let foreigners onto the boat, because they were afraid of violating the notorious “secrecy” inherited from the USSR. And here we involuntarily recall the words of Bulgakov’s professor Preobrazhensky about the devastation in our heads. But what about the details of the disaster? The version of a collision with an underwater or surface object seems implausible. At the time of the first explosion, the Norwegian seismic station ARCES recorded an impact with a force of 90-200 kg in TNT equivalent. Thus, the first torpedo explosion could actually have occurred. Two minutes later, seismologists recorded another explosion, much stronger - it could have detonated the remaining ammunition of the boat. But what exactly torpedo destroyed the Kursk? The warhead of the "Kita" is 450 kg, the American Magk-48 - 295, and the Magk-46 - 44 kg. Theoretically, the explosion of each of them could have been the first recorded impact. There was no point in torpedoing the Kursk for the Americans, except in extreme conditions of self-defense. And the chances of hitting a nuclear submarine from the ground with a surface-to-surface missile were no greater than the probability that a meteorite would hit the Kursk. As for the torpedo explosion on board, it could only have happened due to a coincidence of circumstances and in conditions of total negligence at all levels. This is completely unacceptable in the submarine fleet, but for that time it does not seem something incredible. The worst accident in the post-war history of the Soviet submarine fleet was the death of the diesel-electric submarine B-37, which occurred on January 11, 1962. Then, as a result of the explosion of the entire torpedo ammunition, 122 people were killed. If we talk specifically about nuclear submarines, then eight of them sank. Moreover, six out of eight belonged to the domestic fleet. Some had nuclear warheads, but the Kursk did not officially carry them on board.
According to the plan for the exercises that took place in August 2000, the nuclear-powered submarine K-141 was supposed to carry out a simulated torpedoing of an enemy surface ship between 11-40 and 13-20 hours on August 12. But instead, at 11 hours 28 minutes 26 seconds, an explosion with a power of 1.5 on the Richter scale was heard. And after 135 seconds - a second one - more powerful. The Kursk did not get in touch until 13:50. The commander of the Northern Fleet, Vyacheslav Popov, orders “to begin acting on the worst case scenario at 13.50” and flies from the nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Velikiy to Severomorsk, apparently to discuss the situation. And only at 23-30 he announces a combat alert, recognizing the “loss” of the best submarine of the Northern Fleet.
By 3-30 o'clock the approximate search area is determined, and by 16-20 technical contact is established with the Kursk. The rescue operation itself begins at 7 a.m. on August 14.
On the one hand, the actions of the rescuers, which seemed sluggish to an outside observer, on the other, the seeming inaction of the country’s president, who continued to rest in Sochi for four days after the accident, on the third, data on the technical defects of the submarine, on the fourth, contradictory information from the authorities, as if who tried to confuse everyone who followed the fate of the crew - all this gave rise to rumors about the incompetence of the leaders.
People, according to Vladimir Putin, have indulged in their favorite popular pastime: searching for those to blame. And subsequently they were indignant that, by and large, no one was punished. But the trouble is that if we were to punish, then many would have to be punished - all those who had a hand in the collapse of the fleet, who turned a blind eye to it, who did not work at full capacity for a meager (1.5-3 thousand rubles) ) salary. But this did not matter: even if the military had started searching for the Kursk at 13:00 on August 12, they still would not have had time to save the crew.
Who gave the distress signals?
The reason for numerous speculations was the SOS signals by which the Kursk was discovered and which continued for two days. The signals were recorded on different ships, and some eyewitnesses even claimed to have heard the call sign of the submarine - “Vintik”.
Until August 15, the leaders of the operation continued to assure that the connection with the crew, established through tapping, was continuing. And already on the 17th, a new version became official: most of the Kursk sailors died in the first minutes after the explosion, the rest lived only a few hours.
And SOS signals were recorded on magnetic tape and studied by experts. It was proven that it was not a person who was tapping, but an automatic machine, which could not have been and was not on board the Kursk. AND this fact provided new evidence for the theory of a collision between a nuclear-powered ship and a foreign submarine.
Did the Kursk collide with an American submarine?
The cause of the first explosion on the Kursk was the deformation of the torpedo. This is recognized by most researchers. But the cause of the deformation itself remains a matter of debate. The version of the collision with the American submarine Memphis has become widespread. It is believed that it was she who gave the notorious distress signals.
In the Barents Sea, Memphis, along with other American and British submarines, monitored Russian naval exercises. Carrying out a complex maneuver, its officers made a mistake with the trajectory, came close and crashed into the K-141, which was preparing to fire. "Memphis" sank to the bottom, like "Kursk", plowed the soil with its nose and stood up. A few days later she was found undergoing repairs in a Norwegian port. This version is also supported by the fact that K-141 was a kilometer or two from the place from which the distress signal was sent.
When did the crew die?
The question of the time of death of the crew of the Russian submarine became fundamental. The fleet command actually admitted that at first they misled everyone: there was no chatting with the submariners. Most of the crew actually died as a result of the first and second explosions. And the survivors locked in the ninth compartment could have lasted longer if not for the tragic accident discovered during the autopsy of the corpses.
The sailors' attempts to get to the surface on their own were unsuccessful. They had to sit patiently and wait for rescue. At 19 o'clock, when those above were still hesitating whether to declare a combat alert, oxygen starvation began in the compartment. The sailors needed to charge new regeneration plates. The three went to the installation, and someone apparently dropped the plate into the oily water. To save his comrades, one of the submariners rushed in and covered the plate with his body. But it was too late: there was an explosion. Several people died from chemical and thermal burns, the rest were suffocated by carbon monoxide in a matter of minutes.
Note from Captain-Lieutenant Kolesnikov
Indirectly, the hypothesis about the death of the crew on August 12 is confirmed by a note left by Lieutenant Commander Kolesnikov: “15.15. It's dark to write here, but I'll try by touch. There seems to be no chance: 10-20 percent. Let's hope at least someone reads it." That is, already at three o'clock in the afternoon, the team members saved light, sat quietly in the dark and waited. And the uneven handwriting in which this second note was written indicates that Dmitry Kolesnikov had little strength left.
And then in the note there was a now famous testament to all of us who are still alive: “Hello everyone, there is no need to despair. Kolesnikov." And - some phrase, missed, hidden from the public by the investigation.
From that phrase new speculations grew: as if the commission was covering up someone’s sloppiness, as if the lieutenant commander responded with that phrase to the question of who was to blame or, at least, what was the cause of the accident. For a long time, investigators tried to convince us that for ethical reasons they were not revealing the contents of the rest of the note, that it contained a personal message to my wife that had no meaning for us. Until then, the public did not believe it until the contents of the classified part were revealed. But the investigation never gave the note itself to Dmitry Kolesnikov’s wife - only a copy.
Why was the captain of the Kursk awarded the title of Hero of Russia?
On August 26, 2000, by order of the President, the submarine commander Gennady Lyachin was awarded the title of Hero of Russia, and everyone on board was awarded the Order of Courage. This news was met rather with skepticism: they decided that the country’s leadership was in this way trying to atone for their sins before the crew, to make up for the mistakes made during the rescue operation.
But the commander of the Northern Fleet explained: the Kursk submariners were nominated for the award much earlier, after an operation successfully carried out in the Mediterranean in 1999, at the very height of NATO aggression in Yugoslavia. Then the K-141 crew managed to conditionally hit enemy ships five times, that is, destroy the entire American sixth fleet, and escape unnoticed.
But in fairness, it is worth noting that many of those who died in August 2000 did not participate in the Mediterranean campaign the year before.
Would the Norwegians have saved?
Almost from the very beginning of the rescue operation, the British and Americans offered their help, and a little later the Norwegians. The media actively promoted the services of foreign specialists, convincing them that their equipment was better and their specialists were more skilled. Then, in hindsight, accusations were poured in: if they had been invited earlier, the 23 people locked in the ninth compartment would have been saved.
In fact, no Norwegians were able to help. Firstly, by the time the Kursk was discovered, the submariners had already been dead for a day. Secondly, the amount of work that our rescuers did, the level of self-sacrifice and dedication with which they worked and which allowed them to conduct the operation around the clock, without interruptions, was unthinkable for foreign specialists.
But - the main thing - even if the members of the Kursk crew were still alive on the 15th and 16th, it was impossible to save them for technical reasons. Submersible vehicles could not attach themselves to the submarine due to damage to its hull. And here the most modern and perfect technology was powerless.
The submarine and its crew became the victim of a confluence of thousands of different circumstances. And her death, for which there was no one’s personal fault, perhaps for the first time in many years, united the embittered country.