Komsomolets is a titanium submarine. Nuclear submarine Komsomolets: history, performance characteristics, mystery of death

Everything about this submarine was amazing. An unprecedented titanium body, unique weapons and ascent systems. And even the facts associated with the death of this ship have no analogues in history submarine fleet. A quarter of a century after the sinking of the boat, controversy regarding the causes of its disaster continues.

The submarine K-278 “Komsomolets” (“Mike”, according to NATO classification) was laid down in 1978 at the shipyard in Severodvinsk, but work on the unique ship began a decade earlier - in 1966. The developers of TsKB-18 were given the task of creating a combat submarine with an incredible diving depth, and it must be said that they accomplished this task brilliantly. Design work were completed in 1974. K-278 became the first (as it later turned out to be the last) Project 685 Plavnik submarine.

From the very beginning of its construction, mystery surrounded this submarine. IN Western press wrote about the supposedly incredible speed of the new Soviet submarine and its secret weapons, or that the Soviets were building a submarine of colossal size. None of this was true.

Due to the cost of the boat and the length of time it took to design and build, sailors affectionately nicknamed the K-278 the “goldfish.”

Description K-278

"Komsomolets" is a nuclear submarine, which belongs to the third generation of submarines. The boat carried nuclear weapons, but it did not apply to submarines strategic purpose, to the “city killers”. K-278 was not in service intercontinental missiles With nuclear warheads, his task was to fight enemy ships and submarines. Moreover, the K-278 could strike the enemy while remaining unpunished.

The submarine could dive to unimaginable depths, where no warship could previously penetrate. Its design diving depth is 1000 meters. Before the advent of K-278, only a few scientific bathyscaphes, small in size and enormously expensive, descended to such depths.

Soviet developers were tasked with making a warship that could dive to a depth of 1000 meters, maneuver freely there and strike the enemy. The fact is that the K-278 was practically invulnerable to conventional weapons: any torpedo or depth charge would be crushed by pressure long before it could reach a kilometer depth. Moreover, even detecting a boat at such a depth is almost impossible: below a depth of four hundred meters, under the influence of pressure and temperature, the water changes its properties, and it is almost impossible to “hear” the boat. The echo sounder also does not work at such depths.

All this promised unprecedented advantages for the deep-sea submarine, but the problems faced by its builders were also extraordinary. The durable hull had to be made of titanium, which incredibly increased the cost of the ship and added a lot gray hair shipbuilders. Titanium interacts very poorly with other metals, its welding requires special conditions, and we can say for sure that no one in the world has made titanium products of this size before. The developers faced many other problems (for example, how to surface a boat from such a depth), but all of them were successfully solved.

On the territory of the shipyard, where the work on the construction of the boat took place, three huge pressure chambers were equipped, in which components and entire compartments of the future submarine were tested.

The K-278 hull had a shape that minimized water resistance. The lightweight body has also been created using titanium alloys. The robust hull was divided into seven compartments. The developers sought to minimize the number of compartments in a rugged case. The Komsomolets was equipped with a special pop-up camera that the crew could use in the event of a disaster.

It is also worth mentioning the special Iridium ascent system, which purged ballast tanks using powder gas generators. Otherwise, it was impossible to emerge from the depths to which the submarine could dive.

The Komsomolets was armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles"Granite". Both could be equipped with a nuclear warhead. The boat had six bow torpedo tubes, 533 mm caliber. The boat could shoot even at the maximum diving depth.

The K-278 power plant was represented by the OK-650B-3 reactor, with a power of 190 mW.

Summarizing the description of the boat, we can say that its creators faced a task no less difficult than the designers spaceships, and in some respects it may have been even more difficult for them. But the Soviet shipbuilders completed the task with honor, and the K-278 became the pride of the USSR Navy. This ship was supposed to become a kind of test model; the experience gained during its creation was planned to be used in the construction of subsequent similar ships. But, alas. This was not meant to be. "Komsomolets", the first ship of this series, perished, and then the country that knew how to build such ships disappeared.

Technical characteristics of K-278 "Komsomolets"

The table below shows technical specifications submarine K-278.

Displacement, t
Surface	7800
underwater	9700
Dimensions, m
length	110
Width	12
Power point
power plant	pressurized water reactor OK-650B-3
reactor power	190 MW
number of steam generators	4
additional ES	diesel generator, battery
Travel speed
surface	11 knots
underwater	31 knots
Immersion depth, m
design	1000
Maximum	1250
Armament
Torpedoes	6 bow TA, caliber 533 mm; 22 torpedoes
Rockets	10 Granat missiles
Autonomy	180 days
Crew	60 people

History of the submarine K-278 "Komsomolets"

• 1976 K-278 is included in the list of the USSR Navy.
• 1979 The main and reserve crews of the boat have been formed.
• 1983 Launching. In the same year, the boat successfully passed sea trials and was put into service.
• 1985 Deep-sea testing of the ship was carried out. The boat reached a depth of 1027 meters. At a depth of 800 meters, training torpedo firing was carried out.
• 1987 The trial operation stage has been completed.
• 1989 The ship received the honorary title "Komsomolets".
• April 7, 1989. While returning to base, at a depth of 380 meters, a fire broke out in one of the compartments of the boat. The boat quickly surfaced. After a signal to headquarters, rescue planes were sent to the emergency boat. As a result of the fire, the strong hull of the boat lost its tightness and at 17.08 the boat quickly sank. The disaster resulted in 42 dead sailors.

Causes of the submarine's death

The fire started in the 7th compartment. The debate about the reasons for its occurrence still continues. The main version of the fire is strong voltage drops in the ship's electrical network, due to a malfunction of the turbogenerator protection system, which caused fires in switchboards and control panels throughout the ship. Immediately after the fire started, the fire extinguishing system (LOS) was turned on, but it was unable to cope with the fire. Automatic protection turned off the steam generators and the boat stopped.

After this, a command was given to purge the main ballast, but the pipeline in the 7th compartment was damaged high pressure and air under high pressure began to flow into the burning compartment, turning it into an open-hearth furnace. A massive fire started with very high temperature. The neighboring 6th compartment also began to burn, and several more were heavily smoked. Several more electrical panels in different compartments caught fire. The boat tried several times to contact headquarters, but it was not immediately possible.

Combustion products entered the air supply system for hose breathing apparatus, which caused mass poisoning of sailors. Water began to flow inside the strong hull of the 7th compartment, and after that the ship was already doomed. The boat began to “fall” towards the stern and sank a few minutes later. People found themselves in ice water, holding on to tiny rafts. The Soviet floating base "Aleksey Khlobystov" picked up 30 people, three of them died on the way to the port. The K-278 commander, Evgeniy Vanin, was also included in the list of dead.

Video about the Komsomolets submarine

In Russia, the day of the K-278 disaster is celebrated as “Day of Remembrance for Dead Submariners.”

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

About which a lot has been written. The submarine had large number technical innovations compared to analogues. For example, its designers decided to abandon the huge loading hatch, which reduced the strength of the vessel. In addition, a system for purging tanks using gas generators was installed here, which significantly accelerated the ascent from great depth. "Komsomolets" is a submarine that set a world record for diving, which was 1032 meters and has not been surpassed to this day. In order to ensure the safety of the crew, the submarine was equipped with a rescue chamber that could emerge from a depth of up to one and a half kilometers and accommodate all personnel. Moreover, all seven compartments received fire extinguishing equipment, and rescue zones were organized in the second and third.

Despite such serious measures taken by the builders, on April 7, 1989, the Komsomolets submarine was lost. This happened at a distance of approximately 180 km from As a result of this tragedy, 27 crew members out of 69 were saved. All the rest died. A government group was created to investigate, which was supposed to shed light on the reasons for what happened. However, the result of this work was the conclusion that the Soviet record holder drowned due to a banal electrical fire, which led to a fire in the aft compartment. Now the ship lies in the same place, at a depth of about 1600 meters.

At the same time, many scientists are still trying to understand why the Komsomolets submarine sank. The mystery of the submarine’s death is still causing active controversy throughout the world. The pilots involved in the rescue efforts say they initially saw two rafts floating near the crash site. The sailors were dropped with an inflatable boat, which they did not find on the next call. Moreover, one of the rafts also capsized, and at 17.08 the ship completely sank under water. About half an hour later, the first part of the crew was picked up by the floating fishing base. The rest were removed from the cold water one by one.

"Komsomolets" - a submarine, the death of which caused a real information war between representatives of the military and industrial sectors. There are a number of documents according to which sailors discovered serious deficiencies already during the first dive. For example, the water pressure tore off the rescue chamber, which then had to be found at the bottom and redone. According to the builders, this was only caused by the actions of the submarine’s crew, which were incorrect.

From 1989 to 1998, seven expeditions were carried out in the area where the submarine sank, using manned Mir submersibles for diving. The purpose of this work was to seal some compartments in which torpedoes with nuclear heads were located, as well as to install measuring equipment. During the last dive, recording and measuring instruments were not found. All that was left of them were anchors with traces of neat cuts. There is reason to believe that they were removed by robots. And, most likely, this is the work of Western intelligence services. Be that as it may, Komsomolets is a submarine, the date of its destruction in Russia became the Day of Remembrance of fallen submariners.

27 years ago, due to an error in the design, a submarine with an effective crew rescue system sank [video]

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The mystery of the death of the Komsomolets submarine. KP-TV plot

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Everyone who served in the navy invariably raises the third toast to those at sea. Today, on the Day of Remembrance of Dead Submariners, this toast will be the first. And they will drink after it without clinking glasses. Silently. A quarter of a century ago, the Komsomolets submarine sank in the Norwegian Sea. Of the 69 crew members on board, 42 officers and sailors died from fire and hypothermia.

THE MOST INVULNERABLE

The death of the Komsomolets is one of the most mysterious pages in the history of the Russian submarine fleet. The cause of the fire on the nuclear-powered ship has not yet been established. But a boat with an effective crew rescue system became a mass grave for sailors. And it was this submarine, four years before the tragedy, that was the first in the world to dive to a depth of more than one kilometer.

The history of Komsomolets began in 1966, when the high command Navy The USSR issued a directive to develop a submarine capable of diving a kilometer. The maximum depth to which nuclear submarines could descend at that time was only three hundred to four hundred meters. Why was it so important to dive deeper? The answer is simple: at a kilometer depth, any submarine was invulnerable to surface ships.

Several closed design bureaus have been working on the project, codenamed “Fin,” for more than ten years. Soviet engineers managed to do what their Western colleagues accomplished with a significant delay. Our scientists developed a unique submarine, the titanium hull of which was able to withstand pressure when diving up to a thousand meters.

Construction of a large nuclear submarine, designated K-278, began on April 22, 1978 in Severodvinsk. Five years later, the ship was solemnly taken out of the workshop and launched into the water. And on August 4, 1985, the nuclear-powered icebreaker set an absolute world record for diving depth - 1027 meters. During the ascent, having reached the eight hundred meter mark, the submarine successfully fired several training torpedoes.

On its last trip, based in Murmansk region the submarine left on February 28, 1989. Where and why is a state secret. By the way, shortly before this, at the end of January, it acquired the name “Komsomolets”.

FOR THE COMMANDER THIS WAS THE FIRST CAMPAIGN

Every time on the eve of April 7, I still relive that terrible day,” says retired captain 1st rank Boris Kolyada with bitterness.

Boris Grigorievich was included in the crew as an experienced officer who was supposed to advise the submarine captain if necessary. After all, for Evgeny Vanin this was his first trip as a submarine commander.

A few days before the tragedy, we received a telegram from the command of the Northern Fleet,” recalls Boris Kolyada. - It was reported that a fire occurred on a submarine that was heading to the Mediterranean Sea, and a person died. And although that submarine was diesel, and Komsomolets was a nuclear-powered submarine, we were ordered to check all the systems once again fire safety and fire fighting.

On the night of April 7, Boris Kolyada handed over the watch to the commander and went to rest in his cabin. He woke up from a piercing signal. Anxiety!

It turned out that in the seventh, aft, compartment there was a fire at eleven o'clock three minutes - Kolyada remembers the events of that day to the minute. - The compartment did not respond to the call from the central post. We decided that the senior sailor on duty there most likely died. It was not possible to extinguish the fire. The fire spread to the neighboring sixth compartment, where the midshipman died. And soon the emergency protection of the reactor was activated, stopping its operation. The submarine lost speed...

THE COMMANDER WAS THE LAST ONE TO LEAVE THE BOAT

There was nothing left to do but rise to the surface of the stormy sea. At eleven o'clock sixteen minutes the boat surfaced. By this time, five compartments were already burning.

When it became clear that it would not be possible to cope on our own, Komsomolets sent an SOS signal. The plane headed to the scene of the incident. He had to report the coordinates of the submarine to the Alexey Khlobystov floating base, which was supposed to pick up the sailors from the distressed ship.

After some time, a trim formed (a maritime term that denotes the difference between the draft of the stern and the bow of the vessel. - Author's note.) to the stern, says Boris Kolyada. - The bow of the boat rose. For several hours, waiting for help, the crew fought the fire, trying to save the boat.

There was no panic. Everyone clearly did what they were supposed to do according to the established regulations.

But the trim grew. The commander decided that it was time to prepare for evacuation. Two rafts were lowered into the sea. One of them turned over. And the water has already approached the base of the conning tower.

Commander Vanin decided not to leave the boat - there were not enough places on the life rafts. But this did not mean that he gave up hope of being saved. The Komsomolets had a so-called pop-up chamber that could accommodate all crew members. The captain was counting on her.

At seventeen eight minutes the boat sank...

After some time, the pop-up camera jumped to the surface. There were five people in it, including Evgeny Vanin. Due to the difference in pressure, the cap of the capsule was torn off and it was flooded with water. Only midshipman Viktor Slyusarenko survived.

Sixty sailors found themselves in the icy water. The crew was scattered by the waves, few managed to get to the only surviving raft, and it was designed for only twenty people.

The floating base approached the accident site just an hour after the death of the Komsomolets. This hour cost the lives of four dozen sailors.

On May 13, 1989, Pravda, the main newspaper of the country at that time, published information about the awarding of the Order of the Red Banner to the entire crew of the Komsomolets submarine.

WHY THE FIRE OCCURRED - UNKNOWN

Members of the commission that investigated the causes of the accident came to the conclusion that the boat was destroyed by design errors:

“The fire that broke out in the seventh end compartment due to the ignition of the electrical equipment of the steering system drive led to the ignition of flammable finishing materials. Within two to three minutes, the temperature in the compartment reached almost a thousand degrees, which, due to design flaws, led to depressurization of the high-pressure air line. The entry of high-pressure air into the compartment increased the intensity of the fire, which could not be extinguished. The insufficient temperature resistance of the ship’s structural elements and fire fighting equipment did not allow the crew to effectively withstand the growing accident.”

But what caused the fire itself? This is still unknown. There are only versions.

Perhaps the fact is that oxygen was supplied to the compartments of the boat in much larger volumes than required, says Captain 1st Rank Igor Kurdin, Chairman of the Board of the Club of Submariners and Navy Veterans. - In such conditions, any accident could lead to a fire.

Igor Kurdin draws attention to this fact. On Komsomolets, the crew had clearly outdated wetsuits at their disposal. Putting them on required a lot of time, and sometimes the help of a friend. And when an emergency situation arose, the sailors simply did not have time to do it. They found themselves in icy water without wetsuits. Only after the death of Komsomolets Soviet authorities We bought much more comfortable suits in France.

INSTEAD OF AN AFTERWORD

Serafimovskoe cemetery in St. Petersburg. Many soldiers, sailors, officers and generals who died in the line of military duty are buried here. Among them are three Komsomolets sailors. Including the boat commander, captain 1st rank Evgeny Vanin. But this is a symbolic grave. After the tragedy, the commander’s body was never found...

REMEMBER

List of dead Komsomolets crew members

1. AVANESOV Oleg Grigorievich, captain 2nd rank, senior assistant commander of the submarine. Born in Leningrad in 1955. Committed to the earth.

2. APANASEVICH Igor Olegovich, senior sailor, commander of the steering-signalman squad. Born in the village of Pobedonosny, Kletsk district, Minsk region, in 1969. Taken by sea.

3. BABENKO Valentin Ivanovich, captain 2nd rank, commander of an electromechanical combat unit. Born in the village of Zamostye, Chernigov district, Zaporozhye region in 1950. Committed to the earth.

4. BONDAR Sergey Stefanovich, midshipman, turbine technician. Born in the city of Lipetsk in 1954. Taken by sea.

5. BRODOWSKY Yuri Anatolyevich, midshipman, hydroacoustic technician. Born in the city of Nikolaev in 1954. Committed to the earth.

6. BURKULAKOV Talant Amitzhanovich, captain 1st rank, head of the political department of the submarine formation. Born in the village of Vandyshevo, Sudislavsky district, Kostroma region in 1947. Committed to the earth.

7. BUKHNIKASHVILI Nadari Otarievich, senior sailor, bilge operator. Born in the village of Gantiadi, Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1968. Taken by sea.

8. VALYAVIN Mikhail Nikolaevich, midshipman, turbine technician. Born in the village of Novo-Dashla, Kuvandyk district Orenburg region in 1959. Captured by sea.

9. VANIN Evgeniy Alekseevich, captain 1st rank, submarine commander. Born in the city of Donetsk in 1947. Taken by sea.

10. VERSHYLO Evgeniy Edmundovich, senior sailor, electrician. Born in the village of Myadel, Myadel district, Minsk region in 1968. Taken by sea.

11. VOLKOV Nikolay Alekseevich, captain-lieutenant, commander of the electrical engineering group. Born in the city of Pestovo, Novgorod region in 1958. Committed to the earth.

12. VOLODIN Alexander Vasilievich, captain 3rd rank, commander of a combat communications unit. Born in the city of Novomoskovsk Tula region in 1958. Captured by sea.

13. GOLOVCHENKO Sergey Petrovich, foreman of the 2nd article, cook-instructor. Born in the city Dnepropetrovsk in 1968 Interred.

14. GRUNDUL Alexey Alexandrovich, sailor, torpedo operator. Born in the city of Rybinsk Yaroslavl region in 1968 Interred.

15. ELENIK Mikhail Anatolyevich, senior midshipman, senior cook-instructor. Born in the city of Valuiki Belgorod region in 1942 Interred.

16. ZAMOGILNY Sergey Vasilievich, midshipman, foreman of the electricians team. Born in the city of Zhmerynka, Vinnytsia region in 1959. Committed to the earth.

17. ZIMIN Vadim Vladimirovich, lieutenant, engineer of a combat communications unit. Born in the city of Voronezh in 1983. Taken by sea.

18. ISPENKOV Anatoly Matveevich, captain 3rd rank, commander of the electrical division. Born in the village of Khvostovo, Shumilinsky district, Vitebsk region in 1956. Taken by sea.

19. CABBAGE Yuri Fedorovich, midshipman, head of the secret unit. Born in the city of Zaporozhye in 1957. Taken by sea.

20. KOVALEV Gennady Vyacheslavovich, midshipman, technician of the combat communications unit. Born in the city of Severomorsk, Murmansk region in 1956. Taken by sea.

21. KOLOTILIN Vladimir Vasilievich, midshipman, technician of the remote control group. Born in the village of Prilepy, Khomutovsky district, Kursk region in 1964. Taken by sea.

22. KRASNOBAEV Alexander Vitalievich, midshipman, technician of the electronic computing group. Born in the village of Zolotoye Pole, Kirov district, Crimean region in 1964. Taken by sea.

23. KRASNOV Sergey Yurievich, sailor, radiometrist. Born in Riga in 1970. Taken by sea.

24. KULAPIN Vladimir Yurievich, sailor, turbine operator. Born in the city of Alma-Ata in 1968. Committed to the earth.

25. MAKSIMCHUK Yuri Ivanovich, captain of the 3rd rank, deputy commander of the submarine for political affairs. Born in the village of Ekaterinivka, Nikopol district, Dnepropetrovsk region in 1957. Taken by sea.

26. MANYAKIN Sergey Petrovich, captain of the 8th rank, commander of the movement division. Born in the city of Taganrog Rostov region in 1954 Interred.

27. MARKOV Sergey Evgenievich, senior lieutenant, engineer of the electrical engineering group. Born in Leningrad in 1963. Committed to the earth.

28. MIKHALEV Andrey Vyacheslavovich, sailor, bilge operator. Born in the village of Dmitrievka, Nikiforovsky district, Tambov region in 1970. Taken by sea.

29. MOLCHANOV Igor Aleksandrovich, lieutenant, commander of a mine-torpedo warhead. Born in the city of Lomonosov Leningrad region in 1964 Interred.

30. Evgeniy Vladimirovich NAUMENKO, lieutenant captain, commander of the computing group. Born in the village of Sergeevka, Pogranichny District, Primorsky Territory, in 1960. Taken by sea.

31. NAKHALOV Sergei Vasilievich, midshipman, foreman of the radiotelegraph team. Born in the village of Novinka, Kirov district, Leningrad region in 1964. Committed to the earth.

32. NEZHUTIN Sergey Aleksandrovich, captain-lieutenant, commander of the communications group. Born in Arkhangelsk in 1962. Committed to the earth.

33. SMIRNOV Mikhail Anatolyevich, captain-lieutenant, commander of the navigational combat unit. Born in the village of Vyritsa, Gatchina district, Leningrad region. in 1962 Interred.

34. SPERANSKY Igor Leonidovich, captain-lieutenant, hydroacoustic group engineer. Born in Severouralsk, Sverdlovsk region. in 1962. Captured by sea.

35. SUKHANOV Valery Ivanovich, senior sailor, cook-instructor. Born in Vyksa, Gorky region. in 1968. Taken by sea.

36. TKACH Vladimir Vlasovich, senior midshipman, foreman of the team of helmsmen and signalmen. Born in the village of Sychevka, Khristinovsky district, Cherkasy region. in 1948. Captured by sea.

37. TKACHEV Vitaly Fedorovich, sailor, helmsman-signalman. Born in the village of Bankovka, Slavyanoserbsky district, Voroshilovgrad region. in 1970. Taken by sea.

38. FILIPOV Roman Konstantinovich, sailor, electrician. Born in Gorky in 1968. Committed to the earth.

39. CHERNIKOV Sergey Ivanovich, midshipman, chemical technician. Born in Vyborg, Leningrad region. in 1956 Interred.

40. SHINKUNAS Stasis Klemensovich, senior sailor, radiometrist. Born in the village of Banishkiu, Kaisiadorsky district, Lithuanian SSR in 1968. Taken by sea.

41. SHOSTAK Alexander Alexandrovich, lieutenant, engineer of the remote control group. Born in Sevastopol in 1965. Committed to the earth.

42. YUDIN Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich, captain of the 3rd rank, commander of the survivability division. Born in Grozny in 1953. Taken by sea.

On April 7, 1989, the country's best nuclear submarine at that time, the K-278 Komsomolets, sank in the Norwegian Sea. As a result of the disaster, 42 crew members were killed, among whom were Leningraders.

In February 1989, Komsomolets set off on its last autonomous voyage.

SPB.AIF.RU recalls how events unfolded on that fateful day and why the terrible tragedy occurred.

Fire in the seventh compartment

The nuclear submarine Komsomolets was submerged in the Norwegian Sea when the emergency alarm suddenly blared. The sailor of the 7th compartment managed to report that a fire had broken out on board. The main version of the fire is considered to be the ignition of electrical equipment. The submarine was at a depth of more than 350 meters. In a few seconds, the temperature in the aft compartment jumped from 70 to 1000 degrees Celsius. Through internal communications, the fire quickly spread to the 6th compartment; an immediate ascent was necessary. The Komsomolets commander, Leningrader Evgeny Vanin, tried to lift the ship to the surface.

At a depth of 150 meters, due to damage caused by the fire and emergency protection of the reactor, the boat lost speed; further ascent occurred due to the purging of the main ballast tanks. The fire engulfed compartment after compartment, and the chemical fire extinguishing system could not cope. Following the 6th, the 5th compartment caught fire, and the 4th contained a nuclear reactor.

There were serious casualties among the crew, many were burned and poisoned by toxic smoke. The emergency protection triggered, automatically blocking nuclear reactor boats, Komsomolets switched to using batteries.

To add to all the misfortunes, the vertical rudders on the boat jammed, which seriously hampered the ascent. There was no longer any response from the 7th compartment; the sailor who was there was burned alive. In the next compartment, two submariners received lethal dose poisoning

A rescue plane and the Alexey Khlobystov floating base were sent to the scene of the accident. “Komsomolets” surfaced, it seemed, the worst was over. Airplanes were circling over the area in the Norwegian Sea, and ships were coming to help. Although the submarine’s crew did not put out the fire, they managed to localize it. After surfacing, most of the crew were on the upper deck without life jackets. The sailors who got out of the smoke-filled compartments were confident that the Komsomolets was unsinkable.

Fight for survival

However, as a result of the fire, the seal of the submarine's hull was broken, and a rapid dive began. Sailors without personal life-saving equipment began to evacuate onto life rafts. Almost the entire crew of the ship found itself in the icy waters of the Norwegian Sea. People, poisoned by carbon monoxide, burned, without life jackets, fought for their lives.

Several people remained in the rapidly sinking boat, including the ship's commander. They all tried to escape using the pop-up rescue chamber. But three crew members died from carbon monoxide, the effect of which increases under conditions of increasing pressure. The depth of the sea in that place reached almost one and a half kilometers. Only after reaching the bottom, the rescue capsule was disconnected and thrown to the surface. The top hatch cover was ripped out and two people were thrown into the opening. One died after hitting his head; only midshipman Viktor Slyusarenko survived. After some time, rescuers pulled him out of the icy water.

While in the icy water, most of the crew drowned or died from hypothermia. The crew was scattered by the waves, few managed to get to the only surviving raft, and it was designed for only twenty people. As a result, out of 69 crew members, 42 died and 27 survived. Soon, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree awarding all members of the Komsomolets crew with the Order of the Red Banner.

Leningraders who died on the Komsomolets nuclear submarine are buried in the Serafimovskoye cemetery.

Stealth submarine

"Komsomolets" was an unusual boat. The development of this unique ship of the “Plavnik” project at the Rubin Central Design Bureau took almost 8 years. At that time it was one of the largest and fastest submarines in the world. "Komsomolets" had a titanium body, which made it silent and invisible on enemy radars. In addition, this nuclear submarine could dive as deep as any other in the world: much deeper than similar American submarines. During testing, the submarine installed absolute record- over 1 thousand meters!

The laying of the boat at the enterprise in Severodvinsk took place in 1978, and K-278 was launched in 1983.

The nuclear submarine was armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles. The weapon system allowed the K-278 to attack enemy ships and submarines from the depths of the ocean in a submerged position, remaining out of reach of them.

"Komsomolets" had a titanium body, which made it silent and invisible on enemy radars.

In January 1989, the K-278 submarine was given the name “Komsomolets”. A month later, the submarine set off on its last autonomous voyage. This time the ship was controlled by a replacement crew, headed by Captain 1st Rank Evgeniy Vanin.

The death of the Komsomolets is one of the most mysterious pages in the history of the Russian submarine fleet. The cause of the fire on the nuclear-powered ship has not yet been established. Members of the commission that investigated the causes of the accident came to the conclusion that the boat was destroyed by design errors:

“The fire that broke out in the seventh compartment due to the ignition of the electrical equipment of the steering system drive led to the ignition of flammable finishing materials. Within two to three minutes, the temperature in the compartment reached almost a thousand degrees, which, due to design flaws, led to depressurization of the high-pressure air line. The entry of high-pressure air into the compartment increased the intensity of the fire, which could not be extinguished. The insufficient temperature resistance of the ship’s structural elements and fire fighting equipment did not allow the crew to effectively withstand the growing accident.”

IN this day marks 27 years since the tragedy,
shocked not only the Soviet, but also the entire world community. On this day, April 7, under strange circumstances, the Soviet nuclear submarine Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea. Of the 69 crew members, 42 people died.

A nuclear torpedo submarine from the Red Banner Northern Fleet perished southwest of Medvezhiy Island while returning from combat duty as a result of a massive fire in two adjacent compartments.

The boat was a new word in world shipbuilding. They thought that in their own way tactical and technical characteristics a nuclear submarine of this class is ahead of its time by about a quarter of a century: a super-strong hull made of titanium, a diving depth of more than 1000 meters (it holds the absolute record for diving depth among submarines - 1027 meters), an underwater displacement of 8500 tons, a speed of more than 30 knots, completely undetectable and inaccessible to any weapon.

The ammunition load is 22 torpedoes (with nuclear warheads), some of which could be replaced with S-10 Granat cruise missiles.

On April 7, 1989, the K-278 Komsomolets submarine was returning from combat service. A fire broke out on the Komsomolets, which led to loss of buoyancy and the sinking of the unique submarine to the bottom.

The boat lies at a depth of 1858 meters. The boat's reactor was securely shut down, but until then two torpedo tubes still contain torpedoes with a nuclear warhead.

The general concept, called “Plavnik” in the outlines of the design idea, then “Project 685” and widely known as “Komsomolets”, was born in the 1960s in the context of growing confrontation between the USSR and the USA. According to the designers, deep-sea nuclear submarine“Project 685” was intended to combat enemy submarines and protect their ships.
The technical design was approved in December 1974. The construction of the boat was carried out at the largest military shipyard “Sevmashpredpriyatie” in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region.

The boat was launched in August 1983, and on August 5, 1984, upon completion of outfitting work afloat, it was transferred to the 1st submarine flotilla of the Red Banner Northern Fleet.

Even during the period of sea trials, with designers and builders on board, the boat dived to 1040 meters, setting an absolute depth record for submarine warships.
During the five years of service as part of the Komsomolets association, the main crew repeatedly dived to a depth of 1000 meters. No one had any doubts about the reliability of the ship.

On February 28, 1989, the K-278, which along with the main crew received the highly respected title “excellent ship” in the navy with the right to wear the corresponding sign on the superstructure and the name by which it is now known, took on board a replacement crew and set out on its next autonomous voyage.

The tragedy began on Friday, on the 37th day of the campaign. On April 7, 1989, while in combat service, the K-278 was traveling at a depth of 386 meters at a speed of 6-8 knots. In the morning the combat shift kept watch as usual. Between 11.00 and 11.03 a fire started in the aft compartment. At 11.03, the signal “The temperature in the seventh compartment is more than 70 degrees” came on on the watch mechanic’s console.

The commander of the submarine, Captain 1st Rank Evgeniy Vanin, in a matter of seconds made the only correct decision in this situation to use the submarine’s volumetric chemical system fire extinguishing (LOH).

But the system, which in theory should neutralize a high-intensity fire, turned out to be powerless in the face of the elements.

The sudden increase in temperature broke the seal of the high-pressure pipeline, and the emergency compartment immediately turned into something like an open-hearth furnace. The fire spread to the sixth compartment. The steam generator was immediately stopped. The left turbogenerator switched off on its own. The reactor's automatic protection tripped. In addition to this, the vertical rudder jammed, the inter-compartment communication was interrupted, and the system of hose breathing apparatus was damaged, as a result of which part of the crew received severe poisoning.

The boat, increasing its speed, began to emerge. However, at a depth of about 150 meters, the emergency protection of the reactor was activated, and the K-278 lost speed. At 11:16 a.m., after the main ballast tanks had been purged, she surfaced.

From 11 hours 20 minutes to 12 hours 17 minutes, the boat transmitted the established emergency signal eight times, but the first of them was heard at the General Headquarters of the Navy and at the Northern Fleet command post only at 11 hours 41 minutes. However, the signal was unintelligible.

The signal about the accident was received on the shore only at 12:19. From that moment on, measures began to be taken at all levels to provide assistance and rescue the boat and its crew.

The team heroically fought for the survivability of the ship.

When Komsomolets surfaced, the crew managed to localize the fire in the seventh compartment, supply freon to the sixth compartment and seal the rest. One by one, emergency parties pulled the burned and poisoned sailors out into the fresh air.

Most of the crew was taken upstairs. Many were brought back to life. But they, weakened and not yet recovered, will die later in cold water, when superhuman efforts will be required from everyone. No one thought that in a few hours everyone would find themselves in the icy water of the Norwegian Sea.

Coming out of the compartments of the submarine, everyone was sure that the titanium hull of the Komsomolets was the most durable in the world, as the designers assured. It was for this reason that submariners went up without diving suits. For many, this was a fatal mistake.

The first to surface was an Orion patrol plane from the Norwegian Air Force.

The boat was afloat, but its position was becoming more and more dangerous every minute, the stern was sinking into the water before our eyes, and the bow was rising higher and higher. It became clear that there was no hope of saving the boat.

At the moment when the boat tilted and it became clear that it would sink, the crew members sang the song “Varyag”, saying goodbye to those who remained forever on board the Komsomolets.

At 17:08 the boat sank at a depth of 1685 meters, having exhausted its buoyancy reserve.

Help soon arrived. The floating base "Alexei Khlobystov" picked up sailors one after another. By this time, 16 people had died from hypothermia and drowned, 30 living and 16 dead sailors were brought on board.

As soon as the crew members were brought on board, the ship's doctors began fighting to save the sailors, ten of whom were already without signs of life.

Three could not be saved, although qualified doctors transported to the scene on the cruiser Kirov did everything possible. On the way to Severomorsk we used everything medical supplies, suitable in such a situation. They did a thorough rubbing. The sailors were placed in warm baths. Doctors were on duty around the clock. The condition of the three sailors was moderate. They were treated in the intensive care unit.

The condition of the remaining 24 team members was quite satisfactory. All the guys underwent thorough medication, psychotherapy, and reflexology treatment. Only one of the victims had a slight burn. Military doctors and sailors who have been in various troubles and emergency situations, were shocked by the team's resilience.

27 rescued sailors were being treated at the Northern Fleet naval hospital.

Later they intended to raise Komsomolets. The Rubin design bureau, with the participation of the Dutch consortium of deep-sea operations, developed a lifting project, but they could not implement it. We limited ourselves to using special staff sealed right at the bottom, everything is potentially dangerous places on a lost ship.

Until now, the exact causes of the fire on board the nuclear submarine Komsomolets have not been clarified. It is impossible to lift the submarine from a depth of more than one and a half kilometers in the Norwegian Sea. However, it is known that a fire in one of the aft compartments led to the death of the submarine.

Photos of sailors' funerals.