Soviet submarine K-219

"K-219" was a "Navaga"-class ballistic missile submarine (NATO reporting name "Yankee I") of the Soviet Navy involved in what has become one of the most controversial submarine incidents in the Cold War. It carried 16 (later 15) SS-N-6 liquid-fuel missiles powered by UDMH with IRFNA, equipped with an estimated 34 nuclear warheads. [M. V. Ramana, C. Rammanohar Reddy, "Prisoners of the Nuclear Dream", p. 131. Orient Longman, 2003. ISBN 8125024778]

The Incident

On 3 October 1986, while on patrol 680 miles (1100 km) northeast of Bermuda, "K-219" suffered an explosion and fire in a missile tube. The seal in a missile hatch cover failed, allowing seawater to leak into the missile tube and react with residue from the missile's liquid fuel. The Soviet Navy claimed that the leak was caused by a collision with USS "Augusta" (SSN-710). "Augusta" was certainly operating in proximity, but the United States Navy denies any collision (see below). "K-219" had previously experienced a similar casualty; one of her missile tubes was already disabled and welded shut.

Three sailors were killed outright in the explosion. The vessel surfaced to permit its twin nuclear reactors to be shut down, which was only accomplished when a 19-year old enlisted seaman, Sergei Preminin, sacrificed his life to secure one of the onboard nuclear reactors by hand, trapped in the engine compartment. Captain Second Rank Igor Britanov was ordered to have the ship towed by a Soviet freighter back to Gadzhievo, her home port, some 7,000 kilometers (4350mi) away.

Although a towline was attached, towing attempts were unsuccessful, and after subsequent poison gas leaks into the final aft compartments and against orders, Britanov ordered the crew to evacuate onto the towing ship. Britanov remained aboard "K-219".

Displeased with Britanov's inability to repair his submarine and continue his patrol, Moscow ordered Valery Pshenichny, "K-219"’s security officer, to assume command, transfer the surviving crew back to the submarine, and return to duty. Before those orders could be carried out, however, "K-219" abruptly sank into the Hatteras Abyss on 6 October 1986 [http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061006/NEWS/110060129&SearchID=73259541411267] , in a depth of about 6,000 meters (18,000 ft). While the proximate cause of the sinking is unknown, some evidence indicates Britanov may have scuttled her. "K-219"'s full complement of nuclear weapons was lost along with the vessel.

Preminin earned the Red Star, awarded posthumously, for his bravery in securing the reactors. Britanov was charged with negligence, sabotage, and treason. He was never imprisoned, but waited for his trial in Sverdlovsk. In May 1987, after a new Defense Minister took office in Moscow, the charges against Britanov were dismissed.

"Hostile Waters"

In 1997, Warner Brothers released in the United States the British BBC television film "Hostile Waters", co-produced with HBO and starring Rutger Hauer, Martin Sheen, and Max von Sydow. It was based on a book by the same name, which claimed to describe the loss of K-219. In 2001, Captain Britanov filed suit, claiming that Warner Brothers did not seek or get his permission to use his story or his character, and that the movie did not portray the events accurately and made him look incompetent. In September 2004, the court ruled in Britanov's favor.Fact|date=March 2008 Britanov has declined to state the amount of the award; descriptions range from "substantial damages" down to tens of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy issued the following statement regarding the book and movie::The United States Navy normally does not comment on submarine operations, but in the case, because the scenario is so outrageous, the Navy is compelled to respond.:The United States Navy categorically denies that any U.S. submarine collided with the Russian Yankee submarine (K-219) or that the Navy had anything to do with the cause of the casualty that resulted in the loss of the Russian Yankee submarine.

An article on the US Navy's website posted by Captain 1st Rank (Ret.) Igor Kurdin (former XO of K-219) and Lieutenant Commander Wayne Grasdock denied any collision between "K-219" and the "Augusta". Captain Britanov himself also denies a collision. He has stated that he was not asked to be a guest speaker at Russian functions because he refuses to follow the Russian government's interpretation of the "K-219" incident.Fact|date=March 2008

References

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060426232636/http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/questions/hostlh2o.html USN statement on "Hostile Waters"]
* [http://submarine.id.ru/memory/K219.htm Книга памяти - К-219]
* cite journal
author = Captain 1st Rank (Ret.) Igor Kurdin, Russian Navy
coauthors = LCDR Wayne Grasdock, USN
year = 2005
month = Fall
title = Loss of a Yankee SSBN
journal = Undersea Warfare
volume = 7
issue = 5
id = ISSN|1554-0146
url = http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/cno/n87/usw/issue_28/yankee.html
accessdate = 2006-07-01
format = dead link|date=June 2008 – ^{[http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=intitle%3ALoss+of+a+Yankee+SSBN&as_publication=UNDERSEA+WARFARE&as_ylo=2005&as_yhi=2005&btnG=Search Scholar search]}