The Kursk Submarine Disaster
Russia’s peacetime Kursk Submarine Disaster remains one of the most infamous events in modern military history. Read on to discover what happened, the causes, and its aftermath.
Image: Crew members of the Kursk stand on its deck during a parade in July 2000, just a few weeks before the deadly explosion | Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Kursk: 10 Days That Shaped Putin is a dramatic and forensic examination of events that took place in August 2000, after an explosion onboard the Kursk submarine trapped a group of survivors at the bottom of the Barents Sea. The show starts Tuesday, 25th February on Sky HISTORY.
The Kursk submarine disaster remains one of the worst events in Russia’s military history. The peacetime accident took place on 12th August 2000 during a training exercise and claimed the lives of all 118 crew members on board.
What exactly happened that day to make things go so terribly wrong, and how did the Russian government respond to the tragedy?
What was the Kursk?
During The Cold War, the Soviets believed that America’s fleet of aircraft carriers was one of their biggest threats. They feared that they would be used to transport missiles to carry out thermonuclear airstrikes and to attack the USSR’s fleet of nuclear missiles. The USSR’s response was to invest huge sums of money into weapons that would find and destroy American carriers should war break out, including Antey-class submarines.
These 508-foot, 19,400-ton submarines were designed to sink large aircraft carriers and other ships. They were powered by nuclear reactors and carried 24 large P-700 Granit missiles (each one about the size of a small plane) that travelled at a speed of Mach 1.6 and had a range of 388 miles.
The submarines were named Oscar I and Oscar II. 13 of them were built in total, including the Russian Northern Fleet’s K-141 submarine, also known as Kursk.
What happened to the Kursk?
On 12th August 2000, the Kursk was taking part in a major fleet training exercise in the Barents Sea. It was fully armed with missiles and torpedoes. Its task was to simulate an attack on a Russian aircraft carrier called Kuznetsov.
At 11:28am there was an underwater explosion, quickly followed by a second explosion that was so powerful its seismic impact was detected as far away as Alaska and measured 4.2 on the Richter scale. The explosions caused the Kursk’s forward bow, where torpedoes were stored, to rip, and the supposedly unsinkable, pride of the Russian Navy sank.
What caused the explosion?
With no survivors to describe what they witnessed, there has been much speculation, theory and debate about the most likely cause of the explosions.
Senior officers in the Russian Navy claimed that the Kursk had collided with an American submarine that had been attempting to spy on their training operation. They claimed that a satellite image showing an American submarine docked at the Norwegian naval base in Bergen was evidence that the vessel was receiving repairs after colliding with the Kursk. However, this theory was proven to be false. While there have been 11 collisions between American and Russian ships in the area since 1967, America has denied any involvement in the Kursk disaster.
In reality, the initial explosion was caused by a torpedo leaking hydrogen peroxide. The resulting fire then detonated a torpedo, which exploded and caused a second larger explosion that ripped a hole in the submarine.
The practice of using hydrogen peroxide to supply oxygen to the torpedo engine had been stopped in British submarines in the 1950s due to concerns about its safety. While the Russian government was telling the world that they had state-of-the-art weaponry, the use of hydrogen peroxide indicated that their weaponry was actually old and unstable.
Subsequent investigations found that safety equipment and machinery throughout the vessel were poorly maintained and incorrectly installed, and safety procedures had not been adhered to.
The rescue operation
The Russian government’s response has been heavily criticised. The submarine had only sunk to a depth of 350 feet (108 m) from the surface, but rescue teams were slow to arrive on the scene. The ice-cold waters, storms and poor underwater visibility also hampered rescue efforts.
In the days that followed the disaster, the Russian Navy failed to radio communicate with the submarine. Numerous smaller submarines were sent to attempt to access the Kursk, but they all failed.
Vladimir Putin, who was just months into his first term as President of Russia at that time, was holidaying in Sochi when the Kursk sank. He did not leave his holiday to manage the disaster, and Russia rejected offers of aid from Italy, Germany, France, Norway and the UK until five days after the explosions.
Records discovered later included a note made by one of the ship’s officers two hours after the explosions stated that there were 23 survivors. However, all 23 died due to carbon monoxide poisoning as the oxygen supply ran out before rescuers reached them. All 118 crew members lost their lives.
The aftermath of the Kursk disaster
The days, weeks and months following the Kursk disaster were mired in confusion, misinformation and, many allege, attempts by the Russian government to hide the truth of what had happened to maintain their image as a leading military power.
News of the sunken submarine was not released to the public for two days after it happened. When the military announced what had happened, they told the media and relatives of the crew members that the rescue operation was underway, there were survivors, and communication had been established with the crew. The Naval Commander in Chief himself said that the crew were alive and sending SOS signals.
However, there was never a two-way communication with the submarine following the explosions. Relatives of the crew members gathered at the quayside, desperate for news of their loved ones.
It was not until 21st August 2000, nine days after the explosions, that relatives of the crew members and the public were finally told that none of the crew members had survived. The damage found on the vessel (and acoustic evidence) corroborated the theory that exploding torpedoes had caused it to sink.
The Russian government collated a 133-volume report on the incident, but only a four-page summary was made available to the public in 2002.
The remnants of the Kursk were salvaged from the Barents Sea in October 2001.
