K-19 is the first submarine of the Project 658 class. The Soviet Union's first-generation nuclear submarine equipment uses nuclear ballistic missiles, especially the R-13SLBM.

K-19 ( Russian : К-19) is the first submarine of the Project 658 (referred to as: Projekt-658) class ( NATO reporting name Hotel-class submarine). The Soviet Union's first-generation nuclear submarine equipment uses nuclear ballistic missiles , especially the R-13SLBM. The ship was hastily built by the Soviet Union in response to U.S. developments in the HT1 nuclear submarine HT2 as part of the arms race. Before her launch, 10 civilian personnel and one sailor died in accidents and fires. After the K-19 was put into service, the ship suffered numerous malfunctions and accidents, several of which threatened to sink the submarine.

Historical film Hiroshima filmed: Soviet sailors on the so-called nuclear submarine K-19

During her maiden voyage on July 4, 1961, one of her two reactors completely lost coolant . The backup system included in the design was not installed, so the captain ordered the engineering crew to find a solution to avoid a nuclear meltdown of and . At the expense of their own lives, engineers installed a secondary cooling system to prevent a reactor meltdown. Over the next two years, 22 crew members died. The submarine has experienced several other incidents, including two fires and a collision. This series of accidents inspired the crew to nickname the submarine "Hiroshima."

K-19 was ordered by the Soviet Navy on October 16, 1957. Her keel was laid on October 17, 1958 at the Severodvinsk naval shipyard. Several workers died while building the submarine: two workers died when a fire broke out, and six women later died from the smoke while gluing rubber linings to the tanks. While loading missiles, an electrician was crushed to death by a missile tube cover, and an engineer fell to his death between two compartments.

On July 4, 1961, K-19s under the command of Captain Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev conducted exercises in the North Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern coast of . At 04:15 local time, the pressure in the starboard nuclear reactor cooling system dropped to zero. Reactor section staff discovered a major leak in the reactor coolant system, causing the coolant pump to malfunction. The ship was unable to contact Moscow and request help because another accident damaged its long-range radio system. control rod was automatically inserted into the system by emergency SCRAM, but the reactor temperature rose uncontrollably. Heat from the decay of and , the fission products produced during normal operation, eventually heats the reactor to 800°C (1,470°F).

The submarine "K-19" after the accident in February 1972

Zateyev took a major decision and ordered the engineering department to create a new cooling system by cutting off the exhaust valve and welding a water supply pipe to it. This requires men to work under high levels of radiation for long periods of time. The cooling water system installed by the jury successfully lowered the temperature of the reactor. The accident released radioactive vapors containing fission products, which were sucked into the ship's ventilation system and spread to other compartments of the ship. The entire crew and most of the people on the ship and some of the ballistic missiles on the ship were exposed to radiation. All seven members of the engineering team and their division commander died from radiation exposure within the next month.

Over the next two years, 15 more sailors died. Rather than continuing the mission's planned route, the captain decided to head south to meet the diesel-powered submarine expected there. Fear of potential crew mutiny prompted Zateyev to throw all small arms overboard, except for five pistols distributed to his most trusted officers. A diesel submarine named S-270 picked up the K-19's low-power distress signal and joined it. Nearby American warships also heard the signal and offered to help, but Zateyev, fearful of leaking Soviet military secrets to the West, refused and headed for the S-270. He evacuated the crew and towed the ship back to base. Over the next two years, maintenance crews removed and replaced the damaged reactor.

The maintenance process polluted the environment and maintenance personnel within a nearby 700 meters (2,300 feet). The Soviet Navy dumped the original radioactive compartment into the Kara Sea. K-19 returned to the fleet with the nickname "Hiroshima". [8] According to the government's official explanation of the disaster, maintenance personnel discovered that the disaster was caused by a welding failure during initial construction.They found that during the installation of the main cooling system ducts, welders failed to cover the exposed duct surfaces with asbestos drop cloths (required to protect ductwork from accidental exposure to welding sparks) due to the cramped working space.

A drop of water on the welding rod fell on the unprotected surface, creating invisible cracks. This crack was exposed to prolonged and intense pressure (over 200 atmospheres), compromising the integrity of the pipe and ultimately causing its failure. Others also dispute this conclusion. Retired Navy Rear Admiral Nikolai Mormul claimed that when the reactor was first started up on shore, construction crews did not install pressure gauges on the main cooling circuit. Before anyone realized there was a problem, the cooling tube was subjected to a pressure of 400 atmospheres, twice the acceptable limit. On February 1, 2006, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev proposed in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee that the crew of the K-19 be awarded the honor for their death on July 4, 1961. was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his behavior.

During repairs to the backup coolant system of the No. 8 reactor of the submarine "K-19" returning to its home port in 1972, several crew members received a fatal dose of radiation. Eight people died from severe radiation sickness within one to three weeks after the accident. People who receive a dose of 4 to 5 Sv (approximately 400-500rem) in the short term have a 50% chance of dying within 30 days.

Fourteen other crew members died within two years. Many other crew members also received radiation doses above permitted levels. They received treatment the following year. Many others experience chest pain, numbness, cancer and kidney failure. Their treatment, devised by Professor Z.Volynskiy, included bone marrow transplantation and blood transfusions. It saved men such as Lieutenant Mikhail Krasikov and 3rd Class Captain Vladimir Yenin, who received doses of radiation that would have been considered fatal. For reasons of confidentiality, the official diagnosis was not "radiation sickness" but "vegetative asthenia syndrome," a mental illness.

The submarine "K-19" during dismantling work in 2003 - you can see the heavily modified tower

The rest of the accident

On November 15, 1969 at 7:13 am, the K-19 was in the Barents Sea 260m (200 feet) ) deep into a collision with the attack submarine USSGato. She was able to surface using emergency main ballast tank strikes. The impact completely destroyed the bow sonar system and damaged the forward torpedo tube cover. The K-19 was able to return to port to repair the ship and return to the fleet. Cato, relatively intact, continued her patrol.

On February 24, 1972, the submarine caught fire at a depth of 120 meters (390 ft), approximately 1,300 km (700 nautical miles; 810 mi) off Newfoundland, Canada. The ship surfaced and the crew was evacuated to the surface battleship, except for the 12 men trapped in the aft torpedo room. The tugboat was delayed by high winds and rescuers were unable to reach the aft torpedo room due to the condition of the engine room.

Photos from the movie K-19: Battle of the Deep

The fire killed 28 sailors on board K-19, and two others died after being transferred to a rescue ship. Investigators determined the fire was caused by hydraulic oil leaking onto the thermal filter. The rescue operation lasted more than 40 days and involved more than 30 ships. From June 15 to November 5, 1972, the K-19 was repaired and returned to service. On November 15, 1972, another fire broke out in compartment 6, but it was extinguished by the chemical fire extinguisher system and there were no casualties.

On July 25, 1977, the K-19 was reclassified as a large submarine class, and on July 26, 1979, it was reclassified as a communications submarine and given the symbol KS-19 (КС-19). On August 15, 1982, an electrical short circuit caused severe burns to two sailors; one, VA Kravchuk, died five days later. On November 28, 1985, the ship was upgraded to the 658s ​​(658с) variant.

Results of the collision between the Soviet K-19 submarine and the USS Gato on November 15, 1969

On April 19, 1990, the submarine was decommissioned and transferred to the Naval Repair Yard in Polyarny in 1994. In March 2002, she was towed to the Nerpa shipyard in Snezhnogorsk, Murmansk, for scrapping.In 2006, part of the K-19 was purchased by Vladimir Romanov, who had served as a conscript on the submarine, with the intention of "turning it into a meeting place in Moscow, in Russia and other countries" Building connections among submarine veterans "So far, the plan remains on hold, with many K-19 survivors opposed.