Nuclear warheads lost: Russia has lost a Titan submarine that is leaking radiation

Summary and what you need to know: The Soviet nuclear submarine K-278 Komsomolets sank in the Barents Sea on April 7, 1989 after a fire broke out on board, killing 42 crew members.

-The wreck, located at a depth of 1.7 km, poses significant risks to the environment due to its nuclear reactor and two torpedoes armed with nuclear warheads.

-Concerns about radioactive leaks have led to several expeditions, including a recent one by Russian scientists to monitor the condition of the wreckage.

-Despite his tragic loss, that is Komsomolets was one of the most advanced submarines of its time and was designed for deep-sea operations with a titanium pressure hull.

Russia K-278 Komsomolets: The nuclear submarine that won't stop leaking

A few years ago, Russian scientists went on a mission to the wreck of the K-278 Komsomolets (NATO reporting name: Mike class), the Soviet nuclear submarine that sank three decades earlier when a fire broke out on the boat off the northern coast of Norway. The nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarine met its fiery demise in the Barents Sea on April 7, 1989, killing 42 crew members.

Despite the fact that fire engulfed the technical room, the K-278 was able to come to the surface and even stayed afloat for about five hours before sinking to her watery grave at the bottom of the Barents Sea, about a mile (1.7 km) deep.

What has caused great concern in recent years is the question of what environmental damage could result from its nuclear reactor and its two torpedoes armed with nuclear warheads.

The latest expedition included scientists from Russia-based Roshydromet, which focuses on the field of radiation monitoring, and specialists from Sevhydromet. The aim was to find out whether the wreck still poses a threat to the underwater world.

“The Roshydromet expedition left Arkhangelsk by ship Professor Molchanov to the site of the sinking of the Komsomolets nuclear submarine. “Scientists will examine a potentially dangerous radiation facility,” Sevhydromet’s press service, Russian state media reported at the time.

The loss of the Komsomolets was a major shock to the Soviet Navy as it was considered the most advanced nuclear submarine in service at the time.

Environmental concerns

The boat was carrying two plutonium warheads when it was lost on April 7, 1989. Both now lie at a depth of 1,680 meters along with the rest of the submarine wreckage, continuing to raise concerns about radiation leaks from the bottom of the Norwegian Sea. But plutonium is not the only concern. The submarine's nuclear reactor was also loaded with nuclear fuel and produces other radioactive isotopes, including cesium 137 and strontium 90.

Previous missions conducted by Russia and Norway since then had discovered leaks from the wreck, which is deep underwater and unlikely to contaminate fish stocks Komsomolets fell years ago.

In fact, a joint expedition launched by the two countries in 2019 found that the leakage directly around the submarine's hull had increased slightly compared to levels measured in 1998 and 2007.

There are still 20 conventional torpedoes on board the submarine, which also pose a significant threat.

For these reasons, Norwegian scientists have been monitoring the wreckage of the Soviet submarine, located southwest of Norway's Bear Island and 350 kilometers northwest of the country's mainland coast, since the 1990s.

Mike: Advanced Submarine

The submarine was designed to operate at a depth well beyond that of the U.S. Navy's best submarines K-278 used a double hull, with the inner hull made of titanium. This pressure hull also consisted of seven compartments, with the second and third compartments protected by stronger fore and aft bulkheads that formed a “safety zone” in the event of an emergency.

That's theoretical Komsomolets was able to avoid American detection by penetrating deeper than any other competing submarine. As the only submarine of its class, it was operated by a relatively small crew of just 69 sailors. This fact is probably why the loss of life was not much greater.

On April 7, 1989, the boat was traveling in international waters in the Norwegian Sea at a depth of 386 meters and 8 knots. At 10:55 a.m. local time, a fire broke out in one of the electrical panels in compartment seven at the stern of the boat. According to the official report, the fire was ignited by leaking hydraulic fluid or oil vapor from a separator. The fire burned so hot that it soon consumed the entire compartment and smoke billowed into compartment six.

The boat managed to surface, but hours of effort to keep it afloat failed, and it was not until 4:42 p.m. that Captain Vevgeniy Vanin finally gave the order to abandon ship. Rafts were inflated from the damaged submarine while others were dropped by aircraft. However, only a few crew members were able to reach her in time and about 50 sailors were forced into the frigid waters.

Six sailors, including Captain Vanin, remained aboard the boat when it sank shortly after 5 p.m. They attempted to use the escape capsule, but one of the crew was accidentally left behind as thick smoke made visibility difficult. The five remaining men were in the capsule when it reached the surface, but only one escaped after the hatch was blown away. In total, 42 of the 69 crew members died in the accident – just one of several involving Soviet submarines during the Cold War.

Every year on April 7, the Russian Federation celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Fallen Submariners. The day was established by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy on December 19, 1995 to commemorate the tragic death of the naval officer Komsomolets Submarine.

About the author

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based author who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,000 published articles over his twenty-year career as a journalist. He writes regularly about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity and international affairs. Peter is also a writer for Forbes.

Image source: Creative Commons.