(Russian Navy Blog note: Make sure you click the link below and watch the video. The film is astounding if you are into glimpses of the Apocalypse or a real life "World Without Us").
Preparations are being made for a complicated operation to unload fuel from a submarine reactor. It was a unique Alfa class boat with a titanium hull. There were only a few boats with this kind of hull in the whole world and they all served in our Northern Fleet. Unfortunately, these boats have turned out to be dangerous, not only for the enemy, but to themselves also. Two of the boats have suffered accidents. In order to remove the fuel, the nuclear workers are ready for some hard work. Natal'ya Solov'yeva talks about this unique submarine base and about this sad legacy of the cold war.
(Start Video Here)
One hundred seventy nautical miles - this harbor is reachable only by water. The closed city (ZATO) Ostrovnoy is divided into two areas, separated by two kilometers - Gremikha and Ostovnaya.
Almost 30,000 people lived here in the 70s and now there are barely 3,000. The first Soviet submarines were based here back in the day. The who West called it "the hornet's nest" with fear and envy. The first nuclear submarine, the Leninskiy Komsomol and the legendary K-19 tied up to the piers here. By the middle of the 90s, the Russian leadership began to pare the numbers of boats. Now there are no boats, or even piers here. The last nuclear submarine was towed to the Nerpa Shipyard a week ago. The reminders of the fleet that was stationed here in Gremikha 30 years ago are now rusting ships and nuclear waste thrown out into the open air. Eight years ago the Ministry of Defense transfered responsiblity for the dangerous legacy to FGUP SevRAO. In 2001 this consisted of 800 radioactive moderator rods and six nuclear reactors from Alfa class boats. All the rods are stored here today, two reactors have been unloaded and a third is on the way.
Valeriy Pantaleyev, Director of SevRAO: There was a reactor accident on the boat here about 30 years ago, and now the background radiation inside the compartment where they are going to have to work is pretty high.
The operation, which is being carried out by Murmansk Oblast' nuclear workers, is unique and dangerous. The equipment for this operation is only found in Gremikha and the greatest scientific institutes are consulting. Twenty two seperate organizations are involved. Only the Nuclear Inspection Directorate of the Ministry of Defense can give to okay to proceed.
VP: Never and noone. Nobody can do anything representitives from there. We need a lot of money in order to rebuild the facilities to handle this material and prepare personnel for the job.
Personnel is a touchy question for SevRAO. People are leaving the settlement. Out of 68 specialists working on the project, 40 got apartments back "ashore". And by law they should leave. But the mission will be completed in a few years, despite the difficulty, and then the rest of the people can leave Gremikha. There is the problem that personnel working on the site have very narrow specialties. Larisa Poyarkova - the crane lady, has been working on site for eight years (Russian Navy Blogger note: in my experience, its always a "crane lady". Strange). When the transfer of the containers to the ship begins, a great deal of responsibility will land on her shoulders. And what happens to her after this waste heap is cleaned up, Larisa doesn't know.
Larisa Poyarkova, crane lady: I can't even imagine. I've thought about this and I don't know how to do anything else. This is my job.
A school, stores and a community center all operate in Ostrovnyy. Windows are lit up in the homes. Gremikha is a town whose buildings have black eyes for windows. It's not worth saving the town. The main thing in the opinion of the scientists, nuclear workers and politicians is to make sure that the land is clean.
But it is very probable that in a few dozen years, everything will be have to be rebuilt from scratch. More to the point, rebuilt from the pier, since you can only reach Gremikha by water.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Awesomely Bad Defense Trinkets
Danger Room is running an "Awesomely Bad Defense Trinkets" contest and I thought I would share my entry, a lamp with a missile on top that I got from a missile factory in Ukraine. It came in a Styrofoam case shaped like a re-entry vehicle. It is truly one of my most treasured possessions.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Russia Starts Here
(View of Avachinskaya Bay from Vilyuchinsk. Source: vilyu4insk.ru)
An article about by far the most beautiful place in Russia that the Russian Navy Blogger has visited (no snark). There is absolutely nothing like cutting through a fog bank on an August morning on Avachinskaya Bay with the volcanoes looming in the background and an Akula DIW, waiting for pier space a few hundred yards away. Unforgettable.
The Vilyuchinsk Submarine Base Waits For Borey
Until recently, the existence of the submarine base at Vilyuchinsk was known to a narrow circle of people - our sailors and their colleagues in the NATO Alliance. On NATO charts it was labeled "hornet's nest" - the place where Pacific Fleet submarines were based. In order to understand the combat potential of the Pacific Fleet SSBNs based there, we will note that a single salvo from just one Project 667BDR SSBN (Delta III class) will deliver 48 200kt warheads to the probable enemy. The damage to such a country, such as the USA, would be unacceptable.
Night Flight
The possibility to visit the Pacific Fleet base on Kamchatka, see the nuclear submarines and talk to the submariners came about due to the personal invitation of the Russian Minister of Defense Anatoliy Serdyukov. It's a nine hour flight from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy. There is time to forget pressing problems and the daily grind. You can physically feel the enormous size of our country while crossing time zones in the salon of the Il-62M.
Russia was created by the labor of dozens of generations of Russian people, by the exploits of our Army and Navy, by the political power of Russian Tsars. The country has known times glorious and dark. And as always, a weak government has invited chaos, evident in the thousand year Russian history. There are examples of this during the 300 year reign of the Romanovs, during Soviet rule as well as in recent times.
(Cut out: a three paragraph rumination on the power of Russian rulers, from the Tsars through Stalin and the future legacy of Vladimir Putin.)
"Hornet's Nest"
Vice Admiral Konstantin Sedenko, Commander of the Pacific Fleet and Vice Admiral Aleksandr Vitko, Commander, Russian North-East Forces met us at the airfield at Yelizovo. We set off for Vilyuchinsk. The city is considered a closed city (ZATO) and entry is restricted to local citizens with passes. All cars are inspected at the entry control point. Outsiders haven't yet set foot here. Along the way there are a lot of sites with fences decorated with signs that read "Military Site. Trespassers will be shot without warning". Such is the exotic local sights. The Commander of the Pacific Fleet commented along the way, from time to time admonishing, "Photography in that direction is not permitted". What can you do?
The goal of our visit - the SSBN Saint George the Victorious (K1R Sergey Yesyunin, commanding) and the Project 949A SSGN Omsk (K1R Valeriy Savon, commanding). The guests from Moscow meet the Commander of the 16th Submarine Squadron, Rear Admiral Konstantin Maklakov and the Commander of the 25th Submarine Division, Rear Admiral Sergey Rekish at the piers, where the boats are moored. There's a briefing and an invitation to board the submarine follows. By the way, the President of Russia Dmitriy Medvedyev was on board the Saint George very recently and we literally were following in his steps.
The commander of Saint George the Victorious, K1R Sergey Yesyunin, is young - he just turned 38 on the 12th of August. He's got the Pacific Fleet Makarov School and the Officer's Advanced Course at the Maritime Acadamy under his belt. The officer makes a very good impression, just like the rest of the crew, by the way. The concentration on their Russian faces projects steady professionalism. Service on a nuclear submarine entails risk and much depends on each member of the crew. The main task of an SSBN - to carry out the orders of the Commander in Chief. Readiness for nuclear war - it isn't just words here, its an everyday reality. If it were to become necessary, the sailors must carry out their duty clearly and without wavering. The nuclear deterrent, maintaining strategic parity with the United States is on the shoulders of these people.
K1R Sergey Yesyunin reports on the use of missile weapons after receiving the corresponding command to do so and the time necessary to fire a missile salvo. It's impressive, indeed! Even in the event of a first strike on Russia, the aggressor will receive a guaranteed return strike - retaliation will be unavoidable. The actual targets are not named - they are simply "land targets". We will note that the RSM-50 (SS-N-18) SLBM has a range of around 6500km. Project 667BDR submarines have the ability to fire from a submerged or surfaced position and while deployed or while at the pier.
The construction of the Kal'mar class (another name for Delta III) at the Rubin Shipyard under the guidance of S.N.Kovalev began in 1975. The navy received 14 of these boats. Their main battery consists of 16 RSM-50 with three independently targetable warheads.
The Pacific Fleet had 8 Project 667BDR submarines at the start of the 21st century which carried 128 missiles (384 warheads). Four submarines have been stricken and sent to the Far Eastern Zvezda shipyard for scrapping: K-449, K-455, K-490 and K-180. Now there are five Project 667BDR SSBNs in the Pacific Fleet order of battle: K-44 Ryazan' (recently arrived from the Northern Fleet), K-506 Zelenograd, K-211 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, K-223 Podol'sk and K-443 Saint George the Victorious. This is 80 missiles with 240 warheads.
Taking into account the almost three decades of service, they need to be replaced soon. And their replacement is being readied - this is the Project 955 Borey class SSBN with the solid fueled Bulava-30 SLBM. Right now, OAO Sevmash is building three of this class and five more hulls will be laid down in the coming years.
There has been a complete overhaul of the piers in anticipation of the arrival of the Boreys in Vilyuchinsk as well as an organization of technical services for the new systems, the installation of modern communications systems, the modernization of the training center and introduction of new training simulators.
Task for the Special Construction Units
The capital improvements of the infrastructure at Vilyuchinsk is undoubtedly the work of Vladimir Putin. The first time he visited was in 2004 during the Mobility-2004 strategic exercises. What Putin saw then left a bad impression. The infrastructure was in poor condition. Many buildings were constructed 30 or 40 years ago and were simply dilapidated. The sailors simply didn't have normal conditions in which to serve, relax or live. A resolution was adopted during Putin's visit on the necessity to rebuild the base for the submarine squadron and the living conditions at the village of Rybachiy.
Rebuilding the special support structures, the domiciles, the utility network and the shore infrastructure of ZATO Vilyuchinsk and the 16th Squadron was organized according to the 24 June, 2004, order of the President of the Russian Federation.
Despite the distance to the construction site from the Special Construction base, a whole range of structures were put into service thanks to the delivery of men and materials by airplanes and ships of FGUP GUSS and Far East Special Construction. Among the buildings to come on line between 2005 and 2007 were the Officer's Club, the Sailor's Club, Middle School No.3, the 16th Submarine Squadron HQ, the Ocean Fitness Complex and the garrison hospital and clinic.
One of the peculiarities of the buildings is that they were equipped with the most modern engineering equipment and systems to withstand a force 9 or 10 earthquake.
Additionally, in 2007, Special Construction with the cooperation of the Pacific Fleet and the leadership of ZATO Vilyuchinsk performed renovations of four apartment buildings. Fifteen ruined multi-story apartment buildings were raised and a car park and a children's playground were put in their place.
Vladimir Putin visited Vilyuchinsk again on 05 September, 2007, to personally oversee his writ. The Commander of the Pacific Fleet reported on the completion of the master reconstruction plan for the Squadron base and the progress of the preparations to receive the new Project 995 SSBNs to the President. The Commander in Chief visited one of the piers where the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy and the Magadan were moored.
As Vladimir Putin noted back then, much had been done over the previous three years to improve the lives of service members and their families, but 1800 officers still lived in unsatisfactory conditions. "Russian officers should live well", the President said. Putin ordered the Ministry of Defense to prepare a program to improve the living conditions of service members in Primorskiy Kray.
Specialists from Special Construction began to make preparations to work on new apartment buildings and recreation centers for the inhabitants of Vilyuchinsk - three improved apartment buildings and two kindergartens for 400 kids. The first of these, the kindergarten "Fairy Tale", was opened in a ceremony on 27 June, 2008.
The first sixty family improved apartment building will be opened at the end of October, 2008. Residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg will envy these apartments. Spacious halls and kitchens, large, light rooms. The area of a typical three room (two bedroom by our standards) apartment is 100 square meters (1070 square feet). The director of Special Construction, General of the Army Nikolay Abros'kin proudly showed off not only the apartments built by Far East Special Construction, but other buildings also. These include the magnificent Officer's Club, the Officer's dorm, the "Fairy Tale" kindergarten, the military hospital and other buildings. All the materials and equipment had to arrive from the mainland. The progress achieved in four years is evident. But a lot of work lays ahead. Russian President Dmitriy Medvedyev promised the submariners an indoor hockey rink during his recent visit to Vilyuchinsk.
We surveyed Avachinskaya Bay from a boat with the Commander of the Pacific Fleet at the conclusion of our visit. The bay is huge - second largest on the planet and capable of holding all the ships in all the fleets in the world. It cuts 24km deep into the land. Its width at the entrance is three km and it is up to 26 meters deep. The area of this watery mirror is around 215 square km. Nature has given Russia a unique place, ideal for basing ships and submarines. Immediately after exiting the bay, the depth drops off to five km - there our nuclear submarines "dissolve", avoiding the numerous American hunters, like the Los Angeles and Seawolf classes which hang out nearby, trying to "sit on the tail" of Russian submarines departing on combat duty.
"Positive changes ongoing in the Russian Armed Forces testify to the attention that the army and the fleet are receiving from the state", emphasized the assistant Defense Minister Nikolay Pankov. Construction at these garrisons, like at Vilyuchinsk, will become more common. At our departure, the Pacific Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Konstantin Sedenko said that he would be happy if Vilyuchinsk was protected from air attack by the newest S-400 air defense system. He hopes that this desire finds a foothold in the State Armament Program. What's more, as was said during Medvedyev's recent visit, we will restore any and all presence in the region, including our military presence. The national interests of Russia demands it.
Igor' KOROTCHENKO
Editor in Chief, "VPK", Member of the Ministry of Defense Advisory Council
Vilyuchinsk - Moscow
Do Svidanya, Komrad!
Severodvinsk, 19 October. The Zvezdochka Shipyard of Serverodvinsk will dismantle the multipurpose Project 971 SSN K-480 Bars, the last in a series of third generation submarines.
According to open sources, K-480 Bars was constructed at Sevmash in Severodvinsk in 1978 and stricken from service in 1988. The Project 971 Shchuka-B boats (NATO: Akula 2) was developed in Saint Petersburg at the Malakhit design bureau. Fourteen of these boats were contructed in Severodvinsk and Komsomolsk-na-Amur. The last boat, the Gepard, was delivered by Sevmash in 2001. Since then the fleet has not recieved any new nuclear submarines.
According to submarines.narod.ru, linked to in the text, the timeline for the boat's service was a little different. According to this source, the boat was laid down in 1985, accepted into service in 1989 and stricken in 2002.
Any way you slice it, something was wrong with this boat as its service life was way too short.
But as an American, I have to say that I look forward to shaving with it.
Peter the Great Update: Port Call, Turkey
I wonder what happened to Latakia/Tartus? Debkafile said the whole Russian fleet was there already.
The Chabanenko and the Peter the Great prepare for a four day port call at an unspecified naval base in Turkey. The honor guard practices for the reception and the crew is apparently forced to write letters home. The letters will be sent via diplomatic pouch back to Russia. After four days anchored out in Turkey, the task force will finally head to Venezuela.
The Chabanenko and the Peter the Great prepare for a four day port call at an unspecified naval base in Turkey. The honor guard practices for the reception and the crew is apparently forced to write letters home. The letters will be sent via diplomatic pouch back to Russia. After four days anchored out in Turkey, the task force will finally head to Venezuela.
Pirates Must Shit or Get Off Pot Soon
The Russian are Coming
The Baltic Fleet guard ship (SKR) Neustrashimyy is transiting the Suez Canal on Tuesday and will set course for the Somali littoral according to high-level sources in the Navy General Staff.
After passing through the Suez, Neustrashimyy will transit the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and end up in the Arabian Sea around Somalia. Before her stands the mission of defending shipping against piracy, convoy of Russian flagged ships and protection of Russian crews and crewmembers," the Admiral said.
According to the Admiral, there is a real threat of capture of Russian ships in the Gulf of Aden around the Horn of Africa.
Earlier the Russian Navy spokesman K1R Igor' Dygalo told RIA Novosti that if the situation around the Ukrainian flagged ship Faina isn't settled by the time the Neustashimyy gets to her assigned area, then the ship will be subject to action by foreign ships which, for the time being, control the maritime situation and are tracking the situation surrounding the ship.
He reminded everyone that UN resolutions adopted recently, aimed at focusing international attention on the problem of piracy, is the foundation of Russian Navy participation in curbing piracy in the Somali littoral.
The SKR Neustrashimyy departed Baltiysk on the 24th of September, setting sail for Somalia to support the security of shipping along the coast of that country. In part, the possibility of the Russian vessel assisting in the freeing of the Faina, which was taken by pirates on 25 September, is not excluded.
The ship was carrying weapons, including 33 T-72 tanks. There is one Latvian, three Russians and 17 Ukrainians on board. The captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, who was a Russian, died. Pirates are threatening to kill the hostages in the event of an operation to free them by force.
According to western analysts, Somali pirates have captured about 60 foreign vessels for ransom in 2008. Their total profits this year may reach 30 million dollars.
(...)
The Baltic Fleet guard ship (SKR) Neustrashimyy is transiting the Suez Canal on Tuesday and will set course for the Somali littoral according to high-level sources in the Navy General Staff.
After passing through the Suez, Neustrashimyy will transit the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and end up in the Arabian Sea around Somalia. Before her stands the mission of defending shipping against piracy, convoy of Russian flagged ships and protection of Russian crews and crewmembers," the Admiral said.
According to the Admiral, there is a real threat of capture of Russian ships in the Gulf of Aden around the Horn of Africa.
Earlier the Russian Navy spokesman K1R Igor' Dygalo told RIA Novosti that if the situation around the Ukrainian flagged ship Faina isn't settled by the time the Neustashimyy gets to her assigned area, then the ship will be subject to action by foreign ships which, for the time being, control the maritime situation and are tracking the situation surrounding the ship.
He reminded everyone that UN resolutions adopted recently, aimed at focusing international attention on the problem of piracy, is the foundation of Russian Navy participation in curbing piracy in the Somali littoral.
The SKR Neustrashimyy departed Baltiysk on the 24th of September, setting sail for Somalia to support the security of shipping along the coast of that country. In part, the possibility of the Russian vessel assisting in the freeing of the Faina, which was taken by pirates on 25 September, is not excluded.
The ship was carrying weapons, including 33 T-72 tanks. There is one Latvian, three Russians and 17 Ukrainians on board. The captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, who was a Russian, died. Pirates are threatening to kill the hostages in the event of an operation to free them by force.
According to western analysts, Somali pirates have captured about 60 foreign vessels for ransom in 2008. Their total profits this year may reach 30 million dollars.
(...)
Monday, October 20, 2008
Someone Thought the Cole Refueling in Aden was a Good Idea, Too
(Caption: Kashin class BPK 505 Sposobnyy somewhere between Yemen and Ethiopia, 1985. Source: sposobny.narod.ru)
The President of Yemen may bring up the issue of re-establishment of Russian naval bases on Socotra during his visit to Moscow.
Sana'a, 16 Oct. (ITAR-TASS). The speaker of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov does not exclude the possibility that during the Yemeni President would bring up the issue of re-establishing Russian naval bases on Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden during his visit to Moscow.
In answer to the question if Russia has any plans to do so, Mironov said, "I think that this theme will be discussed concretely during Ali Abdallah Saleh's visit to Moscow". Mironov did not discuss the length of the visit.
The speaker considers the future use of Yemeni ports by the Russian Navy as well as re-establishment of a base to be possible. "We have to proceed step by step, taking into account new vectors in the foreign and defense policies of Russia and the increase in op tempo by the Navy. I think that its possible that we will examine the issue of the use of Yemeni ports by Russian Naval ships", he said.
(Caption: Flight deck entertainment, BPK 505 Sposobnyy, Socotra Anchorage, 1987. Note the use of the ships drum kit by the band. Source and more Socotra liberty pics: sposobny.narod.ru)
Vikramadit'ya Ready for Re-Launch
Caption: "Soon she will leave the dock, 10 Oct 2008"
Sevmash is finishing preparations for re-floating the aircraft carrier Vikramadit'ya, currently being re-equipped for the Indian Navy according to a correspondent from the website arhperspectiva.ru.
"This is an extremely important step in the technological shipbuilding chain," according to the assistant general director for military-technical cooperations Sergey Novoselov. "Therefore we are taking the preparations very seriously."
The documents certifying the completion of work on the hull and the painting of the outer hull were prepared. Workers in the graving dock are disassembling the scaffolding. The operation is complex and will take some time: it will take until the end of October to free it from the entangling web of scaffolding, totalling 200km in length. Besides that, the last 10 (out of 116) tanks need to be painted and eight need to be pressure tested.
After the stempost of the carrier touches the waves once again, the ship will moor at the factory seafront. Then begins the loading of the massive pieces of equipment in the boiler room and the arresting gear, which accoridng to Novoselov, couldn't be done while she was in dry dock.
Area Closure
HYDROPAC 2032/2008(95,96). SEA OF JAPAN. MISSILES.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 2300Z TO 0200Z COMMENCING DAILY
20 AND 21 OCT AND 0400Z TO 0700Z DAILY 21 AND 22 OCT
IN AREA BOUND BY
41-57.5N 131-32.0E, 42-32.3N 133-32.0E,
42-41.0N 133-02.5E, 42-41.0N 133-28.7E,
43-33.0N 135-37.0E, 42-20.0N 136-02.0E,
40-57.2N 135-38.5E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 220800Z OCT.
Point "C" is actually over land on some sort of facility:
For my half-assed "analysis" of a previous Sea of Japan missile closure, see here. I did not note any results from any exercises that may have been held in the September Sea of Japan area closure.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 2300Z TO 0200Z COMMENCING DAILY
20 AND 21 OCT AND 0400Z TO 0700Z DAILY 21 AND 22 OCT
IN AREA BOUND BY
41-57.5N 131-32.0E, 42-32.3N 133-32.0E,
42-41.0N 133-02.5E, 42-41.0N 133-28.7E,
43-33.0N 135-37.0E, 42-20.0N 136-02.0E,
40-57.2N 135-38.5E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 220800Z OCT.
Point "C" is actually over land on some sort of facility:
For my half-assed "analysis" of a previous Sea of Japan missile closure, see here. I did not note any results from any exercises that may have been held in the September Sea of Japan area closure.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Deep Thought
Colin Powell is right. So what if Obama is Muslim?
I'm also troubled by, not what Sen. McCain says, but what members of the party say, and it is permitted to be said such things as: "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is: he is not a Muslim. He's a Christian. He's always been a Christian.
But the really right answer is: What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is: No, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she can be President?
Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion: he's a Muslim, and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.
Georgians Greet the Barry Warmly
The Georgians greeted the American destroyer Barry in a ceremony with Georgian wine accompanied by a children's choir. According to the Americans there are no humanitarian nor military cargoes. Tbilisi acknowledges that the visit is of a friendly nature. They will remain in Georgia three days. Meetings are planned by the Americans with the Georgian military establishment and also the crew will help to paint a local school.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Death of a Super Spy
SSV-33 rusting at the pier, 2005? (Source: wikipedia.ru)
SSV-33, June 2008 (Source: vif2.ru)
Fate of the Fleet Superspy, Independent Military Review, April 2006.
The unique nuclear powered Ural rusts away after 25 years of disuse.
The Project 1941 nuclear powered reconnaissance ship Ural is moored to one of the piers in the Far East with a five degree list. There aren't enough specialists on board to maintain her nuclear reactor. There used to be a thousand strong crew and now there are barely one hundred. The main systems on board the giant ship haven't functioned for a long time and to rehab the ship would cost an enormous amount of money.
At the beginning of the 90s the reconnaissance ship Ural was a secret vessel. The hull and the reactor of the Ural were similar to the Project 1144 Orlan class cruisers (Kirov class). But the electonics and the combat missions of the ship were extremely secret.
The Ural wasn't built for combat and could only repel cutters, small ships and helicopters. It had two quick firing 76mm AK-176 gun mounts, four 30mm AK-630 gun mounts, four Igla missile mounts and four Utes-M 12mm dual machine gun mounts. But there is electronic weaponry to detect aerial, surface and subsurface targets, direct fire and also several special radars and supporting systems known as the Korall system, designed to locate and track missiles and track satellites and other objects in orbit that are of particular interest.
The Ural could loiter for an unlimited amount of time in neutral waters without refueling in the American littoral and analyze the electromagnetic spectrum around American ICBM and Strategic Aviation bases. She is equipped to quickly evaluate an enormous amount of reconnaissance data and transmit it to the national command authority. It makes sense that such a ship, which can carry out electronic reconnaissance from the the open ocean as well as from the pier at her home base, has obviously not dealt with hidden and open enemies or with emeging parters of Russia. But even today, 25 years after being laid down, it is very difficult to find reliable information about her construction.
The Spy on the Baltic Wharf
Back in 1977 the Military-Industrial Commission of the Communist Party Central Committee together with the USSR Ministry of Defense decided to construct a large, nuclear powered reconnaissance ship Ural with a length of 265 meters and width of 30 meters. The Ajsberg Construction Bureau was the prime contractor. The ship was laid down in June, 1981, launched in 1983 and accepted into service in 1988 or 1989. Designed for electronic warfare, she was equipped with several ES-1046 and El'brus computer systems in order to crunch massive amounts of collected data. With the help of the Korall system, the spy could track the trajectories of ballistic missiles, manned space systems and pass on that data.
Testing of all the systems began in the Baltic Sea in 1988. A huge scientific research organization was created in support of this testing. This was a huge scientific collective which practically never left the ship during the construction, shipyard and sea trials period of development.
The State acceptance act was signed in 1989 and the ship began her transit to her assigned port of Vladivostok. Complex brigades of specialists were embarked to work out all the possible kinks during the transit. Vladimir Anikeyev lead the scientists who worked on the two El'brus computer systems. The computer systems never wanted to work correctly and were very capricious. Anikeyev was in the tropical sun for the first time and watched from the deck as Singapore passed abeam of the ship. He spent practically all of his time in the bowels of the ship, bringing the computers on line so that they could analyze and use data in real time. Finally after 59 days at sea, the handsome Ural pulled into Strelok Bay in Vladivostok. There wasn't a pier ready for her and she was forced to anchor out in the bay and begin her invisible battle with corrosion and failing machinery, which had to remain running while at anchor to support the systems that supported the huge crew.
Problems
The crew of Ural immediately began to prepare for combat operations around one of the American test ranges testing anti-missile defense. Meanwhile, a lot of things were going wrong aboard the newly constructed ship that even the Baltic Fleet specialists couldn't deal with, such as problems with the reactor cooling system. Now there was no talk of a combat deployment. The unique Korall surveillance system and El'brus computer system didn't want to work. There was nothing fleet specialists could do about them either.
As a result, the first rank ship, which should have become the flagship of the Far Eastern Fleet, became a floating barracks for young or prospectless officers. She never went to sea and her powerful radioelectronic complement, into which was poured and enormous amount of valuable metal, gradually began to decay. Officers sent to crew the ship requested transfer or release from duty after a year or a year and a half of prospectless service on board. There were occasions when the command didn't satisfy such requests and the officers jumped overboard and swam for shore. After several such protests, the command decided not to block requests for transfers from Ural.
Suggestions were advanced to use Ural as a floating nuclear power plant or even sell her abroad for scrap. But nothing came of these suggestions because Russian nuclear secrets needed to be kept. For now the ship is in limbo. No suggestions have been made by fleet command to do anything with her. It is preferred to just not talk about her openly. Only the former Navy Chief of Staff Fleet Admiral Vladimir Khmel'nov has mentioned her in his chronicle of the Russian Navy, "Russian Fleet: Prowess and Poverty", pulling back the curtain on the fate of the giant ship. "On board the Ural, each reactor is served by two people when there should be six".
There are less than a hundred crewmen out of a thousand still serving aboard the Ural, out of them 25 seamen. The cooling system doesn't work and only one pump heroically pumps water out of the huge bilges. Word around the fleet is that the ship will be sold overseas after removal of the nuclear reactors.
A few years ago, there was some preservation work done on the hull at the ship yard. Meanwhile specialists couldn't correct the five degree list. Afterwards, the nuclear spy was welded to the pier, where she awaits her fate.
Ural Fun Facts
- Ural is one of those rare ships free of rats - while the reconnaissance equipment is working all the rats died and only reappeared when the ship moored at the pier.
- When the Ural was in port Cam Ran Bay, Vietnam, the roving patrol employed their weapons (special grenades) against an unknown target in the water near the ship. It turned out to be a large turtle.
- The ship was only 1.5-2km from the site of a memorable fire at the main Pacific Fleet ammunition storage depot. Despite the huge number of shells and missiles flying through the air in different directions, thanks to the efforts of K1R Keshkov and the crew, not one shell, rocket or fragment fell on the ship. Under a hail of fire, the crew, at night, with only the help of one tug and her own power, moved the ship to a safe place.
- A box of 76mm ammunition disappeared during an on load. The commmander of the ship Keshikov asked the crew to return the ammunition anonymously, no questions asked. All the shells were returned that day and Keshikov personally thanked the crew over the 1MC for every shell brought to his stateroom.
- In the fall of 1991 during a powerful storm, the ship broke loose from her mooring and drifted out to sea. She passed within a few hundred meters of the rocky shores of Putyatin Island. The next day the crew got deployment rations (like sausage and condensed milk) since formally the ship was out of home port.
Friday, October 17, 2008
USS Barry (DDG 52) In Port Poti
Poti, Georgia, expects the arrival of the American missile cruiser (sic) Barry. The ship can't approach shore for now because of a storm. According to the American Embassy in Tbilisi, the visit is "friendly". The crew should visit Georgia for three days. The American command denies any connection between the arrival of the ship in Georgian territorial waters and the conflict in South Ossetia.
Peter the Great Update: Great Guns!
The Peter the Great conducted exercises with light deck guns while steaming toward Latin America. According to the narration, the crew conducts these types of exercises every day.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Independent Military Review Editorial: Bulava vs. Sineva
The Bulava in the Background of the Sineva
Russian Federation President Dmitriy Medvedev was present at the Sineva launch from the SSBN Tula on 11 October. With satisfaction, he noted that, "As a result of the successful launch the range was fixed at 11,547km". He underlined that the Sineva had "good prospects".
Experts were divided. They say that the Sineva is a modernized version of the long obsolescent RSM-54 sea-based missile and that there is no point to the record since the strategic submarines it is for attacks at a range of 3-4,000 km. The acceptance into service of the Bulava is planned for 2009 and the era of the Sineva will be done.
Meanwhile, even the hardest core skeptics agree that the Sineva is the best missile in the world with regards to the balance between energy and mass. The relationship of its mass to throw weight and range is 25-30 percent more than the American Trident I and II. It can carry 10 100kg warheads, it has more protection against electro-magnetic pulse and carries more missile defense penetration aids. The combined Malakhit-3 astro- and satellite navigation system allows it to destroy a target with an accuracy of 500 meters.
The maximum range of the Sineva is 8300km with a front section weight of 2.8 tons. The range increases as the front section weight decreases. Obviously the 11,500km range was acheived by carrying a front section mock-up of minimal weight. The President didn't mention this, but it is known that the 100kt small warhead weighs 100kg.
The coast of the United States, which has long been our potential enemy, is covered by a powerful system of sonars and ASW patrol aircraft. This allows the detection of submarines at a distance of several thousand kilometers. But if Sineva has an 11,000km range then it is invisible. The American anti-missile system covers the United States from the directions of the Russian Far East, the North Pole and Europe, but from the direction of Latin America, there is no protection. And even a small warhead could potentially deal unacceptable damage. In this way the Sineva poses an assymetric answer to the American anti-missile system in Europe.
The next day after the launch of the Sineva from the Tula, two missile were launched in opposite directions from two Project 667 BDRM class SSBNs (Delta IVs): the Zelenograd launched from the Sea of Okhotsk and destroyed a target at the Chiza range in the north of Arkhangel'sk Oblast' while the Ekaterinburg successfully hit the Kura range on the Kamchatka Peninsula from the Barents Sea. This confirms that the Sineva remains the main Russian Navy nuclear deterrent. Meanwhile, six Project 667 BDRM (Delta IV) SSBNs should be stricken by 2015.
(Russian Navy Blog note: Zelenograd is not a 667 BDRM Delta IV armed with the SS-N-23/Sineva, but a 667 BDR Delta III armed with the SS-N-18.)
As far as the Bulava goes, six unsuccessful launches in a row is all it has to show for 10 years of development. By the way, the President of the Russian Federation didn't say anything about the Bulava which leads to fears for the worst - that suddenly the Commander in Chief will decide to leave the Sineva in service and all the people working on and lobbying for the Bulava lose their generous budget allocations....
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Russia, the International Community and Piracy
Problems with Russia's Participation in the Pirate Hunt
About the author: Mikhail Dmitrievich Vojtenko - Chief of the Information and Analysis Department, OAO "Sovfrakht", editor of the journal "Sovfrakht Maritime Bulletin".
Attempted Translation:
03 Oct 2008
Reports have circulated in the press in the last week about how the Russian Navy is supporting the international fight against piracy at sea, including off the coast of Somalia. This has been talked about in both official announcements and in Navy Public Affairs. This is in connection with an incorrect interpretation of remarks made by Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy; that supposedly our fleet would take care of the piracy problem by itself.
“The Russian Navy is supporting the international effort against piracy at sea, including off the coast of Somalia. And when Russian citizens find themselves threatened, the Navy reserves the right of unilateral action”, the Navy PAO Igor’ Dygalo noted. He emphasized that in other circumstances (for instance, during international operations against piracy) the issue of Russian naval participation will conform to Russia’s foreign policy line.
Four Forces
Judging by the first reports in the press, first a Navy ship will be sent to the Gulf of Aden; moreover it is planning on operating independently. And the statement by the CinC Vladimir Vysotskiy has been corrected to reflect that Russian participation in the international fight against piracy at sea will conform to Russia’s foreign policy line. But it is entirely unclear what conditions have to present themselves for Russian participation.
Right now the naval forces in the Gulf of Aden can be divided into four types:
1. Coalition forces. Coalition Task Force 150. The main mission of these forces is to combat terrorism, which is not really understandable, or more likely, to force the blockade of the Straits of Hormuz in the event that the Iranians close it. The closure of the Straits of Hormuz would be more terrible for the world economy than the closure of the Suez Canal. Around 40 percent of world oil exports go through the Straits of Hormuz while the Suez Canal is the main route for the gigantic flow of finished goods that are manufactured cheaply by China and India from Asia to Europe and the United States. The coalition forces look at the piracy fight as an annoyance and not worth the trouble, and to re-orient their mission would be very complicated, even if it were possible.
2. Random ships from random countries, dispatched for a limited amount of time to guard ships with humanitarian aid to Somalia. This is in accordance with the UN program for humanitarian assistance and as far as the author knows isn’t related to the fight against piracy.
3. Unilateral national forces. Right now we have the first “swallow” in Malaysian form, which has sent three Navy ships to the region with the exclusive goal of supporting the safe passage of Malaysian ships. The Malaysian company MISC, which has two tankers held in Somalia as well as a container ship with thousands of containers on board which was attacked with cargo worth hundreds of millions of dollars, is one of the biggest ship operators in the world. The company has a large significance for economies throughout the world. The defense of MISC ships is the defense of its national interest by Malaysia.
4. Last week the European Union decided to a) create a Somali Piracy Command Center in Brussels, and b) possibly send some sort of multilateral task force to the Gulf of Aden to fight piracy threatening the EU economy. If container ships, tankers and dry cargo vessels have to avoid the Suez Canal, it will strike a heavy blow against Old World economies and the pocketbooks of European citizens, including Russia. Asian goods will increase in price since everywhere you look, all you see are goods labeled “Made in China” and the value of the Suez Canal will be quickly understood even in the Russian sticks.
Together With Whom and How?
Meanwhile, I am urgently interested in the following question: what will Russian Navy ships be able to achieve in the Gulf of Aden?
1. It is useless (unfortunately) to talk about combining with Coalition Task Force 150 since, I repeat, this formation isn’t fighting piracy.
2. Guarding humanitarian cargos headed for Somalia only has a tangential relationship with fighting piracy.
3. Unilaterally? There aren’t any ships there that demand national defense. Either you guard everyone who needs guarding or you guard no one. The transit of the Gulf of Aden by a fully Russian ship (Russian flagged, Russian owner and a Russian crew) is too much of a rarity to maintain a squadron of ships in the region on a constant basis (even if there is only one military ship, she needs escort). There are always Russian sailors crossing the Gulf of Aden but, as a rule, as part of a multinational crew under different flags on ships owned by different owners. If the goal is to exclusively defend Russian interests, then it becomes necessary to ask each ship that is attacked if there are Russian citizens on board and if there is cargo bound for Russia or not. That is absurd. So even if unilateral action is taken, in order to operate effectively, water space and technical details would have to be worked out, first of all, with coalition forces, second, with Malaysian ships and, third, with EU forces if and when they show up.
4. Working together with EU forces – this is obviously the most logical, preferable and effective scenario.
5. There is a fifth, extremely undesirable variant: ships sent independently and operating independently. Imagine the situation – there is a family in which a couple of members have been kidnapped for ransom. And help comes from the organized crime unit, from the Ministry of the Interior, from the FSB, traffic cops, private security guards and sundry other “powers”. And all of them work independently, for themselves. They rip the phone receiver from each others hands when the kidnappers call, each on suggests their own solution, each one screams that he has a bigger and more deadly gun. The same would happen in the Gulf of Aden if everyone sent independent actors. I repeat that no one country has enough shipping in the region to send forces that would guard only their own flagged ships. But at the same time, the shipping in the area has importance for many countries, for all of Europe. Quite simply, modern maritime commerce is more globalized and international than any other economic activity and either everybody or nobody defends it. If Russian ships are sent there independently, that means piracy isn’t the issue, it’s ambition.
A further question – what kind of forces should be sent? It should be a ship with a helicopter since the lack of a helo on board during piracy patrols, as experience has shown, would reduce patrol effectiveness by 50 percent or more. The ship should also have a SPETSNAZ detachment on board (or whatever they are called). It doesn’t seem like it to me that I have to explain why.
Not a Solution, but a Phantom
But this is the main point. Somali piracy has uncovered a mass of problems and defects in international relations. For example, what should be done with captured pirates? On whose shores should they be deposited and why? What is to be done when aid is rendered to attacked ships – can pirates finally be sunk or not? Can they be fired upon? Yes or no, and if not yet, then when?
Incidentally, I’d like to clear up one point that is unjustifiably treated as nothing important,. but turns out to be very nearly the most important issue. It is the sensational decision by the UN Security Council to allow free passage by foreign naval forces into Somali territorial waters to fight piracy.
This means that each country should receive permission from the temporary government of Somalia. Meanwhile the discussion continues about formalities anyway. But the main issue has been resolved.
Technically, there isn’t anybody to give permission to follow pirates into Somali territorial waters, that’s a phantom. Only the truly crazy go into Somali waters now anyway; and besides, without exception, all the attacks have taken place outside of these waters and in the territorial waters of, for example, Yemen. As soon as pirates board a ship and the immediate option of freeing it by force is excluded, since that would lead to the death of part or all of the crew. Hijacked ships are already being brought into Somali waters and nothing can be done about it.
Also, patrolling can’t be done near Somalia, but only in international waters. Pirates have long used mother ships far offshore as their jumping off point for hijackings instead of from small harbors along the coast. These mother ships must be hunted. Where is the outcry about this sorry solution? The author doesn’t know. Supposedly this solution has some realistic chance of being possible. There is nothing to it and as matters stand, I repeat, it is a phantom.
About the author: Mikhail Dmitrievich Vojtenko - Chief of the Information and Analysis Department, OAO "Sovfrakht", editor of the journal "Sovfrakht Maritime Bulletin".
Attempted Translation:
03 Oct 2008
Reports have circulated in the press in the last week about how the Russian Navy is supporting the international fight against piracy at sea, including off the coast of Somalia. This has been talked about in both official announcements and in Navy Public Affairs. This is in connection with an incorrect interpretation of remarks made by Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy; that supposedly our fleet would take care of the piracy problem by itself.
“The Russian Navy is supporting the international effort against piracy at sea, including off the coast of Somalia. And when Russian citizens find themselves threatened, the Navy reserves the right of unilateral action”, the Navy PAO Igor’ Dygalo noted. He emphasized that in other circumstances (for instance, during international operations against piracy) the issue of Russian naval participation will conform to Russia’s foreign policy line.
Four Forces
Judging by the first reports in the press, first a Navy ship will be sent to the Gulf of Aden; moreover it is planning on operating independently. And the statement by the CinC Vladimir Vysotskiy has been corrected to reflect that Russian participation in the international fight against piracy at sea will conform to Russia’s foreign policy line. But it is entirely unclear what conditions have to present themselves for Russian participation.
Right now the naval forces in the Gulf of Aden can be divided into four types:
1. Coalition forces. Coalition Task Force 150. The main mission of these forces is to combat terrorism, which is not really understandable, or more likely, to force the blockade of the Straits of Hormuz in the event that the Iranians close it. The closure of the Straits of Hormuz would be more terrible for the world economy than the closure of the Suez Canal. Around 40 percent of world oil exports go through the Straits of Hormuz while the Suez Canal is the main route for the gigantic flow of finished goods that are manufactured cheaply by China and India from Asia to Europe and the United States. The coalition forces look at the piracy fight as an annoyance and not worth the trouble, and to re-orient their mission would be very complicated, even if it were possible.
2. Random ships from random countries, dispatched for a limited amount of time to guard ships with humanitarian aid to Somalia. This is in accordance with the UN program for humanitarian assistance and as far as the author knows isn’t related to the fight against piracy.
3. Unilateral national forces. Right now we have the first “swallow” in Malaysian form, which has sent three Navy ships to the region with the exclusive goal of supporting the safe passage of Malaysian ships. The Malaysian company MISC, which has two tankers held in Somalia as well as a container ship with thousands of containers on board which was attacked with cargo worth hundreds of millions of dollars, is one of the biggest ship operators in the world. The company has a large significance for economies throughout the world. The defense of MISC ships is the defense of its national interest by Malaysia.
4. Last week the European Union decided to a) create a Somali Piracy Command Center in Brussels, and b) possibly send some sort of multilateral task force to the Gulf of Aden to fight piracy threatening the EU economy. If container ships, tankers and dry cargo vessels have to avoid the Suez Canal, it will strike a heavy blow against Old World economies and the pocketbooks of European citizens, including Russia. Asian goods will increase in price since everywhere you look, all you see are goods labeled “Made in China” and the value of the Suez Canal will be quickly understood even in the Russian sticks.
Together With Whom and How?
Meanwhile, I am urgently interested in the following question: what will Russian Navy ships be able to achieve in the Gulf of Aden?
1. It is useless (unfortunately) to talk about combining with Coalition Task Force 150 since, I repeat, this formation isn’t fighting piracy.
2. Guarding humanitarian cargos headed for Somalia only has a tangential relationship with fighting piracy.
3. Unilaterally? There aren’t any ships there that demand national defense. Either you guard everyone who needs guarding or you guard no one. The transit of the Gulf of Aden by a fully Russian ship (Russian flagged, Russian owner and a Russian crew) is too much of a rarity to maintain a squadron of ships in the region on a constant basis (even if there is only one military ship, she needs escort). There are always Russian sailors crossing the Gulf of Aden but, as a rule, as part of a multinational crew under different flags on ships owned by different owners. If the goal is to exclusively defend Russian interests, then it becomes necessary to ask each ship that is attacked if there are Russian citizens on board and if there is cargo bound for Russia or not. That is absurd. So even if unilateral action is taken, in order to operate effectively, water space and technical details would have to be worked out, first of all, with coalition forces, second, with Malaysian ships and, third, with EU forces if and when they show up.
4. Working together with EU forces – this is obviously the most logical, preferable and effective scenario.
5. There is a fifth, extremely undesirable variant: ships sent independently and operating independently. Imagine the situation – there is a family in which a couple of members have been kidnapped for ransom. And help comes from the organized crime unit, from the Ministry of the Interior, from the FSB, traffic cops, private security guards and sundry other “powers”. And all of them work independently, for themselves. They rip the phone receiver from each others hands when the kidnappers call, each on suggests their own solution, each one screams that he has a bigger and more deadly gun. The same would happen in the Gulf of Aden if everyone sent independent actors. I repeat that no one country has enough shipping in the region to send forces that would guard only their own flagged ships. But at the same time, the shipping in the area has importance for many countries, for all of Europe. Quite simply, modern maritime commerce is more globalized and international than any other economic activity and either everybody or nobody defends it. If Russian ships are sent there independently, that means piracy isn’t the issue, it’s ambition.
A further question – what kind of forces should be sent? It should be a ship with a helicopter since the lack of a helo on board during piracy patrols, as experience has shown, would reduce patrol effectiveness by 50 percent or more. The ship should also have a SPETSNAZ detachment on board (or whatever they are called). It doesn’t seem like it to me that I have to explain why.
Not a Solution, but a Phantom
But this is the main point. Somali piracy has uncovered a mass of problems and defects in international relations. For example, what should be done with captured pirates? On whose shores should they be deposited and why? What is to be done when aid is rendered to attacked ships – can pirates finally be sunk or not? Can they be fired upon? Yes or no, and if not yet, then when?
Incidentally, I’d like to clear up one point that is unjustifiably treated as nothing important,. but turns out to be very nearly the most important issue. It is the sensational decision by the UN Security Council to allow free passage by foreign naval forces into Somali territorial waters to fight piracy.
This means that each country should receive permission from the temporary government of Somalia. Meanwhile the discussion continues about formalities anyway. But the main issue has been resolved.
Technically, there isn’t anybody to give permission to follow pirates into Somali territorial waters, that’s a phantom. Only the truly crazy go into Somali waters now anyway; and besides, without exception, all the attacks have taken place outside of these waters and in the territorial waters of, for example, Yemen. As soon as pirates board a ship and the immediate option of freeing it by force is excluded, since that would lead to the death of part or all of the crew. Hijacked ships are already being brought into Somali waters and nothing can be done about it.
Also, patrolling can’t be done near Somalia, but only in international waters. Pirates have long used mother ships far offshore as their jumping off point for hijackings instead of from small harbors along the coast. These mother ships must be hunted. Where is the outcry about this sorry solution? The author doesn’t know. Supposedly this solution has some realistic chance of being possible. There is nothing to it and as matters stand, I repeat, it is a phantom.
Area Closures
(111641Z OCT 2008)
HYDROPAC 1987/2008(96,97). SEA OF OKHOTSK. MISSILES.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 0300Z TO 0900Z DAILY 12 THRU 15 OCT
A. IN AREA BOUND BY 47 36N 151 21E, 47 54N 151 06E,
48 06N 151 40E, 47 52N 151 58E.
B. WITHIN 27 MILES OF 52 49N 146 17E.
C. WITHIN 28 MILES OF 57-09N 140-33E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 151000Z OCT.
I wonder what this was for?
(112026Z OCT 2008)
HYDROPAC 1988/2008(96). TATARSKIY PROLIV. GUNNERY.
1. GUNNERY EXERCISES 2300Z TO 0200Z COMMENCING DAILY
16 AND 17 OCT AND 180400Z TO 180700Z OCT
IN AREA BOUND BY
49 06.0N 140 30.5E, 49 20.0N 140 39.5E,
49 20.0N 140 44.0E, 49 06.5N 140 44.0E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 180800Z OCT.
Not sure at this time who is going to use this. Looks like its going to be ships as the orientation is wrong for shore based artillery.
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Somali Folly: Russia Sends a Mothership...Or Is It Bait?
Gist: The Baltic Fleet tanker Yel'na sets sail for the shores of Somalia. There she will rendezvous with the escort ship Neustrashimyy which has been sent there to fight piracy. The tanker carries water, fuel and weapons for the escort ship. The ship is guarded by a detachment of marines armed with sniper rifles and heavy machine guns. They have orders not to allow pirates to get within shot range.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Peter the Great Update: Port of Call, Tripoli
In a move guaranteed to boost recruitment and retention levels, the Peter the Great makes a port call in Tripoli, Libya. Read and listen carefully and there is a hint that the promised port calls in Tartus and/or Latakia, Syria, are cancelled.
Gist: The ships of the task force converge in Tripoli, Libya, where the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko and support vessels pulled into port while the Peter the Great anchored out in the roadstead. The Baltic Fleet ship Neustrashimyy also pulled into port. The port visit will last until 13 October. While there the ships will reprovision and the crew will get shore leave. Having completed all of their tasking in the Mediterranean Sea, the ships prepare for further sailing. They will set course for South America where they will participate in exercises with the Venezuelans in November. The Neustrashimyy will continue on to fight Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Gist: The ships of the task force converge in Tripoli, Libya, where the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Chabanenko and support vessels pulled into port while the Peter the Great anchored out in the roadstead. The Baltic Fleet ship Neustrashimyy also pulled into port. The port visit will last until 13 October. While there the ships will reprovision and the crew will get shore leave. Having completed all of their tasking in the Mediterranean Sea, the ships prepare for further sailing. They will set course for South America where they will participate in exercises with the Venezuelans in November. The Neustrashimyy will continue on to fight Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Stability-2008: Red Star TV Roundup
Lots of cool footage of the month-long, nationwide strategic exercise Stability-2008.
Strategic Aviation:
Twelve combat aircraft, TU-95 and TU-160 missile carriers took off from Saratov Oblast' this morning. Thirty more aircraft joined them in the air. Their mission was to practice joint operations with interceptors and bombers in simulated battle and to conduct aerial refueling. But the main task will take place in a few hours: cruise missile launches over neutral waters.
A-50s deploy to Komi (probably Vorkuta) to support "War in the Far North", a reflection of the interest the Russians show in the Arctic theater:
Gist: Stability-2008 continues in the polar regions. Airmen complete their tasks in especially harsh conditions. Not every army can wage war in the far north. Here's the report.
The airfield easily handles the maneuvers of the Il-76s and An-12s. This airfield is uniquely huge. There aren't any bigger airfields in the polar region. Its big enough to handle any size aircraft including the Buran space shuttle (Note: that's a little OBE, don't you think?). This 200 ton piece of equipment is an A-50, a modified Il-76. This radar system operating in the one centimeter wavelength range is able to detect fighter sized targets and maritime targets at ranges of up to 200-400 km. The mission of the A-50 during the exercise is to conduct radar reconnaissance, relaying information to the central command post on targets in the area. The commander of the aircraft says that operating in the far north is not easy.
Landing among the MiGs is an An-12 which has already completed its mission. It took off this morning and spent six hours in the air. It has the airplane's symbol painted on the fuselage: a black mammoth. It was deployed to Tiksi, much further north than Vorkuta. The commander reports that the training was outstanding.
All crews have completed their training missions. Today is the last day of exercises and tomorrow they all return to their home airfields.
Medved'ev also visited the space launch center at Plesetsk, where he observed the successful launch of an SS-25 Topol' mobile ICBM, hitting the target at the Kura test range on Kamchatka and inspected the new Angara launch system, consisting entirely of Russian made components (vice the Ukrainian made missiles the Russians previously used).
But before watching the Topol' launch, Medved'ev and Minister of Defense Serdyukov embarked aboard the aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral of the Soviet Fleet Kuznetsov to watch maritime portions of Stability-2008, culminating in a SS-N-23 Sineva launch from Delta IV SSBN Tula, descibed as "record setting", traveling 11,547km and hitting a notional target in the Pacific Ocean.
Gist starting at story footage: The President and the Minister of Defense arrived on board the carrier by helicopter and considering the class of the ship, it was full of symbolism. Despite the strong winds, Medved'ev and Anatoliy Serdyukov walked the entire flight deck and then went down to the hanger deck. The President greeted the sailors, inspected the aircraft and even sat in the cockpits of an Su-33 and a Ka-27. President Medved'ev visited the Combat Information Center before heading up to the flag bridge to watch the progress of training.
Stability-2008 is continuing for a month and of course the ship has been to sea several times already during the exercises. But today was the most spectacular with the full might of the Northern Fleet on display. DM even went to the flag bridge a couple of times to watch missile launches and flight ops. The exercise script calls for the repulsion of an attack by a fleet of enemy submarines, but the highlight of the exercise was an SS-N-23 Sineva launch from a submurged position. For the first time in the history of the Russian Navy, an SLBM traveled more than 11,500km and destroyed a notional target in the Pacific Ocean.
(Cut to reporter with a little spiel about the capabilities of the Kuznetsov).
(Cut to DM on the mess decks): After completion of the main task, DM went to the mess decks to meet with the crew. The crew had the opportunity to ask any question they wanted of the Commander in Chief and the old Russian saying, "Sailors have no questions" (TR Note: its a cute rhyme in Russian) didn't apply. The questions were wide ranging and included questions about the future of the armed forces.
The sailors gave DM a hat and a striped sailor's shirt and DM signed the ship's guest book. The President gave Saturday's training an "Outstanding". Training continues for another month.
Strategic Aviation:
Twelve combat aircraft, TU-95 and TU-160 missile carriers took off from Saratov Oblast' this morning. Thirty more aircraft joined them in the air. Their mission was to practice joint operations with interceptors and bombers in simulated battle and to conduct aerial refueling. But the main task will take place in a few hours: cruise missile launches over neutral waters.
A-50s deploy to Komi (probably Vorkuta) to support "War in the Far North", a reflection of the interest the Russians show in the Arctic theater:
Gist: Stability-2008 continues in the polar regions. Airmen complete their tasks in especially harsh conditions. Not every army can wage war in the far north. Here's the report.
The airfield easily handles the maneuvers of the Il-76s and An-12s. This airfield is uniquely huge. There aren't any bigger airfields in the polar region. Its big enough to handle any size aircraft including the Buran space shuttle (Note: that's a little OBE, don't you think?). This 200 ton piece of equipment is an A-50, a modified Il-76. This radar system operating in the one centimeter wavelength range is able to detect fighter sized targets and maritime targets at ranges of up to 200-400 km. The mission of the A-50 during the exercise is to conduct radar reconnaissance, relaying information to the central command post on targets in the area. The commander of the aircraft says that operating in the far north is not easy.
Flight time is limited because of short daylight hours and there is poor visibility at night and the the weather changes quickly and weather forecasts up here are only right about half the time.
Landing among the MiGs is an An-12 which has already completed its mission. It took off this morning and spent six hours in the air. It has the airplane's symbol painted on the fuselage: a black mammoth. It was deployed to Tiksi, much further north than Vorkuta. The commander reports that the training was outstanding.
Our crew performed littoral weather reconnaissance, and the flight was okay. We completed the mission.
All crews have completed their training missions. Today is the last day of exercises and tomorrow they all return to their home airfields.
Medved'ev also visited the space launch center at Plesetsk, where he observed the successful launch of an SS-25 Topol' mobile ICBM, hitting the target at the Kura test range on Kamchatka and inspected the new Angara launch system, consisting entirely of Russian made components (vice the Ukrainian made missiles the Russians previously used).
But before watching the Topol' launch, Medved'ev and Minister of Defense Serdyukov embarked aboard the aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral of the Soviet Fleet Kuznetsov to watch maritime portions of Stability-2008, culminating in a SS-N-23 Sineva launch from Delta IV SSBN Tula, descibed as "record setting", traveling 11,547km and hitting a notional target in the Pacific Ocean.
Gist starting at story footage: The President and the Minister of Defense arrived on board the carrier by helicopter and considering the class of the ship, it was full of symbolism. Despite the strong winds, Medved'ev and Anatoliy Serdyukov walked the entire flight deck and then went down to the hanger deck. The President greeted the sailors, inspected the aircraft and even sat in the cockpits of an Su-33 and a Ka-27. President Medved'ev visited the Combat Information Center before heading up to the flag bridge to watch the progress of training.
1MC: Next evolution - attack on enemy ground targets with ballistic missiles.
Stability-2008 is continuing for a month and of course the ship has been to sea several times already during the exercises. But today was the most spectacular with the full might of the Northern Fleet on display. DM even went to the flag bridge a couple of times to watch missile launches and flight ops. The exercise script calls for the repulsion of an attack by a fleet of enemy submarines, but the highlight of the exercise was an SS-N-23 Sineva launch from a submurged position. For the first time in the history of the Russian Navy, an SLBM traveled more than 11,500km and destroyed a notional target in the Pacific Ocean.
(Cut to reporter with a little spiel about the capabilities of the Kuznetsov).
(Cut to DM on the mess decks): After completion of the main task, DM went to the mess decks to meet with the crew. The crew had the opportunity to ask any question they wanted of the Commander in Chief and the old Russian saying, "Sailors have no questions" (TR Note: its a cute rhyme in Russian) didn't apply. The questions were wide ranging and included questions about the future of the armed forces.
DM: We have to build new aircraft carrying cruisers. It is completely obvious that it is the most important issue for the Navy. Across the world, all the great powers have great armed forces and powerful navies and I think we should do the same.
The sailors gave DM a hat and a striped sailor's shirt and DM signed the ship's guest book. The President gave Saturday's training an "Outstanding". Training continues for another month.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Stability-2008: Medved'ev Aboard Kuznetsov
President Medved'ev is aboard the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov to observe a sub launched ballistic missile launch today.
Stability-2008 is a month long multi-service, nationwide strategic exercise that has been ongoing since 22 September.
Stability-2008 is a month long multi-service, nationwide strategic exercise that has been ongoing since 22 September.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Peter the Great Update: Approaching Africa
Gist: In two days the Peter the Great will make a port call in Tripoli, Libya. The crew prepares for a friendly visit. The ship's education officer, K1R Arkadiy Mogilivets explains that the crew is visiting a foreign port and that the fact that they have to understand that they must follow all applicable local customs and laws.
Meanwhile the crew continues to conduct training. The helo conducts flight ops every day except when the ship is in the waters of littoral states.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Cold War Stories: Twenty Two Years on Patrol
It's been 22 years since Yankee I SSBN K-219 blew up and sank in the Sargasso Sea. Here is what happened.
It was the beginning of October 1986. The latest acheivements of Soviet labor blared from the television screens. Although deep in the background were reports of a Soviet submarine catastrophe that went nearly unnoticed - there were only three lines about it in the newspapers - that was a first. It was the first time that they admitted openly that our warships ran into problems off the coasts of America. And the fact that Mikhail Gorbachev informed Ronald Reagan this fact during a meeting in Reykyavik caused one to think about the seriousness of the accident and the possible consequences that those of us for whom the words and phrases "combat patrol", "thermonuclear warhead", "megaton", "TNT equivilent" were nothing more than professional jargon.
Ten years have passed since then (now its more than 20 years). Mass media has more than once tried to cast light on the causes of the loss of the K-219, meanwhile it is impossible to describe in the newspaper the kind of damage suffered by the submarine and the heroic efforts of the crew to save her. I turn you attention to an article written by the President of the Saint Petersburg Submariner's Club K1R (Ret.) Igor' Kirillovich Kurdin, who for a long time served as the XO of Project 667AU SSBN K-219.
The Motherland Says You Must
SSBN K-219 got underway on patrol according to plan on 4 September, 1986. The commander of the submarine, K2R Igor' Anatol'yevich Britanov was an experienced submariner, having been allowed to independently captain a Yankee I SSBN since 1981. While it was his third patrol as commander and his 13th patrol overall, he didn't command his own ship - the watch on board K-219 was actually the first crew of K-241including 31 officers, 38 warrant officers and 49 seamen as well as some highly qualified specialists. But this time preparations to get underway were confused like never before.
The Cold War continued and our Navy (like the Strategic Rocket Forces) carried the burden of strategic deterrance between the two superpowers. The combat forces of the Soviet Navy were the first response to American deployment of the Pershing missile in Europe and patrol areas by our SSBNs were moved closer to American shores. This was done to make the flight time of our missiles to American territory the same as the flight time of American cruise missiles pointed at our military and civilian facilities.
There was pressure to increase patrols to two or three a year. The resources to support this op tempo were pushed to the limits and maintenance wasn't able to keep up. Submariners were in an even more precarious situation - two or three patrols a year, unused leave, and crew muddles became the norm. Under pressure, the high command had to shut their eyes when crews went to sea on boats other than their "home" boat.
An analysis of the sailing list of the combat patrol crew on K-219 shows that eleven of 31 officers were changed out between preparations for sailing and patrol, including many key officers - XO, Missile Officer, Torpedo Officer and the Radio Officer. There was a similar situation in the Warrant ranks - out of 38 warrant officers, 16 were replaced including the two senior warrants in the weapons department. But I never raised a finger to point blame at the then 19th Division Chief of Staff for Personnel, then Rear Admiral N.N. Malov, since five SSBNs were ordered on patrol at that time.
Why didn't the captain himself refuse to take an unprepared, strange boat to sea with a half-unknown crew? Because they just would have replaced Britanov with someone else. But lets turn to the events of 3 October 1986.
(The families of the crew of K-219 at the pier, Gadzievo, August 1986. Source: submarine.id.ru)
Explosion in the Missile Tube
Thirty days in the the deployment, K-219 maneuvered into her assigned water in the Sargasso Sea. The boat came to periscope depth at 0456 on 3 October for the regular broadcast and after five minutes began to dive to 85 meters. Conditions at that moment were the following: the main power plant was operating in single eschelon mode, the starboard reactor was operating at 30 percent while the port reactor was scrammed with all the dampers and the steam generator and turbine were in a ready state; the starboard turbine was turning the screw while the port shaft was hooked up to the emergency electrogenerator.
At 0514, the Missile Officer and the machinist in the fourth (missile) compartment found a leak from the seal around the number six launcher. Under pressure, the water became a stream. After reporting water in launcher six (the third launcher on the port side), the captain ordered a change of depth to 46 meters for safety at 0525. Pumps were turned on to de-water launcher six. At 0532 a reddish-brown fog of oxidizer began to leak from the seal on launcher six in compartment four. The Missile Officer declared an emergency in the compartment and reported the situation to the conn.
Non-essential crew evacuated the fourth compartment. Nine men remained in the affected compartment. The captain sounded general quarters. Within a minute the crew was performing damage control tasks, including sealing the compartments. The boat came to a safe depth. After five minutes, there was an explosion in launcher six at 0538.
Black smoke appeared in compartment four and then water contaminated with missile fuel began to pour into the compartment from destroyed piping in the upper part of the launcher. The captain immediately gave the order to emergency surface. There were other consequences of the explosion: the atmosphere in the fourth compartment was highly toxic and there was about 4.5 tons of water in the bilge; control was temporarily lost over the environmental conditions of the missiles in the rest of the launchers; other systems were damaged: the 1MC, the missile control communications circuit in the fourth and fifth compartments; the R-651 radio transceiver was partially knocked out, lights and lamps in the compartments were broken and the high pressure air piping was damaged. Indicators on the reactor control panel indicated that the 220 volt DC bus on the port side was knocked out, that the automatic valves feeding water to the steam generators on the port side were open and that the seperate valves on the third loop were open. The control panel of the "Kama" electrical system indicated that insulation resistance in both busses had reached zero. Control ordered atmospheric overpressure in the third and fifth compartments as a precaution.
At 0610, the crew in the fifth and sixth compartments (the auxiliary machinery compartment) were transfered to the eighth compartment (turbine). Seven minutes later came word that the fourth compartment would have to be abandoned because of high temperature and toxic gas. The captain ordered the fifth compartment to be prepared to receive the crew of the fourth. At 0635 the crew of the fourth compartment was withdrawn, leaving behind three people, including the Missile Officer. The port emergency generator was brought on line at the order of the Engineer.
A two man emergency party was sent into the fourth compartment at 0645 to evaluate the situation and render assistance to the crew remaining there. But the team could neither find the Missile Officer nor examine the condition of the sixth missile launcher because of heavy smoke. They did drag the bodies of Seaman I.K.Kharchenko and Seaman N.L.Smaglyuk. The team couldn't turn off any electricity consuming equipment in the fourth compartment nor could they find the source of the fire.
The fourth, fifth and sixth compartments were vented to the atmosphere beginning at 0725. At dawn the XO observed the casualty in launcher six from the top of the sail. The launcher hatch was gone, the front section of the missile was not visible, the hinge of the cover was turned to the side, the outer hull around the launcher was damaged, the hydrodynamic covers of launchers one, three, four, five and seven were torn and hung overboard and the deck in the vicinity of the launcher was deformed. Reddish-brown smoke wisped weakly from launcher six.
At 0831 two more men were again sent into compartment four. Atmospheric contamination in the compartment lessened and visibility improved. The flow of water from the upper part of launcher number six stopped. The investigators found the body of the Missile Officer K3R A.V.Petrachkov without signs of life.
By that time they got the overboard drainage pumps for launcher six working and were able to de-water the bilge in the fourth compartment using the main pumps. After turning on the pump to drain the launcher, water and thick smoke began to pour into the compartment from damaged piping in the upper part of the launchers. The pumps were ordered shut off. They removed the body of the Missile Officer, the gas analysis equipment and emergency protection suits.
At 0925 the port reactor was brought on line. Both steam generators were switched on and the level of power was the following - starboard side 30 percent, port side 50 percent.
The captain decided to give the order to emergency drain the oxidizer and de-water the launcher. He instructed four crew members from engineering and weapons departments to go into the fourth compartment with this in mind. All attempts to begin to de-water the launcher led to additional bursts of oxidizer and water steam into the compartment. The next group started the emergency oxidizer drain pumps. Water under pressure flooded the electrical equipment, including the fourth compartment electrical distribution panel. A short circuit occured and a fire broke out in the fourth compartment. The fire burned out the electrical equipment in the compartment and the pumps stopped. Under orders from control, the emergency party evacuated the fourth compartment.
Under orders from control, at 1754 freon flooded the fourth compartment from the chemical extinguishing system in the third compartment and because of damage to the freon supply piping, the freon gas began to leak into the third compartment and so the supply of freon to the fourth compartment was turned off. Around 1800, the atmosphere in the third compartment began to worsen and the levels of nitric oxide in the air reached 10-40 times acceptable levels. The crew in the third compartment was ordered to don protective gear. Some of the crew retreated to the second compartment. The crew was forced to abandon the communications and encryption stations and as a result, radio communications were lost (no situation reports were sent and instructions and advice from Northern Fleet HQ weren't received).
At 1840, investigators opened the hatches between the fourth and fifth compartments. Encountering smoke which they mistook for fire, they reported the situation to control. Control ordered the fifth compartment flooded with freon from the extinguishing station in compartment six.
At 1930, as a result of the loss of the 380 volt, 50 hertz bus on the starboard side, the starboard reactor scrammed and the reactor moderator lattice failed to go into the lowered position.
Twenty minutes later the reactor compartment reported smoke in the lower level of the sixth compartment to control. The compartment was evacuated, the ventilation between the fifth and sixth compartments were closed and people were transfered to the seventh (reactor control) compartment. Soon it was discovered that the hydralic pressure had fallen to zero. In the interests of maintaining safety in the starboard reactor, specialists from the Machinery Division were sent into the reactor compartment to lower the moderator lattice by hand - Senior Lieutenant N.N.Belikov and Seaman S.A.Preminin. After the Sr.Lt. lost consciousness, Preminin lowered the
moderator lattice by himself. At the same time, control ordered the ventilation of compartments eight, nine (turbine) and ten (aft) to the atmosphere and air pressure in those compartments dropped to atmospheric levels, while pressure in compartment seven remained elevated as compared to compartment eight. Because of this, the crew in the eighth compartment couldn't open the hatch to the seventh compartment. Attempts to even the air pressure between the two compartments using equipment in compartment eight, lower level produced thick smoke from the piping. Seaman Preminin was ordered by control to open the exhaust valve to the ventilation, but he couldn't do it. The damage control team in the neighboring compartment couldn't do it either. Seaman Preminin ceased responding to further questions.
Ships from the Soviet Merchant Fleet began to approach the area at 2130, including the Fedor Bredikhin, the Krasnogvardeysk and the Bakaritsa. By 2300 (according to reports from the crew), the atmosphere on board became more toxic, the protective gear had exhausted its resources and the temperature of the bulkhead between compartments three and four was rising. Based on the reports, the captain concluded that there was a fire in compartments four, five and six, that pressure was building in compartment seven and that the possibility of fire in compartments eight, nine and ten couldn't be excluded. Given that the resources for the emergency protective equipment had already been expended and that there was the possibility of one of the missiles exploding in compartmets four or five because of fire, the captain of the submarine decided to shut down the port reactor and to prepare to evacuate the crew to the merchant ships.
The port reactor emergency switch was thrown and the reactor put into cooldown mode. The crew evacuation began, which was finished by one in the morning on the night of the fourth. After the evacuation of the crew, the hatches in the sail and the stern were shut and dogged. Six officers including the captain remained on the bridge.
At 0146, one of the merchant ships sent a message to the headquarters of the Northern Fleet from the captain of K-219: "Fire in all compartments, dead in the water. Six remaining on the boat. Heavy fire in the lower levels of the fourth and fifth compartments. The captain awaits orders to abandon ship." At 0300 came word from the Northern Fleet Command for all officers, except the captain, to abandon ship.
At 2245 a damage control party led by the XO boarded the submarine and investigated compartments one, two and three. These compartments were dry, pressure was normal and the emergency lights were lighted. Besides that the batteries were only partially discharged, the high pressure air was at only 50 percent and there were no hydralics. The pressure hull of the submarine abover the fourth and seventh compartments were burned - its possible that this is from residual heat from the reactor. The pressure hull in the area around other compartments were at air temperature. The bulkhead between compartments three and four up to the upper edge of the intercompartment hatch was cold but above that it was warm.
When the damage control party returned to the forward part of the boat, they leveled out the trim by blowing the forward ballast tank and began to make preparations to tow the submarine. They couldn't investigate the aft end of the submarine since the aft hatch was flooded. With darkness, work on preparations to tow the boat were suspended and the damage control party left the boat.
(Source: atrinaflot.narod.ru)
Loss of the Boat
At dawn on the 5th, the damage control party continued preparations for towing. At 1815 the Krasnogvardeysk began to tow the boat. The submarine continued to settle a bit and the trim began to get out of adjustment. At 0620 on the 6th of October, the towing line snapped and the forward and aft entry hatches went under water. Because of the list, the damage control team couldn't enter the lower hatch on the sail to enter compartment three. The submarine continued to lose seaworthiness and when the boat sank so that the water came up to the deck, the damage control party abandoned ship. At 1100, when the boat sank up to the sail planes, the captain abandoned ship by the order of the Commander of the Navy. On the 6th of October, 1986, at 1102, K-219 sank.
Investigation
A criminal inquery was launched into the circumstances surrounding the loss of the K-219, an investigation that lasted almost a year. As always, the guilty party turned out to be those people who tried to save men and the ship. The captain, the Politcal Officer and the Engineer were forced out of the service for conduct unbecoming and the crew was dispersed. Out of the entire crew, only Seaman S.A.Preminin received any sort of decoration, the Red Star awarded posthumously. (Later, Preminin was named Hero of the Russian Federation in 1997).
It is necessary to note the heroism of the crew, which maintained normal radiation safety during the accident. The maintenance of the reactor cores and systems up to the moment of the sinking prevented the possibility of a nuclear explosion. The control party and the crew correctly organized damage control efforts. The boat was able to surface. All the compartments were successfully hermetically sealed and the correct air pressure was maintained in compartments three and five. The port reactor was brought up correctly and compartments were investigated and corrective actions taken properly when problems were discovered in the missile launcher. Some of them were remedied. The investigations done allowed evaluation of the situation in the fourth compartment and the ventilation of the fourth, fifth and sixth compartments. As a result of all the measures taken, the situation was temporarily stabilized. Both reactors worked at their ordered power levels, the cooling units worked and the boat had electrical power and a speed of 13 knots when she met the merchant ships. Despite all this the boat's command team did not take all the precautions that they should have to prevent the loss of the boat.
The following was established by the investigative commission:
1. The cause of the accident was a water leak in the number six missile launcher. This led to destruction of the missile airframe and the leak of missile fuel into the launcher. The reason for the leak of water into the launcher in the first place could not be established.
2. The reason why nitric oxide spread from the fourth compartment and contaminated the stern compartments was because investigative teams opened the hatch to the fourth compartment too many times to offer help, to begin venting the air in the compartment, to de-water the launcher and emergency drain the oxidizer. The start up of the pumps and the de-watering of the launcher led to additional discharge of nitric oxide from the launcher into the compartment. It was this that led to the short circuits in distribution panels seven and eight and the fire in the compartment.
3. The reason for the loss of K-219 was uncontrolled flooding of overboard water into the fourth compartment which led to the loss watertight integrity and seaworthiness of the boat. The flooding of the fourth compartment came through the open hatch of launcher six. This led to the flooding of compartments five and six through open ventilation valves between compartments four and five and five and six.
It was the beginning of October 1986. The latest acheivements of Soviet labor blared from the television screens. Although deep in the background were reports of a Soviet submarine catastrophe that went nearly unnoticed - there were only three lines about it in the newspapers - that was a first. It was the first time that they admitted openly that our warships ran into problems off the coasts of America. And the fact that Mikhail Gorbachev informed Ronald Reagan this fact during a meeting in Reykyavik caused one to think about the seriousness of the accident and the possible consequences that those of us for whom the words and phrases "combat patrol", "thermonuclear warhead", "megaton", "TNT equivilent" were nothing more than professional jargon.
Ten years have passed since then (now its more than 20 years). Mass media has more than once tried to cast light on the causes of the loss of the K-219, meanwhile it is impossible to describe in the newspaper the kind of damage suffered by the submarine and the heroic efforts of the crew to save her. I turn you attention to an article written by the President of the Saint Petersburg Submariner's Club K1R (Ret.) Igor' Kirillovich Kurdin, who for a long time served as the XO of Project 667AU SSBN K-219.
The Motherland Says You Must
SSBN K-219 got underway on patrol according to plan on 4 September, 1986. The commander of the submarine, K2R Igor' Anatol'yevich Britanov was an experienced submariner, having been allowed to independently captain a Yankee I SSBN since 1981. While it was his third patrol as commander and his 13th patrol overall, he didn't command his own ship - the watch on board K-219 was actually the first crew of K-241including 31 officers, 38 warrant officers and 49 seamen as well as some highly qualified specialists. But this time preparations to get underway were confused like never before.
The Cold War continued and our Navy (like the Strategic Rocket Forces) carried the burden of strategic deterrance between the two superpowers. The combat forces of the Soviet Navy were the first response to American deployment of the Pershing missile in Europe and patrol areas by our SSBNs were moved closer to American shores. This was done to make the flight time of our missiles to American territory the same as the flight time of American cruise missiles pointed at our military and civilian facilities.
There was pressure to increase patrols to two or three a year. The resources to support this op tempo were pushed to the limits and maintenance wasn't able to keep up. Submariners were in an even more precarious situation - two or three patrols a year, unused leave, and crew muddles became the norm. Under pressure, the high command had to shut their eyes when crews went to sea on boats other than their "home" boat.
An analysis of the sailing list of the combat patrol crew on K-219 shows that eleven of 31 officers were changed out between preparations for sailing and patrol, including many key officers - XO, Missile Officer, Torpedo Officer and the Radio Officer. There was a similar situation in the Warrant ranks - out of 38 warrant officers, 16 were replaced including the two senior warrants in the weapons department. But I never raised a finger to point blame at the then 19th Division Chief of Staff for Personnel, then Rear Admiral N.N. Malov, since five SSBNs were ordered on patrol at that time.
Why didn't the captain himself refuse to take an unprepared, strange boat to sea with a half-unknown crew? Because they just would have replaced Britanov with someone else. But lets turn to the events of 3 October 1986.
(The families of the crew of K-219 at the pier, Gadzievo, August 1986. Source: submarine.id.ru)
Explosion in the Missile Tube
Thirty days in the the deployment, K-219 maneuvered into her assigned water in the Sargasso Sea. The boat came to periscope depth at 0456 on 3 October for the regular broadcast and after five minutes began to dive to 85 meters. Conditions at that moment were the following: the main power plant was operating in single eschelon mode, the starboard reactor was operating at 30 percent while the port reactor was scrammed with all the dampers and the steam generator and turbine were in a ready state; the starboard turbine was turning the screw while the port shaft was hooked up to the emergency electrogenerator.
At 0514, the Missile Officer and the machinist in the fourth (missile) compartment found a leak from the seal around the number six launcher. Under pressure, the water became a stream. After reporting water in launcher six (the third launcher on the port side), the captain ordered a change of depth to 46 meters for safety at 0525. Pumps were turned on to de-water launcher six. At 0532 a reddish-brown fog of oxidizer began to leak from the seal on launcher six in compartment four. The Missile Officer declared an emergency in the compartment and reported the situation to the conn.
Non-essential crew evacuated the fourth compartment. Nine men remained in the affected compartment. The captain sounded general quarters. Within a minute the crew was performing damage control tasks, including sealing the compartments. The boat came to a safe depth. After five minutes, there was an explosion in launcher six at 0538.
Black smoke appeared in compartment four and then water contaminated with missile fuel began to pour into the compartment from destroyed piping in the upper part of the launcher. The captain immediately gave the order to emergency surface. There were other consequences of the explosion: the atmosphere in the fourth compartment was highly toxic and there was about 4.5 tons of water in the bilge; control was temporarily lost over the environmental conditions of the missiles in the rest of the launchers; other systems were damaged: the 1MC, the missile control communications circuit in the fourth and fifth compartments; the R-651 radio transceiver was partially knocked out, lights and lamps in the compartments were broken and the high pressure air piping was damaged. Indicators on the reactor control panel indicated that the 220 volt DC bus on the port side was knocked out, that the automatic valves feeding water to the steam generators on the port side were open and that the seperate valves on the third loop were open. The control panel of the "Kama" electrical system indicated that insulation resistance in both busses had reached zero. Control ordered atmospheric overpressure in the third and fifth compartments as a precaution.
At 0610, the crew in the fifth and sixth compartments (the auxiliary machinery compartment) were transfered to the eighth compartment (turbine). Seven minutes later came word that the fourth compartment would have to be abandoned because of high temperature and toxic gas. The captain ordered the fifth compartment to be prepared to receive the crew of the fourth. At 0635 the crew of the fourth compartment was withdrawn, leaving behind three people, including the Missile Officer. The port emergency generator was brought on line at the order of the Engineer.
A two man emergency party was sent into the fourth compartment at 0645 to evaluate the situation and render assistance to the crew remaining there. But the team could neither find the Missile Officer nor examine the condition of the sixth missile launcher because of heavy smoke. They did drag the bodies of Seaman I.K.Kharchenko and Seaman N.L.Smaglyuk. The team couldn't turn off any electricity consuming equipment in the fourth compartment nor could they find the source of the fire.
The fourth, fifth and sixth compartments were vented to the atmosphere beginning at 0725. At dawn the XO observed the casualty in launcher six from the top of the sail. The launcher hatch was gone, the front section of the missile was not visible, the hinge of the cover was turned to the side, the outer hull around the launcher was damaged, the hydrodynamic covers of launchers one, three, four, five and seven were torn and hung overboard and the deck in the vicinity of the launcher was deformed. Reddish-brown smoke wisped weakly from launcher six.
At 0831 two more men were again sent into compartment four. Atmospheric contamination in the compartment lessened and visibility improved. The flow of water from the upper part of launcher number six stopped. The investigators found the body of the Missile Officer K3R A.V.Petrachkov without signs of life.
By that time they got the overboard drainage pumps for launcher six working and were able to de-water the bilge in the fourth compartment using the main pumps. After turning on the pump to drain the launcher, water and thick smoke began to pour into the compartment from damaged piping in the upper part of the launchers. The pumps were ordered shut off. They removed the body of the Missile Officer, the gas analysis equipment and emergency protection suits.
At 0925 the port reactor was brought on line. Both steam generators were switched on and the level of power was the following - starboard side 30 percent, port side 50 percent.
The captain decided to give the order to emergency drain the oxidizer and de-water the launcher. He instructed four crew members from engineering and weapons departments to go into the fourth compartment with this in mind. All attempts to begin to de-water the launcher led to additional bursts of oxidizer and water steam into the compartment. The next group started the emergency oxidizer drain pumps. Water under pressure flooded the electrical equipment, including the fourth compartment electrical distribution panel. A short circuit occured and a fire broke out in the fourth compartment. The fire burned out the electrical equipment in the compartment and the pumps stopped. Under orders from control, the emergency party evacuated the fourth compartment.
Under orders from control, at 1754 freon flooded the fourth compartment from the chemical extinguishing system in the third compartment and because of damage to the freon supply piping, the freon gas began to leak into the third compartment and so the supply of freon to the fourth compartment was turned off. Around 1800, the atmosphere in the third compartment began to worsen and the levels of nitric oxide in the air reached 10-40 times acceptable levels. The crew in the third compartment was ordered to don protective gear. Some of the crew retreated to the second compartment. The crew was forced to abandon the communications and encryption stations and as a result, radio communications were lost (no situation reports were sent and instructions and advice from Northern Fleet HQ weren't received).
At 1840, investigators opened the hatches between the fourth and fifth compartments. Encountering smoke which they mistook for fire, they reported the situation to control. Control ordered the fifth compartment flooded with freon from the extinguishing station in compartment six.
At 1930, as a result of the loss of the 380 volt, 50 hertz bus on the starboard side, the starboard reactor scrammed and the reactor moderator lattice failed to go into the lowered position.
Twenty minutes later the reactor compartment reported smoke in the lower level of the sixth compartment to control. The compartment was evacuated, the ventilation between the fifth and sixth compartments were closed and people were transfered to the seventh (reactor control) compartment. Soon it was discovered that the hydralic pressure had fallen to zero. In the interests of maintaining safety in the starboard reactor, specialists from the Machinery Division were sent into the reactor compartment to lower the moderator lattice by hand - Senior Lieutenant N.N.Belikov and Seaman S.A.Preminin. After the Sr.Lt. lost consciousness, Preminin lowered the
moderator lattice by himself. At the same time, control ordered the ventilation of compartments eight, nine (turbine) and ten (aft) to the atmosphere and air pressure in those compartments dropped to atmospheric levels, while pressure in compartment seven remained elevated as compared to compartment eight. Because of this, the crew in the eighth compartment couldn't open the hatch to the seventh compartment. Attempts to even the air pressure between the two compartments using equipment in compartment eight, lower level produced thick smoke from the piping. Seaman Preminin was ordered by control to open the exhaust valve to the ventilation, but he couldn't do it. The damage control team in the neighboring compartment couldn't do it either. Seaman Preminin ceased responding to further questions. Ships from the Soviet Merchant Fleet began to approach the area at 2130, including the Fedor Bredikhin, the Krasnogvardeysk and the Bakaritsa. By 2300 (according to reports from the crew), the atmosphere on board became more toxic, the protective gear had exhausted its resources and the temperature of the bulkhead between compartments three and four was rising. Based on the reports, the captain concluded that there was a fire in compartments four, five and six, that pressure was building in compartment seven and that the possibility of fire in compartments eight, nine and ten couldn't be excluded. Given that the resources for the emergency protective equipment had already been expended and that there was the possibility of one of the missiles exploding in compartmets four or five because of fire, the captain of the submarine decided to shut down the port reactor and to prepare to evacuate the crew to the merchant ships.
The port reactor emergency switch was thrown and the reactor put into cooldown mode. The crew evacuation began, which was finished by one in the morning on the night of the fourth. After the evacuation of the crew, the hatches in the sail and the stern were shut and dogged. Six officers including the captain remained on the bridge.
At 0146, one of the merchant ships sent a message to the headquarters of the Northern Fleet from the captain of K-219: "Fire in all compartments, dead in the water. Six remaining on the boat. Heavy fire in the lower levels of the fourth and fifth compartments. The captain awaits orders to abandon ship." At 0300 came word from the Northern Fleet Command for all officers, except the captain, to abandon ship.
At 2245 a damage control party led by the XO boarded the submarine and investigated compartments one, two and three. These compartments were dry, pressure was normal and the emergency lights were lighted. Besides that the batteries were only partially discharged, the high pressure air was at only 50 percent and there were no hydralics. The pressure hull of the submarine abover the fourth and seventh compartments were burned - its possible that this is from residual heat from the reactor. The pressure hull in the area around other compartments were at air temperature. The bulkhead between compartments three and four up to the upper edge of the intercompartment hatch was cold but above that it was warm.
When the damage control party returned to the forward part of the boat, they leveled out the trim by blowing the forward ballast tank and began to make preparations to tow the submarine. They couldn't investigate the aft end of the submarine since the aft hatch was flooded. With darkness, work on preparations to tow the boat were suspended and the damage control party left the boat.
(Source: atrinaflot.narod.ru)
Loss of the Boat
At dawn on the 5th, the damage control party continued preparations for towing. At 1815 the Krasnogvardeysk began to tow the boat. The submarine continued to settle a bit and the trim began to get out of adjustment. At 0620 on the 6th of October, the towing line snapped and the forward and aft entry hatches went under water. Because of the list, the damage control team couldn't enter the lower hatch on the sail to enter compartment three. The submarine continued to lose seaworthiness and when the boat sank so that the water came up to the deck, the damage control party abandoned ship. At 1100, when the boat sank up to the sail planes, the captain abandoned ship by the order of the Commander of the Navy. On the 6th of October, 1986, at 1102, K-219 sank.
Investigation
A criminal inquery was launched into the circumstances surrounding the loss of the K-219, an investigation that lasted almost a year. As always, the guilty party turned out to be those people who tried to save men and the ship. The captain, the Politcal Officer and the Engineer were forced out of the service for conduct unbecoming and the crew was dispersed. Out of the entire crew, only Seaman S.A.Preminin received any sort of decoration, the Red Star awarded posthumously. (Later, Preminin was named Hero of the Russian Federation in 1997).
It is necessary to note the heroism of the crew, which maintained normal radiation safety during the accident. The maintenance of the reactor cores and systems up to the moment of the sinking prevented the possibility of a nuclear explosion. The control party and the crew correctly organized damage control efforts. The boat was able to surface. All the compartments were successfully hermetically sealed and the correct air pressure was maintained in compartments three and five. The port reactor was brought up correctly and compartments were investigated and corrective actions taken properly when problems were discovered in the missile launcher. Some of them were remedied. The investigations done allowed evaluation of the situation in the fourth compartment and the ventilation of the fourth, fifth and sixth compartments. As a result of all the measures taken, the situation was temporarily stabilized. Both reactors worked at their ordered power levels, the cooling units worked and the boat had electrical power and a speed of 13 knots when she met the merchant ships. Despite all this the boat's command team did not take all the precautions that they should have to prevent the loss of the boat.
The following was established by the investigative commission:
1. The cause of the accident was a water leak in the number six missile launcher. This led to destruction of the missile airframe and the leak of missile fuel into the launcher. The reason for the leak of water into the launcher in the first place could not be established.
2. The reason why nitric oxide spread from the fourth compartment and contaminated the stern compartments was because investigative teams opened the hatch to the fourth compartment too many times to offer help, to begin venting the air in the compartment, to de-water the launcher and emergency drain the oxidizer. The start up of the pumps and the de-watering of the launcher led to additional discharge of nitric oxide from the launcher into the compartment. It was this that led to the short circuits in distribution panels seven and eight and the fire in the compartment.
3. The reason for the loss of K-219 was uncontrolled flooding of overboard water into the fourth compartment which led to the loss watertight integrity and seaworthiness of the boat. The flooding of the fourth compartment came through the open hatch of launcher six. This led to the flooding of compartments five and six through open ventilation valves between compartments four and five and five and six.
Peter the Great Update: Avast Ye Scurvy Dogs and Prepare to Be Boarded!
Gist: Board a captured ship and free the hostages alive. This is what Marine Spetznaz practiced today aboard ships in the Mediterranean Sea. Spetznaz repelled out a KA-27 and boarded the hijacked ship, which was played by the Peter the Great. The Northern Fleet ships have joined with ships from the Baltic and Black Sea fleets on their way to exercises with Venezuela. They also practiced a medevac from one of the tankers and Marines practiced hand to hand combat. They will conduct a demonstration in one of the foreign ports.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
What the heck?
What the heck is this, beyond "a Russian submarine?"
The picture was allegedly taken in July of this year in the south of Crimea. It's flying the Russian Naval Ensign, and since it obviously isn't the Kilo class Alrosa, it might be Tango class B-380, although this picture looks a little different.
The picture was allegedly taken in July of this year in the south of Crimea. It's flying the Russian Naval Ensign, and since it obviously isn't the Kilo class Alrosa, it might be Tango class B-380, although this picture looks a little different.
Peter the Great Update: PtG Enters the Med
Nothing in here worth gisting, just nice video of the Straits of Gibraltar while the Peter the Great steams toward Tripoli, Libya.
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