Soviet submarine K-8
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K-8 was a November class submarine of the Soviet Northern Fleet.
On 13 October 1960, while operating in the Barents Sea, K-8 suffered a rupture of a steam generator tube, causing a loss of coolant accident. The crew jury-rigged a system for supplying emergency cooling water to the reactor, and thereby prevented a core melt in the reactor. Large amounts of radioactive gases leaked out which contaminated the entire vessel. The true activity of the gases could not be determined because instrumentation could not measure such large dose rates. Three of the crew suffered visible radiation injuries, and many crewmen were exposed to doses of up to 1.8 – 2 Sv (180 – 200 rem).
Russian officials confirmed in 2004 that on 10 January 1970, K-8 received orders to lay a number of tactical atomic torpedoes as naval mines in the Bay of Naples, to be used against the United States Sixth Fleet. The successfulness of her mission is not directly known.
Four months later, on 8 April 1970, K-8 suffered fires in two compartments simulateously. The captain ordered "abandon ship," saving his crew, but was countermanded. 52 crewmen, including the captain, re-boarded the submarine, and were lost when she sank in rough seas while being towed in the Bay of Biscay. Since only four of her initial load-out of 24 nuclear mines were found in the wreck, the Italian government is concerned that twenty nuclear weapons may lie in the ocean floor in the Bay of Naples.
References
- The Bellona Foundation (http://bellona.no) — Bellona material is ©, but "reuse and reprint recommended provided source is stated."
- Memo from Prof. Mario Scaramella, advisor to the Mitrokhin Commission, to Dott. Guido Bertolaso, Capo Dipartimento della Protezione Civile (Chief of the Department of Civil Protection)
| November-class submarine |
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K-3 | K-5 | K-8 | K-52 | K-21 | K-11 | K-181 | K-159 | K-50 (K-60) |
| List of Soviet and Russian submarines List of Soviet and Russian submarine classes |