SSGN Kursk, Post-Soviet Tragedy

[Taz]

Although the "KURSK" sinking, being more recent remains clear in everybodys memory it was not the first and unfortunatly probably not the last tragic Submarine accident.
On a spring morning in 1989 another tragedy occured.
Here is a short account of events from the Bellona site.

'Golden Fish'

Komsomolets, called the 'Golden Fish' among the Northern Fleet's officers, was the only submarine of the Mike class. It was one of the most advanced submarines in the navy because of its ability to dive nearly twice as deep as most.
Cruising submerged at 1000 meters it could elude NATO anti-submarine systems and bring its two nuclear warheads right up to North America's eastern seaboard.

But the ill-fated Komsomolets was never allowed to fulfil its promise.

In April, 1989, the nuclear submarine K-278, Komsomolets, (Project 685 - Mike class) sank in the Norwegian Sea.
Komsomolets was a unique titanium-hulled submarine that could dive to depths of 1000 metres.
On the morning of April 7, 1989, the vessel was on the way back to her base at Zapadnaya Litsa, positioned at a depth of 160m approximately 180km south of Bear Island. At 11:03 the alarm sounded due to a fire in the seventh compartment. Eleven minutes after the fire had broken out, the vessel surfaced. However, the fire had caused short circuits in the electrical system which set off the reactor's emergency systems. The fire was so fierce that a leak was sprung in the compressed air system, and this led in turn to a spreading of the fire. Attempts by the crew to extinguish the flames were futile.
The submarine lost power, and finally ran out of compressed air. By 17:00, the leak had worsened, and the submarine lost buoyancy and stability. The crew began to be evacuated into life rafts, but there were not enough rafts. The life rafts that were lowered were too far away for the crew to reach. At 17:08, the submarine sank at a depth of 1685 meters, with a loss of 41 lives and her commander. The ship Aleksandr Khlobystsov which came to the rescue after 81 minutes took aboard 25 survivors and 5 fatalities. The exact cause of the fire is unknown. One speculation is that the concentration of oxygen in the seventh compartment was too high, setting off short circuits in the electrical system.

The nuclear submarine Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea on April 7, 1989, south of Bear Island. The submarine sank with its reactor and two nuclear warheads on board, and lies at a depth of 1 685 metres.

It has also been asserted that shortly before the accident, the vessel had completed a test that indicated it was not seaworthy. Others claim that K-278's crew was not qualified to serve on the Komsomolets.

Here is the Memorial Badge for the K-278

Eddie.