Red Sparrow / Kursk [2DVD] (English audio. English subtitles)

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The crew of the submarine Karelia detected the explosion, but the captain assumed that it was part of the exercise. [18] Aboard Pyotr Velikiy, the target of the practice launch, the crew detected a hydroacoustic signal characteristic of an underwater explosion and felt their hull shudder. [19] They reported the phenomenon to fleet headquarters but their report was ignored. [18]

At 04:50 on Sunday, 13 August, personnel aboard Pyotr Velikiy detected two anomalies on the seabed that might be the boat. At 09:00, Mikhail Rudnitsky arrived at the location. While setting anchor, its crew interpreted an acoustic sound as an SOS from the submarine, but soon concluded the noise had been produced by the anchor chain striking the anchor hole. At 11:30, Mikhail Rudnitsky prepared to lower the AS-34, which entered the water at 17:30. At 18:30, at a depth of 100m (300ft) and at a speed of 2kn (3.7km/h), the AS-34 reported colliding with an object, and through a porthole, the crew saw the Kursk 's propeller and stern stabiliser. With the AS-34 damaged by the collision and forced to surface, the crew of Mikhail Rudnitsky began preparing the AS-32 for operation. [19] vessels' ability to detect the submarine. The inner pressure hull was made of high-quality 50mm (2in) steel plate. The two hulls were separated by a 1-to-2m (3-to-7ft) gap. The inner hull was divided into nine water-tight compartments. The boat was 155m (509ft), about as long as two jumbo jets. [9] [10]

They found that dust and ash inside compartment nine severely restricted visibility. As they gradually worked their way inside the compartment and down two levels, Warrant Officer Sergei Shmygin found the remains of Captain-lieutenant Dmitry Kolesnikov. [39] All the men had been badly burned. [16] The divers cut additional holes in the hull over the third and fourth compartments. [41] The Russian divers removed secret documents and eventually recovered a total of 12 bodies from the ninth compartment. This contradicted earlier statements made by senior Russian officials that all the submariners had died before the submarine hit the bottom. [31] They also found the boat's log, but had to suspend work because of severe weather. [28] The rescue teams conducted continuous radiation measurements inside and outside the submarine, but none of the readings exceeded normal ranges. [16]

Would the families of the 118 sailors who died in the disaster ever find it possible to forgive the men responsible for allowing such notoriously unstable weapons on board? But these explanations seemed to contradict Russian claims about the Kursk's impregnability. It seemed inconceivable that the double hull and nine water-tight compartments of the submarine could have been punctured by anything but the most violent explosion. All 118 crewmen lost their lives in the disaster: a devastating blow to Russian military pride and the reputation of the recently elected President Vladimir Putin, who refused to cut short his holiday to deal with the crisis. What followed was a media storm, with accusations of a cover up and a major political misfire by the newly elected President Vladmir Putin, who had refused to cut short his holiday while his submariners were dying. At 11:29:34 (07:29:34 GMT), seismic detectors at the Norwegian seismic array (NORSAR) and in other locations around the world recorded a seismic event of magnitude 1.5 on the Richter scale. [15] The location was fixed at coordinates 69°38′N 37°19′E / 69.633°N 37.317°E / 69.633; 37.317, north-east of Murmansk, approximately 250km (160mi) from Norway, and 80km (50mi) from the Kola Peninsula. [16] Secondary event [ edit ]Kursk had a mythical standing. It was reputedly unsinkable and, it was claimed, could withstand a direct hit from a torpedo. [9] The outer hull was constructed using 8mm (0.3in) steel plate covered by up to 80mm (3in) of rubber, which minimised other submarines' or surface Maintenance records revealed that the 65-76 "Kit" practice torpedo carried by Kursk came from a batch of 10 manufactured in 1990, six of which were rejected due to faulty welding. An investigation revealed that because the torpedoes were not intended to carry warheads, the welds had not been inspected as carefully as welds on torpedoes carrying warheads. When salvage crews finally recovered the remains of the torpedo and the launch tube, analysis determined that both bore signs of distortion and heat damage that were consistent with an explosion near the middle of the torpedo, very close to an essential welded joint. The official conclusion of the commission was that a faulty weld had led to the explosion. [71] Escape capsule inaccessible [ edit ] The Guardian wrote in a 2002 review of two books, Kursk, Russia's Lost Pride and A Time to Die: The Kursk Disaster: Only seven of the submarine’s twenty-four torpedoes were accounted for – the rest likely detonated during the accident. The lies began with the sinking of the Kursk," Kuznetsov says. "When the Kursk sank, the government began interfering with the legal and law-enforcement systems. The government began gathering all the mass media under its control. The entire process of undermining democracy in Russia, in many regards, began with this."

Walk the fine line between gathering secret information, getting to know important people and getting caught spying. On Monday 14 August, Fleet Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov stated the accident had been caused by a serious collision with a NATO submarine, [30] although he gave no evidence to support his statement. [20] Senior commanders of the Russian Navy repeated this account for more than two years after the disaster. Many who wished for continued poor relations between Russia and the West supported this scenario. [20] Dunmore, Spencer (2002), Lost Subs: From the "Hunley" to the "Kursk", the Greatest Submarines Ever Lost – And Found. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo. ISBN 0-306-81140-5 However, he warned that the trip could be hampered by bad weather which would stop the salvage team from taking the shortest route possible.Outside the port city of Severodvinsk where the submarine was built, a large granite slab was erected on the sand dunes. It is engraved, "This sorrowful stone is set in memory of the crew of the nuclear submarine Kursk, who tragically died on 12 August 2000, while on military duty." [23] Other memorials were built in Moscow, [115] Sevastopol, Nizhny Novgorod, and Severomorsk. [71] A memorial was erected in Serafimovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, [116] and the city of Kursk, after which the vessel was named, erected a memorial made from fragments of its hull. [117] Our main task today is to remember our heroes, remember the commander, and remember the crew. We want all our residents, and all Russians, to once again return to those events,” St. Petersburg official Aleksandr Rzhanenkov told a press conference on August 10. While the submarine was still being lifted, the barge pulled up its eight anchors and began drifting slowly to choose the optimum position to minimise roll. It was revealing that the US Coast Guard yesterday declined to offer even the outline of a technical solution. The open valve in the ventilation system allowed the huge blast wave and possibly the fire and toxic smoke to enter the second and perhaps the third and fourth compartments, as well. Although the sub was at periscope depth with its radio antennas extended, no one in the command post was able to send a distress signal or press a single button that would initiate an emergency ballast tank blow and bring the submarine to the surface. [73] [14] All 36 men in the command post located in the second compartment were immediately incapacitated by the blast wave and likely killed. [26] Secondary explosion [ edit ]