Sixteen Years Ago Today… In Remembrance of the K141 “Kursk” and Her Crew

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СВЕТЛАЯ ПАМЯТЬ … BRIGHT MEMORY

On 12 August 2000, an accident in a training exercise in the Barents Sea led to the disaster of the sinking of the PLARK K 141 Kursk, a  Nuclear-powered Cruise Missile Submarine (SSGN/PLARK) of the Project 949A Antei class. The Kursk ended on the seafloor 108 metres below the surface. We remember; we mourn! This was one of the most tragic dates at the beginning of the third millennium. K141 Kursk was laid down in Severodvinsk in 1992, launched in May 1994, and joined the fleet on 30 December 1994. From 1995 to 2000, it was a unit of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation. In March 1995, Bishop Ioann, Rector of the Belgorodsky Seminary, blessed the submarine and its crewmen. Then, Vladyki Ioann gave the ship a copy of the 700-year-old icon of the Most Holy Birthgiver of Kursk; he also gave each submariner a small icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker, to be a protector and intercessor. In 1999, during an operation off Yugoslavia, Kursk covertly surveilled the US Navy warship Theodore Roosevelt, whose planes were bombing Yugoslavia. During this time, Kursk completed five simulated attacks on the Roosevelt, all of which were successful. On 12 August 2000, Kursk took part in exercises, with 24 cruise missiles and a full load of torpedoes onboard. The Kursk tried to launch cruise missiles at a target, but an accident occurred… the sub sank to the ocean floor 108 metres under the surface of the Barents Sea, 175 kilometres from Severomorsk. Captain of the First Rank Lyachin and the entire crew died… in all, there were 118 victims. Later on, the Navy returned the remains of the majority of them to the surface and buried them together. On 26 August 2000, President Putin signed a decree honouring the memory of the crew. On 11 September 2000, one of the mountains in the central Caucasus mountain range received the name “Kursk”… to commemorate the crew of the submarine.

11 August 2016

Russia-Российская Федерация

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1 October 2013. A Photo Essay. Our Great Russian Motherland… The Kola Peninsula in Autumn

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One of the most northernmost parts of Russia is the Kola Peninsula. The ice-free port of Murmansk is here, along with the main Northern Fleet bases of Polyarny and Severomorsk. The Peninsula lies completely within Murmansk Oblast, and virtually all of the oblast’s territory is on the Peninsula. This is one of the most militarily-significant regions in Russia, the main base for Russia’s submarine strategic nuclear deterrent force is here (although Sevmash, the builder of all Russian nuclear-powered submarines, is in Severodvinsk near Arkhangelsk). Nevertheless, most of the Peninsula is wild, with the total population of 800,000 spread over an area of 144,900 square kilometres (55,946 square miles)… 40 percent of the population is in the single city of Murmansk. Most of the people live in a small area between Polyarny on the Barents Sea and Kandalaksha on the White Sea.

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21 September 2013. RIA-Infographics. Project 949A Antei Nuclear-Powered Cruise Missile Submarines (SSGN/PLARK)

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The famed submarine K141 Kursk, lost in northern waters under murky circumstances, was of this class.

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Nuclear-powered Cruise Missile Submarines (SSGN/PLARK) of the Project 949A Antei class have the mission of destroying enemy aircraft carrier battle groups and other surface targets. Distinguishing characteristics of this class are negligible noise levels, remarkable manoeuvrability, and high submerged speed. To find out more about this class of submarines, known throughout the fleet as “the aircraft carrier killers”, see our infographic.

In the morning on 16 September, a fire broke out during welding on the PLARK K150 Tomsk, at the Zvezda shipyard in Bolshoi Kamen in Primorsky Krai. No one was injured in the fire, and there was no radioactive leakage. The proximate cause of the fire was a violation of safety regulations. The Tomsk was laid down on 27 August 1991 at Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk. On 13 April 1993, the government of Tomsk Oblast  took on sponsorship of the ship, resulting in it being named Tomsk. In July 1996, the submarine was launched. In March 1997, the Tomsk became part of the Northern Fleet; on 9 October 1998, the sub was transferred to the Pacific Fleet, with a homeport at Krasheninnikov Bay in Kamchatka. Click here for technical details of the Tomsk.

16 September 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://ria.ru/infografika/20130916/963544904.html

http://www.en.rian.ru/infographics/20130916/183500034/Project-949A-Antey-Submarines.html