On August 12, 2000, one of the greatest tragedies in the history of the military fleet occurred. The Russian submarine “Kursk“ sank.
In the first days after the incident, numerous versions and rumors arose about the causes of the death of the modern submarine with one of the best crews. However, the relatives of the dead sailors will never come to terms with the loss of their husbands, fathers and sons.
On August 10, 2000, the nuclear submarine missile cruiser “Kursk” went on exercises with the Northern Fleet. On the morning of August 12, it conditionally attacked with the cruise missile “Granit” squadron, led by the aircraft carrier „Admiral Kuznetsov” and the flagship of the fleet, the nuclear cruiser „Peter the Great”. A few hours later, the submarine was supposed to finish off the conditional opponent with training torpedoes.
At the appointed time, instead of the movement of the torpedo, the hydroacoustic system of the cruiser „Peter the Great” surprisingly registered a loud sound....
Chronology of events
2000
August 13, 04:35 Moscow time > at a depth of 108 meters, the hydroacoustic equipment of the cruiser „Peter the Great” was discovered, the submarine „Kursk”
August 13-14 • rescue vehicles unsuccessfully try to attach to the “Kursk”
August 16-19 • foreign specialists are involved in the operation
August 21 • Norwegian divers find that the hatch of the ninth compartment is filled with water. The entire crew of the submarine has died.
October 21 - November 7 • the bodies of 12 submariners are removed
2001
October 8 • part of the submarine is raised to the surface
2001-2002
The bodies of the sailors are removed from the submarine. Out of 118 people, 115 have been identified
2002
May • an operation was carried out to remove fragments from the first compartment of the submarine
July 26 • The Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation announced the cause of the incident: an explosion in the torpedo compartment during preparation for firing
November 5 • the last of the seven "Granit" cruise missiles removed from the submarine's hull was destroyed
2003
August • a three-compartment block of the "Kursk" was delivered to a base for temporary storage. The metal from the submarine's lightweight hull was sold to a Western company