The fire on the Daniil Moskovsky was the first accident that resulted in the death of people on submarines of this type. Two more names were added to the list, opened on June 26, 1904 with the death of 25 people on the first Russian submarine Dolphin. Midshipman Rafim Shabanov and contract sailor Igor Etyuev were killed on board the Project 671RTMK K-414 nuclear submarine "St. Daniel of Moscow".
On September 7, 2006, the Russian submarine fleet suffered further losses. Two more names were added to the list, opened on June 26, 1904 with the death of 25 people on the first Russian submarine Dolphin. Midshipman Rafim Shabanov and contract sailor Igor Etyuev were killed on board the Project 671RTMK K-414 nuclear submarine "St. Daniel of Moscow".
Soviet submarines rarely had names. They were replaced by two- and three-digit numbers after the letters indicating the class of a particular submarine (small, medium, large, cruising). In those cases where names were given, these were, as a rule, dry official phrases - “Leninsky Komsomol”, “50 years of the USSR”, “In the name of the 60th anniversary of the Komsomol” and the like. The code (number) and names of Soviet submarine projects were shrouded in the darkness of state secrets - many experts both in the USSR and in the West 20 years ago were confused in the endless series of three-digit numbers - 627 and 670, 613 and 641, 877 and 667, 705 and 941. When When it came to the letters denoting the subtype of boat, the confusion became even greater.
As a result, the West adopted its own classification of Soviet submarines (though not only them). Submarines were designated by one of the letters of the “phonetic alphabet,” where each Latin letter was designated by a word for ease of understanding. A-Alpha, B-Bravo, C-Charlie, and so on. The system was adopted in the 50s, when no one imagined that in less than thirty years all 26 letters would be occupied, and many of them would immediately mean entire families of submarines. One of these “communal letters” was V. In 1966, having received information about the construction of a new nuclear torpedo boat in the USSR, NATO named it Victor. The nameless officer who classified the new "Ivan" turned out to be a prophet - few Soviet nuclear submarines were more suited to the name, translated into Russian as "Winner". A rare Soviet submarine received in the West, in addition to the official letter, also its own nickname. "Victors", for their elegant appearance and excellent performance characteristics, were awarded the respectful name Black Prince, given to them by English sailors.
In the domestic nomenclature of projects of Soviet nuclear submarines, type V boats were designated as “project 671 “Ruff”. “Ruff” became the first Soviet nuclear-powered submarine, the main task of which was to hunt not for enemy surface ships, but for their own kind. It was an underwater hunter, something that in the West they call it Hunter-Killer.The design of the boat began in 1959, as soon as the first results of the operation of the K-3 Leninsky Komsomol nuclear submarine, the Soviet nuclear first-born of Project 627, were collected and summarized.
The designers were tasked with creating a submarine capable of conducting successful underwater combat, which required low noise, good maneuverability and powerful hydroacoustic equipment. At the same time, the boat had to maintain good capabilities for destroying enemy surface ships, which led to the retention of powerful torpedo weapons - six bow tubes instead of four on the American "hunters", and its placement scheme - all tubes are concentrated in the bow of the boat, unlike the American ones Submarines in which the devices are installed in the center of the hull at an angle and brought out on board. This scheme made it possible to fire at full speed, while the American scheme limited the speed during firing to 11 knots, which is sufficient in a “sneaky” underwater battle, but too low to intercept a high-speed squad of warships. In addition, the “Soviet” scheme greatly simplified the loading of torpedoes, both at the base and at sea. However, such a scheme had to be paid for by the reduced capabilities of the sonar system - it was impossible to place a large-diameter spherical antenna in the nose, occupied by torpedo tubes.
Many unusual solutions for the Soviet fleet were introduced on the boats - in particular, the Yorsh had one propeller shaft and one propeller instead of the two usual for its predecessors. With equal power of the power plant, the single-shaft design improved the hydrodynamic characteristics of the boat, which made it possible to reduce noise at equal speeds. At the same time, the boat had two nuclear reactors, which increased the reliability of the main power plant as a whole.
The lead nuclear submarine of Project 671 was laid down on April 12, 1963 at the Admiralty Shipyard in Leningrad. The naval flag on the lead "Ruff" was raised on November 5, 1967. Over the next seven years, the USSR Navy received 14 more boats of this type. The displacement of the future Victor-I was 4250 tons on the surface and 6085 tons submerged, length - 92.5 meters, maximum diving depth - 400 meters, and working depth of 320 meters. The full submerged speed exceeded 33 knots, which was 4-5 knots more than that of the American classmates. Boats of this type were in service until the early to mid-90s and lived an eventful life, making many trips to combat service in the most remote areas of the ocean. Compared to early Soviet nuclear submarines, Project 671 boats had much greater hydroacoustics capabilities and reduced noise, but were still inferior in these indicators to their overseas rivals.
Work on the modernized Project 671 began even before the lead "Ruff" was laid down at the Admiralty Shipyard. The fleet demanded that the boat's torpedo armament be strengthened in connection with the appearance of "supercarriers" in the US Navy - for giants like the Fourestal with a displacement of under 80 thousand tons and the nuclear Enterprise, which exceeded 90 thousand, a salvo of 533-mm torpedoes might not be enough. As a result, it was decided to replace two of the six 533 mm devices with 650 mm ones. "Large torpedoes", traveling 50 kilometers at a speed of 50 knots (over 90 kilometers per hour) and equipped with a powerful warhead, were capable of disabling an aircraft carrier or battleship with one hit. To reliably hit targets, some of the torpedoes were equipped with a nuclear warhead. In addition to 650-mm torpedoes, the modernized boats received the Vyuga anti-submarine missile system.
In addition, the boat received an improved sonar system and was less noisy than its predecessor. The lead boat of Project 671RT "Salmon" - K-387 was laid down at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in Nizhny Novgorod on April 2, 1971 and delivered to the fleet on December 30, 1972. In total, by the end of 1978, the fleet accepted 7 submarines of Project 671RT, which served in the Northern Fleet until mid 90s. Due to the lengthening by one compartment, the new boat was larger than the head "Ruffs". The total displacement exceeded 7000 tons, and the length was 100 meters. As a result, the speed decreased slightly and amounted to 32 knots.
In the late 60s - early 70s, the USSR began designing third-generation multi-purpose nuclear submarines. Titanium boats of Project 945 "Barracuda" were supposed to become the "main trump card" of the Soviet nuclear submarine fleet of the 80-90s. But the excessive cost and labor intensity of building a titanium submarine forced the command of the USSR Navy to begin work on two “reserve” projects in case the Barracuda (received the designation S - Sierra in the West) turned out to be too expensive. The “replacement players” were projects 671RTM “Shchuka” and 971 “Shchuka-B”, also known as “Bars”. The decision was correct - it was these two types of boats that determined the face of the Soviet and post-Soviet nuclear submarine fleet.
671RTM, produced in 26 copies, became the most popular Soviet torpedo submarine. Victor III, as it was called in NATO, turned out to be a worthy rival to the newest American multi-purpose nuclear submarine of the Los Angeles class. Started as an improved nuclear-powered vessel of the 2nd generation, Project 671RTM smoothly moved into the third generation in terms of equipment capabilities and performance characteristics. The new Victors had a record low noise level among Soviet nuclear submarines of the same age, approaching in this indicator the submarines of the US Navy, and powerful hydroacoustics, which made it possible to play “underwater cat and mouse” more or less on equal terms. 671RTM became the largest among the Victors - the length of the boat reached 107 meters, and the displacement reached 7250 tons. The full underwater speed was 31 knots - less than on the early boats, but about the same as that of the main opponent - the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine. The maximum diving depth for Project 671RTM boats is 600 meters.
The lead boat of Project 671RTM was laid down in Leningrad on June 7, 1976 and delivered to the fleet on December 28, 1977. In total, until September 1992, 13 nuclear submarines of this type were built in Leningrad. Another 13 boats were built in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Some of the boats were completed according to Project 671RTMK - they were armed with Granat strategic cruise missiles launched from torpedo tubes. These missiles, with a maximum firing range of up to 3,000 kilometers and equipped with a high-precision guidance system, have become an analogue of the American Tomahawk missiles.
Victor-III distinguished itself in many episodes. These boats are responsible for a secretive breakthrough through the boundaries of the SOSUS underwater tracking system, which proved to NATO that even the huge costs of littering the bottom of the North Atlantic with noise direction finders do not guarantee the detection of the latest Soviet nuclear submarines. The Pike became the first Soviet boat to detect and track the ultra-quiet American Ohio-class missile carriers. In December 1983, the K-324 nuclear submarine crept close to the American frigate McCloy and accidentally tore off the towed antenna of the newest sonar system with its propeller, giving the USSR Navy a most valuable trophy. The boat, which had wound a long cable with sensors around the propeller, had to surface, but the Americans were unable to take the loot from K-324. Soon the boat was towed to Havana, and the antenna was delivered by plane to the USSR.
"Pikes" are the only representatives of the 671st project remaining in service. Five boats of this type are in service in the Northern Fleet. Most of the rest are under conservation.
All "Victors" - from "Ruff" to "Pike" - in addition to their outstanding combat properties, were valuable for one more quality. From November 5, 1967 to September 7, 2006, none of the 47 boats of this project that served in the USSR and Russian Navy there was not a single fatal accident, which boats of many other designs are notorious for.Two people who died on September 7, 2006 on board the Daniil of Moscow became the first victims that the sea was able to take from the Black Prince.
Ilya Kramnik, Lenta.Ru
The nuclear submarine K-324 of project 671RTM (K) was launched on September 7, 1980. On January 24, 1981, it became part of the 45th Division of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla of the Pacific Fleet. In 1983, K-234 made an under-ice trans-Arctic inter-fleet transition in a westerly direction from Krasheninnikov Bay to Zapadnaya Litsa Bay and was included in the 33rd Division of the 1st Submarine Flotilla.
Project 671RTM (K) “Pike” is a series of second generation Soviet nuclear torpedo submarines. It is a further modification of Project 671 “Ruff” based on Project 671RT “Salmon”. A total of 25 boats of this type were built at the shipyards of Komsomolsk-on-Amur and Leningrad. These submarines are distinguished by a low level of external noise and in this indicator are close to the American Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines.
The Pike, designated Victor III class by NATO, served as the backbone of the USSR's multi-mission nuclear submarine fleet in the 1980s and early 1990s. In the navy, the project was considered extremely successful; sailors loved these ships for their high performance, convenience, and reliability. Not a single ship was lost, and there were no serious accidents on any of them. In the West, for its elegant appearance and impressiveness, this project received the respectful name “Black Prince”.
An additional set of measures was adopted for the project, designed to increase the stealth of a nuclear submarine through the introduction of fundamentally new solutions for shock absorption, acoustic decoupling of structures and mechanisms. The submarine received a demagnetization device, which made it difficult for aircraft magnetometers to detect nuclear submarines.
The Skat-KS hydroacoustic complex installed on the project provided detection and classification of targets, as well as their automatic tracking in noise direction finding mode.
The complex made it possible to detect targets using echo direction finding in the infrasound and sound frequency ranges with measuring the distance to them and provided the torpedo weapon with initial target designation data.
The armament of the Project 671RTM nuclear submarine included 4 torpedo tubes of 533 mm caliber and 2 of 650 mm caliber, Granat cruise missiles, 24 torpedoes, or 34 mines. In addition, the Project 671RTM submarines used the new Shkval anti-submarine missile systems.
The complex included an underwater ultra-high-speed missile, which reached speeds of up to 200 knots, with a range of 11 km. These characteristics were achieved through a set of projectile movement in a gas cavity, which ensured a reduction in hydrodynamic resistance.
The missile, which was equipped with a nuclear warhead, was controlled using an inertial system that is not sensitive to interference.
To this day, there are no analogues to the Shkval complex, which has an almost absolute probability of hitting targets that fall within its reach, in other countries.
However, the most important improvement introduced on the Project 671RTM nuclear submarine was a fundamentally new type of weapon - strategic small-sized subsonic cruise missiles "Granat" with a maximum firing range of 3000 km.
Equipping nuclear submarines with cruise missiles has turned them into multi-purpose ships capable of solving a wide range of tasks, both in conventional and nuclear wars. In terms of their weight and size characteristics, the Granat missile launchers were virtually no different from standard torpedoes. This made it possible to use them from standard torpedo tubes.
Also, a nuclear submarine could carry special guided sabotage missiles “Sirena” as well as other “special purpose” weapons, most of which had no analogues in the world.
So for project 671 MRI (K) at the Design Bureau named after. Kamov created a single-seat folding helicopter, the Ka-56, which was designed to transport saboteurs, and capable of being fired from a 533-mm TA of a submerged submarine.
The nuclear submarine K-324 was the seventh submarine of Project 671 RTM. Despite her lucky number, she was constantly haunted by dangerous “mystical incidents.” When launching from the slipway onto the water, on the keel of the nuclear submarine four times in a row, a bottle of traditional champagne did not break.
During state tests in the Sea of Japan, on April 3, 1981, she almost became a tragic victim of ramming an unknown submarine. According to Japanese press reports, it was a Chinese Han-class nuclear submarine, which sank due to a collision. K-324, having received a powerful blow underwater, immediately returned to the plant and docked.
In October 1983, a scandalous sensation: during the combat operations of the US fleet off the coast of Grenada, the American media published photographs of the Soviet multi-purpose nuclear submarine K-324 that emergency surfaced in the Sargasso Sea off the coast of the United States.
I became aware of this accident with the nuclear submarine K-324 in October 1983. And the accident itself is firmly connected in memory with the tragic events of the American invasion of Grenada.
At this time, I served in the Group of Soviet military specialists in Cuba, which had friendly relations with Grenada, so warm that the Cuban builders who built the airfield in Grenada took part in hostilities against the United States.
The US destroyers that arrived at the site of the K-324 nuclear submarine accident and posed a threat to our submarine were part of the naval group that besieged Grenada.
I will describe the incident in chronological order, using not only the testimony of eyewitnesses with whom I was able to talk on fresh tracks, but also later publications, if they do not contradict what I learned then.
In September 1983. K-324 left the Western Litsa piers for the Western Atlantic. This was the time when US President Reagan, calling the USSR an “evil empire,” decided to surround our country with Pershing missile systems located in Western Europe. The flight time of these missiles to Moscow was reduced to 5-6 minutes.
But the Soviet leadership, led by Yu.V. Andropov, was preparing retaliatory measures: to advance to the shores of America underwater missile launch sites in the form of nuclear cruisers with missiles, and the same 5-6 minutes of flight time.
Knowing this, the American fleet hastily prepared to repel the underwater threat. To more reliably search for Soviet missile carriers, the latest TASS underwater surveillance system was developed, using a unique low-frequency hydroacoustic antenna.
The frigate McCloy sailed into the Sargasso Sea to test it. A long cable-hose of a secret antenna stretched behind him for half a kilometer. A sonar capsule was attached to the very end. Such a towed device helped to catch all the noise coming from the ocean depths, even in the frequency range not audible to the human ear, the inevitable satellites of submarines.
Before surfacing for the next communication session, the K-324 acoustics identified a distant target. But as the submarine approached the surface, acoustics began to report that the distance between the target and the boat was rapidly decreasing.
The target turned out to be the frigate McCloy, towing a new sonar system undergoing testing. Since silence was needed to test the complex, noise reduction measures were carried out on the destroyer, thanks to which its propellers and engines worked unusually quietly. Therefore, initially, the distance to the target was determined incorrectly.
When it became clear that the frigate was nearby, the commander of the nuclear submarine ordered an emergency dive, sneaking under the bottom of the destroyer on electric motors, and conducting technical reconnaissance, recording the parameters of the latest anti-submarine search system.
The commander of the McCloy was completely unaware that a Soviet submarine had been following under the bottom of his frigate for 14 hours, masking its noise in the hum of the McCloy's turbines. She would have followed the frigate further if the frigate had not unexpectedly changed course, heading to its base.
Apparently, during this unexpected maneuver, the K-324 caught the antenna cable of the towed sonar system.
The submarine did not immediately notice that the antenna was hooked. Only two days later, when the heavy-duty antenna cable wound tightly around the submarine’s propeller and jammed the turbine. As a result, the turbine emergency protection system was activated and the submarine lost speed.
The commander of the K-324, Captain 1st Rank Vadim Terekhin, recalls:
“From 00 to 8 o’clock in the morning on October 25, I was on watch at the central post, Speed 12 knots, we are going at a depth of about 100 meters. At 3 o'clock I decided to drink tea. As soon as I sat down, the body vibrated and an emergency alarm sounded. The turbine emergency protection has activated. We've lost our way.
Our boat is single-shaft, so the situation is very serious! More than 4 thousand meters under the keel. We keep the depth on the thrusters at a speed of 3-4 knots. For about two hours they tried to figure out what happened? They tried to start the turbine, but it failed. Mechanic Captain 2nd Rank Anatoly Sedakov understood that something had happened to the propeller, but what? If they had reeled in a fishing net, nothing like this would have happened, the screw would have torn it. So it was something else.
Meanwhile, the time has come for a communication session with the Northern Fleet command post. At about 5 o'clock in the morning he gave the command to surface under the periscope. However, the boat could not stay at periscope depth, as it was heavy, and began to sink without moving.
Having fallen to a depth of more than 100 meters, the tanks were urgently purged with high-pressure air. Trying to stay at the periscope depth, they used up almost all the air pressure and were forced to surface, abandoning attempts to dive.
We blew out all the central air tanks and surfaced to a cruising position. The VVD compressor was started. It is clear that in this way secrecy was violated. A strong storm was raging. It was impossible to get out onto the bridge.
It was assumed that fishing nets were wrapped around the propellers. Having made a defer to the bow, they raised the stern and saw through the periscope that they had wound a cable as thick as a human arm, which went far behind the stern. When we managed to establish communication, we radioed to the fleet command post, reported on the emergency ascent, and described the situation. Then they tried to go under water twice. In vain.
And for the second time they began to fall so quickly into the depths that the thought flashed: that’s it, it’s over! After all, at 140 meters, which we were already at, it is difficult to blow out the tanks. With difficulty, we managed to prevent the boat from falling to an prohibitive depth. We surfaced.
The storm does not subside. The boat with a displacement of 7.5 thousand tons was thrown on the waves like an empty tin can. In the compartments, everything that was not secured and even that was secured was torn from its place and scattered across the deck. We got the radio. The Northern Fleet CP transferred us to contact the Central Command Center of the Navy General Staff. The situation is very serious. Moscow thought for a long time about what to do. General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Andropov was ill, and no one wanted to take responsibility for the possible consequences due to our abnormal ascent.”
On October 26, when the storm subsided a little, K-324 submariners made unsuccessful attempts to interrupt the cable by shooting at it with a machine gun. It was also not possible to cut the armored cable with an axe. From radio intercepts, the submariners learned that the Americans had lost a top-secret antenna. We understand that it was the nuclear submarine that wound the propeller. During a communication session, they reported the situation to Moscow.
The commander of the nuclear submarine, Captain 1st Rank Terekhin, recalls: “The commander of the OSNAZ group, Senior Lieutenant Sergei Arbuzov, assigned to the K-324, learned from radio interception that the Americans had stormed Grenada, and now two US Navy destroyers Nicholson and Peterson are at full speed follow to our boat.
I declared a combat alert. We are without a move, helpless, what to expect from the Yankees is unknown. Moreover, Arbuzov managed to find out that the K-324 hooked and broke the top-secret, ultra-modern towed cable antenna of the TASS system, which was being tested by the American frigate McCloy. So we unwittingly stole a big secret of the US Navy. It became clear that the Americans would try to recapture this cable.”
On October 27, Moscow assured that the reconnaissance ship SV-506 Nakhodka, located in the Norfolk area, was sent to help the submariners, and the Soviet rescue ship Aldan was coming from Cuba.
On the Aldana, Captain 3rd Rank Butov, a consultant to the head of the Cuban emergency rescue service, was appointed responsible for the rescue operation.
It took the Aldan three days to get to the accident site, but the SV-506 arrived faster.
When there were 3 hours left to the boat, the commander of SV-506, via VHF ZAS (4), suggested sending 2 boats with rescue teams to help, lifting the stern and trying to remove the cable using gas cutters.
The commander of K-324 agreed with the plan, but soon 2 American Orions appeared and began dropping sonar buoys around K-324. Soon the Soviet reconnaissance aircraft SV-506 approached, and almost immediately after it, the US Navy destroyer Peterson arrived in the area. Moscow, having received information about this, ordered not to carry out the planned work, but to be ready to protect the boat from maneuvers of the destroyer around it.
Soon the second American destroyer approached, they began to clamp the nuclear-powered ship in pincers, dangerously maneuvered at a distance of 30 m. At the same time, they mockingly and politely offered help. The commander of “K-324” ordered a signal to be posted on the periscope: “We don’t need help! Stop dangerous maneuvering! I have dangerous cargo on board!”
Meanwhile, destroyers, not even on purpose, but because of a wave, could hit the nuclear submarine and seriously damage it. Entering from the stern, the destroyers tried to hook the cable antenna with hooks. SV-506, with its maneuvers, prevented this. They tried to hook the antenna and the helicopters hanging above the boat. But they failed to do this.
On November 4, an encrypted message arrived from Moscow: “Do not give in to provocations, the situation is extremely dangerous. NATO forces have been put on high alert." In another encryption, the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy Gorshkov ordered, at all costs, to preserve the “trophy” antenna and send it by plane to Moscow.
The situation began to seem especially serious and alarming when the destroyers raised the signal “We are preparing airborne assault weapons for launch.
Soldiers appeared on board the destroyers, demonstratively dressed in scuba divers' costumes.
But there is secret equipment and documentation on board the nuclear submarine, and atomic weapons in the torpedo tubes. There is no way to allow landings from US destroyers!
To repel a possible invasion, eight officers with machine guns were stationed on the bridge and deck. We prepared to hit the scuba divers with high-pressure air from the Central Hospital. To be on the safe side, the aft ballast tanks were purged demonstratively with a pressure of 200 atmospheres.
As a last resort, the commander decided to prepare the submarine for explosion and flooding. The crew was planned to be transferred to rafts and then transferred to the SV-506.
Until November 6, American combat swimmers did not leave the decks of their ships.
On November 6, the rescue ship Aldan arrived from Cuba to the site of the confrontation. The divers were lowered. On the hub of the K-324 propeller they found a powerful ball of torn metal and two ends of a cable stretching far along the stern. It was not possible to free the propeller in field conditions.
For the whole day, our sailors, using an electric pin, selected the armored cable from the water and placed it in the 1st compartment. We pulled out 420 meters. After which, the General Staff of the Navy gave instructions: to proceed in tow to Cuba.
The displacement of the K-324 is seven and a half thousand tons. To tow such a large ship, a hummock as thick as an arm and weighing several tons is used. To wind the cable and secure it to the ship, the towing end is brought up on special inflatable rafts. But the destroyer began to fire aimed at the rafts and sink them.
According to the commander of K-324, the rafts were shot several times. Last set left. But a solution was found - the reconnaissance ship SV-506 covered the nuclear submarine with itself. The rescuer "Aldan" managed to take the submarine in tow and dragged it to Cuba.
The severity of the confrontation decreased so much that on November 7, 1983, the commander of the destroyer Peterson, accompanying the group to Cuban territorial waters, congratulated the Soviet sailors on the holiday of the Great October Socialist Revolution.
And when approaching the territorial waters of Cuba, the commander of the destroyer Peterson thanked for the joint voyage and left. In Nippe Bay (5), the caravan was met by two boats with the authorities on board. Admiral Stadnichenko accepted the report of Captain 3rd Rank Shutov, and ordered the commander of SSV-506 to be at the entrance to Nippe Bay and to prevent the passage of ships until the security of the nuclear submarine parking lot is organized.
The Cubans allocated a platoon of combat swimmers to guard the boat, and placed two small anti-submarine ships at the entrance to the bay. On the very first day, a piece of the secret cable was sent by plane to Moscow.
The repairmen removed part of the light hull, after which the propeller hub was freed from the compressed cable mass by Cuban gas cutters in four days. The main part of the cable was loaded on board SSV-506 and delivered to Severomorsk.
After 11 days, Soviet submariners left Cuba and headed for the Sargasso Sea, where they carried out combat service for another two weeks.
The nuclear submarine K-324 returned to base a week before the new year, 1984. Officers from the special department confiscated the logbook and all other documents from the boat’s command, which remained secret until 2012.
Screensaver: Destroyer Peterson (USA), SV-506 and nuclear submarine K-324 approaching the shores of Cuba
submarine X series
Laid down on December 31, 1934 at plant No. 112 (Krasnoye Sormovo) in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) under slipway number 550/8. On April 10, 1935, the submarine was launched, on October 31, 1936, it entered service, and on November 4, 1936, it became part of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
By the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish war, "Shch-324" was under the command of captain 3rd rank Konyaev Anatoly Mikhailovich as part of the 22nd division of the 2nd submarine brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet.
On the evening of November 28, 1939, the submarine went to a patrol position on the island of Tiiskeri, but with the beginning of the “Winter War” the submarine was ordered to return to Tallinn and be in the operational reserve of the command. On December 4, "Shch-324" again went to sea to the island of Logsher (position No. 8). On the very first day of its stay at the Festornay sign, the submarine discovered an unknown submarine on the surface through the periscope at a distance of 3-4 kbt. Assuming the presence of S-1 in the area, the commander abandoned the attack and reported this to fleet headquarters. Only after it was determined that the S-1 was in the Gulf of Bothnia, it became clear that the submarine belonged to the enemy. (It turned out to be the “Vetekhinen”, which left the Husyo parking lot in the Libau area with the task of intercepting the icebreaker “Ermak”, which had passed the Baltic straits). On the afternoon of December 9, Shch-324 again discovered an enemy submarine, which this time was confidently identified as a Vetehinen-class submarine. (The Finn was returning to base after an unsuccessful hunt for “Ermak”). During the launch of the attack, the Shch-324, due to the fault of the torpedoists, lost its buoyancy and went to a depth of 15 meters. Having leveled the submarine, the commander discovered that the target was moving away from him towards the skerry fairway at the Festornay sign, where it disappeared. Four-day waits in the area yielded no results. The enemy submarine did not appear again. 
Submarine "Shch-324". Navy Day. 1939
Commander of the submarine "Shch-324" G.I. Tarkhnishvili (right) and boatswain G.Ya Nazarov.
On the afternoon of December 17, Shch-324 discovered a Finnish icebreaker of the Sampo type, which, having discovered the periscope, went to the Abos skerries. At the same time, the submarine discovered two transports heading east at a great distance from each other. The first transport was attacked, but the fired torpedo jumped to the surface and turned to the right. Fearing the circulation of the torpedo, the boat commander was forced to dive, and the transport left. After some time, the second ship was attacked, but the fired torpedo missed.
On December 31, the submarine reached a position in the Gulf of Bothnia in the area of South Kvarken (position No. 10-extended). Along with the fight against enemy shipping, the submarine was tasked with daily reporting to the command about the condition of the ice. While in position, the submarine repeatedly encountered Finnish ships and vessels. On the afternoon of January 13, she discovered a convoy of three transports (Anneberg, Hebe and Bore I), a patrol ship, a minesweeper and a patrol boat. From a distance of 4 cables, "Shch-324" attacked one of the transports, but the torpedo passed behind its stern, and the boat was thrown to the surface, and it was subjected to an unsuccessful counterattack by the escort forces. According to the official Soviet version, "Shch-324" surfaced and began to respond with fire from its 45-mm guns. During the firefight, one of the shells from the boat hit the depth charge of the patrol boat Aura II (former yacht of the President of Finland, 550 tons). An explosion of ammunition instantly destroyed the ship and it sank with 25 crew members led by Lieutenant Terö. According to the Finnish version, the ship died from a spontaneous explosion of a depth charge during a counterattack by a submarine. After the death of the patrolman, the Finns stopped pursuing the Shch-324.
Further patrolling took place in conditions of low temperatures and a strong storm (on January 15, the air temperature was -18°C, the sea state was 11 points). On January 18, 1940, the submarine reported that 9 tons of fuel and a ton of fresh water remained on board. On January 19, Shch-324 received the go-ahead to return. At the Sturbrotten lighthouse, the boat sank and continued under the ice, traveling a total of 31.3 miles in such conditions, while the commander of the submarine did not have the South Kvarken pilot and echo sounder, which would have made it possible to clarify the dead reckoning based on the nature of the depths. At the Svenska Birn lighthouse, Shch-324 surfaced, and on January 21, it successfully completed its combat campaign, mooring in Libau. When sailing in ice on a submarine, antennas, struts, barbettes and breakwaters were damaged, the bow was bent, and the bulges were deformed.
On April 21, 1940, "Shch-324" became the Red Banner, its entire crew was awarded orders and medals, and the commander was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On June 22, 1941, the boat met under the command of Lieutenant Commander Tarkhnishvili Georgiy Ioramovich as part of the 7th Division of the 2nd Brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarine. In mid-June, the submarine completed a mid-term repair and was in Loksa Bay during the organizational period.
On the morning of July 24, 1941, the submarine left Tallinn for Pomeranian Bay (position No. 1). During its patrol, the submarine encountered single enemy ships three times, but the attacks were thwarted due to improper maneuvering. On the morning of August 12, Shch-324 returned safely to Paldiski.
On August 15, the submarine moved to Kronstadt, from where on the evening of November 2 it reached a position at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland with the task of covering the evacuation of Hanko (position “A”), and from November 10 the submarine was supposed to operate in the Memel-Vindava area (position No. 3). Until the morning of November 4, the submarine sailed with the convoy to Hanko. On the night of November 5, a report was received from her about going to the specified area. The boat never made contact again and did not return to base.
In the summer of 2015, "Shch-324" was discovered and identified at the bottom by a team of Finnish divers "Subzone", which relied on information from fishermen who were tearing nets in the area. In mid-October 2015, the research groups “Bow to the Ships of the Great Victory” and “Divers of the Dark” held memorial events at the site of the sinking of the submarine.
The submarine died on November 6 – 10, 1941 in the western part of the Gulf of Finland, its bow blowing up on a German EMC mine of the Apolda I barrier, which occupied part of the submarine’s position. The death found the ship in a submerged position. Judging by the commander’s periscope, raised and slightly turned to the side, at the last moment the submarine took bearings from the nearby Bengshaer lighthouse. The explosion of the mine caused the spare torpedoes to detonate, completely destroying the two bow compartments. There were probably no survivors among the submarine's sailors after the explosion; the aft hatch remained closed.
Together with the Shch-324, its crew rests at a depth of 60 m (
International emergency
This incident was reported to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee immediately, despite the late hour: in the Sargasso Sea, American ships surrounded the Soviet surfaced nuclear submarine K-324. Its commander, Captain 2nd Rank Vadim Terekhin, prepared the nuclear-powered vessel for an explosion in case the Americans tried to land a boarding group.
Andropov glanced at the desk calendar - October 31, 1983... He remembered well how in October 1962, in the same Sargasso Sea with its sworn Bermuda Triangle, a thermonuclear war almost broke out during the so-called “missile crisis.” Then, in the same way, American ships kept in a close cordon the Soviet submarines that surfaced to charge their batteries, sent to break the naval blockade.
In his youth, Yuri Andropov wore a jacket with anchors on buttons while studying in Rybinsk to become a river navigator, and therefore favored sailors. But the submariners just got to him that year. First, in June, the K-429 atomic submarine sank in Kamchatka (fourteen people died), then the K-245 strategic missile submarine jumped onto the rocks in Motovsky Bay. And now there is a new incident in Sargassy with K-324, which threatened an unpredictable turn of events.
The Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Navy, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Sergei Gorshkov, reported, as always, judiciously and confidently:
K-324 temporarily lost speed. The rescue ship Aldan comes to her aid. The reactor is in normal mode. All people on board are alive and well.
The only thing he didn’t say was that the rescuer’s meeting with the emergency boat would take place no earlier than ten days later. And all this time, the K-324 will spend side by side with the American destroyers, who held the helpless atomic ship at gunpoint.
Why are they so attached to our boat? Did she violate US territorial waters? - the Secretary General was perplexed.
K-324 is in international waters,” the commander-in-chief answered. - An ordinary provocation against the backdrop of the landing of American Marines on Grenada.
It seemed true. The Pentagon moved an entire armada towards the small island state, from which two destroyers actually separated to escort the surfaced atomic ship. But Gorshkov, like the commander of the K-324 Terekhin himself, did not yet know the true reason for such an aggressive attack on the submarine in trouble.
Commander of the unfortunate "Pike", or "Ghost of the 7th order"
The multi-purpose torpedo nuclear submarine K-324 (according to the NATO classification "Victor III", according to the Soviet classification - "Pike"; the Americans nicknamed it the "Black Prince" for the beauty of its contours and technical excellence) carried out scheduled combat service in the Western Atlantic.
The Russians got a luxurious trophy with the latest know-how of American electronics engineers. And where - at the US Navy training ground!
K-324 was the seventh boat of Project 671 RTM. Despite her lucky number, she was constantly haunted by dangerous tricks. Even during state tests, she almost became a victim of a blind ramming by an unknown submarine. In the Sea of Japan, K-324 received a powerful blow underwater, after which it immediately returned to the plant and docked. It seemed that evil fate was pursuing the “Black Prince”. They looked at the captain of the submarine Teryokhin as a doomed man - not a survivor. But he, despite all the emergencies and superstitions, believed in his ship, in his people, in his destiny. With this, he entered military service in September 1983.
So, the “unlucky” K-324 left the piers of Zapadnaya Litsa for the Western Atlantic. The situation in the world, and therefore in the world’s oceans, was heating up once again. US President Reagan decided to surround the “evil empire” with a missile palisade in the form of Pershings stationed in Western Europe. The flight time of these missiles to Moscow and other vital centers of the USSR was reduced to 5-6 minutes. From now on, the Kremlin had to live according to the figurative expression of an overseas journalist, “with an American Colt to its temple.” But the Kremlin, led by Andropov, was preparing retaliatory measures: to advance to the shores of America underwater missile launch sites in the form of nuclear cruisers with ballistic missiles. The flight time to them was reduced to the same 5-6 minutes that the American generals gained by placing the Pershings on the banks of the Rhine.
Of course, the American fleet hastily prepared to repel the underwater threat. To more reliably search for Soviet missile carriers, the latest underwater surveillance system TASS (Towed Array Surveillance System) was developed. The frigate McCloy sailed into the Sargasso Sea to test a unique low-frequency hydroacoustic antenna. The long cable-hose of the secret antenna stretched behind him like a tail for half a kilometer. A sonar capsule was attached to the very end. Such a towed device helped to capture all the noise coming from the ocean depths, even infrasounds that were unheard by the human ear, the inevitable satellites of submarines. The commander of the McCloy worked with the American nuclear submarine Philadelphia (SSN-690) and was completely unaware that the Soviet submarine K-324 was following under the bottom of his frigate, dissolving its noises in the hum of the turbines of the surface ship. Captain 2nd Rank Terekhin crept up to the McCloy on electric motors and conducted technical reconnaissance for 14 hours, recording the parameters of the latest anti-submarine search system. He would have followed longer if the frigate had not unexpectedly changed course and headed to its base. But the K-324 crew had no time for him. From all the compartments, Teryokhin was informed of a strange vibration in the durable hull. Yes, he himself noticed something was wrong. We decided that the turbine was malfunctioning. Just in case, we increased the speed, and then the ship shook so much that the emergency turbine protection was activated. I had to surface.
One misfortune never comes, this proverb became the involuntary motto of the unfortunate “Pike”. They surfaced and found themselves in the epicenter of a powerful tropical hurricane.
Meanwhile, the frigate McCloy was entering its base. His commander was ready to tear his hair out: the damned storm tore off the secret antenna, and an invaluable sonar was lost. The elements are to blame - what else?! - but they will ask him.
It was already dawn. The “pike” was about to be discovered. Having radioed to Moscow about the loss of power, Teryokhin risked diving to periscope depth once, twice, three times... He took the risk, because diving without power, and even in a hurricane, is very dangerous. However, the hobbled atomarina did not maintain depth - from 150 meters it was difficult to blow through and float to the surface. The commander did not tempt fate any longer and trusted her completely.
American tug of war
In the morning, when the storm subsided, a scheduled Canadian airliner spotted a submarine drifting in the Sargasso Sea. Half an hour later, two US patrol aircraft arrived to investigate the situation. The boat was identified as the Soviet Victor III, and two newest destroyers, Peterson and Nicholson, immediately rushed towards it. They immediately understood the cause of the accident - behind the “Black Prince” there was a piece of the same secret antenna that the “McCloy” had lost and which was wound around the huge seven-blade propeller of the atomic plane. The Russians got a luxurious trophy with the latest know-how of American electronics engineers. And where - at the US Navy training ground! This could not have been imagined even in a nightmare. But the fact remained a fact - the capsule with the miracle sonar was hanging behind the stern of the K-324.
The commander of the Peterson called the commander of the Russian submarine via VHF and offered him help in freeing himself from the wound cable. Terekhin refused. He could not allow specialists from a potential enemy on board his ship. K-324 belonged to the newest project of Soviet submarines and was full of secret equipment. One anti-submarine complex "Shkval" was worth it! The ultra-high-speed underwater missile with which the K-324 was armed developed a speed of 200 knots in the ocean and overtook the enemy submarine at a distance of 11 kilometers. This was achieved through a hydrogen peroxide engine and an original system for reducing friction between water and the body: the projectile flew in a gas shell formed by compressed air bubbles. There are no analogues to this complex, which has an almost absolute probability of hitting a target, to this day.
In addition, as naval reference books report, “the nuclear submarine carried special sabotage guided missiles “Sirena” and other “special purpose” weapons, many of which could be the envy of super agent 007 James Bond, born from the imagination of Ian Fleming. In particular, in 1975 at the OKB named after N. Kamov, a folding single-seat Ka-56 helicopter was created, designed to transport saboteurs and capable, together with its pilot, of being fired from a 533-mm torpedo tube of a submerged submarine."
But the Americans needed to return their secrets at any cost, and they showed increasing persistence - “let us help you!” Terekhin understood perfectly well that if the Americans decided to board the boat, and this was exactly what was going on, then the magnificent “Shkval” would not help either - the officer’s pistols and Kalashnikov assault rifles would not drive away the destroyers. And then he ordered the commander of the mine-torpedo warhead, Captain-Lieutenant Zarembovsky, to prepare the nuclear-powered submarine for an explosion, which he informed his annoying neighbors about.
The commander of the turbine group, Lieutenant-Commander Bukin, recalls those anxious days, senior midshipman Sergei Blazhkov, and suggested forming an emergency party to free himself from the cable. However, all attempts came to nothing: the cable was wound too tightly around the screw, and it was made of such strong material that no tool could take it. The American ships did not interfere with our futile efforts, although they dangerously maneuvered around, trying to cut off the ill-fated antenna with their propellers. The day passed in wild tension. Suddenly the destroyers calmed down and retreated to an acceptable distance. Only much later did it become clear that they repeated the same trick as we did with their McCloy: the nuclear submarine Philadelphia approached the K-234...
In the book “The History of Underwater Espionage against the USSR,” published in the USA, this dramatic episode is described as follows: “The submarine (K-324) surfaced and tried to free the cable that was wound around its propeller. She found herself motionless, having captured her trophy... The submarine "Philadelphia" maneuvered near a boat of the "Victor" type and came close from below to get a better look at it. And again, unexpectedly for everyone, part of the cable with the sonar caught on something already on the hull of the submarine "Philadelphia" ...
The situation is tragicomic: two warring atomicins are “chained by one chain”, or rather connected by one cable. Tug of war is a favorite pastime of sailors in all navies of the world. But when the cable is pulled by two nuclear submarines, it smells not just of gunpowder, but of weapons-grade plutonium... Fortunately, (once again “fortunately”?) the armored cable-hose burst and the Philadelphia carried away the capsule with the sonar on its hull . The incident would have been resolved if over 400 meters of low-frequency antenna had not remained on the K-324 propellers...
On the tenth day of the forced joint voyage with the flexing of muscles and a duel of ambitions, the rescue ship "Aldan" finally approached the place of conflict and began to install a tow rope on the K-324. That's when the shots rang out.
The Americans fired pistols at the cable buoys,” says former first mate K-324, now captain 1st rank reserve Alexander Kuzmin. - They shot in impotent anger, trying to smash them into pieces and drown the cable. Or maybe they were just having fun out of grief... However, no one wanted to start the third world war because of a “piece of hose,” even with a secret filling. "Aldan" protected us with its hull from the advancing destroyers, and then dragged the boat "by the nose" to Cuba. There, in Nipe Bay, Cuban sailors helped us free the propeller from the cable, which Moscow immediately requested.
Apparently, our trophy was appreciated there,” continues the story of First Mate Blazhkov, “we were even given four days of unscheduled rest at the resort. But Vadim Aleksandrovich Terekhin, taking into account the deteriorating international situation, refused this tempting offer. And at dawn on November 13, 1983, we went to sea again. Cuban missile boats escorted us to the diving point...
Instead of an afterword
In 1996, due to a banal lack of funds for repairs, the Black Prince was put into disrepair. He is still living out his life afloat, waiting in line for cutting.
And the long-standing “tug of war” in the Sargasso Sea is getting a completely happy ending today. Former first mate of K-324, Captain 1st Rank Alexander Kuzmin, head of the Union of Submariners of Ukraine, receives former enemies, now veterans of the US submarine fleet, in Kyiv. Everyone goes together to Odessa, where the 43rd International Congress of Submariners will take place. Whoever remembers the old is out of sight, and whoever forgets is both. However, Americans have no analogue of this Russian proverb. And those who remained at sea forever will be remembered.
Mikhailov Andrey 02/18/2019 at 4:00
At the international film festival “The Sea is Calling,” the correspondent of “Pravda.Ru” had the opportunity to meet the head of the Association of Veteran Submariners of Ukraine, captain 1st rank Alexander Viktorovich Kuzmin. Imagine the surprise when it turned out that he was a living witness and participant in one of the most secret and dangerous operations of the Soviet Navy.
Now you can find information about this unusual ocean incident on the Internet, but just a few years ago this Soviet-era operation had not yet been declassified. I remember one evening in the wardroom of the museum icebreaker "Krasin", moored on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg, during the aforementioned film festival, famous people in the navy gathered - the legendary writer Nikolai Cherkashin, the famous publicist and historian Sergei Aprelev, the main Ukrainian submariner Alexander Kuzmin, by chance the author of these lines also happened to be there.
A lot of interesting things were said, there were more than one article worth of memories. But today we will talk specifically about an unusual incident with the nuclear submarine K-324 in the Sargasso Sea. Let's try to reconstruct the picture from the testimony of direct eyewitnesses and from the meager lines of official publications and traces of articles in the press.
On October 31, 1983, this incident was reported to the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Yuri Andropov, immediately, despite the late hour: in the Sargasso Sea, American ships surrounded the Soviet surfaced multi-purpose nuclear submarine "K-324" of Project 671RTM. Its commander, Captain 2nd Rank Vadim Terekhin, has already prepared the nuclear-powered vessel for an explosion in case the Americans try to land a boarding group. First mate Alexander Kuzmin was ready to carry out the order immediately.
The year 1983 was generally clearly tragic for the Soviet Navy. First, in June, the nuclear submarine K-429 sank in Kamchatka (fourteen people died). Then, in Motovsky Bay, very close to its home base, the K-245 strategic missile submarine jumped out onto the rocks. And now there is a new incident in the Sargasso Sea, very close to America itself, with the K-324, which clearly threatened an unpredictable turn of events. At this time, an aggressive US attack on Grenada was underway, the marines had already landed there, the American fleet was clearly not inclined to joke. And here, in the midst of the “cold war” and the “hot” invasion of Grenada, this is happening...
The multi-purpose torpedo nuclear submarine "K-324" of Project 667RTM (according to the NATO classification "Victor III", according to the Soviet classification - "Pike"; the Americans also nicknamed it the "Black Prince" for the beauty of its contours and technical excellence) carried out planned combat service in Western Europe. Atlantic.
And the Russians from this boat completely unexpectedly got a hitherto unprecedented trophy - a hydroacoustic, magnetic and God knows what kind of antenna with the latest know-how of American electronics engineers to search for Soviet nuclear submarines. And this happened not just anywhere, but at the super-secret naval training ground of the US Navy! The development of the most secret technology cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, and the actual production of the antenna, cable and capsule with instruments cost hundreds of millions.
The newest super underwater surveillance system TASS (Towed Array Surveillance System) underwent test measurements. The American frigate McCloy (at that time one of the best in the US Navy) set out to test a unique low-frequency hydroacoustic antenna in the Sargasso Sea. The long cable-hose of the secret antenna stretched behind him like a tail for half a kilometer. At the very end was attached a capsule of a sonar sophisticated with the latest technology of that time.
The commander of the McCloy worked with the American nuclear submarine Philadelphia during testing and was completely unaware that the Soviet K-324 was following under the bottom of his frigate, dissolving its noises in the hum of the turbines of the surface ship.
Commander Captain 2nd Rank Terekhin crept up to the McCloy on electric motors and conducted technical reconnaissance for 14 hours, recording the parameters of the latest anti-submarine search system. He would have followed the frigate longer if it had not unexpectedly changed course and headed for its base. And then a strange vibration “pierced” the hull of our boat. The main turbine failed, and the emergency protection of the reactor and the turbine itself was activated. I had to surface, nothing could be done. They surfaced and found themselves in the epicenter of a powerful tropical hurricane.
Meanwhile, the frigate McCloy was already entering its base. His commander almost turned gray: he lost the newest cable antenna, an invaluable sonar along with the leading cable. He has already figured out how he will explain the loss of expensive equipment: a strong storm is to blame. However, later the Americans realized that rough seas had nothing to do with it. A thick cable with an antenna at the end was wound around the propeller by a Soviet submarine, which, in a way unknown to the Americans, quietly guided the frigate for many hours!
This was a shock not only for the ranks of the US Navy, but also for the then 40th president of the Western superpower, Ronald Reagan, the one who until then (before Gorbachev) called the USSR an “evil empire.” As open American sources testify, Reagan first laughed at the report on the incident: they say, you have jokes, sailors.
When he realized that all this was true, he, as they say, waved his saber: many high ranks of the Navy lost their posts. Looking ahead a little, we note that the US Congress, when considering the military budget for 1984, reduced appropriations for Navy research and development by a quarter. Like, why do naval “figures” need money if they give all our secrets to the Russians for free?
Our submariners realized what had happened when they surfaced and slightly sank the bow compartments. The upper part of the propeller appeared, and on its hub... a wound cable several centimeters thick! The screw would have easily torn the fishing net, but it could not “grind” such a “surprise”.
The commander immediately reported this to the base, from there the message was transmitted to Moscow, and this reached Andropov himself, who was already terminally ill at that time. They say that in a rather calm tone he gave only one instruction: the sailors to hold on, to send all possible forces to assist the submarine, which, fortunately, was in neutral waters. If ours had been brought closer to the American shores, the picture would have been completely sad.
Our floating "Pike" in the Sargasso Sea was first discovered by a scheduled Canadian airliner. Two of the newest American destroyers, the Peterson and the Nicholson, immediately rushed towards her. They immediately understood the cause of the accident - it was clear to the naked eye that behind the boat was a piece of the same super-secret antenna that the frigate McCloy had lost and which was wound around the huge seven-blade propeller of our ship. Shame on the entire American Navy! The Russians unexpectedly got a luxurious trophy: a capsule with a multimillion-dollar American miracle sonar was hanging behind the stern of the K-324.
The commander of the Peterson called the commander of the Russian submarine and offered him help in freeing himself from the wound cable. Commander Terekhin, naturally, refused. And he ordered all the weapons with which the ship was equipped to be prepared for battle, including small arms, Makarov pistols and Kalashnikov assault rifles, which were kept in the ship’s pyramids under lock and key and traditionally never even taken to sea.
Ronald Reagan, apparently, gave up on this situation: an equally important US operation was underway in Grenada: they say, do what you want. If he could swear in Russian, the ears of the American naval officers would definitely curl into a tube. And yet, commander Terekhin, and first mate Kuzmin, and all the officers, and even the sailors understood perfectly well that if the Americans nevertheless decided to board the boat, and this was exactly what was going on, then no Kalashnikovs would help. That is why, in fact, the boat was prepared for an explosion.
The American ships dangerously maneuvered around, trying to cut off the ill-fated antenna with their propellers. A day later, the destroyers unexpectedly calmed down and retreated to an acceptable distance. Only much later did it become clear that they repeated the same trick as we did with their McCloy: the nuclear submarine Philadelphia approached under the water under the K-234.
In the book “The History of Underwater Espionage against the USSR,” published in the USA, this dramatic episode is described as follows: “The submarine (“K-324”) surfaced and tried to free the cable that was wound around its propeller. She found herself motionless, having captured her trophy... The submarine "Philadelphia" maneuvered near the Russian boat and came close from below. And again, unexpectedly for everyone, part of the cable with the sonar caught on something already on the hull of the submarine "Philadelphia" ...
The situation is tragicomic: two warring atomics seem to be engaged in a tug-of-war. But imagine that the rope is being pulled in different directions by two nuclear submarines! In the end, the armored cable-hose burst and the Philadelphia carried away the capsule with the sonar on its hull. But over 400 meters of the super-secret low-frequency antenna remained on the K-324 propellers.
Two American ships tried to pin the boat, maneuvering at a distance of about thirty meters, rather brazenly offering help. However, our commander posted a signal directly on the raised periscope that he did not need help and demanded that the dangerous maneuvering be stopped. Ships and helicopters tried to hook the antenna from the stern of the boat with hooks, but it was tightly screwed onto the propeller.
On the tenth day of the forced “joint voyage” with the American ships, the Cuban rescue ship Aldan finally arrived and began to attach a tow rope to the K-324. That's when the shots rang out.
“The Americans fired pistols at the cable buoys,” former K-324 first mate Alexander Kuzmin said at the time in the Krasin wardroom. They shot as if in impotent anger, trying to smash them into pieces and drown the cable. Or maybe they were just having fun out of grief... However, no one wanted to start the third world war because of a “piece of hose,” even with a super-secret filling.
"Aldan" protected the boat with its hull from the advancing destroyers, and then dragged the boat "by the nose" to Cuba. There, in Nipe Bay, at a small local shipyard, Cuban gas cutters helped free the propeller from the cable, which Moscow immediately requested. The trophy was delivered to the capital on a special military flight, guarded by long-range fighters. On November 13, our boat went to sea again, to mark the end of such a successful, albeit unusual, military service.
But in general, history says that “K-324” was a very “unlucky” boat before this incident; its fame was assigned to the times described in a very unique way. Failures followed her throughout the entire period of operation and even, by the way, after she was put into storage in 1996.
It began with the fact that when this vessel was lowered from the slipway in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where the boat was being built, a traditional bottle of champagne did not break on the hull of the submarine, and it did not break four times in a row! A bad omen... During factory tests, the K-324 was rammed, presumably by a Chinese submarine, into the area of the fourth reactor compartment. The unknown submarine sank, but the K-324 remained virtually undamaged.
Then the battery in the battery compartment exploded. A massive fire in the first torpedo compartment, which contained twenty-four conventional torpedoes and two torpedoes with a nuclear warhead. The first torpedo compartment itself was almost completely destroyed, however, all the torpedoes remained intact, only a miracle saved them from disaster.
And here is an almost heroic episode - a multi-day confrontation with American warships. "K-324" and its crew passed this test with honor, refuting the myth of their "bad luck."
By the way, Alexander Kuzmin, answering the question of the author of these lines: they say, what orders were awarded to the crew, he just laughed - thank you for not punishing them!