In the first half of August 2000, large-scale naval exercises began in the Barents sea, involving the best examples of military equipment. Including - the latest, most modern in the Russian Navy nuclear submarine class "Antey" APL "Kursk". Huge in length (154 meters), in height with a 7-storey building, it was equipped with missiles, each of which is 40 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
11 August "Kursk" in the progress of the exercise made a successful launch of a cruise missile.
Came 12 August 2000. On this day, "Kursk" had to perform a demonstration shot of a new torpedo rocket "FLURRY , moving under water at a speed of up to 500 km\h. the Usual torpedo, driven by screws, moves at a speed of about 60 -80 km\h.
And the Chinese delegation was invited to this event in Russia - perhaps with a view to the subsequent sale of weapons after a successful demonstration shot. The Americans knew this and should not have accepted that China would have such a powerful weapon. That is why the United States is sending its submarines, Memphis and Toledo, to the exercise area.
At 8 h 51 min "Kursk" reports the cruiser "Peter the Great" that is going to hold a periscope observation with an 18-metre depth , to demonstrate a new torpedo. 11 hours 28 min. all ready to fire. And after that connection with "Kursk" broke....
During the search operation, the Kursk submarine was found lying on the bottom of the Barents sea at a depth of about 106 meters. The entire bow of the boat is torn apart by the strongest explosion. The crew of 118 people died.
According to the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of defense, the crash of the boat was due to a malfunction of one of the old type torpedoes in the torpedo Bay, located in the bow, then there was a fire and an explosion of a faulty torpedo , and then detonated several torpedoes. Also includes a version called the reason the fire started due to a fault in the section batteries.
Further examination showed that after the fire started in the torpedo compartment at the same time exploded about 8-10 shells, the explosion of which blew the entire nose of the submarine "Kursk".
Initially, suspicion fell on two American boats that were in the area of trainings. It was assumed that one of them could deal with the "Kursk" and the other, catching the sounds from the "Kursk", the corresponding opening of the torpedo mine, ahead torpedoed an "enemy". Called even the expected type of the American torpedo - MK48.
"Oil in the fire" this version added inspection submarine "Kursk", which became possible after cutting off the bow and towing the rest of the submarine in the dry dock. On the starboard side of the submarine "Course" is clearly seen in the hole with crumpled inward around the metal light (outer) hull.
In society to this day there is a lot of discussion about whether there was a collision of submarines ("Kursk" with one of the American) that day? I can say that nowhere on the case "Kursk" nuclear submarine characteristic of holes is not detected. The American submarines (neither the Memphis nor the Toledo) do not have protruding parts in the design that could leave a circular hole about a meter in diameter on the body of the victim.
Nevertheless, reconnaissance satellite imagery in the repair docks of Norway a week after the event with the "Kursk" was recorded finding the us submarine "Memphis". In the normal course of the transition "Memphis" in the repair docks of Norway from the site of the exercises of the Russian Navy would require a maximum of two days. Not a week. And one more thing. Near the scene of the disaster with the nuclear submarine "Kursk" found emergency signal buoy. But not from Kursk. The buoy was foreign-made....
Could the very design of the hull "Kursk" after the deformation caused by the explosion inside it, to form a hole of this shape? I couldn't. At least in a place of formation of a round hole there is no such structural element, and the covering of the easy (external) case is executed from sheets of the rubberized metal of the rectangular form.
So what prevented the version of the attack on the "Kursk" foreign torpedoes finally develop into the true cause of death of the nuclear submarine "Kursk"?
Answer: the visible damage received by the submarine at the point of breakdown on the starboard side does not correspond to a torpedo attack by a combat torpedo.
When attacking the Kursk with a torpedo even the cumulative type (burning plating), it is theoretically possible formation of rounded holes in the lung (outer) hull of the submarine. But then after burning through the outer hull, the torpedo should explode. And we would have seen traces of an explosion in the space between the light skin and the power body of the Kursk. But no. Intact corps mines cruise missiles, torn off, but not swept away by a powerful explosion small pipelines……
12 июл 2019
