Keeping the blogosphere posted on the goings on of the world of submarines since late 2004... and mocking and belittling general foolishness wherever it may be found. Idaho's first and foremost submarine blog. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me; don't call me at home.)
Twenty years ago today -- April 7, 1989 -- saw the sinking by internal fire of the old Soviet Union's only Mike-class submarine, RNS Komsomolets (K 278). An excellent description of the fire and sinking can be found here. Today, let's offer a moment of silence and reflection to the 42 Submariners who were lost that day.
posted by Bubblehead at 4:42 AM
I'm Joel Kennedy -- a married, 50-something year old retired submarine officer and esophageal cancer survivor with three kids who has finally made the transition to civilian life. Politically, I'm a Radical Moderate. (If you don't like something on this blog, please E-mail me. Don't call me at home.)
13 Comments:
Wow, I had never heard of that before. Tragic.
4/07/2009 10:25 AM
Anyone know why they only built the one boat of the Mike class, or anything about it?
MCC
4/07/2009 10:52 AM
I remember there were still questions on the STS advancement exams about that class of boat for several years after it was lost.
May the fallen crew members rest in peace.
STSC(SS)
4/07/2009 2:57 PM
I observed my moment of silence and reflection for our lost brothers. Don't forget to keep the families of these sailors on eternal patrol at this anniversary.
4/07/2009 3:32 PM
I meant to say keep the families in your thoughts and prayers.
4/07/2009 3:32 PM
I read about Komsomolets in a book called K19. The more detailed account can be found in Blind Man's Bluff - the story of submarine espionage.
4/08/2009 8:41 AM
One of my "A" School instructors made references to USSR boats when covering the TGO's...to this day, when I hear someone say Mike, I still automatically think "the Soviet boat that sank".
Agree with the thoughts and prayers for the crew and their families. We are all brothers.
4/08/2009 4:38 PM
I looked, but did not find an entry for the 20 people that died on the Akula II in November 2008 (K-152). I remember when we heard the news on the ship (we were at sea). We were always contestants with the Russians, but we are all submariners and we felt for their loss.
4/09/2009 3:49 AM
As a Cold War era submariner I never quite understood the "brotherhood between submariners regardless of nationality" thing.
Soviet submarines were the enemy. Our nation and silent service spent billions of dollars and at least millions, if not billions of manhours to protect our nation against Soviet agression.
Had one of the boats I was on found itself in a situation where we needed to sink one of their boats, and then been successful in doing so, I would have felt more joy for having stayed alive than sadness that an enemy submariner had been killed.
And had a Soviet submarine sunk due to accidental or mechanical reasons, my feeling would be that there was now one less enemy out there trying to kill me. I would not be happy for the human lives lost, but I would be glad that the enemy capability had been reduced.
Had I been a navy pilot flying missions over Viet Nam I would not think twice about waxing the ass of some Mig pilot trying to shoot me down. Just because he also flies jets doesn't make us brothers.
In my way of thinking, the same applies to enemy submariners. Brotherhoods should include your allies. Enemies are to be either eleminated, or as Piccard learned, assimilated.......
4/09/2009 11:30 AM
Piccard is fiction...just like the idea that all men are not brothers.
You might want to consider the first two words of the Lord's Prayer...and stop right there for a while.
4/10/2009 8:49 AM
To 4/10 @ 8:49
"Piccard is fiction...just like the idea that all men are not brothers. You might want to consider the first two words of the Lord's Prayer...and stop right there for a while."
Dude,
If you truly believe that all men are brothers, it's you that live the fictional life. Unless you are totally and completely willing to turn the other cheek to all harm that this world of brothers can heap upon you, your words are nothing more than sanctimonious hypocrisy.
4/10/2009 11:47 AM
Yawn. If directed to engage foreign country subs I will happily do so, and their dying will not bother me in the least.
However, as we are at peace now and since WWII with the other submarines of the world, I cannot help but acknowledge the kindred spirit of submariners everywhere.
People are people. Governments go to war, not people. They want to go home, have a drink, watch the tube and watch their kids grow up. Just like us.
People like 'anon' must really wonder why former POWs can go to Vietnam and embrace the people there. And if you think they don't, you haven't met Halyburton.
4/10/2009 4:27 PM
I was an STS2/SS on SSN 686 when Mike sank. We had just left Bergen after a NATO op and completed some at sea transfer for something or other (this is how we learned the results of the 1989 Final Four!) when we got the call to respond to a SAR event. We raced towards it for a while before breaking off - too many Soviet assets heading to the area and nothing to gain - Mike had sunk. We knew what sank and where, knew it was a fire, but had no other details. Reading the explanation now brings back memories. Thanks for sharing this!
4/25/2013 10:13 AM
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