Soviet submarine K-279
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1965 |
| Laid down: | 1971 |
| Launched: | January 1972 |
| Commissioned: | 22 December 1972 |
| Decommissioned: | 1992 |
| Fate: | scrapped |
| Fleet: | Northern Fleet |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 9000 m³ (8900 tonnes) surfaced, 10500m³ (13,700 tonnes) submerged; |
| Length: | 139 meters (456 feet) |
| Beam: | 12 meters (39 feet) |
| Draft: | 9 meters (29½ feet) |
| Propulsion: | two VM-4B reactors generating 90MWt each, two steam turbines producing 52,000hp each |
| Speed: | 12 knots surfaced, 25 knots submerged |
| Depth: | 390 meters (1300 feet) designed, 450 meters (1500 feet) maximum |
| Endurance: | 80 days |
| Complement: | 120 officers and men |
| Armament: | D-9 launch system with 12 R-29 missiles, four 533mm (21-inch) torpedo tubes |
| Motto: | |
K-279 was the first Project 667B Murena (also known by the NATO reporting name "Delta-I") ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet Navy. Development of Project 667B began in 1965. Her keel was laid down in 1971 by Sevmash at the Severodvinsk shipyard. She was launched in January 1972, and commissioned in the Northern Fleet on 22 December 1972.
In 1983, while operating under the Arctic Ocean icecap at the depth of 190 meters (625 feet), K-279 struck an iceberg. The submarine rolled about 20 degrees and lost depth control, diving to 300 meters (1000 feet) before recovering. The submarine continued her mission for another two months before returning to port, despite the significant damage she had suffered: the collision had punched a large hole in her sail and had broken every bottle of wine in the galley. The Soviet Navy published an advisory to submarine captains warning that the bottoms of icebergs can extend to depths of 200 meters (650 feet) or more.
The Soviet Navy claims that on 20 October 1986, USS Augusta (SSN-710) collided with K-279 in the eastern Atlantic. Augusta allegedly returned to Groton, Connecticut, for US$3 million worth of repairs to her bow.
In 1992, K-279 was decommissioned and held in reserve. In 1998 she was dismantled at Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk and her reactor section was towed to Sayda Bay.
[edit] See also
Soviet submarine K-219, another Soviet submarine which allegedly hit USS Augusta (SSN-710)
[edit] References
This article includes material adapted from the Bellona Foundation's Web site and from an 8 June 2004 interview with Rear-admiral Vitaly Fedorin by Pravda.
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| Delta-class submarine |
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Project 667B Murena (Delta I) |
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Project 667BD Murena-M (Delta II) |
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Project 667BDR Kalmar (Delta III) |
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Project 667BDRM Delfin (Delta IV) |
| List of Soviet and Russian submarine classes |
