479 



J30 JANE S INTELLIGENCE REVIEW July 1992 — INTERNATIONAL 



An India' class submarine is in the process of being scrapped al Golden Horn Bay, Vladivostok. {Photograph: J Handlei) 



aftermath of the Mike sinl<ing Otiier 

 reports about substandard conslruclion. 

 poor maintenance inadequate framing, 

 careless seamanship shore-based 

 logistical support, and insufficient 

 preparations before departures have 

 also come to the fore '' In one case m the 

 Far East, officers on a nuclear-powered 

 Soviet submarine based near 

 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii were so 

 perturbed that they spoke to a local TV 

 station in early 1990s about a variety of 

 problems These included lack of spare 

 parts to repair submarines properly, 

 submarines which were old and often 

 kept in use even when they are unsafe, 

 equipment which was often old and of an 

 inferior design submarines which were 

 understaffed and personnet who were 

 overworked, language problems which 

 existed because many new draftees did 

 nol speak Russian the six months of 

 schooling given prior to service was 

 inadequate and irrelevant to service 

 needs, and officers who were uncertain 

 as to Iheir levels of radiation exposure 

 since checks were only performed upon 

 embarkation but not upon 

 disembarkation 



Other reports have made similar 

 charges One account discussing how 

 unreliable equipment led to accidents 

 and limited operational capability noted 

 that one nuclear submarine spent the 

 maiprity of its tnal penpd undergoing 

 repair and modification and that this was 

 a frequent problem In 1989 two 

 submarines were prohibiled from 

 operating to avoid the failure of their 

 electrical equipment During the same 

 penod the tylimstry of Shipbuilding 

 received 529 complaints about the 

 delivery of suoslandard equipment for 

 nuclear submarines This resulted in fines 

 of more than three million roubles 

 l^oreover, through the failure of the main 

 reduction gear, the Kirov nuclear- 

 powered cruiser had to undergo 



unscheduled repairs m 1989-90 and 

 because of the dock s unplanned use, a 

 whole combined unit of submarines 

 could not undergo a planned overhaul' " 



In another report, a submarine 

 commander complained that 1 1 of the 28 

 new recruits who arnved al his 

 submarine did not know Russian, and he 

 asked How can I explain the structure of 

 the nuctear reactor to them''"' 



A third article expressed concern 

 about the level of technical support al 

 naval bases noting that shore power 

 supply networks are m such poor 

 condition that frequently there are 

 voltage surges and power failures And 

 yet the electronic complexes of the latest 

 submarines will not tolerate any bursts or 

 fluctuations in voltage in excess of state 

 standards' ° 



Several repprts discuss the poor 

 quality in submarine construction One 

 report claimed that m 1988. eight nuclear 

 submarines ^ere not accepted tor 

 service because they did not fulfil 

 requirements, and because of other 

 deviations that subslantiafly reduce a 

 ship's combat capabilities ' Another 

 lists several other construction 

 problems "■ 



— A new submarine in 1990-91 had to 

 be sent back to the shipyard to 

 eliminate serious faults m the mam 

 shaft lines 



— One new nuclear submarine left the 

 shipyard with unpamted bulkheads, 

 unlabeiled equipment no electrical 

 switches in the cabins and battle 

 stations a malfunctioning high 

 pressure valve al the chemical fire 

 extinguisher station, leaks m the 

 piping, etc The builders prpmised 

 the light switches would be installed 

 before the submarine was delivered 

 but Ihey were nol 



— Another submarine lost a month and 

 a half of training and instruction time 

 because it could not put to sea 



through serious malfunctions m the 

 support system of the mam power 

 plant The construction yard was 

 found to be at fault for this 



Known Soviet .Accidents 



The known data on Soviet submarine 

 accidents is loo incomplete to draw 

 specific statistical conclusions But some 

 observations about the existing data are 

 in order 



Collisions are the most prevalent type 

 of accident involving Soviet submarines, 

 with some 31 known instances At least 

 one led to the sinking of a submarine m 

 Peter the Great Bay outside Vladivostok 

 in October 1981 Some 13 of these 

 involved Western submarines Hov;ever 

 the blame cannol be fully placed on the 

 Soviet crews since they may have been 

 unaware of the Western submarines 

 Another 1 1 collisions involved the 

 snagging of fishing vessels nets, with 

 seven happening in the 1980s 



Fires are also quite frequent on Soviet 

 submarines Twenty of the incidents 

 involved fires in the case of the 

 November class submarine m 1970 and 

 the Mike m 1989. the fires contributed to 

 the sinking of both vessels 



Intrigumgly, the data reveals recurring 

 problems with missiles and missile lubes 

 There are six accidents recorded 

 involving fires or explosions m missile 

 lubes one of which led to the eieclion of 

 a nuclear warhead in the late 1970s or 

 early 1980s, and another caused the 

 sinking of the Yankee' class submarine 

 m 1986 • 



The number of sinkings indicates a 

 major problem but an accurate count is 

 impossible because of mcompleie data 

 Up to 15 submarines have been reported 

 as sinking but only hall of Ihese can be 

 reliably confirmed The confirmed tally 

 includes lour nuclear-powered boats 



