The official version of the death of the submarine K-141 "Kursk" is the explosion of a torpedo in a torpedo tube. However, there are more than ten versions of the destruction of the nuclear-powered ship.
The main version of the death of "Kursk"
The death of the Russian nuclear-powered missile-carrying submarine (nuclear submarine) K-141 "Kursk" has become one of the largest tragedies in the history of the Russian fleet. Together with the sunken submarine, one hundred and eighteen crew members died. The official version of what happened was the explosion of a torpedo in a torpedo tube.
According to the exercise plan of the Northern Fleet, the cruiser was supposed to attack the target with a torpedo. During the preparation for the attack, an explosion occurred, which led to the death of the nuclear submarine.
The cause of the explosion was a leak of hydrogen peroxide - one of the components of the torpedo, which was considered obsolete and was not widely used in the Navy for about fifty years. The nuclear submarine was equipped with peroxide torpedoes due to its low cost, because the torpedoes of the new class contain already expensive silver-zinc batteries. After the tragedy, all hydrogen peroxide torpedoes were discontinued.
Unofficial versions of the nuclear submarine crash
According to Vice Admiral Valery Ryazantsev, the torpedo explosion occurred due to the uncontrolled decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the torpedo. Say, the reason for everything was an oversight of technicians who did not observe the necessary precautions.
The most popular version of the disaster that went around among the people was the torpedoing of a nuclear submarine by an American submarine. French documentary filmmaker Jean-Michel Carré even made a film claiming that the Kursk was attacked by the American submarine Memphis. This could, according to the director, become a warning from the United States personally to Vladimir Putin, who then headed for the revival of the country in the status of a superpower. The president himself allegedly hid the incident in order not to aggravate relations with the United States.
There is a version that the submarine was sunk by an accidental shot of the P-700 Granit rocket fired from the flagship Peter the Great, which also participated in the exercises.
There is also a version according to which the nuclear submarine collided with a mine from the time of World War II, which led to the detonation of the torpedo. This was the first official version, but it was dropped after it was proved that the technical characteristics of the nuclear submarine would not have allowed the old bomb to cause any serious damage to the submarine. The reason for the explosion of the torpedo is also called a possible collision of the nuclear submarine with an unknown object, as a result of which the torpedo was jammed in the compartment. Perhaps it was a collision with a foreign submarine.
