View source for Russian submarine Kursk (K-141)

{{Short description|Oscar-II class cruise missile submarine}}
{{Redirect|K-141|the Kansas state highway|K-141 (Kansas highway)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image=[[File:K-141 Kursk Russian submarine.jpg|300px|K-141 Kursk]]
| Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=
| Ship country= [[Russia]]
| Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Russia|navy}}
| Ship name=K-141 ''Kursk''
| Ship namesake= [[Battle of Kursk]]
| Ship ordered=
| Ship builder=
| Ship laid down= 1990
| Ship launched= 1994
| Ship acquired=
| Ship commissioned= 30 December 1994
| Ship decommissioned=
| Ship in service=
| Ship out of service=
| Ship struck= [[Kursk submarine disaster|12 August 2000]]
| Ship reinstated=
| Ship fate=All 118 hands lost in {{convert|100|m|abbr=on}} of water in [[Barents Sea]] on 12 August 2000
| Ship status=Raised from the seafloor (except bow), towed to shipyard, and dismantled
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header=
| Header caption=
| Ship class={{sclass2|Oscar II|submarine}}
| Ship displacement={{convert|13400|to|16400|t}}{{clarify|date=July 2012|surfaced or submerged?}}
| Ship length={{convert|154.0|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam={{convert|18.2|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught=
| Ship draft={{convert|9.0|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion=2 OK-650b nuclear reactors ([[highly enriched uranium|HEU]] <= 45%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lynceans.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Marine-Nuclear-Power-1939-2018_Part-3A_R1_Russia_submarines.pdf|title=Marine Nuclear Power:1939 – 2018|date=July 2018|accessdate=30 December 2022}}</ref>), 2 steam turbines, two 7-bladed propellers
| Ship speed={{convert|32|kn}} submerged, {{convert|16|kn}} surfaced
| Ship range=
| Ship endurance=
| Ship test depth={{convert|300|to|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} by various estimates
| Ship complement=44 officers, 68 enlisted
| Ship sensors=
| Ship EW=
| Ship armament=24 × [[P-700 Granit|SS-N-19/P-700 Granit]], 4 × {{convert|533|mm|0|abbr=on}} and 2 × {{convert|650|mm|in|abbr=on}} [[torpedo tube]]s (bow); 24 torpedoes
| Ship notes=Home port: [[Vidyayevo]], Russia
}}
|}
'''K-141 ''Kursk''''' ({{langx|ru|Курск}}){{NoteTag|In full, {{langx|ru| Атомная Подводная Лодка «Курск» (АПЛ «Курск»)|Atomnaya Podvodnaya Lodka "Kursk" (APL "Kursk")|Atomic-powered submarine ''Kursk''}}}} was an [[Oscar-class submarine|Oscar II]]-class [[Nuclear submarine|nuclear-powered]] [[cruise missile submarine]] of the [[Russian Navy]]. On 12 August 2000, K-141 ''Kursk'' was [[Kursk submarine disaster|lost when it sank]] in the [[Barents Sea]], killing all 118 personnel on board.

== Construction ==
[[File:Oscar II class SSGN.svg|left|thumb|300px|Silhouette of an Oscar-II class submarine]]
K-141 ''Kursk'' was a Project 949A class ''Antey'' ({{langx|ru|Aнтей, meaning [[Antaeus]]}}) submarine of the [[Oscar-class submarine|Oscar class]], known as the Oscar II by its [[NATO reporting name]], and was the penultimate submarine of the Oscar II class designed and approved in the [[Soviet Union]]. Construction began in 1990 at the [[Soviet Navy]] military shipyards in [[Severodvinsk]], near [[Arkhangelsk]], in the northern [[Russian SFSR]]. During the construction of K-141, the [[Soviet Union collapse]]d; work continued, and she became one of the first naval vessels completed after the collapse. In 1993 K-141 was named ''Kursk'' after the [[Battle of Kursk]]<ref name="tass1">{{Cite news|title="Курск": 15 лет со дня гибели|url=http://tass.ru/proisshestviya/2178843|work=ТАСС|access-date=2017-08-26|language=ru}}</ref> in the 50-year anniversary of this battle. K-141 was inherited by [[Russia]] and launched in 1994, before being commissioned by the [[Russian Navy]] on December 30, as part of the [[Russian Northern Fleet]].<ref name=potts/>

''Kursk'' was assigned to the [[home port]] of [[Vidyayevo]], [[Murmansk Oblast]].

== Capabilities ==

The Antey design represented the highest achievement of Soviet nuclear submarine technology. They are the second-largest cruise missile submarines ever built, after some {{sclass2|Ohio|submarine|1}} ballistic missile submarines that were converted to carry cruise missiles in 2007.<ref name=barany/>{{rp|22–23}} It was built to defeat an entire United States aircraft carrier group. A single [[Type 65 torpedo]] carried a {{convert|450|kg|abbr=on}} warhead powerful enough to sink an aircraft carrier.<ref name=weaponsystems>{{cite web|url=http://weaponsystems.net/weapon.php?weapon=HH14%20-%20Type%2065 |title=Weapon |publisher=Weaponsystems.net |access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref> Both missiles and torpedoes could be equipped with nuclear warheads. She was {{convert|30|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}} longer than the preceding Oscar I-class of submarines. The senior officers had individual cabins and the entire crew had access to a gymnasium.<ref name=cns>{{cite web|title=Kursk Stats|url=http://cns.miis.edu/archive/rus_sub/kurstats.htm|date=11 February 2014|access-date=11 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222153914/http://cns.miis.edu/archive/rus_sub/kurstats.htm|archive-date=22 February 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Moore|first=Robert|title=A Time to Die 0|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/book/116819/a-time-to-die-by-robert-moore/9780609610008/?view=excerpt|publisher=Random House|access-date=5 February 2014}}</ref>

The outer hull, made of high-[[nickel]], high-[[chromium]] [[stainless steel]] {{convert|8.5|mm|abbr=on}} thick, had exceptionally good resistance to corrosion and a weak [[magnetic]] signature which helped prevent detection by U.S. [[magnetic anomaly detector]] (MAD) systems. There was a {{convert|200|mm|abbr=on}} gap to the {{convert|50.8|mm|abbr=on}}-thick steel [[Submarine hull#Pressure hull|pressure hull]].<ref>N. A. "Kursk Inner Hull Breached." Australian, The (n.d.): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 7 December 2011.</ref> She was designed to remain submerged for up to 120 days.  The sail superstructure was reinforced to allow it to break through the Arctic ice.<ref name=potts/>
The submarine was armed with  24 [[P-700 Granit|SS-N-19/P-700 Granit]] cruise missiles, and eight [[torpedo tube]]s in the bow: four {{convert|533|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} and four {{convert|650|mm|in|abbr=on}}. The Granit missiles with a range of {{convert|550|km|abbr=on}}, were capable of supersonic flight at altitudes over {{convert|20|km|abbr=on}}. They were designed to swarm enemy vessels and intelligently choose individual targets which terminated with a dive onto the target.<ref name=cns/> The torpedo tubes could be used to launch either torpedoes or anti-ship missiles with a range of {{convert|50|km|abbr=on}}. Her weapons included 18 [[RPK-6 Vodopad/RPK-7 Veter|SS-N-16 "Stallion"]] anti-submarine missiles.<ref name=potts/>

''Kursk'' was part of Russia's Northern Fleet, which had suffered funding cutbacks throughout the 1990s. Many of its submarines were anchored and rusting in [[Zapadnaya Litsa (naval base)|Zapadnaya Litsa Naval Base]], {{convert|100|km|abbr=on}} from [[Murmansk]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071104165452/http://www.bellona.org/articles/andreyeva_ticking_bomb  ''Andreyeva Bay is a ticking bomb, Bellona’s documents prove'' – Rashid Alimov, ''Bellona Foundation'', Oslo, 7 June 2007]. Retrieved on 8 August 2007.</ref> Little work to maintain all but the most essential front-line equipment, including search and rescue equipment, had occurred. Northern Fleet sailors had gone unpaid in the mid-1990s.<ref name=potts/>

== Deployments ==

During her five years of service, ''Kursk'' completed only one mission, a six-month deployment to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] during the summer of 1999 to monitor the [[United States Sixth Fleet]] responding to the [[Kosovo War|Kosovo crisis]].<ref name="underwood">{{cite book|editor-last=Underwood|editor-first=Lamar |title=The Greatest Submarine Stories Ever Told: Dive! Dive! Fourteen Unforgettable Stories from the Deep|year=2005|publisher=Lyons Press|location=Guilford, Connecticut|isbn=978-1592287338}}</ref>{{rp|215}} As a result, many of her crew had spent little time at sea and were inexperienced.<ref name=barany>{{cite book|last=Barany|first=Zoltan|title=Democratic Breakdown and the Decline of the Russian Military|year=2007|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, New Jersey|isbn=9781400828043|page=32|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OADs4vQy_W8C&pg=PA32}}</ref>

== Naval exercise and disaster ==
{{main article|Kursk submarine disaster}}

''Kursk'' joined the "Summer-X" exercise, the first large-scale naval exercise planned by the Russian Navy in more than a decade,<ref name=nucnews818>{{cite web|title=Russian Sub Has 'Terrifying Hole'|url=http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2000nn/0008nn/000818nn.htm|access-date=31 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101161935/http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2000nn/0008nn/000818nn.htm|archive-date=1 January 2011|date=18 August 2000}}</ref> on 10 August 2000. It included 30 ships including the fleet's flagship [[Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy|''Pyotr Velikiy'']], four attack submarines,<ref name=potts>{{cite web|last=Potts|first=J.R.|title=K-141 Kursk Attack Submarine (1994)|url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=K141-Kursk|publisher=militaryfactory.com|access-date=3 February 2014|date=5 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220231704/http://www.militaryfactory.com/ships/detail.asp?ship_id=K141-Kursk|archive-date=20 February 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and a flotilla of smaller ships. The crew had recently won a citation for its excellent performance and had been recognized as the best submarine crew in the [[Northern Fleet]].<ref name=brannon>{{cite book|last=Brannon|first=Robert|title=Russian civil-military Relations|date=13 April 2009|publisher=Ashgate Publishers|location=Farnham, England|isbn=978-0754675914|page=140 }}</ref> While it was on an exercise, ''Kursk'' loaded a full complement of combat weapons. It was one of the few vessels authorized to carry a combat load at all times.

=== Explosion ===

On the first day of the exercise, ''Kursk'' successfully launched a Granit missile armed with a dummy warhead.<ref name=potts/>  Two days later, on the morning of 12 August, ''Kursk'' prepared to fire [[dummy torpedo]]es at the {{sclass|Kirov|battlecruiser}} ''Pyotr Velikiy''. These practice torpedoes had no explosive warheads and were manufactured and tested at a much lower quality standard.<ref>{{Cite news| last = Dikkenberg | first = John | title = Raising the Kursk | newspaper = Sydney Morning Herald |publisher = Newspaper Source Plus | date = 19 October 2001 }}</ref> On 12 August 2000, at 11:28 local time (07:28 [[UTC]]), there was an explosion while preparing to fire.<ref>Rosenberg, Debra, ''et al''. "A Mystery In The Deep." ''Newsweek'' 136.9 (2000): 34. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 December 2011.</ref> The Russian Navy's final report on the disaster concluded the explosion was due to the failure of one of ''Kursk''{{`s}} hydrogen peroxide-fueled [[Type 65 torpedo]]es.<ref>Sviatov, George. "The Kursk's Loss Offers Lessons." ''U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings'', 129.6 (2003): 71. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 December 2011.</ref> A subsequent investigation concluded that [[high-test peroxide]] (HTP), a form of highly concentrated [[hydrogen peroxide]] used as propellant for the torpedo, seeped through a faulty weld in the torpedo casing.<ref>{{Citation | last = Marshall | first = Geoff | title = The Loss of HMS Sidon | newspaper = In Depth | publisher = Submarines Association Australia | date = July 2008 | volume = 28 | issue = 4 | url = http://submarinesaustralia.com/indepth_archive/in_depth__jul_08.html | access-date = 2 September 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110216055128/http://submarinesaustralia.com/indepth_archive/in_depth__jul_08.html | archive-date = 16 February 2011 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> When HTP comes into contact with a catalyst, it rapidly expands by a factor of 5000, generating vast quantities of steam and oxygen. The pressure produced by the expanding HTP ruptured the kerosene fuel tank in the torpedo and set off an explosion equal to {{convert|100|–|250|kg}} of [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]]. The submarine sank in relatively shallow water, bottoming at {{convert|108|m|ft}} about {{convert|135|km|abbr=on}} off [[Severomorsk]], at {{Coord|69|40|N|37|35|E}}. A second explosion 135 seconds after the initial event was equivalent to 3-7 tons of TNT.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/umrcourses/ge342/Forensic%20Seismology-revised.pdf |work=[[Missouri University of Science and Technology]]|title=Some Practical Applications of Forensic Seismology |first1=J. David|last1=Rogers|first2=Keith D.|last2=Koper |access-date=5 September 2010}}</ref> The explosions blew a large hole in the hull and caused the first three compartments of the submarine to collapse, killing or incapacitating all but 23 of the 118 personnel on board.<ref name="underwood"/>{{rp|208}}

=== Rescue attempts ===
The [[Royal Navy|British]] and [[Norwegian Navy|Norwegian]] navies offered assistance, but Russia initially refused all help.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Williams |first1=Daniel |title='Terrifying Hole' in Russian Sub |url=http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2000nn/0008nn/000818nn.htm |website=Wayback Machine |publisher=Washington Post |access-date=2 April 2016 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101161935/http://nucnews.net/nucnews/2000nn/0008nn/000818nn.htm |archive-date=1 January 2011 }}</ref> All 118 sailors and officers aboard ''Kursk'' died. The Russian Admiralty initially told the public that the majority of the crew died within minutes of the explosion. On 21 August, Norwegian and Russian divers found 24 bodies in the ninth compartment, the turbine room at the stern of the boat. Captain-lieutenant Dmitri Kolesnikov wrote a note listing the names of 23 sailors who were alive in the compartment after the boat sank.

''Kursk'' carried a [[potassium superoxide]] cartridge of a [[chemical oxygen generator]]; these are used to absorb [[carbon dioxide]] and chemically release oxygen during an emergency. However, the cartridge became contaminated with sea water and the resulting chemical reaction caused a flash fire which consumed the available oxygen. The investigation showed that some men temporarily survived the fire by plunging under water, as fire marks on the bulkheads indicated the water was at waist level at the time. Ultimately, the remaining crew burned to death or suffocated.<ref name="RM">{{cite book|last=Moore|first=Robert|title=A Time to Die–The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy|publisher=Crown Publishers, Random House|location=New York|year=2003|pages=[https://archive.org/details/timetodieuntol00moor/page/65 65–66]|isbn=0-609-61000-7|url=https://archive.org/details/timetodieuntol00moor/page/65}}</ref>

[[File:Интервью телекомпании РТР в связи с трагедией на атомной подводной лодке "Kursk".ogg|thumb|left|Putin interview on the tragedy <small>(with subtitles)</small>]]
Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]], though immediately informed of the tragedy, was told by the navy that they had the situation under control and that rescue was imminent. He waited for five days before ending his holiday at a presidential resort in [[Sochi]] on the Black Sea. Putin was only four months into his tenure as president, and the public and media were extremely critical of his decision to remain at a seaside resort. His highly favourable ratings dropped dramatically.<ref name=bbc3107>{{cite news|title=Kursk closure leaves questions unanswered|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2164783.stm|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=BBC News|date=31 July 2002}}</ref>  The president's response appeared callous and the government's actions looked incompetent.<ref name=sptimes>{{cite news|title=Kursk Relatives Make a Plea for Facts and Justice|url=http://www.sptimesrussia.com/story/14499|access-date=21 February 2011|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=23 February 2001}}</ref> A year later he said, "I probably should have returned to Moscow, but nothing would have changed. I had the same level of communication both in Sochi and in Moscow, but from a PR point of view I could have demonstrated some special eagerness to return."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1487112.stm  ''Spectre of Kursk haunts Putin'']  – BBC News, 12 August 2001 Retrieved on 8 August 2007</ref>

==Submarine recovery==
[[File:Kursk wreck.jpg|thumb|Submarine wreck after the disaster]]

A consortium formed by the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] companies [[Mammoet]] and [[Smit International]]<ref>Smit website on [http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=148 Salvage project of Kursk] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121000847/http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=148 |date=21 January 2012 }}, URL visited 12 February 2012</ref> was awarded a contract by Russia to raise the vessel, excluding the bow. They modified the [[barge]] ''[[Giant 4]]'' which raised ''Kursk'' and recovered the remains of the sailors.<ref name="Spitz, 2006">{{citation|last=Spitz|first=D.J.|title=Investigation of Bodies in Water. In: Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death. Guideline for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigations |edition=4th|location= Springfield, Illinois.|year=2006|pages=846–881}}</ref>

During salvage operations in 2001, the team first cut the bow off the hull using a [[tungsten carbide]]-studded cable. As this tool had the potential to cause sparks which could ignite remaining pockets of reactive gases, such as hydrogen, the operation was executed with care. Most of the bow was abandoned and the rest of the vessel was towed to Severomorsk and placed in a floating dry dock for analysis.

The remains of ''Kursk''{{`}}s reactor compartment were towed to Sayda Bay on Russia's northern [[Kola Peninsula]], where more than 50 reactor compartments were afloat at pier points, after a shipyard had removed all the fuel from the boat in early 2003.<ref name="bellona">{{cite web|last=Kudrik|first=Igor|title=Defuelled Kursk will join submarine graveyard|url=http://www.bellona.org/english_import_area/international/russia/navy/northern_fleet/incidents/28703|publisher=Bellona Foundation|location=Oslo|date=3 March 2003|access-date=8 August 2007
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006082331/http://www.bellona.org/english_import_area/international/russia/navy/northern_fleet/incidents/28703
  |archive-date=2007-10-06
}}</ref>

Some torpedo and torpedo tube fragments from the bow were recovered and the rest was destroyed by explosives in 2002.

==Official inquiry results==
Notwithstanding the navy's oft-stated position that a collision with a foreign vessel had triggered the event,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navytimes.com/flashpoints/2021/11/22/russian-admiral-kursk-disaster-caused-by-nato-sub/|title=Russian admiral: Kursk disaster caused by NATO sub|date=22 November 2021}}</ref> a report issued by the government attributed the disaster to a torpedo explosion caused when [[high-test peroxide]] (HTP), a form of highly concentrated [[hydrogen peroxide]], leaked from a faulty weld in the torpedo's casing.<ref name="weaponsystems"/><ref name=brannon/><ref>{{cite web|author=Tony DiGiulian |url=http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WTRussian_post-WWII.htm |title=Russia / USSR Post-World War II Torpedoes |publisher=Navweaps.com |date=19 November 2008 |access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref> The report found that the initial explosion destroyed the torpedo room compartment and killed everyone in the first compartment.<ref name=bbc0107>{{cite news|title=Final report blames fuel for Kursk disaster|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2078927.stm|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=BBC News|date=1 July 2002}}</ref><ref name=inquests2187>{{cite web|last=Милашина|first=Елена|script-title=ru:Как погиб Курск|url=http://www.novayagazeta.ru/inquests2187.html|access-date=14 February 2014|date=15 July 2010 |language=ru}}</ref> The blast entered the second and perhaps the third and fourth compartments through an air conditioning vent. All of the 36 men in the command post located in the second compartment were immediately incapacitated by the blast wave and possibly killed.<ref name=wines>{{cite news|last=Wines|first=Michael|title=Russian Sub's Officer Wrote Of Torpedo Blast, Izvestia Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/27/world/russian-sub-s-officer-wrote-of-torpedo-blast-izvestia-says.html|access-date=19 February 2014|date=27 February 2001 |newspaper=New York Times}}</ref>  The first explosion caused a fire that raised the temperature of the compartment to more than {{convert|2700|C}}.<ref name=faulconbridge>{{cite news |first=Guy |last=Faulconbridge|title=Nightmare at Sea|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/arts_n_ideas/article/nightmare-at-sea/364880.html|newspaper=Moscow Times|access-date=22 February 2014 |date=3 December 2004 }}</ref> The heat caused the warheads of between five and seven additional torpedoes to detonate, creating an explosion equivalent to 2–3 [[TNT equivalent|tons of TNT]]<ref name=recovery-paper-2003>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.largeassociates.com/kurskpaper.pdf|title=The Recovery of the Russian Federation Nuclear Powered Submarine Kursk |author=Peter Davidson |author2=Huw Jones |author3=[[John H. Large]] |publisher=[[Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers]]|journal=World Maritime Technology Conference, San Francisco|date=October 2003|access-date=3 July 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206224817/http://www.largeassociates.com/kurskpaper.pdf|archive-date=6 February 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> that measured 4.2 on the Richter magnitude scale on seismographs across Europe<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geology.about.com/library/weekly/aa012801a.htm|title=Do Bombs Cause Earthquakes?|access-date=20 February 2014|archive-date=18 October 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018065306/http://geology.about.com/library/weekly/aa012801a.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was detected as far away as [[Alaska]].<ref name=guardian0805>{{cite news|title=What really happened to Russia's 'unsinkable' sub|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/05/kursk.russia|access-date=1 February 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|date=4 August 2001}}</ref>

=== Alternative explanation ===
Vice-Admiral Valery Ryazantsev differed with the government's official conclusion. He cited inadequate training, poor maintenance, and incomplete inspections that caused the crew to mishandle the weapon.<ref name=Ryazantsevix>{{cite web| first=Valery |last=Ryazantsev |title=The death of the "Kursk"|url=http://www.avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/45-glava-ix-spasatelnaya-operatsiya.html|access-date=12 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613060146/http://www.avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/45-glava-ix-spasatelnaya-operatsiya.html |archive-date= 13 June 2011 |language=ru}}</ref>  During the examination of the wrecked sub, investigators recovered a partially burned copy of the safety instructions for loading HTP torpedoes, but the instructions were for a significantly different type of torpedo and failed to include essential steps for testing an air valve. The 7th Division, 1st Submarine Flotilla never inspected ''Kursk''{{'}}s crew's qualifications and readiness to fire HTP torpedoes.<ref name="inquests2187"/> ''Kursk''{{'}}s crew had no experience with HTP-powered torpedoes and had not been trained in handling or firing HTP-powered torpedoes. Due to their inexperience and lack of training, compounded by incomplete inspections and oversight, and because the  ''Kursk''{{'}}s crew followed faulty instructions when loading the practice torpedo, Ryazantsev believes they set off a chain of events that led to the explosion.<ref name="barany"/><ref name=ryazantsevvii >{{cite web| first=Valery |last=Ryazantsev |title=The death of the "Kursk"|url=http://avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/43-glava-vii-gibel-kurska-kak-eto-bilo.html|access-date=12 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120181513/http://avtonomka.org/vospominaniya/vitse-admiral-ryazantsev-valeriy-dmitrievich/43-glava-vii-gibel-kurska-kak-eto-bilo.html |archive-date= 20 November 2011 |language=ru}}</ref>

== Media ==
[[File:Морякам-подводникам погибшим в мирное время.JPG|thumb|Monument over Kursk.]]
=== Books ===
* Truscott, Peter (2002), ''Kursk: Russia's  Lost Pride''. Simon & Schuster UK. {{ISBN|0-7432-3072-8}}
* Dunmore, Spencer (2002), ''Lost Subs: From the "Hunley" to the "Kursk", the Greatest Submarines Ever Lost – And Found''. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo. {{ISBN|0-306-81140-5}}
* Moore, Robert (2002), ''A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy''. Crown Publishers NY, NY. {{ISBN|978-0609610008}}
* Weir, Gary E. and Boyne, Walter J. (2003), ''Rising Tide: The Untold Story Of The Russian Submarines That Fought The Cold War''. Basic Books, NY, NY. {{ISBN|978-0465091126}}
* Flynn, Ramsey (2004), ''Cry from the Deep: The Sinking of the Kursk, the Submarine Disaster That Riveted the World and Put the New Russia to the Ultimate Test''. Harper Collins. {{ISBN|978-0060936419}}
* Rear Admiral Mian Zahir Shah (2005) ''Sea Phoenix: A True Submarine Story''. {{ISBN|978-9698318048}}

=== Songs ===
*"[[Travel Is Dangerous]]", a song from the album ''[[Mr_Beast_(album)|Mr Beast]]'' by post-rock band [[Mogwai]].
*Finnish doom metal band [[KYPCK|Kypck]] is claimed to have cross-references both to the [[Battle of Kursk|Battle of Kursk]] and the submarine named after the city.
*"Капитан Колесников" (Captain Kolesnikov), a song by the Russian rock band [[DDT (band)|DDT]]
*"Icy blackness (Kursk)", a heavy metal song by Armageddon Rev. 16:16 from the album ''Sundown on Humanity''
*"The Kursk" is a song by [[Matt Elliott (musician)|Matt Elliott]] from his album ''Drinking Songs''
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnfcvcUb71g Sequoya's "Barren the Sea"], a folk song about the tragedy
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKYaaVQ-3hM "Angel 141 (Russian: Ангел 141)"] is a song by [[Amatory|Amatory]] from the album ''DOOM'' (2019)
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0pF5BJ-_gA "K-141 Kursk"] is a song by heavy metal band [[Wolf (band)|Wolf]] from their album ''[[Legions of Bastards]]''
*"Kursk", a song by the Massachusetts-based melodic hardcore band [[A Wilhelm Scream (band)|A Wilhelm Scream]] on their 2004 album ''[[Mute Print]]''

=== Theatre ===
* ''The Kursk''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.criticalstages.com.au/page/the_kursk.html|title=THE KURSK|last=Janowicz|first=Sasha|access-date=January 16, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303160631/http://www.criticalstages.com.au/page/the_kursk.html|archive-date=3 March 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref> – play about the trapped survivors, By Sasha Janowicz.
* ''[[Kursk (play)|Kursk]]'' – a play by playwright [[Bryony Lavery]] from the British point of view.

=== Movies ===
* ''[[Kursk (film)|Kursk]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4951982/|title=Kursk|last=Vinterberg|first=Thomas|website=[[IMDb]]|access-date=January 20, 2019}}</ref> (also known as "The Command", and "Kursk: The Last Mission"). - The film from 2018 follows the 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster and the governmental negligence that followed. By [[Thomas Vinterberg]].

=== Art ===

* ''Kursk,'' a 2004 art work by Finnish sculptor Markus Copper. The work consists of eight live size diver figures hanging from a steel frame and slowly knocking a steel wall with monkey wrenches. The action is launched by a glowing electronic unit.

== See also ==
* [[2008 Russian submarine accident]]
* [[List of Russian military accidents]]
* [[List of sunken nuclear submarines]]
* [[Major submarine incidents since 2000]]
* Submarines destroyed by hot-running torpedoes: {{HMS|Sidon|P259|6}}, and possibly {{USS|Scorpion|SSN-589|6}} and {{ship|PNS|Ghazi}}
* [[Igor Spassky|Igor Spasskiy]] – The designer of the Oscar II class

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/949.htm Project 949 Granit / Oscar I Project 949A Antey / Oscar II]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4145280.stm BBC: ''Kursk'' mistakes haunt Russia]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=917851|title='A Time to Die': The Kursk Disaster|last=Siegel|first=Robert|author2=Moore, Robert|date=13 January 2003|publisher=NPR|access-date=14 September 2009}}
* [http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?120295 ''Kursk'' on the wrecksite, chart and position]
* [http://www.murman.ru/kurskmem ''Kursk'' memorial website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120206224817/http://www.largeassociates.com/kurskpaper.pdf Risks and hazards during the recovery of the ''Kursk'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071007111413/http://www.bellona.org/english_import_area/international/russia/navy/northern_fleet/incidents/kursk/18472 A detailed timeline of the recovery operations]
* [http://embed.minoto-video.com/135/2LbMPzeqjjVh ''Raising the Kursk'', 31-minute technical documentary video]

{{Oscar-class submarine}}
{{2000 shipwrecks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kursk (K-141)}}
[[Category:Kursk submarine disaster| ]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of Russia]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2000]]
[[Category:Oscar-class submarines]]
[[Category:Ships built in Russia]]
[[Category:Ships of the Russian Northern Fleet]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Barents Sea]]
[[Category:Submarine accidents caused by torpedoes]]
[[Category:Sunken nuclear submarines]]
[[Category:1994 ships]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by non-combat internal explosions]]
[[Category:Warships lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Submarines lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the Russian Navy]]