In the shadow of the Cold War’s race for military supremacy, this submarine of the Soviet Navy was right at the very center of a naval disaster that spoke volumes on the tremendous pressure and dangerous risks implicit in undersea warfare. The twin disasters of the nuclear-powered Soviet K-429 submarine sank twice in two years.
In 1983, at the height of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, an already high-stakes environment for submarine crews became the setting for a disaster when the K-429 sank during a test dive in Sarannaya Bay, due to rapid flooding caused by improper setup and a collective unfamiliarity with the submarine’s systems. The disaster resulted in the tragic loss of 14 sailors. Shortly afterward, the boat hit bottom, about 160’ below the sea. It was only through the bravery of two sailors, who managed an arduous swim to the surface and subsequent arrest under suspicion of spying, Several hours later a rescue contingent arrived; divers entered the boat, supplied the crew with sufficient numbers of diving apparatus, and led the escape of most of the remainder of the men.
Three months later, Suvorov and one of his compartment chiefs were arrested, tried, and convicted for violation of fleet rules. Suvorov received a ten year sentence, of which he served three. Overall, sixteen men died. The Russian public only learned of the accident in the 1990s; the original crew of K-429 only found out when they arrived in port with their submarine nowhere to be found.
But the ordeal of K-429 did not end with its initial sinking. Refloated and repaired, the ill-fated submarine again went down in September 1985—this time as a result of worker negligence while it was in dry-dock. The second sinking was not fatal, but no less humiliating for the Soviet Navy, and after that the submarine never returned to service. Despite an investment of 300 million rubles for its repair.
