''K-279'' was the first Project 667B ''Murena'' (also known by the

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

Delta I)

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

of the

Soviet Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...

. Development of Project 667B began in 1965. Her keel was laid down in 1971 by

Sevmash JSC PO Sevmash () is a Russia, Russian joint-stock company (JSC) under the Vertical integration, vertically-integrated United Shipbuilding Corporation. The Shipyard, shipbuilding operations of Sevmash is in the port city of Severodvinsk on the Whi ...

at the

Severodvinsk Severodvinsk (; ) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2021 Census, the population was 157,213. Due to the p ...

shipyard. She was launched in January 1972, and commissioned in the

Soviet Northern Fleet The Northern Fleet (, ''Severnyy flot'') is the fleet of the Russian Navy in the Arctic. According to the Russian ministry of defence: "The Northern Fleet dates its history back to a squadron created in 1733 to protect the territories of th ...

on 22 December 1972.

Service history

In 1983, while operating under the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

icecap at the depth of , ''K-279'' struck an

iceberg An iceberg is a piece of fresh water ice more than long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". Much of an i ...

. The submarine rolled about 20 degrees and lost depth control, diving to before recovering. The submarine continued her mission for another two months before returning to port, despite the significant damage she had suffered. The Soviet Navy published an advisory to submarine captains warning that the bottoms of icebergs can extend to depths of or more. The American writers claims that on 20 October 1986, collided with ''K-279'' in the eastern Atlantic. The Soviet Navy claimed that ''Augusta'' collided with .Игорь Курдин, Питер Хухтхаузен, Р. Алан Уайт Гибель атомного подводного крейсера К-219. — Мн.: Попурри, 2000. — c. 345. — 384 с. — 5000 экз. — 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.

References

External links

This article includes material adapted fro
the Bellona Foundation's Web site
and from an 8 June 2004 interview with Rear-Admiral Vitaly Fedorin by ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

''. {{DEFAULTSORT:K-279 Delta-class submarines Ships built in the Soviet Union 1972 ships Cold War submarines of the Soviet Union Maritime incidents in 1986 Ships built by Sevmash

Service history

See also

References

External links