ABOUT FACTS NET Weapons

Well, we just talked about the US lost nukes and military nuclear accidents, I think it is only fair to mention as much as we can find out about Russian lost nukes and military nuclear accidents. As I mentioned before, I have no way to verify this info since I am only one person with a web site, but what I am about to mention is talked about by many people. This list is far from complete and we may never know the true extent of Soviet nuclear accidents and loses.

Lost Nukes

Just for a change of pace, lets talk about Soviet ( and Russian) lost submarines. Over 500 sailors have died in peace time in Soviet nuclear submarines.

The K-27 (see below for accident details) was scuttled in relatively shallow water in 1981. It is believed that the reactors may still have been on board.

The K-8 (see below for details of first accident) went on a military exercise in 1970. This was the boat where many others had died previously. A fire broke out, but the crew fought it for two days. The safety systems kicked in shutting down the reactor but also shutting down any electricity generating capacity. Because of this, the diesel engines couldn't be started. Most of the crew were taken off the sub before it sunk in over 4,500 meters of water. What weapons went down with the boat will never be known.

One of the few named Soviet subs was the Komsomolets. The sub was the only Mike class vessel. She was a huge 6400 ton monster with a titanium hull that could dive to at least 1000 meters or further and reach speeds in excess of 40 mph. In 1989 a fire broke out in the sub while it was submerged. The boat surfaced and everyone fought the fire. The safety shut off the reactor but the compressed air system ruptured and the sub began to sink. Without the reactor to supply electricity, no more compressed air could be manufactured. The boat sank, but 25 people survived. We can only guess what nuclear weapons might have been aboard. The hull was sealed at a later date to prevent nuclear leakage.

In 1973 a container filled with Cobalt 60 was lost in the North Sea.

There are so many stories around about Russia losing suitcase sized nuclear weapons that it boggles the mind. In one place I saw that over 30 of these mighty midgets were lost, in another it was 3 and in many other places is was about 100. Some people are even saying the Osama bin Laden has purchased some of them. It is so hard to separate fact from fiction in this area. It seems to me however that if terrorists did have these devices that they would have used them, unless they can be traced while they are being moved.

Military Nuclear Accidents

The K-8 is the earliest know nuclear submarine loss. In October of 1960, the sub, a SSN November class, sank. Somehow the reactor cooling system got damaged and so did the backup system. The crew built a bypass to cool the reactor but radiation leaked in. The reactor compartment was either not a sealed compartment or something was wrong and it couldn't be sealed, but radioactive gas leaked into the entire submarine. It is not know how many of the crew died prematurely.

In 1961 the K-19, a Hotel class missile submarine suffered almost the same fate as the K-8. A leak had developed in the pipes supplying water to cool the reactor but there was no backup system available. Again the crew had to rig a system to cool the reactor and many suffered from radiation poisoning. Eight people died right away. The radiation level reached 50X that of the K-8.

The K-27 was a modified November class SSN. It had two nuclear reactors. In 1968 the reactors experienced a loss of power. Radioactive gas began to leak into the reactor compartment. Radiation levels in the submarine increased. The crew eventually was able to shut down the reactors. Nine crewmen died from radiation poisoning.

The K-192 was a Echo II class submarine. A leak was discovered in the reactor cooling system. Fresh water was now being pumped into the reactor from a hose that the crew had hooked up, the contaminated water was being pumped into the ocean. The sub was near Norway and the Norwegians had detected the radiation. It is said that when the fresh water tank of the sub was out of water, the hose was hooked up to a tank of a supply ship but the water had to be shut off and the individual in charge forgot to turn it on again. He said he was waiting for orders but left because it was time for dinner. The reactor was finally shut down amid the boat towed back.

In 2000 the Kursk, a Russian nuclear submarine sunk It was believed that a torpedo propellant caused the disaster. Again, we don't know what nuclear weapons were lost.

There were at least several more incidents with submarine reactors when the boats were in ship yards and maybe more while they were out at sea.

In 2002 the United States pledged $25,000,000 and help for Russian hunting down lost nuclear materials.

Aside from nuclear submarine and civilian nuclear disasters, it is almost impossible to find out about lost nuclear ordinance because of the nature of the secret Soviet Regime. We have to assume, given their record of nuclear accidents, that we do know about, that their record is at least similar to that of the United States or even worse. I find this hard to believe, but it is said that if you examine recently released documents you will find that the U.S. Navy has had either an nuclear accident or incident at the rate of almost one per day. If this is true then nuclear power is even more dangerous than I first thought. Everything in life is a case of give and get. If you have something that gives you a benefit but causes you extreme danger, then it may not be worth using. I am not saying that nuclear power should be abandoned all together, but I am saying that maybe we shouldn't use it except in cases where we need it to maintain the country's safety.

I don't want to engage in speculation on lost Russian nuclear weapons because there are just too many rumors out there, so I will end this article with just a simple statement. There are many lost nukes out there from many different countries.