OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF NAVY LEAGUE OF AUSTRALIA
Published 1920 to 1932 then continuously from April 1938
75 Years of Publication.

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THE KURSK: WHAT HAPPENED?
By Dr Lee Willett

Dr Lee Willett of the Military Science Programme, Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies, London, examines the KURSK tragedy with the view to uncovering the many possible reasons for the submarine's loss.
On 12 August 2000, the Russian Oscar II-class submarine KURSK (K-141) sank after suffering a catastrophic series of explosions. It is now apparent that many of the crew were killed almost instantly, and that the entire crew was dead within a matter of hours. By the time the news of the tragedy was released two days later, it is believed that the Russian Navy was well aware of the fate of the crew. What remains uncertain is the precise chain of events which triggered the catastrophe. The most important aspect to note is that, still, there is insufficient hard evidence to prove or disprove any particular theory.

The KURSK
The Oscar IIs are known as `carrier-busters'. They are designed to sink American aircraft carriers, the most potent symbol of US military power. Throughout the 1990s, Oscar-class submarines made several high profile deployments to US waters - occasionally popping up behind US carriers or just outside major US Naval bases - in a political bid to show to the US that, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia was still a military force with which to be reckoned.
KURSK entered service into the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet on 20 January 1995. The KURSK was a leading boat in the Russian submarine force. Only last year, for example, KURSK headed a rare Russian naval deployment into the Mediterranean. On 10 August this year in the Barents Sea, she joined what was the largest naval exercise for the Red Fleet since the demise of the Soviet Union. Over 30 surface ships and submarines were involved, including the Ushakov (ex-Kirov) heavy cruiser PETER THE GREAT (AKA PIOTR VELIKKI) and Russia's sole aircraft carrier ADMIRAL KUZNETSOV.

What Did Not Sink the KURSK

Articles from the October-December 2000 "THE NAVY"