View source for Soviet submarine K-8

{{Short description|November-class submarine}}
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|Ship caption= ''K-8'' off the coast of Spain April 1970. Crewmen are topside, waiting to be rescued.
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|Ship country=Soviet Union
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|Ship name=''K-8''
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|Ship commissioned=31 August 1960
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|Ship fate=Sank 12 April 1970 in the [[Bay of Biscay]]
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|Ship class={{sclass2|November|submarine}}
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|Ship displacement=*3065 tonnes surfaced,
* 4750 tonnes submerged
|Ship length={{convert|107.4|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=2 × 70 MW [[VM-A reactor]]s
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|Ship speed=*{{convert|23.3|kn}} surfaced,
* {{convert|30|kn}} submerged
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|Ship complement=104 officers and men
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'''''K-8''''' was a {{sclass2|November|submarine}} of the [[Soviet Northern Fleet]] that sank in the [[Bay of Biscay]] with her nuclear weapons on board on April 12, 1970. A fire on April 8 had disabled the submarine and it was being towed in rough seas. Fifty-two crewmen were killed attempting the [[marine salvage|salvage]] of the boat when it sank.

==Accidents==

===1960 loss of coolant===
On 13 October 1960, while operating in the [[Barents Sea]], ''K-8'' suffered a ruptured steam generator tube, causing a [[loss-of-coolant accident]]. While the crew [[jury rig|jury-rigged]] a system to supply emergency cooling water to the reactor, preventing a reactor [[core meltdown]], large amounts of [[radioactive]] gas leaked out which contaminated the entire vessel. The gas [[radiation]] levels could not be determined because instrumentation could not measure such large scales. Three of the crew suffered visible [[Acute radiation syndrome|radiation injuries]], and many crewmen were exposed to doses of up to 1.8–2 [[Sievert|Sv]] (180–200 [[Röntgen equivalent man|rem]]).

===1970 Bay of Biscay fire===
During the large-scale "Ocean-70" naval exercise, ''K-8'' suffered fires in two compartments simultaneously on 8 April 1970. Due to short circuits that took place in III and VII compartments simultaneously at a depth of {{convert|120|m|ft}}, a fire spread through the air-conditioning system. Both nuclear reactors were shut down.<ref>''Inventory of accidents and losses at sea involving radioactive material'', [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] 2001, online [http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/te_1242_prn.pdf pdf version]</ref>

The captain ordered his entire crew to abandon ship but was countermanded once a towing vessel arrived. Fifty-two crewmen, including the commander, Captain 2nd Rank [[Vsevolod Bessonov]], re-boarded the surfaced submarine that was to be towed. This was the first loss of a Soviet nuclear-powered submarine, which sank in rough seas as it was being towed in the [[Bay of Biscay]] of the [[North Atlantic Ocean]]. Eight sailors had already died due to certain compartments being locked to prevent further flooding as well as the spread of the fire as soon as it was detected. All hands on board died due to [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] and the flooding of the surfaced submarine during 80 hours of damage control in stormy conditions. Seventy-three crewmen survived. ''K-8'' sank with four nuclear torpedoes out of total 24 on board to a depth of {{convert|4,680|m|ft}} approximately {{convert|490|km|nmi}} northwest of Spain.<ref>{{cite book|title=Man-made and Natural Radioactivity in Environmental Pollution and Radiochronology|last1=Tykva|first1=Richard|last2=Berg|first2=Dieter|isbn=1-4020-1860-6|year=2004|page=136|publisher=Springer }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of military nuclear accidents]]
* [[List of sunken nuclear submarines]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* The Bellona Foundation (http://bellona.no)

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
 | last = Polmar
 | first = Norman
 |author2=J. K. Moore
 | authorlink = Norman Polmar
 | title = Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines
 | edition =
 | year = 2004
 | publisher = Potomac Books, Inc
 | location = Washington, DC
 | isbn = 1-57488-530-8
 | type = paperback
 | quote =
 }}

{{November-class submarine}}
{{1960 shipwrecks}}
{{1970 shipwrecks}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:K-008}}
[[Category:1959 ships]]
[[Category:1970 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Cold War submarines of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Lost submarines of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1960]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1970]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in Spain]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:November-class submarines]]
[[Category:Nuclear submarines of the Soviet Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay]]
[[Category:Soviet submarine accidents]]
[[Category:Sunken nuclear submarines]]