14. Accidents plagued the Soviets during the Cold War as well
The United States lost two nuclear submarines to accidents during the Cold War, both sinking with all hands. The Soviet Union lost five, though one of them was deliberately scuttled by the Soviet Navy after years of problems. In 1982, the Soviets sealed the reactor compartment of K-27, after spending years attempting to gain some sort of reliability from its problematic reactor. They deliberately sank the vessel in the Kara Sea, in shallow water, despite the warnings against doing so from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Subsequent plans to raise the submarine and recover its reactor have yet to be realized, as of this writing. In 2020, plans were announced to raise K-27, along with other Soviet and Russian submarines disposed of in a similar manner.
During the Cold War years, three Soviet submarines suffered serious damage from onboard fires, causing deaths among the crews, and eventually leading to the submarine’s loss. K-8, in April 1970 was especially tragic. Fires aboard the submarine lead to the 52 survivors of the crew evacuating safely to a nearby surface ship. Eight members of the crew perished in the fire. Plans to tow the submarine to port and safety led the crew to re-man their vessel, rig it for towing, and ride it through rough seas. The submarine began flooding rapidly through open hatches. The tow line broke and the crew had no way to gain control over the listing vessel in the heavy seas. K-8 sank from the surface with all hands, on April 11, 1970 in the Bay of Biscay near the coast of Spain.
