1. Based on Actual Events
K-19 Submarine
The “Widowmaker”

2. Nuclear Submarines
During the Cold War, there was a race to develop nuclear powered submarines that could also carry nuclear missiles

3. Nuclear Submarines

4. Nuclear Submarines
In 1954, the Americans were the first to build a nuclear powered submarine called the Nautilus
The Nautilus used standard submarine design except in the engine compartment

5. Nuclear Submarines
In 1957, Soviet Union retaliated by building the K-3, their first nuclear powered submarine
The Soviet Union used new designs that had superior features
But they rushed to build them, so were poorly built and inadequately tested
Resulted in many accidents and deaths during construction and at sea

6. Nuclear Submarines
In 1960, the Americans finished building the George Washington submarine
The first submarine capable of carrying and launching nuclear missiles
The Soviet Union responded by building the K-19
Again, they rushed and mistakes were made

7. K-19 Submarine
Even during construction there were problems and accidents because of the rush to complete the ship
10 people died while building the ship
A fire broke out killing two workers
Six women suffocated from fumes while applying insulation
An electrician was crushed to death by a missile tube cover
An engineer fell between two compartments and died

8. K-19 Submarine Statistics Commissioned: April 30, 1961
Displacement: 5,000 tons
Length: 374 ft
Max. Operating Depth: 300 m
Top Speed: 15 knots on surface
and 26 knots submerged
Armament: 3 nuclear missiles
6 torpedo tubes forward
2 torpedo tubes aft
Engineering: 2 thermal VM-A reactors
2 geared turbines driving shafts to produce 39,200 horsepower
Max. Mission Length: 50 Days (due to food constraints)

9. K-19 Disaster
On July 4, 1961 there was a rupture in the primary coolant loop for one of the reactors
Coolant serves two purposes in a nuclear reactor
It regulates the temperature of the reactor by carrying away heat
By lowering the temperature, it slows the neutrons which controls the chain reaction

10. K-19 Disaster
The rupture caused the water pressure to drop and the coolant stopped flowing
Without coolant, the control rods alone could not slow down the chain reaction
As the chain reaction increased, the temperature began to rise
When the core temperature of a reactor gets too high, there is a ‘core meltdown’ which is followed by a nuclear explosion

11. K-19 Disaster
The ship surfaced to radio for help, but the antenna was broken
Their only hope of survival was to get water into the reactor pressure vessel to cool the core
To do this, 8 crewmen had to open the shielded reactor area and weld new coolant pipes
They were exposed to massive doses of radiation
They vomit yellow and white foam and their faces and bodies were burned and swollen

12. K-19 Disaster The radiation spread throughout the ship
Radioactive steam was sucked into the ventilation system when the shielded reactor area was opened
Also, when the crew pumped radioactive coolant water out of the reactor compartment, radiation emanated from drain piping

13. K-19 Rescue
Eventually the K-19 was found by other Russian submarines and everyone was evacuated
The K-19 was towed back to port for repairs
It contaminated everything within 700 meters (approximately 2,300 feet or ½ mile)
22 men died shortly after the accident
8 men died within days
14 more died within 2 yrs
The remaining 117 men all suffered varying degrees of radiation-related illness

14. Section Review
Answer the questions in the section review