Soviet submarine K-19

K-19 disabled in the North Atlantic on 29 February 1972
History
Soviet Union
Name	К-19
Laid down	17 October 1958
Launched	17 October 1959
Completed	12 July 1960
Commissioned	12 November 1960
Decommissioned	19 April 1990
Nickname(s)	Hiroshima
Fate	Recycled at Naval Yard 85 Nerpa.
General characteristics
Class and type	Hotel-class submarine
Displacement	4,030 long tons (4,095 t) (surfaced) 5,000 long tons (5,080 t) (submerged)
Length	114 m (374 ft 0 in)
Beam	9.2 m (30 ft 2 in)
Draft	7.1 m (23 ft 4 in)
Propulsion	2 × 70 MW VM-A reactors, 2 geared turbines, 2 shafts, 39,200 shp (29 MW)
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) (surfaced) 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) (submerged)
Range	35,700 mi (57,500 km) at 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph) 32,200 mi (51,800 km) at 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph) (80% power)
Endurance	60 days (limited by food, and physical health)
Test depth	250 m (820 ft) (test) 300 m (980 ft) (design)
Complement	125 officers and men
Armament	3 × R-13 nuclear SRBM (650 km range) as a Hotel I 3 × R-21 nuclear MRBM (1300 km range) as a Hotel II 4 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes forward 2 × 16 in (406 mm) tubes forward 2 × 16 in (406 mm) tubes aft

K-19 (Russian: К-19) was the first submarine of the Project 658 (Russian: проект-658, lit: Projekt-658) class (NATO reporting name Hotel-class submarine), the first generation of Soviet nuclear submarines equipped with nuclear ballistic missiles, specifically the R-13 SLBM. The boat was hastily built by the Soviets in response to United States' developments in nuclear submarines as part of the arms race. Before she was launched, 10 civilian workers and a sailor died due to accidents and fires. After K-19 was commissioned, the boat had multiple breakdowns and accidents, several of which threatened to sink the submarine.

On its initial voyage on 4 July 1961, K-19 suffered a complete loss of coolant to one of its two reactors. A backup system included in the design was not installed, so the captain ordered members of the engineering crew to find a solution to avoid a nuclear meltdown. Sacrificing their own lives, the engineering crew jury-rigged a secondary coolant system and kept the reactor from a meltdown. Twenty-two crew members died during the following two years. The submarine experienced several other accidents, including two fires and a collision. The series of accidents inspired crew members to nickname the submarine "Hiroshima".