K-19 (Project 658/Hotel-class SSBN)
The Project 658 class (codenamed Hotel-class by NATO) was a successful attempt by the Soviet Navy in combining the launch capability of the Project 629 class (Golf-class) with the nuclear power of the Project 627 class (November-class) submarines.
The Project 658s were still some years behind the American George Washington-class, but they existed, giving the USSR at least some submarine-launched ballistic missile capability. The class only armed three R-13 missiles with one megaton warheads, and initially were required to surface to fire them; later modifications allowed for underwater firing. Since the Project 658s still used the troublesome nuclear powerplant of the Project 627s, their reliability was somewhat questionable--the reactor would need to be replaced more often than the Soviet Navy would like. Generally speaking, the eight submarines of the Project 658 class were able to avoid the horrific nuclear accidents that haunted the Project 627s, with the exception of the class leader, K-19. All eight served for 30 years, providing a stopgap until more advanced Soviet missile submarines could be finished; all were decommissioned and scrapped at the end of the Cold War.
K-19 was by far the most famous of the Project 658/Hotel-class, but for all the wrong reasons: it was an exceptionally unlucky boat. Rushed into production, almost a dozen workers died in its construction, and its shakedown cruise was plagued with issues. By far, the worst incident came on 4 July 1961, when an improperly welded pipe broke and deprived the reactor of coolant. Only the gallant sacrifice of the engineering crew kept the K-19 from experiencing a meltdown; 22 crew died from radiation sickness.
The K-19 was able to limp home for repairs, but the trouble was just beginning: over its almost 30-year career, the submarine would experience three fires and a collision with an American attack submarine. It was decommissioned in 1989 and scrapped in the early 21st Century, despite attempts to save it. Though the 2002 movie "K-19: The Widowmaker," used that nickname, in reality the K-19's crews referred to it as "Hiroshima."
After seeing the movie, Dad built the K-19 in 1/350 scale as his own personal memorial to the crew. The overall black scheme is the K-19's rubberized coating, applied for better hydrodynamics and to resist sonar pulses; the silver panels forward are the torpedo tubes.
K-19 (Project 658/Hotel-class SSBN)
The Project 658 class (codenamed Hotel-class by NATO) was a successful attempt by the Soviet Navy in combining the launch capability of the Project 629 class (Golf-class) with the nuclear power of the Project 627 class (November-class) submarines.
The Project 658s were still some years behind the American George Washington-class, but they existed, giving the USSR at least some submarine-launched ballistic missile capability. The class only armed three R-13 missiles with one megaton warheads, and initially were required to surface to fire them; later modifications allowed for underwater firing. Since the Project 658s still used the troublesome nuclear powerplant of the Project 627s, their reliability was somewhat questionable--the reactor would need to be replaced more often than the Soviet Navy would like. Generally speaking, the eight submarines of the Project 658 class were able to avoid the horrific nuclear accidents that haunted the Project 627s, with the exception of the class leader, K-19. All eight served for 30 years, providing a stopgap until more advanced Soviet missile submarines could be finished; all were decommissioned and scrapped at the end of the Cold War.
K-19 was by far the most famous of the Project 658/Hotel-class, but for all the wrong reasons: it was an exceptionally unlucky boat. Rushed into production, almost a dozen workers died in its construction, and its shakedown cruise was plagued with issues. By far, the worst incident came on 4 July 1961, when an improperly welded pipe broke and deprived the reactor of coolant. Only the gallant sacrifice of the engineering crew kept the K-19 from experiencing a meltdown; 22 crew died from radiation sickness.
The K-19 was able to limp home for repairs, but the trouble was just beginning: over its almost 30-year career, the submarine would experience three fires and a collision with an American attack submarine. It was decommissioned in 1989 and scrapped in the early 21st Century, despite attempts to save it. Though the 2002 movie "K-19: The Widowmaker," used that nickname, in reality the K-19's crews referred to it as "Hiroshima."
After seeing the movie, Dad built the K-19 in 1/350 scale as his own personal memorial to the crew. The overall black scheme is the K-19's rubberized coating, applied for better hydrodynamics and to resist sonar pulses; the silver panels forward are the torpedo tubes.