The Russian Kursk Submarine: Exploded and Destroyed by Its Own Torpedoes

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) More than 20 years ago, one of the world’s largest submarines ever built sank tragically after an unexpected series of explosions ripped through the boat, resulting in the death of all sailors on board.

The Kursk

The Russian K-141 Russian Navy Oscar II, called the Kursk by Russia, was completed just after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The boat sank in the sea during a dummy torpedo-firing training exercise, according to a 2013 report from The Marine Technology News.

According to the report, one of the torpedoes released propellant fluid (hydrogen peroxide) into the fuel system, causing the explosion.

“The HTP (hydrogen peroxide) used as an oxidizer for the torpedo’s engine, escaped into the torpedo casing where it catalytically decomposed on the metals and oxides present there, yielding steam and oxygen. The resulting overpressure ruptured the kerosene fuel tank.”

Sunk By Its Own Armaments

The initial explosion generated a second, larger explosion which was equivalent to 3-7 tons of TNT. The massive secondary explosion “blew large pieces of debris back through the submarine,” according to Marine Technology News, a series of catastrophes ultimately resulted in the death of all 118 sailors on board.

Part of the findings included a tragic yet humanizing story about one sailor who survived the initial explosion and then died in the dark sometime later after having written notes on the bodies of his comrades.