K-19: We are the unluckiest vessel ever to set sail. Adm. Kuznetsov: Hold my mazut.

The classic Soviet hero: someone who valiantly went above and beyond the call of duty to overcome the situation that his own corrupt, arrogant, and incompetent government put him into. You could fill a lengthy book with their stories.

I don't care what country they are from. The men who volunteered to entered that reactor room should be considered heros

First learned of this story through 'K-19 The Widowmaker' which was an excellent Movie IMO. Hollywood typically varies the facts for dramatization, but I think in this instance it worked well. Those Submariners helped avert disaster on an epic scale & they paid the ultimate price with their lives later on. it's a pity that they weren't properly acknowledged for their bravery, dedication & sacrifice...true heroes indeed.

As others have stated, the reactor cannot explode like an atomic bomb. If it were as easy to make an atomic bomb as amassing a sufficient quantity of enriched uranium and bringing it together then any country that could obtain that material could make an atomic bomb. It doesn't work that way. It requires sophisticated technology and sufficient fuel to make an atomic bomb.

I served on three ships, helicopter carriers, as a Marine. I've been aboard a couple subs, can only imagine serving on one actively. Those men knew what the cost was and went willingly. That is real courage.

Sailors are brave heroes, regardless of political affiliation. Hate to see them sacrificed to some politician's whim, by rushing the vessel into service.

The reactor would have melted down, not exploded. Any hydrogen gas could explode, but as a conventional explosion

"turning into a nuclear bomb" is an exaggeration. What could have happened is a reactor meltdown, with radioactive contamination of the sea as a consequence. However, there are quadrillion tons of seawater and thus the overall effect on the ocean would have been only minor, similar to the non-event when the radioactive cooling water from Fukushima was discharged into the ocean.

The men who went into that reactor room, knowing the radiation would kill them, remind me of Spock at the end of _Star Trek II._ A horrible thing to have to do but, as in Spock's case, the logical thing to do.

Good on Pravda at the end. I understand that even that late there was pushback against telling the tale, but the journalists were finally able to reveal it. The crew of K19 were heroes of their nation, and the world.

If you think that was the only sub reactor core in the Kara Sea you haven't been paying attention.

Reactors meltdown, hydrogen may explode (chemical reaction) but no nuclear fission or fusion explosion will occur. There is a vast difference between the design of a bomb or a reactor and both are intentionally engineered to do different things and are not interchangeable no matter how hard you try...

"Turn into a nuclear bomb" That's... not how reactor meltdowns work.

These men were true heroes. No question about it. Thanks to them, we are here today and not in nuclear waste land.

These brave volunteers should be applauded worldwide as they likely saved thousands if not millions of lives

Those brave men faced death, but they did it anyway. A Russian hero. a man will lay down his life for his brother. Nuclear radiation death is the worst way to die in my book.

Interestingly, the XO on the K-19 was almost certainly the sole man that prevented WW3 a year later during the Cuban Missile Crisis when he refused to authorize the launch of a nuclear tipped torpedo at an American warship.

I remember seeing another video about K-19...those brave volunteers could not be given the medals they deserved because they weren't at war. Very few people know about what they did, or what it cost them. I served in the military and those men deserve the highest honors Russia can bestow on them.

This sub wasn't unlucky, it was Soviet / Russian which is way worse than any kind of bad luck that one could have.

My father was an US NAVY airman with ASW patrol squadron 56 stationed on Iceland and his plane was the first on station to take pictures of the K19.

"The most advanced ship in the world!" Acording to the the Soviet Union-I mean Russia? -LazerPig

So many parallels between K19 and what happened at Chernobyl. Brave volunteers sacrificing their lives to fight against desperate odds.

The movie was really well done with Ford and Neeson.

"Just follow the trail of glowing fish" was the quip I heard about locating a Soviet nuclear boat.

K-19’s reactor has been under water for decades , so the chance of a nuclear melt down is low as the reactor is flooded with sea water. Also there wouldn’t be a nuclear explosion as the Uranium within the warheads would be weaken after decades of exposer to sea water.

A nuclear meltdown is nothing like a nuclear bomb...

I was a little kid in 1960, just about 6 years old. Where I grew up was fairly close to the U.S Navy Submarine Base -Groton and General Dynamics Electric Boat Shipyard. There were noticeable Naval Presents. It took a lot of work to work out the Nuclear Powered Submarines, We lost two in the 1960s. The Russians had it worst since the country operates on a level and mindset that would never fly here in the States or elsewhere with few exceptions in the world. They tend to "Make Do" is a good description for the Russians, they do lots of things well, but damn they have a tendency to do too many seats of the pants flying just so they can tell themselves we can keep up and match up you with an economy that comes up really short. While I have no love for the Soviet Union and what it stood for, the serving officers and enlisted men did have a degree of discipline and sense of duty that is sorely lacking today. K-19 was just one of the many missed steps, tragedies, and criminal behavior that plagued the Soviet Union from the start of the 1917 revolution. It seems the Russian Federation didn't learn anything either.

Man those were some brave souls that volunteered to enter the reactor chamber

They were definitely the most elite crew. So many of them gave there live to stop a war from happening. That's pretty elite

The click bait titles are not doing the channel justice. I think I can speak for all regular viewers that we’d prefer to see better ones. We’re here for good content. Not click bait.

The Soviets were so amoral. Those men gave their life to avoid a war and they didn't even get the credit for it. Just go and forget what you have seen and done

The Widow Maker.. The Kursk could have been another disaster as well had the crew not shut down the reactors before they all died.

RIP to the all her crew that died . Brave seamen they were. May Russia always remember thier service.

I love that “k-19 widowmaker” movie. Facing that radiation is downright terrifying to me.

It does not appear that Russian equipment has improved a great deal in the years since.

0:41 almost every other vessel in the Russian navy: hold my beer

Some brave sailors right there. Those guys are heroes not only to their fellow crew but maybe to the whole world

"We need another torpedo Captain, we need to dock at a harbor we are defenceless" "No need, we will simply use a bigger torpedo"

A nuclear reactor cannot explode like a nuclear bomb. They are two completely different designs.

Russian Navy: We spared no expense!

No reactor is going to turn into a fission bomb, their fuel is far too impure for that. It feels like you’re heading into clickbait territory like a bad History channel show.

10:30 after listing her collisions and fires he says.. “ in 1992 she is given the name Hiroshima, than in 1990 she….” And listed the next problem. This guy’s video are normally spot on so I’m just busting balls a little, “ the North Atlantic,” shows map of pacific than goes from 1992 and says than in 1990 haha just giving you a hard time. Love your videos man they are always great and spot on. Keep up the great videos!! I’m not knocking them at all.. just busting balls. I try and remember to hit the like button, I have a habit of just watching but I’m trying to remember to hit the button to help creators that make good content. I understand that it makes a difference. Anyway thanks for another well done video! I’m a big fan of all the Dark channels.

Ah yes yet another fine example of Soviet nuclear technology being sound and safe

what not many people know is that Anatoli Djatlov helped build the k19 and the nuclear reactor. During an accident, he received 200 rem (2 Sv), a dose that causes mild radiation sickness. and Djatlov was in charge of reactor 4 at the time of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster on April 26, 1986. so this man was a disaster to work with

There was a Harrison Ford movie called K-19, The Widowmaker

3:10 "They might as well be wearing RAIN COATS!!" Well, they were.

I can’t remember if it’s the same incident, but the lieutenant who went in to fix the reactor came back out 5 minutes later vomiting and turning red because he was hit with about 100 sieverts. That man actually holds the title of most irradiated person, not Ouchi

When your coolant temp gauge on a nuclear reactor starts reading "????" It's time to shit your pants

A lady did not swing the champagne bottle. Instead, a captain third rank Panov swung the bottle. He was later demoted. A number of other details are in error. Your historical accuracy needs improvement. (per Wikipedia)

Great story. Well presented in this short doc. Saw the Kathryn Bigelow film too. And the obsessive cherry on the overly thorough cheeseburger, I even read the book. I couldn't finish watching the piece, because my genitals started itching, just like they do when I drive past the Pickering Nuclear Station. That's a complement, BTW.

Another great mini doc!!

"And in 1992 the submarine secured her reputation and nickname of Hiroshima, then in 1990" Wait, this sub could time travel???

a nuclear reactor can't be a nuclear bomb. Saying the opposite is physically incorrect. Percentage of enrichment of an average nuclear civil reactor is from 3 to 5%. In submarines, gets even higher for better control, going up to 20/25%, A nuclear bomb needs at leat 90% enriched fuel

Love the content can’t get enough of your channels.

Brave brave men.. Bless them..

My guess is they had the moderator rods retracted too far and the “cooked the head” and couldn’t get the rods back in to slow the reaction.

I remember in my AP chem class, we actually watched this movie about the sub, and I could never for the life of me remember the name of that sub. Fascinating story that at the time, I honestly didn't believe was real.

Even if the reactor wouldn’t have exploded as a bomb; those sailors would be dead and it could have started a war.

Captain Natayev and his crew deserved every medal in Russia 🇷🇺 xxx

I heard that the champagne bottle didn't break because of the rubberized coating on the submarine. Kind of shows how much they thought things through 😂

You should know that no submarine reactor can explode like an atomic bomb!

Lack of coolant while surrounded by water, Soviet irony is insane.

damn brave engineers, Rest Easy Hero's

Creating a hydrogen/steam explosion wouldn't be too difficult for a reactor meltdown. Remember it was steam pressure in the reactor core that caused the structural failure at chernobyl. Imagine a meltdown in a sub boring through the hull and hitting cold sea water. The explosion would've been catastrophic. Not thermonuclear bomb level of destruction but the damage would be severe nevertheless. Add into the fact that the K19 had nuclear warheads onboard in the form of her missiles and it's even worse. While most safety systems would prevent an accidental arming and detonation of a nuke even we Americans had issues with safety systems failing under severe circumstances. If the shock of the steam explosion damaged the warheads they could IN THEORY go off and that would be detrimental for all the world to say the least considering where K19 was when her cooling system failed. Let's all agree to call this a nuclear near miss and pray that we as a species never come this close to bringing about our own Armageddon ever again.

A fascinating yet harrowing discovery - playing testbed for radical technology and innovation... ...with dangerously sub-par quality control 😳

I feel awful typing this but it’s the gods honest truth, unfortunately when I read the title of this video I had a hunch it was about Russia. And that’s not to belittle the Russian navy - The courage of these 22 sailors sacrifice Is second to none!

Ok. Nuclear meltdowns aren’t like a bomb going off.

Yes, submarine reactors don’t simply turn into nuclear bombs. That movie reality. Not “actual “ reality.

Nuclear reactors on subs are too small to make any kind of spectacular explosion. Worst case scenario with extraordinary incompetence from the crew the reactor would melt down badly, leaving the sub dead in the water. Catastrophic explosion of a submarine nuclear reactor is extremely unlikely. In fact, so unlikely the Three Mile Island meltdown was partially caused by the fact the crew controlling it was an ex sub crew. And these people simply didn't consider such a thing as meltdown even a thing as residual heat from reaction in a sub reactor is small enough to be contained by a simple shutdown. Not so for a full sized distribution reactor.

No way the soviets never cut corners or stole money from their budget

Russian Sub Cmdr: Sir! Reporting fatal manufacturing flaws & catastrophic computational errors, sir! High Russian Official: Did I hear you say your family was moving to Siberia this winter, comrade? Russian Sub Cmdr: Sir! All testing is complete with highest marks! All is combat ready & capable, sir! High Russian Official: Yes, that's what I thought you said the first time, comrade. Set sail!

'Not christened in champagne, then christened in blood'.

The voice over program used in these videos is getting more and more unreliable. It wasn't a soldering issue that caused the accident, it was a WELDING ISSUE that was the start of the incident.

This author is really irresponsible, when a reactor melts down it obviously doesn't explode, a pressure vessel can build up gasses if it isn't designed to vent.

I fail to see how a meltdown of a reactor would be more extensive then the nuke bombs of WW2. Chernobal wasn't nor any other reactor explosion. An explosion yes but not like a nuke.

How much power are you making? And did you have to do tuning or just run a fuel cut defender and let the ECU learn itself?

R.I.P. to the brave hero's that gave their lives for the greater good! R.I.P.

Goes to show how little human life means to governments...we are not without our dirty skeletons either.

Simply untrue. K19 was never in danger of becoming "a nuclear bomb".

Need a follow up on the Kara sea. With multiple "dumps" well call it. I'm just a tad concerned about the effects on anything from that area. The Simpsons 3-eyed fish comes to.ind but I know it's not just that simple.

There is no equivalence between an uncooled nuclear reactor and a "nuclear bomb". They work so differently that you couldn't create a nuclear explosion if you wanted to. Even the nuclear missiles on board could not be exploded this way. However, you would get a steam explosion.

Given what we've seen from Russia this year. I am not surprised at all

K-19 the Widow Maker.

Bruh why do Russians throw shit and search for it again

where is the ticking nuclear bomb part? @5:46 "A welder let hot solder drip into a cooling pipe..." welding and solder are not anywhere near being the same. What is your source for this stuff?

"Now on the verge of turning into a nuclear bomb!" I'm not a nuclear physicist but it's my understanding that while a reactor can certainly explode, a reactor is not and can not be a nuclear bomb not even if you wanted to. Also Nuclear gasses??? I often enjoy this channel's content, but I get a little prickly when people talk about Nuclear reactors in this way because it leads the less knowledgeable people to the wrong conclusions, and in turn those conclusions lead to bad policy from government.

You don't know how nuclear reactors or nuclear bombs work. A reactor cannot create a nuclear explosion to suggest that is ignorant.

Ok I know what some are thinking. " It's a submarine," " vent some Sea water". You can't, salt water turn into poison gasses....

I don't know where you got your information, but there is no way a reactor core on a vessel of any kind could cause a nuclear explosion. The worst-case scenario would be a steam explosion causing environmental poisoning due to highly radioactive core fragments. A nuclear weapon is highly enriched, uranium compacted into physical dimensions that, when compressed further by conventional explosives causes a nuclear explosion. Those conditions don't exist in any heat-generating nuclear reactor. BTW, the USS Gato (SSN 615), is pronounced Gay Toe, not Gah Toe. I was stationed on the Gato from 1977 - 1980.

I LOVE DIS GUY MODE OF SPEAK

VASILY ARKHIPOV was on the K-19. He saw the horror of radiation poisoning. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vasily was the ONLY person to stand against the launch of a Nuclear Torpedo and thus prevented WWIII.

The movie k 19 the Widowmaker with Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson about this is awesome

Did you just say "RUH-DAY-OH" Active waste ? 😂 0:04 (Ray-Dee-Oh-Ak-tiv) Radioactive !

Respect and RIP the sailors and more respect for the 22 sailors

K19 the widow maker

A bit sensationalist but entertaining enough, the reactor meltdown wouldnt result in a thermo nuclear detonation

K-19: The Widow maker.

I do wish people wouldn’t conflate a nuclear thermal runaway with a nuclear detonation. The only people who shouldn’t care about the difference are the ones standing next to it, for them it won’t matter at all. For everyone else, it matters a great deal. They are no where near being the same. Simple way to think of it; if it pops and burns, it’s a runaway. If it disappears to be replaced by a mini sun, it’s a detonation. Chernobyl was bad but the other three reactors on site continued to function afterwards.

Worst thing that would happen is nuclear material contaminating the water and multiple nuclear missiles resting at the bottom of the ocean. There would be no true nuclear detonation unless the officers decided to launch for whatever reason.