(personal) Thanks, Brian. I am one of the Russians on the list, and I certainly did not appreciate this piece of political Cold-war era style junk. Mike Khusid Signal Integrity Engineer Sitara Networks, Inc. Brian Ellis wrote: > > I'm sorry, Werner, but I must disagree with you, for once. I believe it > is totally misplaced to post such a message here, especially as most of > it is pure political speculation, without a microgram of scientific > proof. This kind of tirade is not going to go down well with the > Russians who read TechNet > > Sorry > > Brian > > Werner Engelmaier wrote: > > > > The Kursk's dark mission > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > K-141 is down. The Kursk, an Antyey type 949A nuclear attack submarine, > > was lost in the Barents Sea. The Kursk, one of eight active Oscar II class > > submarines, was the pride of the Russian navy and the leading edge of the new > > Northern Fleet. > > Commissioned in 1995, the Kursk was the Northern Fleet's most powerful > > weapon. It made a high-profile voyage to the Mediterranean in September 1999 > > and was due to return later this year as part of a planned Russian nuclear > > task group deployment to the Middle East. The August Russian naval exercise > > in the Barents Sea was designed to provide the West with good reason to > > remember the Kursk. > > Reports now show the exercise was intended to showcase the Kursk as she > > performed her two primary roles, killing American carriers and submarines. > > The Russian navy exercise also drew a small crowd of interested observers in > > the form of two U.S. Los Angeles attack submarines, loitering in the shallow > > polar sea over 50 miles from the Kursk. > > That fateful morning the Kursk reportedly completed a successful firing > > of her main killer, the Chelomey Granit missile, NATO code-named SS-N-19 > > Shipwreck. The Kursk and her sister boats carry 24 Shipwreck missiles. The > > missiles are stored on each side of the huge submarine in banks of 12, hidden > > between the layers of the boat's thick twin hull skin. The Shipwreck missiles > > are stored in launching tubes external to the inner pressure hull where the > > 118 crewmembers worked and lived. > > The Shipwreck missile fired by the Kursk that Saturday morning > > contained a 1,600-pound conventional warhead. It reportedly scored a direct > > hit against a Russian hulk target over 200 miles away. The Shipwreck is > > intended to strike U.S. carriers but can also be targeted against U.S. > > cities. Russian naval sources indicate that the Shipwreck > > missile can be armed with an H-bomb warhead equal to one half million tons of > > TNT, more than enough to flatten Los Angeles or New York City. > > That fateful August Saturday, in the dim afternoon light of the arctic > > summer sun, the Kursk began her last performance, the simulated destruction > > of a U.S. submarine using the 100-RU Veder missile. The Veder, NATO > > code-named SS-N-16A Stallion, is a rocket-boosted torpedo. The Stallion is > > launched from the huge 26-inch diameter torpedo tubes installed on each Oscar > > II class submarine. > > The Stallion is so secret that no picture of the weapon has ever been > > published. The Stallion is fired from the submarine's torpedo tube but flies > > like a missile. The Stallion rocket booster ignites underwater once the > > weapon is clear of the submarine, sending the missile to the surface. The > > missile then flies to the target under rocket power where it finally ejects a > > lightweight torpedo at supersonic speed. > > The mini-torpedo then uses its own little parachute, slowing to drop > > gently into the water directly above the target. The mini-torpedo then homes > > in on the target submarine for the final kill. The conventional Stallion > > fired by the Kursk was armed with a mini-220 pound explosive warhead. Jane's > > Defense reports that the missile can also be armed with a mini-nuclear > > warhead equal to 200,000 tons of TNT. > > According to Jane's, the last moments of the Kursk were recorded as she > > prepared to fire the Stallion. Seismologists in Norway told Jane's that a > > monitoring station registered two explosions at the time the Kursk sank. The > > first registered 1.5 on the Richter scale. A second, stronger explosion > > measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale equivalent to one to two tons of TNT was > > recorded just over two minutes later. > > The Stallion rocket motor may have ignited inside the sealed torpedo > > tube just before firing. The Stallion may have jammed itself inside the > > torpedo tube as it was fired. In any event, the underwater rocket appears to > > have ignited inside the inner manned pressure hull. > > The force of the Stallion rocket motor would have twisted the huge > > torpedo tube, melting through the metal walls within seconds. Just enough > > time for alarms to sound and men to die. Then the small 220-pound warhead > > exploded, blowing a gaping hole in the twisted skin of the attack submarine. > > The submarine immediately fell forward as the icy water rushed to fill the > > forward weapon bay. > > The last moments of the Kursk and most of her crew were filled with > > fire and ice as the vessel plunged into the cold arctic depths. The rush of > > cold water did not extinguish the fire since the Stallion rocket booster was > > designed to burn without air. The exploding warhead would have sent huge > > flaming chunks of the rocket booster into the forward weapon control room. > > The force of the 14,000-ton submarine striking the bottom on the > > damaged torpedo bay was the final blow, detonating one of the many weapons > > inside upon impact. The force of the explosion inside the twin hull submarine > > ripped the starboard side open back to the sail. The manned areas forward of > > the reactor compartment, including the control room and living quarters, > > rapidly flooded, leaving no time for personnel in those compartments to > > escape. > > This may not be the end of the story. There are now suggestions that > > the West should help Russia raise the Kursk. Yet, despite being broke, Russia > > continues to build and deploy the Oscar II submarine force. There are seven > > active Oscar II class boats. The latest, K-530 the Belgorod, is still under > > construction at the Severodvinsk Shipyard. Budget cutbacks have slowed > > progress on the boat to a standstill but construction continues. There are > > rumors that China is interested in buying K-530. > > The Kursk sailed the Mediterranean in late 1999 as a show of flag to > > Russian allies such as Syria, Libya and Serbia. At the same time the Kursk > > was touring the Mediterranean in 1999, a Pacific Fleet Oscar II submarine was > > quietly cruising the western seaboard of the United States, within missile > > range of California, Oregon and Washington. > > While we all mourn the passing of K-141 and her crew, we should also > > reflect on exactly what her mission was. > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Charles Smith is a national security and defense reporter for > > WorldNetDaily. > > > > ############################################################## > > TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d > > ############################################################## > > To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in > > the body: > > To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> > > To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET > > ############################################################## > > Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional > > information. > > If you need assistance - contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or > > 847-509-9700 ext.5315 > > ############################################################## > > -- > Brian Ellis > Protonique SA > PO Box 78 > CH-1032 Romanel-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland > Voice: +41 21-648 23 34 Fax: +41 21-648 24 11 > E-mail: [log in to unmask] > URL: Technical and consultancy divisions: > http://www.protonique.com > Web services division: > http://www.protonique.com/webserv -- Brian Ellis Protonique SA PO Box 78 CH-1032 Romanel-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland Voice: +41 21-648 23 34 Fax: +41 21-648 24 11 E-mail: [log in to unmask] URL: Technical and consultancy divisions: http://www.protonique.com Web services division: http://www.protonique.com/webserv ############################################################## TechNet Mail List provided as a free service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8d ############################################################## To subscribe/unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the body: To subscribe: SUBSCRIBE TECHNET <your full name> To unsubscribe: SIGNOFF TECHNET ############################################################## Please visit IPC web site (http://www.ipc.org/html/forum.htm) for additional information. 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