Most severe influenza outbreak of the 20th century. It apparently started as a fairly mild strain in a U.S. army camp in early March 1918. Troops sent to fight in World War I spread the virus to western Europe. Outbreaks occurred in nearly every inhabited part of the world, spreading from ports to cities along transportation routes. Pneumonia often developed quickly and killed within two days. Among the most deadly epidemics in history, it left an estimated 25 million dead; unusually, half the deaths were among 20- to 40-year-olds.
Learn more about influenza epidemic of 1918–19 with a free trial on Britannica.com.
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 17 October 1958 |
| Launched: | 8 April 1959 |
| Commissioned: | 30 April 1961 |
| Decommissioned: | 1991 |
| Fate: | Purchased by Vladimir Romanov |
| Stricken: | |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 4030 tons surfaced, 5000 tons submerged |
| Length: | 114 m (374 ft) |
| Beam: | 9.2 m (30 ft) |
| Draft: | 7.1 m (23 ft) |
| Propulsion: | two 70 MW VM-A reactors powering two geared turbines connected to two shafts (39,200 shaft horsepower (29 MW)) |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h) surfaced, 26 knots (48 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 35,700 miles (57,500 km) at 26 knots (48 km/h), 32,200 miles (51,800 km) at 24 knots (44 km/h) (80 % power) |
| Endurance: | 60 days (limited by food, and physical health) |
| Depth: | 250 m (820 ft) test, 300 m (984 ft) design |
| Complement: | 125 officers and men |
| Armament: | 3 x ballistic nuclear missiles (650 km range, 1.4 megatons), 4 x 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes forward, 2 x 406 mm (16 in) tubes forward, 2 x 406 mm (16-inch) tubes aft |
During its completion, commissioning, and preparations to get underway for its maiden voyage, many lost their lives, leading to the K-19's nickname Hiroshima. (In the movie K-19: The Widowmaker, the nickname Widowmaker was used.)
The captain was concerned that the nuclear emissions resulting from the accident – and any possible explosion – might be interpreted by the United States as a pre-emptive strike and trigger a nuclear war. The captain was also very keen to save the ship and his crew.
As a cooling back-up system had not been installed, Zateyev made a drastic decision: a team of seven engineering officers and crew worked for extended periods in high-radiation areas to implement a new coolant system, by cutting off an air vent valve and welding a water-supplying pipe into it. Since the ship carried chemical suits instead of radiation suits, they were certain to be lethally contaminated, although they were not aware of it, believing the suits they wore would protect them. The released radioactive steam, containing fission products, was drawn into the ventilation system and spread to other sections of the ship. However, the cooling water pumped from the reactor section worked well.
The incident contaminated the crew, parts of the ship, and some of the ballistic missiles carried on board; the entire crew received substantial doses of radiation, and all seven men in the repair crew died of radiation exposure within a week, and twenty more within the next few years. The captain decided to head south to meet diesel submarines expected to be there, instead of continuing on the mission's planned route. Worries about a potential crew mutiny prompted Zateyev to have all small arms thrown overboard except for five pistols distributed to his most trusted officers. A diesel submarine, S-270, picked up K-19's low-power distress transmissions and rendezvoused with her.
American warships nearby had also heard the transmission and offered to help, a rare event during the Cold War, but Zateyev, afraid of giving away Soviet military secrets to the West, refused and sailed to meet the S-270. Her crew was evacuated, and the boat was towed to the home base; after landing, the vessel contaminated a zone within 700 metres. The damaged reactors were removed and replaced, a process which took two years. During this time there was further radiation poisoning of the environment and the workers involved.
During the repair process, it was discovered that the catastrophe had been caused by a drop from a welding electrode that had fallen into the first cooling circuit of the aft reactor during her initial construction. K-19 returned to the fleet, now having acquired the additional nickname "Hiroshima".
On 1 February 2006, former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev proposed in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee that the crew of K-19 should be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for their actions on 4 July 1961. In late March 2006, Nikolai Zateyev was formally nominated for the award.
These 8 men died between 1 and 3 weeks after the accident. All other crew members had lower doses of the irradiation and therefore suffered less health problems.
In 2006, the K-19 was purchased by Vladimir Romanov, who once served on the sub as a conscript, with the intention of "Turning it into a Moscow-based meeting place to build links between submarine veterans from Russia and other countries." So far, the plans remain on hold, and many of K-19's survivors have objected to them.