-Caveat Lector-
Russian Experts Say US Sub
May Have Hit, Destroyed Kursk -
US Denies Inspection Request
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=200140
9-17-00
MOSCOW (Agence France Presse) - The Russian
defence ministry said Saturday that the theory of a
U.S. submarine clashing with the fated Kursk was
strengthened by Washington's refusal to allow a
Russian inspection of two U.S. submarines.
U.S. Defence Secretary William Cohen's rejection of
the request from his Russian counterpart Igor
Sergeyev "only strengthened the case that the
Kursk clashed with another underwater vessel," the
defence ministry told Interfax.
An investigation by Russian military experts into the
cause of the August 12 explosion on the Kursk
nuclear submarine, which killed 118 crew members,
resulted in several possible explanations, including
one that the Kursk had collided with a U.S. or British
submarine.
The U.S. Toledo and Memphis and the British
Splendid submarines were located in the Barents
Sea at the time of the accident but have ruled out
any collisions with their vessels.
The U.S. military, which believes the explosion
originated inside the submarine, admitted that they
had monitored the explosion and later provided
Russia with a sonic report of the accident.
However, Cohen refused the inspection request
explaining that "he did not think it was important or
appropriate for the inspection to take place," a
Pentagon official told ITAR-TASS on condition of
q1relations between the two defence agencies led
us to hope that Washington might have met us
halfway," an official told Interfax. ((c) 2000 Agence
France Presse)
Possible Collision Kursk And US Sub Showing How All Kursk Escape Routes
Were Damaged
Damage To Kursk
Substantiates Major Collision
http://www.aeronautics.ru/nws002/kursk001.htm
In the interview to the "Trud" newspaper
(9-12-00), Gen. Valery Manilov confirmed the
reports of the signs of a collision found by Russian
divers on the hull of the Kursk. In particular, Gen.
Manilov said: "...our submarine was surfacing.
The other submarine was traveling in the opposite
direction at the depth of about 18 meters. It could
have hit the "K-141" [Kursk] with its reinforced
keel, which ripped through the light external hull
and punctured the hard hull of our submarine.
This theory is not a speculation. It is based on
facts. On the right side of the Kursk's external hull
we found characteristic marks formed during a
dynamic collision of two objects. And another fact:
the edges of the internal hull near the point of
impact are bent inward. It is clear that there was
an impact from the outside. Further, the elements
of the superstructure atop the fin of the Kursk
have been shaved off and the release mechanism
of the detachable rescue vehicle has been
jammed. On the seabed we found what looks like
the fence from the fin of another submarine. This
object was not yet raised to the surface because
of its size: the submersible vehicles we have right
now at the scene cannot lift this object. The
suspicious object will be raised once more
powerful underwater systems arrive to the area. It
is quite possible that this object will tell us a lot."
(Trud, Sept. 12, 2000)
Once again Gen. Manilov rejected the friendly fire
theory as being utterly ridiculous. He also said
that Russian specialists investigating the Kursk
accident believe that the foreign submarine
involved in the collision might have easily survived
the accident, although it probably did sustain
considerable damage.
Diagram of Kursk Showing Escape Systems...All Damaged
As of Sept. 11, 2000, Russian investigators believe
that Kursk collided with the USS Memphis of the US
Navy. This submarine is an experimental platform
used by the US Navy to test new weapons and
other systems. It was manufactured in 1977 and
modified for special-purpose operation in 1989 and
again in 1994. There are clear signs of a collision on
the damaged part of the Kursk's hull. This
information was formally confirmed by the top
Russian military officials.
The collision was registered by Norwegian and
Russian seismologists as a weak "seismic event,"
which was followed by a powerful explosion 2
minutes 15 seconds later. There is a number of
scientifically-valid explanations as to how a collision
could have caused an explosion aboard Kursk 135
seconds later. The exact mechanism of such a
process is now being studied. One possible
explanation is the explosion of the air-hydrogen mix
produced as the result of seawater flooding the
electrical battery compartment located near the
torpedo section. Such an explosion could have sank
Kursk or it could have detonated the torpedoes.
The USS Memphis was detected by the Russian
nuclear cruiser Peter the Great at the bottom of the
sea not far from Kursk. The American submarine
released a communications buoy and transmitted a
coded emergency radio signal on NATO
frequencies, requesting an emergency entry to a
Norwegian naval base. The USS Memphis was able
to recover from the collision (it was not as heavily
damaged as Kursk, because the collision did not
result in any explosions aboard the American
submarine) and, after pulling down the rescue buoy,
left the scene of the accident. The submarine's
departure was also registered by the Russian
cruiser.
The USS Memphis was initially tracked by a Kamov
antisubmarine helicopter based aboard Peter the
Great. Later, two Il-38 antisubmarine aircraft, piloted
by Lt. Col. Dergunov and Lt. Col. Dovzhenko,
deployed hydro-acoustic buoys and detected the
USS Memphis traveling at only 5 knots. The
submarine was continuously tracked by Russian
vessels, aircraft and satellites until it reached the
Norwegian port in Bergen. During the last
reconnaissance flight of an Il-38 on August 18, the
aircraft's pilot - Lt. Col. Dergunov - was unable to
detect the submarine due to strong EM and
hydro-acoustic interference from NATO defenses.
Later that day the USS Memphis docked in Bergen.
The Russian Military Prosecutor General's office
announced that they are prepared to charge the
senior crew members of an unnamed vessel that
collided with Kursk in accordance with the Article
263 of the Russian Criminal Code. The name of the
vessel is know to the investigators but has not been
made public. It was mentioned that the Pentagon
has denied the official request by the Russian
government to inspect the outer hull of the USS
Memphis. After staying in Bergen in a dock for a
short period of time the USS Memphis left for a
British naval base. Again, the American submarine
was tracked by the Russian Navy and by satellites.
Even the most furious opponents of the collision
theory are bewildered by the Pentagon's refusal to
allow an external visual inspection of the USS
Memphis. This old submarine has been seen at
public events, photographed, videotaped and at
least its external features ceased to be a secret
many years ago. Clearly, if the USS Memphis did
not collide with Kursk, even a brief inspection of its
hull would be quite enough to lift any suspicions.
Such an inspection could have been carried out
quickly and easily, because the USS Memphis was
sitting in a dock in Bergen. The Americans refused a
simple and reasonable request from Russia. This is
viewed by many as a de facto admission of guilt.
The situation is aggravated by the fact, that the
Pentagon officials lied about the number of
American submarines observing the Russian Navy
exercise in the Barents Sea: the US military officials
stated that there were two submarines, while there
were three submarines.
Many Russians, who support the collision theory,
are now concerned that the Russian government
may try to avoid an open confrontation with the US
by not naming the vessel responsible for the
collision. A similar situation had place in 1986, when
on October 8 a Soviet K-219 (Type 667AU)
submarine collided with the American USS Augusta.
The collision led to an explosion in one of the missile
launchers. The crew could not put out the fire and
the submarine sank to a depth of around 5
kilometers near Bermuda islands, taking the lives of
4 crewmembers. At the time the Soviet government
had its hands full with Chernobyl. In addition to that,
Gorbachev did not want to put any additional strain
on the improving relations between the USSR and
the United States. The entire matter was
suppressed and the official explanation for the
accident was an unexplained explosion of a missile
aboard the K-219.
At this moment, Russian prosecutors base their
conclusions on four major facts:
1.The is a history of collision between American and
Russian submarines in the Barents Sea. 2.Three US
Navy submarines were present in the area of the
Northern Fleet's exercise at the time of the Kursk
accident. 3.Immediately after the sinking of Kursk,
one of the American submarines left the Barents
Sea to dock in Norway for repairs. The submarine
was followed by Russian reconnaissance planes
and made an attempt to elude them. 4.NATO
officials refused an official request from the Russian
government for an objective inspection of the
external hull of USS Memphis.
For more extensive coverage of the Kursk tragedy,
go to:
http://www.aeronautics.ru/nws002/kursk001.htm
MainPage
http://www.rense.com
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