Yankee Class: The CIA attempted to recover one of the sunken Russian missile submarines

What you need to know: The Yankee-class submarines were the first Soviet nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines capable of launching thermonuclear weapons, designed to rival the Polaris submarines of the West. Armed with 16 SLBMs, the Yankees played a crucial role in the Soviet Union’s nuclear deterrent strategy from the late 1960s to 1995.

-Despite their importance, the class is best remembered for the sinking of the K-219 in 1986. The submarine suffered a rocket tube failure, which led to an explosion caused by mixing seawater with rocket fuel.

-As the submarine surfaced, attempts to tow it failed, and K-219 sank with its nuclear weapons and became a symbol of the shortcomings in Soviet submarine design and training.

Yankee-Class K-219 disaster: a tragic chapter in the history of Soviet submarines

The Soviet Yankee class was a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine built in the 1960s. Although 34 Yankees were ultimately built, the class is best remembered for the unit K-219, which was lost at sea with a complement of nuclear weapons.

Introduction of the Yankee Class

The Yankee was the first class of Soviet ballistic missile submarines with thermonuclear firepower, counterbalancing the Polaris submarines of the West. The Yankee was also quieter than the Soviets’ previous hotel class, thanks to better streamlining and improved underwater performance.

The Yankee was armed with sixteen submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), each with multiple nuclear warheads. The Yankee made a reliable contribution to the Soviet Union’s nuclear deterrent, carrying missiles with a range of 1,500 to 2,900 nautical miles.
The Yankee also armed four 533mm torpedo tubes for fourteen Type 53 torpedoes or mines, as well as two 400mm torpedo tubes for four Type 40 torpedoes.

Characteristics of the Yankee Class

The Yankee served from 1967 to 1995 and was a staple of the Soviet and early Russian navies. The submarine was 433 feet long, with a beam of 38 feet and a draft of 26 feet. She displaced 9,300 tons when submerged.

The Yankee was nuclear powered and relied on two pressurized water-cooled reactors driving four steam turbines, which powered two shafts. This provided unlimited range and a top speed of 27 knots underwater.

The hull was made of low magnetic steel and consisted of 10 compartments.

Despite being a backbone of the Soviet and Russian navies, the Yankee is best remembered for the sinking of K-219, the only Yankee-class ship ever lost.

The sinking of the K-219

“The disastrous sinking of the submarine K-219 on October 6, 1986 is a testament to the poor training, design and maintenance of Soviet submarines,” wrote John Rossomando for The National Interest.

The K-219 disaster was indeed avoidable.

“Deficiencies in construction, plus imperfect rescue equipment for the crew, plus the surprising slowness and sluggishness of the naval agencies in introducing new ideas – that, in my opinion, is the alarming formula of the recent emergencies and tragedies,” wrote Captain Ilya B. Kolton in 1989, in reference to the Soviet submarine force in general, and the K-219 in particular.

It is not clear what actually happened to K-219. The Soviets claimed that the submarine collided with the USS Augusta, a Los Angeles-class submarine. But the US Navy denies the Soviet claim.

What we do know is that the K-219 was on patrol near Bermuda when a seal failure in one of her missile tubes failed, allowing seawater to mix with oxidizer in one of the liquid-fueled R-27U SLBMs. The mixture of seawater with dinitrogen tetroxide created a byproduct of nitric acid. The nitric acid mixed with the fuel and caused a significant explosion, ejecting the R-27U rocket. The K-219 sank to 800 feet before the tanks blew up and the ship surfaced. A Soviet merchant ship arrived and attempted to tow the K-219, but the tow line broke and the submarine was lost.

The CIA attempted to recover the submarine without success.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with more than 1,000 articles on issues relating to global affairs. Harrison, a lawyer, pilot, guitarist and minor professional hockey player, joined the United States Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

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