List of submarine accidents since 1945

The list of submarine accidents since 1945 documents submarines that have been lost or suffered serious damage since the end of the Second World War (Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945) through accidents or combat operations. Of the lost ships, at least nine were nuclear-powered , and some were armed with nuclear missiles or torpedoes. As far as is known, accidents with radioactive contamination of the environment are also documented.

A disaster on the K-19 was the template for the movie K-19 - Showdown in the Deep . There were three serious accidents on it, but it was never lost.

list

date	Surname	class	nationality	dead	Survivors	Remarks
Aug 26, 1949	USS Cochino (SS-345)	Balao class	United States	7th		Conventional drive. Oxyhydrogen from defective batteries poured into the interior of the boat and started a fire. Dead: A civil engineer from the Bureau of Ships and six sailors from the USS Tusk (SS-426) .
Apr 16, 1951	HMS Affray	Amphion class	United Kingdom	75		Conventional drive. Sank northwest of Alderney in the English Channel.
Dec 15, 1952	S-117	Project 613	Soviet Union	74	0	Conventional drive. Reasons for the sinking and location unknown.
0Apr 4, 1953	USS Blower (SS 325)	Balao class	Turkey	81	5	Collision with the Swedish freighter Naboland, after which it sank into the depths.
June 16, 1955	HMS Sidon (P259)	Subtle class	United Kingdom	13	0	Conventional drive. Sank after a torpedo exploded in Portland Harbor .
Nov 23, 1956	M-200 "Mest"	Malyutka class	Soviet Union	22nd	6th	Conventional drive. Collision with destroyer "Statny"
22 Aug 1957	M-351	Malyutka class	Soviet Union	0	28	Conventional drive. Water ingress during exercise.
26 Sep 1957	M-256	Quebec class	Soviet Union	28	7th	Conventional drive.
June 30, 1958	USS Stickleback (SS-415)	Balao class	United States	0		Conventional drive. Wreck at a depth of 3,300 m.
June 14, 1960	USS Sargo (SSN-583)	Skate class	United States	1		Nuclear submarine. Fire and explosion in the torpedo room at Pearl Harbor.
Jan. 26, 1961	S-80	Project 613	Soviet Union	68	0	Conventional drive. Lifted in 1969.
Jan. 11, 1962	B-37	Project 641	Soviet Union	132		Conventional drive. 59 dead, 73 more dead due to the explosion.
08 Sep 1962	Leninsky Komsomol (K-3)	Project 627	Soviet Union	39		Nuclear submarine. Fire. Towed into port.
Apr 10, 1963	USS Thresher (SSN-593)	Thresher class	United States	129		Nuclear submarine. Wreck at a depth of 2,560 m.
Sep 14 1966	Underground shark	Submarine class XXIII	Germany	19th	1	Former Navy submarine, used as a training ship for the German Navy.
Jan 25, 1968	INS Dakar	T-class	Israel	69		Conventional drive.
Jan. 27, 1968	Minerve (S 647)	Daphné class	France	52		Conventional drive. Sunk in unknown circumstances in the Mediterranean Sea.
0March 8 1968	K-129	Project 629 B	Soviet Union	96	0	Conventional drive. Nuclear armed. Partially lifted by the USA in the Azorian project from a depth of 4,900 m.
May 22, 1968	USS Scorpion (SSN-589)	Skipjack class	United States	99		Nuclear submarine. Reactor and two nuclear torpedoes at a depth of 3300 m.
May 24, 1968	K-27	Project 627	Soviet Union	9		9 crew members are killed by escaping radiation in a reactor accident, the nuclear submarine is later disposed of by sinking.
04th Mar 1970	Eurydice (S 644)	Daphné class	France	58		Sank to 750 meters in the accident off Saint-Tropez in the Mediterranean.
0Apr 8, 1970	K-8	Project 627	Soviet Union	52		Nuclear submarine. Four nuclear torpedoes recovered, around 20 more in the wreck or on the bottom of the lake in the Bay of Biscay.
0Dec. 4, 1971	PNS Ghazi (SS 479)	Tench class	Pakistan	92		During the Third Indo-Pakistani War , the Ghazi was pursued by the Indian destroyer Rajput . The boat got into a self-laid minefield on December 3, 1971 and sank in front of the Indian naval base Visakhapatnam .
Dec 21, 1971	USS Dace (SSN-607)	Thresher class	United States	0		During the transfer of radioactive cooling water from the nuclear submarine USS Dace to the submarine tender USS Fulton in New London , 1,400 liters enter the Thames River .
Feb. 24, 1972	K-19	Project 658	Soviet Union	28		Third misfortune of this boat. Twelve of the 28 dead were locked in the torpedo room and could only be recovered 24 days later after the boat was towed into a port.
June 14, 1973	K-56	Echo II class	Soviet Union	27		Nuclear submarine. Collision with the Soviet reconnaissance ship Akademik Berg (Russian: Академик Берг) near Cape Verde in the Atlantic.
Aug 26, 1976	K-47	Echo II class	Soviet Union	8th		Nuclear submarine. Fire on board while sailing in the Barents Sea.
May 22, 1978	USS buffer (SSN-652)	Sturgeon class	United States	0		Nuclear submarine. In the Sund Puget Sound in Washington state , a valve is accidentally opened, causing up to 1,900 liters of radioactive water to escape.
Aug 21, 1980	K-222	Echo II class	Soviet Union	9		Nuclear submarine. Fire in the reactor room around 167 kilometers east of Okinawa .
Oct 21, 1981	S-178	Project 613	Soviet Union	31		Conventional drive. Lifted in 1981, scrapped.
June 23, 1983	K-429	Charlie class	Soviet Union	13		Nuclear submarine. The ship sank for the second time on September 13, 1983 and was then decommissioned.
June 18, 1984	K-131	Echo II class	Soviet Union	13		Nuclear submarine. Fire breaks out in the eighth division while sailing in the Barents Sea.
Aug 10, 1985	K-314	Project 671	Soviet Union			Nuclear submarine. Explosion in the reactor room during refueling in Khazma Bay 55 km from Vladivostok .
0Oct 3, 1986	K-219	Yankee I class	Soviet Union	4th		Nuclear submarine. 32 nuclear warheads at a depth of 5500 m around 770 km east of Bermuda .
Apr. 24, 1988	USS Bonefish (SS-582)	Barbel class	United States	3		Conventional drive. Water penetrated the submarine's battery area, causing explosions, which ignited a fire.
July 23, 1988	Nadashio (SS-577)	Yushio class	Japan	30th		Collision with the Japanese cutter Daiichi Fujimaru in Tokyo Bay . 30 Daiichi Fujimaru sailors died.
Aug 26, 1988	Pacocha (SS-48)	Balao class	Peru	8th	41	Rammed by the Japanese cutter Kiowa Maru near Callao and sunk.
0Apr 7, 1989	Komsomolets (K-278)	Mike class	Soviet Union	42	27	Nuclear submarine. Fire, rise, sunk. Lies with 2 nuclear-armed torpedoes at a depth of 1680 m. Last researched in July 2019.
20 Mar 1993	USS Grayling (SSN-646) and K-407 Novomoskovsk	Sturgeon class and Project 667BDRM	United States Russia	0		Two nuclear submarines collide in the Barents Sea . They were badly damaged but were able to return to their home ports under their own steam.
30th Mar 1994	Émeraude (S604)	Rubis class	France	10		A tactical nuclear submarine that exploded in the engine room during a submarine exercise.
Sep 18 1996	Name not known	Sang-o class	North Korea	0	0	Conventional drive. 22 of the crew members and two passengers were killed on land after the accident. See Korean Submarine Incident .
Aug 12, 2000	K-141 Kursk	Oscar II class	Russia	118	0	Nuclear submarine. 2001 mostly lifted, scrapped.
Dec. 24, 2000	Tonelero (S-21)	Oberon class	Brazil	0	0	Defect in the hydraulic system of the engine room through which the submarine sank while it was anchored off Rio de Janeiro.
0Feb 9, 2001	USS Greeneville (SSN-772)	Los Angeles class	United States	9	0	Collision with the Japanese fishing school ship Ehime Maru . 9 Ehime Maru sailors died.
Apr 16, 2003	Submarine No. 361	Ming class	People's Republic of China	70	0	Conventional drive. Death of the crew from gas poisoning.
Aug 28, 2003	K-159	Project 627	Russia	9	2	Decommissioned, partially dismantled nuclear submarine, sunk during towing on the way to being scrapped.
0Oct 5, 2004	HMCS Chicoutimi	Victoria class	Canada	1		Fire after water ingress on the surface during a ferry ride.
0Jan. 8, 2005	USS San Francisco (SSN-711)	Los Angeles class	United States	1		Nuclear submarine. Collision with a submarine mountain south of Guam at 525 feet.
06 Sep 2006	Daniil Moskovsky (B-414)	Project 671RTM	Russia	2		Nuclear hunting submarine. Fire on board.
21 Mar 2007	HMS Tireless (S88)	Trafalgar class	United Kingdom	2		Nuclear submarine. An oxygen candle on board explodes 274 km north of Alaska .
0Nov 8, 2008	Nerpa (K-152)	Akula class	Russia	20th	188	Nuclear submarine. Crew members killed by escaping gas ( freon ) from a fire extinguishing system.
0Feb 3, 2009 or Feb 4, 2009 0	HMS Vanguard (S28) and Le Triomphant (S 616)	Vanguard- class and Triomphant-class	United Kingdom France	0		Two nuclear submarines collide in the Atlantic . The sonar dome of Le Triomphant was damaged, but it was able to reach its home port of Brest on its own. The Vanguard was towed to Faslane in Scotland.
20 Mar 2009	USS Hartford (SSN-768) and USS New Orleans (LPD-18)	Los Angeles class and San Antonio class	United States	0		Collision of a nuclear submarine in the Strait of Hormuz with an amphibious transport dock. The tank of the USS New Orleans was ripped open and around 95,000 liters of diesel fuel was washed into the sea. 15 crew members of the USS Hartford were injured.
Oct 22, 2010	HMS Astute (S119)	Astute class	United Kingdom	0		Accumulated on gravel near the Isle of Skye , Scotland , no injuries, the boat could be towed free with the next high tide. Contrary to first reports, the submarine did not run into a rock.
Oct 13, 2012	USS Montpelier (SSN-765)	Los Angeles class	United States	0		Collision between the submarine and the guided missile cruiser USS San Jacinto . According to the US Navy, nobody was injured and both ships were able to continue on their own. The cruiser's sonar dome was damaged.
14 Aug 2013	INS Sindhurakshak (S63)	Sindhughosh class	India	18th		Conventional drive. The boat was moored on the pier of the Bombay Naval Yard and was fully armed because it was supposed to be on patrol. After several explosions it sank to the bottom of the harbor.
Nov 15, 2017	ARA San Juan (S 42)	Class TR 1700	Argentina	44	0	Conventional drive. Sunk off Patagonia in November 2017 .
01st July 2019	AS-12	Project 10831	Russia	14th	some	Fire on board. State secret, nuclear drive intact, as of July 11, 2019 in the military base near Murmansk .

See also

• List of disasters

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from November 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ http://articles.latimes.com/2001/mar/18/news/mn-39444
4. ↑ ^{a b} Increased radiation around Soviet nuclear submarines. In: orf.at. July 11, 2019, accessed July 11, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
6. ↑ 20 погибших при аварии на АПЛ Тихоокеанского флота. In: NEWSru.com . November 10, 2008, accessed March 12, 2015 (Russian). 
7. ↑ Website heute.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ Cruiser collides with nuclear sub off US East Coast , BBC. October 14, 2012. 
9. ↑ 44 sailors on board: Argentina rules out recovery of submarines. In: n-tv.de. November 18, 2018, accessed November 19, 2018 .