Juliett 484 News
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NAVY AND ARMY MAY RAISE RUSSIAN SUB IN JOINT SERVICE EXERCISE
Military cites "once in a lifetime" training opportunity to salvage real warship
The latest chapter in the incredible history of the former Soviet cruise missile submarine K-77 began last week at Collier Point Park in Providence, RI. Navy and Army divers and salvage experts arrived to lay the groundwork for the recovery and stabilization of the sub, which was featured in the Harrison Ford film "K-19: The Widowmaker". The former Soviet cruise missile submarine, popularly known as Juliett 484, sank at her mooring in about 30 feet of water during the vicious nor'easter which struck the area in mid-April. The sub is firmly planted in river mud, with the hull listing away from the pier at a 48 degree angle.
Over the past week, salvage teams have dug large holes to bury 7200-pound anchors, which will be attached by heavy wire cable to strong points aboard the sub. "As the engineers explained it to us, the idea is to take a pull on those cables to see if the sub can be rotated to a more upright position," said Frank Lennon, head of the Russian Submarine Museum. "At the very least, the cables and anchors will make sure the sub is stabilized and secure."
Lennon thanked the management and staff of Dominion Energy, owners of the Manchester Street Station and Collier Point Park, for cooperating fully to help make sure this valuable military training experience materializes. "John Donahue and his staff have bent over backwards to work with us and the Navy, and we are grateful for their support," said Lennon.
Both active duty and reserve units are participating in this joint service exercise, which is being conducted under the auspices of the Department of Defense Innovative Readiness Training program (IRT). If all goes well, the expectation is that the military will return to raise the sub next spring.
"After the sub sank, and based on the recommendation of members of our Board, we submitted a formal application requesting dive and salvage assistance," said Lennon.
According to information published by the Department of Defense, IRT is a joint service program designed to offer training opportunities to military units while at the same time helping to meet civic and community needs. This initiative began in 1993, and over the years cooperative efforts with local and state agencies as well as non-profits have maintained and enhance military readiness. At the same time these public-private partnerships have addressed a number of local needs and have lifted the morale of the people helped.
Lennon ascribes the delay in actually beginning the salvage work to a number of factors, to include previous commitments on the part of the military units as well as an abundance of caution in approaching the salvage task. Marine experts have spent weeks making a careful assessment, in cooperation with the US Coast Guard, to gather the information needed to raise the sub expeditiously and safely.
That assessment included dives to make sure the sunken sub was stable and did not pose any immediate danger environmentally or to marine navigation. Divers with specialized training have already conducted a survey of the river bottom and the pier area, as well as a thorough examination of the outside of the hull.
"We have also been hampered by a lack of engineering drawings or builders' plans, which we have been unable to obtain from Russia because they are still classified," says Lennon. "Almost all our technical knowledge about the sub comes from reverse engineering the data developed when the sub was drydocked in preparation for the filming of the Harrison Ford movie 'K-19: The Widowmaker'", he concluded.
Submarine veterans from the Soviet Navy with an intimate knowledge of the workings of this boat have helped the museum and the Navy develop additional information, but more data was needed before salavge could begin. As a result, the Navy dispatched a team of four salvage experts to Germany earlier this month to inspect U-461, K-77's sister sub, moored in Peenemunde. Russian Sub Manager Bill Sheridan accompanied that group, primarily to provide details about how the sub in Rhode Island differs from the sub in Germany.
All parties emphasize that the purpose of this phase of the exercise is to raise and stabilize K-77 to make sure it does not sink again. At that point the sub can be thoroughly inspected to determine the extent of damage, and only then can subsequent steps be determined.
"Until the sub is raised, we don't have the information we need to make decisions about her future," says Lennon. "Right now, all options are open."
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For information on the IRT or the Department of Defense involvement in this project, contact:
Lt. Cmdr. Ruth Rayburn
(207) 332-0111 (cell)
texaninmaine2002@yahoo.com
For information on the Russian Sub Museum/ Juliett 484 submarine, contact:
Frank Lennon, President
(401) 831-8696
frankl69@aol.com
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Last Updated:
8/28/07