History
Soviet Union
Name	K-11
Laid down	31 October 1960[1]
Launched	1 September 1961[1]
Commissioned	30 December 1961[1]
Decommissioned	19 April 1990[1]
Status	Laid up as of 2000[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	November-class submarine
Displacement	3065 tonnes surfaced, 4750 tonnes submerged
Length	107.4 m (352 ft 4 in)
Beam	7.9 m (25 ft 11 in)
Draught	5.65 m (18 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	2 × 70 MW VM-A reactors
Speed	23.3 knots (43.2 km/h; 26.8 mph) surfaced, 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) submerged
Complement	104 officers and ratings
Service record
Part of:	Northern Fleet: 3rd division of nuclear submarines of 1st submarine flotilla in 1962–1975 and 17th submarine division of 11th submarine flotilla since 1975.[1]

K-11 was a Soviet November-class (Project 627A) nuclear-powered attack submarine that had two reactor accidents during loading of the nuclear reactor core in Severodvinsk on 7 and 12 February 1965.^[1][2] Reasons for the accidents included nonobservance of operating instructions by those participating in the lift of the reactor cover and the mistaken decision to continue refueling after the first accident.^[1] There were no fatalities but those accidents (ejection of radioactive steam and inappropriate fire extinguishing methods on 12 February^[1]) caused an unsafe release of radiation into the environment and nearby shipyard area. Seven men were treated for exposure to radiation.^[3] The reactor compartment holding the two damaged reactors was removed, partially decontaminated and sunk in Abrosimov Bay (east coast of Novaya Zemlya) in the Kara Sea in 1966.^[2][3] A new reactor compartment was installed and the submarine continued to perform her duties from August 1968 (performed five long-range cruises in 1968–1970 including patrol missions in the Mediterranean Sea, four long-range cruises in 1975–1977, five long-range cruises in 1982–1985) until decommissioning on 19 April 1990. K-11 passed the milestone of 220,179 miles traveled in 1988. The submarine has been laid up in Gremikha Bay since of 2000.^[1]

References

External links

• Bellona Report on Project 627, 627 A (Kit) November Class Submarines
• Federation of American Scientists – Project 627 Kit November Class Submarines Archived 11 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• Describes the 1965 incident that occurred on 7 and 12 February