Near-disastrous collision between Russian and US submarines

The Russian submarine turned back suddenly, catching the pursuing American submarine by surprise and giving it little time to avoid a terrible underwater disaster.

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On March 20, 1993, the US submarine USS Grayling nearly caused an underwater disaster with the Russian submarine K-407 Novomoskovsk off the Kola Peninsula while on a follow-up mission to monitor the enemy, according to National Interest.

Commissioned in 1969, the nuclear-powered Sturgeon-class attack submarine USS Grayling was tasked by the US Navy to lurk near Russian naval bases to tail the enemy as soon as they left port.

USS Grayling sits in port after a mission. Photo: Navsource.org

The Russian submarine K-407 Novomoskovsk was commissioned in 1990 and is the last of the Project 667BDRM class of low-noise submarines. The vessel is 166 m long and has a displacement four times that of the USS Grayling.

The K-407 Novomoskovsk carries 16 RSM-54 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), each carrying four independently targetable nuclear warheads. It was the first submarine to launch 16 ballistic missiles simultaneously in a single test in 1991.

The K-407 submarine left its base in Severomorsk that day for training in the Barents Sea, 193 kilometers north of the city of Murmansk. At that time, about 60% of Russia’s ballistic missile submarines were stationed in the Arctic region, around the Kola Peninsula, which lies east of Russia’s border with Northern Europe.

The crew of the K-407 submarine was unaware of the presence of the American submarine tailing them about 11 km behind. At about 0:15, Captain Andrei Bulgakov turned the submarine back to port at a depth of 66 m.

The USS Grayling suddenly lost track of the Russian submarine, forcing Captain Richard Self to accelerate to close the distance and use sonar to locate the enemy. They only detected the K-407 at a distance of 965 meters, while the Russian submarine was heading straight for the USS Grayling.

A catastrophic head-on collision between the two submarines could have happened at any moment in that tense situation. The USS Grayling had accelerated to about 14-27 km/h, while the K-407 was traveling at about 32 km/h. The American submarine had only 75 seconds to avoid a collision. Captain Self tried every way to turn around and surface, but the American submarine was accelerating, the inertia was too great while there was too little time to maneuver.

The Russian submarine also did not realize that the USS Grayling was approaching. At 00:46, the crew of the K-407 was stunned to hear a loud, prolonged collision sound as the American submarine passed over the starboard side of the ship. Only then did the Russian ship's sonar system detect the USS Grayling.

After the collision, the US submarine circled around to make sure that K-407 was not seriously damaged, then both ships returned to their ports.

Fortunately, no one was injured or killed in the incident. The outer hull of K-407 suffered a small dent but the hull was not punctured, while the USS Grayling suffered only minor damage.

Submarine K-407 dented after collision with USS Grayling. Photo: Alexey Tuzov

Things could have been much worse. If the US ship had collided five seconds later, it would have hit the K-407's missile bay, causing the hull to rupture and sending the missiles containing nuclear warheads falling into the sea.

The incident caused a very awkward situation because it occurred right before the summit between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and newly elected US President Bill Clinton. Mr. Yeltsin recalled the incident, causing President Clinton to apologize and promise to conduct an investigation.

Following the investigation, the US Navy reformed its operational procedures, training, and scaled back its submarine operations. However, the policy of tailing ballistic submarines of potential adversaries remained.

Regarding the loss of the USS Grayling K-407 Novomoskovsk, military expert Sébastien Roblin said that the US submarine was trying to hide itself while tracking the enemy, so it could only use passive sonar to listen to surrounding noises and detect the Russian submarine. The active sonar system could easily locate the Russian ship, but at the same time it would alert the enemy to the presence of the USS Grayling.

However, the acoustic noise in the shallow waters near the Kola Peninsula is very high, while the K-407 is one of the quietest Russian submarines. In addition, the sonar reflection signal in front of a submarine is usually weaker than on the sides, making it more difficult for two opposing vessels to detect each other.

The combination of these factors meant that the USS Grayling failed to detect the K-407 until it was too late. Fortunately, there was still enough time for the American ship to maneuver, preventing a much more serious disaster.

After this incident, K-407 continued to serve in the Russian navy, while USS Grayling operated for several more years before being decommissioned in 1997.

According to VNE