King of Scandinavia
02-03-2008, 11:48 AM
THE INCIDENT
In October 1981, the Russian Submarine W-137 accidently navigated on an underwater rock about 2 km from the Swedish main Naval Base at Karlskrona. The boat was stucked on the rock for nearly 10 days. The Russian Navy sent a rescue task force to the site in Sweden; it was composed of heavily armed destroyers and high sea tugs.
As a result of negotiations between the Kremlin and the Swedish Goverment, the master on the Russian Submarine was taken ashore for a hearing. Very little came out of it. The submarine was released to the Russian. The matter was first-page news and closely watched by CBS, BBC, ATV and others.
The name of the captain was: Captain (Third degree) Anatolij Michajlovitj Gusjtjins, age 35 years. The boat was of Russian W-class (Whisky) and carried nuclear weapons in the forward torpedo room.
Onboard was also another officer of higher rank, Lt Cmdr Avsukjevitj. He was a specialist (?) in navigation in archipelagoes in Baltic western waters.
The boat belonged to a Russian naval base in Leiepaja but Gusjtjins admitted that he lived with his family in Baltisjk (Kaliningrad). On his return to Baltisjk, Gusjtjins was said to have been lowered in rank but kept his employment in the Navy.
The Russians moved the base of Baltic and Atlantic fleet from Kronstadt to Köningsberg after WW2 and renamed the city to Kaliningrad. They also built a huge Naval Base near Pillau which they renamed to Baltisk.The base inhabited about 50,000 naval personel and families and was a closed city during the cold war. Today, the former glittering captial of Prussia is a gost city where everything is gray.
.
.
HOW SERIOUS WAS THE INTRUSION?
When one looks at the the photos which follow one cannot but wonder "was it close to war?" Following are some additional facts about this incident
After gounding the W-137 in Sweden the Captain wired a report to Baltisjk. The Russians then sent a Task Force consisting of 3 heavy oceangoing tugs escorted by the heavy destroyer "Obraztsovyj" a 140 meter converted Kasjin Class with a crew of 320 men. It was armed with SSN 2 C Styx Missiles, possessing a range of 80 km, several 76 mm guns, torpedoes and various antiaircraft missiles/rockets. The "Obraztsovyj" sailed together with another destroyer of the Kildin class, similarly armed. The Commander of the Task Force was Admiral A. Kalinin with order to pass through the Swedish border, salvage the W-137 and tow it back to Batijsk.
W-137 had not sent any distress call and Sweden did not accepted the submarine's emergancy claim. Sweden denied entry to the Kalinin's Task Force. Kalinin and his ship continued on with full speed ahead toward the Swedish border.
The Swedish Prime Minister Torbjörn Fälldin order the Supreme Commander to "keep the border clean". The costal artillery, with a newly installed Bofors Haubits 77 as well as the older 15 cm artillery were ordered to fire on any of the two destroyers (but not the tugs or salvage ship) who crossed the border without stopping.
Kalinin was only 1 mile off the border when he was informed that active Swedish target seeking radars were locked on his ship. When a mere 60 secons away from the border he turned his ship portside together with the other destroyer - but the Submarine salvage craft continued on across the border. It was soon stopped by 3 Swedish torpedoboats of the Spica Class.
The central radar sight for coastal artillery could see, on their screen, two dots moving north easterly between the Russian U-boat salvage craft and the Russian destroyers. The Haubits 77 was locked in on the new targets and when the ships moved out of the foggy belt they were visually identified as two peacefull German merchant ships destined for Karlskrona with loads of grain. The Germans had no idea what was going on.
Could that situation have developed into a state of war? In any case, it certainly was not the right time for human failure to have taken place.
http://compunews.com/s139/sp2.htm
http://compunews.com/s139/s8b.jpg
[ Chart of the area where W-137 ran aground. ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s8.jpg
[ Master of Submarinet W-137 Anatoilij Michajlovitj Gustjin ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s9b.jpg
[ The political officer onboard, Capt. Vasilij Besedin, whose responsibility was to ensure that none of the crew escaped to foreign country ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s13b.jpg
[ The Swedish Navy V-03 arrives to the grounding site with Commander Karl Andersson onboard. The cover of the aft automatic gun remains on. The Swedes have no intention to shoot ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s20b.jpg
[ Swedish paratroopers arrive with LLCM on nearby island ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s20ab.jpg
[ Swedish paratroopers have the U-boat tower at gunpoint. ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s30b.jpg
[ Captain Gustjin and Besedin are finally brought to interrogation ]
In October 1981, the Russian Submarine W-137 accidently navigated on an underwater rock about 2 km from the Swedish main Naval Base at Karlskrona. The boat was stucked on the rock for nearly 10 days. The Russian Navy sent a rescue task force to the site in Sweden; it was composed of heavily armed destroyers and high sea tugs.
As a result of negotiations between the Kremlin and the Swedish Goverment, the master on the Russian Submarine was taken ashore for a hearing. Very little came out of it. The submarine was released to the Russian. The matter was first-page news and closely watched by CBS, BBC, ATV and others.
The name of the captain was: Captain (Third degree) Anatolij Michajlovitj Gusjtjins, age 35 years. The boat was of Russian W-class (Whisky) and carried nuclear weapons in the forward torpedo room.
Onboard was also another officer of higher rank, Lt Cmdr Avsukjevitj. He was a specialist (?) in navigation in archipelagoes in Baltic western waters.
The boat belonged to a Russian naval base in Leiepaja but Gusjtjins admitted that he lived with his family in Baltisjk (Kaliningrad). On his return to Baltisjk, Gusjtjins was said to have been lowered in rank but kept his employment in the Navy.
The Russians moved the base of Baltic and Atlantic fleet from Kronstadt to Köningsberg after WW2 and renamed the city to Kaliningrad. They also built a huge Naval Base near Pillau which they renamed to Baltisk.The base inhabited about 50,000 naval personel and families and was a closed city during the cold war. Today, the former glittering captial of Prussia is a gost city where everything is gray.
.
.
HOW SERIOUS WAS THE INTRUSION?
When one looks at the the photos which follow one cannot but wonder "was it close to war?" Following are some additional facts about this incident
After gounding the W-137 in Sweden the Captain wired a report to Baltisjk. The Russians then sent a Task Force consisting of 3 heavy oceangoing tugs escorted by the heavy destroyer "Obraztsovyj" a 140 meter converted Kasjin Class with a crew of 320 men. It was armed with SSN 2 C Styx Missiles, possessing a range of 80 km, several 76 mm guns, torpedoes and various antiaircraft missiles/rockets. The "Obraztsovyj" sailed together with another destroyer of the Kildin class, similarly armed. The Commander of the Task Force was Admiral A. Kalinin with order to pass through the Swedish border, salvage the W-137 and tow it back to Batijsk.
W-137 had not sent any distress call and Sweden did not accepted the submarine's emergancy claim. Sweden denied entry to the Kalinin's Task Force. Kalinin and his ship continued on with full speed ahead toward the Swedish border.
The Swedish Prime Minister Torbjörn Fälldin order the Supreme Commander to "keep the border clean". The costal artillery, with a newly installed Bofors Haubits 77 as well as the older 15 cm artillery were ordered to fire on any of the two destroyers (but not the tugs or salvage ship) who crossed the border without stopping.
Kalinin was only 1 mile off the border when he was informed that active Swedish target seeking radars were locked on his ship. When a mere 60 secons away from the border he turned his ship portside together with the other destroyer - but the Submarine salvage craft continued on across the border. It was soon stopped by 3 Swedish torpedoboats of the Spica Class.
The central radar sight for coastal artillery could see, on their screen, two dots moving north easterly between the Russian U-boat salvage craft and the Russian destroyers. The Haubits 77 was locked in on the new targets and when the ships moved out of the foggy belt they were visually identified as two peacefull German merchant ships destined for Karlskrona with loads of grain. The Germans had no idea what was going on.
Could that situation have developed into a state of war? In any case, it certainly was not the right time for human failure to have taken place.
http://compunews.com/s139/sp2.htm
http://compunews.com/s139/s8b.jpg
[ Chart of the area where W-137 ran aground. ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s8.jpg
[ Master of Submarinet W-137 Anatoilij Michajlovitj Gustjin ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s9b.jpg
[ The political officer onboard, Capt. Vasilij Besedin, whose responsibility was to ensure that none of the crew escaped to foreign country ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s13b.jpg
[ The Swedish Navy V-03 arrives to the grounding site with Commander Karl Andersson onboard. The cover of the aft automatic gun remains on. The Swedes have no intention to shoot ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s20b.jpg
[ Swedish paratroopers arrive with LLCM on nearby island ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s20ab.jpg
[ Swedish paratroopers have the U-boat tower at gunpoint. ]
http://compunews.com/s139/s30b.jpg
[ Captain Gustjin and Besedin are finally brought to interrogation ]