They Lied. How Shocking.
In the aftermath of the fire aboard the Delta-IV class SSBN Yekaterinburg, Russian officials–including Rogozin the Ridiculous–claimed that the sub had no weapons on board, and in particular, had no nuclear weapons.
Another non-operative explanation, apparently:
A fire at a drydocked Russian nuclear submarine in December could have sparked a radiation disaster because it was carrying nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles and other weapons, despite official statements to the contrary, a Russian news magazine reported Monday.
The respected Kommersant Vlast said the fire aboard the Yekaterinburg could have triggered powerful explosions that would have destroyed the submarine and scattered radioactive material around a large area.
When the fire erupted on Dec. 29, Russia’s Defense Ministry said all weapons had been unloaded before the submarine was moved to a drydock for repairs at the Roslyakovo shipyard in the Murmansk region.
. . . .
The magazine said that an explosion of torpedoes, each carrying 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of TNT would likely have destroyed the bow and could have triggered a blast of nuclear-tipped missiles in the midsection and the vessel’s two nuclear reactors.
“Russia was a step away from the largest catastrophe since Chernobyl,” Komersant Vlast said, referring to the 1986 explosion at a nuclear power plant in then-Soviet Ukraine.
The magazine said that weapons are normally removed from submarines before repairs, but the navy wanted to save time on a lengthy procedure to unload the missiles and torpedoes. It said the repairs were supposed to be relatively minor and the Northern Fleet wanted the Yekaterinburg to be quickly back to service [emphasis added].
Cutting corners with nuclear weapons. Always a comforting thought.
Cutting corners with the truth. SOP.
It is too bad that these people are not a hazard to themselves but also to everyone else around them. If they were just a danger to themselves, we could retire the Darwin awards, as we know who the winners would always be.
Comment by sotos — February 13, 2012 @ 6:54 pm
re; the Darwin Awards, this guy’s brother is probably the Russian Fleet’s chief safety officer.
(September 1989, USSR) The Soviet Union is home to a growing number of psychics and mentalists. One of them, E. Frenkel, became convinced that he could use his powers to stop vehicles in their tracks. He believed that “in extraordinary conditions of a direct threat to my organism, all my reserves will be called into action.”
Frenkel started small — a bicycle here, an automobile there — before graduating to streetcars. Finally, he devised an ultimate test of his psychic power: he would halt a freight train in its tracks.
The engineer of the train that ran Frenkel over saw him toss his briefcase aside, and step onto the tracks with arms raised, head lowered, and body tensed. The engineer applied the emergency brakes, but it was too late.
The mentalist psyched himself out.
Comment by sotos — February 13, 2012 @ 6:59 pm
No nationality has a corner on stupid. You may have seen this but for me each time I watch it I am still truly amazed at the sheer breadth of the ignorance displayed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZczIgVXjg
Comment by pahoben — February 13, 2012 @ 9:38 pm
@pahoben-but at least Hank Johnson was only in Congress, where he couldn’t do much damage, rather than handling nukes. I always wonder what was going through that admiral’s head listening to that. “OMG. WTF am I supposed to say in response to THAT?”
@The Professor-can you imagine the tainted luck that would be attached to a sub christened the Dmitry Rogozin. It would be the stuff of Naval History. At some point they will run out of cities and no doubt the first then will be chistened-Владимир Путин. Rogozin will do everything in his smarmy power to see it done.
Comment by pahoben — February 14, 2012 @ 7:17 am
Congress has long been the home of idiots, particularly from inner city political machines. The real money is made locally – In NY a couple of State senators were pulling 400K plus each from “community service” organizations. The speaker of the assembly is a partner at the biggest ambulance chasing firm in NY – no tort reform here! As for national office, these guys try to park an acceptable face, make sure he gets the federal boodle to the locals, and otherwise don’t care much about him. He can be a moron or and arrogant prick who thinks he defecates ambergris and urinates Perfume. The first is Johnson, the second Obama.
Comment by sotos — February 14, 2012 @ 11:02 am
God help Chicago when the entire Obama posse returns.
Comment by pahoben — February 14, 2012 @ 8:23 pm
They will be marginalized into the Foundation / publicly funded desert by the mayor, unless they are very polite and useful. Odds are in practical matters an alderman will have more real pull.
Comment by sotos — February 15, 2012 @ 8:23 am
The mayor does have weaknesses when it really heats up.
Comment by pahoben — February 16, 2012 @ 8:24 am
It’s pretty telling that the Russophile scum who frequent this blog act like this post is the third rail of a subway track. Won’t touch it! Not even the craziest of them can even attempt to justify this barbaric conduct, so they simply try to ignore it. And that behavior is what destroyed the USSR.
Comment by La Russophobe — February 16, 2012 @ 6:39 pm