Soviet submarine K-431

History
Soviet Union
NameK-431
BuilderLeninskiy Komsomol Shipyard, Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Laid down11 January 1964
Launched8 September 1964
Commissioned30 September 1965
Decommissioned16 September 1987
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Class & typeEcho-class submarine
Displacement
  • 4,415 long tons (4,486 t) surfaced
  • 5,760 long tons (5,852 t) submerged
Length115.4 m (378 ft 7 in)
Beam9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Draught7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
Propulsion2 × pressurized water-cooled reactors 70,000 hp (52 MW) each, 2 steam turbines, 2 shafts
Speed
  • 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) surfaced
  • 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) submerged
Range18,000–30,000 nmi (33,000–56,000 km; 21,000–35,000 mi)
Endurance50 days
Test depth300 m (984 ft)
Complement104-109 men (including 29 officers)
Armament
  • 8 × P-6 cruise missiles
  • 4 × 533 mm (21 in) bow torpedo tubes
  • 2 × 400 mm (16 in) stern torpedo tubes

K-431 (Russian: К-431; originally the K-31) was a Soviet nuclear-powered submarine that had a reactor accident on 10 August 1985. It was commissioned on 30 September 1965. The 1985 explosion occurred during refueling of the submarine at Chazhma Bay, Dunay, Vladivostok. There were ten fatalities and 49 other people suffered radiation injuries. Time magazine has identified the accident as one of the world's "worst nuclear disasters".