The Terrifying Tale of the Russian Nuclear Submarine That Sank Twice

Russian subs have a horrible safety record.
One of the subs I served on was HAWKBILL SSN 666. She was built alongside GUITARO SSN 665 at Mare Island Navy Shipyard (ironically both submarines I deployed on were MINSY boats). The shipyard sank Guitaro at the pier, so her buildout was delayed. The result is that Hawkbill had a number of SubSafe parts engraved 665, since she got parts that were to go to Guitaro, but the recovery from the flooding delayed her construction.

When we were returning from deployment on Hawkbill the Commodore told us that Guitaro had a battery fire. It turns out some of the anti-corrosion zinc plates in her battery compartment had failed. Those were parts labeled 666. Had the Guitaro not sunk at the pier, we could have had that battery fire.

leaving with an Ad-hoc crew 2 captains and no real experience with the submarine nor knowing how it had some safety features disabled. What a messed up situation! Great read. Widowmaker 2.