Originally Posted by
etudiant
Is there a reference source for that? It is the first time I've seen the Shkval mentioned as a factor in this disaster.
The Russians have not been particularly forthcoming about the specifics of this accident, but the idea of a peroxide leak cascading to a warhead explosion was the agreed story
afaik.
Well, the reason the US was shadowing the exercises so closely is they were hoping, I guess, to monitor a test using the Shkval torpedo.
A lot of speculation at the time of the Kursk disaster was that something went wrong with preparing a Shkval for launch. Not sure whether the official story is to be completely believed, Russia has had a bit of a reputation for bending the truth. Anyway, there does seem to be a new story about this. Here's some old info that was current at the time:
(Well, can't post the link, it won't let me, so...)
search for : theguardian 2001 kursk.russia and select "what really happened"
So, maybe looks like what I THOUGHT I knew was wrong, again.
On the other hand, HTP is also quite nasty stuff, and if it comes in contact with a hydrocarbon fuel, well BANG!
Jon