Although the Cold War officially ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the decades of built-up tension did not simply vanish. The United States, in particular, remained keenly interested in the disposition of the former Soviet military forces. Tasked with gathering this intelligence, the U.S. Navy embarked on a mission that would ultimately result in an embarrassing and dangerous collision between the nuclear submarines of two former adversaries.
The Cold War had ended, but the spying had not
Russia was in political and financial chaos after the Soviet Union fell, but that did not make their military, especially their powerful Navy, any less deadly. The US Navy began studying the movement and communications of the Russian Navy in their ports, by listening for vessels and tapping into Russian communication cables on the seabed. These operations were known as “Operation Holy Stone.”
In February of 1992, a US Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine, the USS Baton Rouge, was near the Russian port of Severomorsk as part of these intelligence-gathering missions. Officially, the US submarine was in this location collecting or placing listening apparatus on the seabed.
The crew continued with their mission in the belief they were completely alone and undetected.
11 February 1992
About 12 miles offshore, in waters the United States considered international, the USS Baton Rouge collided unexpectedly with a Russian submarine, jolting the crews aboard both vessels. The Russian sub, the B-276 Kostroma, was a 9,000-ton Sierra-class nuclear-powered vessel.
The collision occurred as the Kostroma attempted to surface, striking the Baton Rouge at roughly 8 mph. While that speed seems modest, the sheer mass of the submarine made the impact severe. Both vessels sustained extensive damage but were able to limp back to their respective ports.
The Kostroma suffered damage to its conning tower due to the upward motion during surfacing, while the Baton Rouge endured heavy scratches and a torn ballast tank. Fortunately, no crew members were injured. However, the Baton Rouge faced particular risk: as a single-hulled submarine, any rupture could have allowed water to flood the vessel, creating a potentially catastrophic situation.
Political reaction
Naturally, the event was a major political disaster for the US, which was exposed for still keeping tabs on Russian activity. While the location of the collision was considered international waters by the US, the Russians disagreed and claimed the US had illegally entered their waters.
The US claim that the Baton Rouge was only in the area to manage listening devices wasn’t accepted by the Russians, who believed the two submarines knew of each others’ presence and were playing a game of cat-and-mouse. Further investigations by analysts have supported this idea too, as it seems unlikely that Baton Rouge would have come this close without being detected by Russian anti-submarine systems.
Still, the collision itself was almost certainly an accident. In fact, before returning to their respective ports, the USS Baton Rouge circled around to the Russian sub to see if they needed assistance following the accidental collision.
The event prompted the meeting of US Secretary of State James Baker and Russian president Boris Yeltsin to discuss the situation.
What happened to the submarines?
#270546 / Darryl Baker)
Once Baton Rouge was back in home waters, the full extent of the damage was assessed, and the decision was made to scrap the vessel. The submarine was due to be refueled which is expensive and long process for nuclear-powered vessels. This, combined with the costs of repairing her damaged hull meant it was uneconomic to keep the submarine in service. She was struck from service in early 1993 and scrapped later in the year at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington.
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The Russian submarine did not suffer from the same fate and enjoyed a long career after the event. She was repaired at the Nerpa shipyards in Snezhnogorsk by June 29, 1992. Kostroma received a major refit in 2005, before again returning to service.
One of the most recently known upgrades to the Russian submarine was the addition of an updated Kizhuch sonar complex.
Today, she is in reserve and bears a number “1” kill marker on her conning tower, for her part in Baton Rouge’s accidental defeat.