The K-324 was a Soviet Union Victor III Class

Victor class submarine

The Victor class is the NATO reporting name for a type of nuclear-powered submarine that was originally put into service by the Soviet Union around 1967. In the USSR, they were produced as Project 671. Victor-class subs featured a teardrop shape, which allowed them to travel at high speed...

 submarine in reserve since 1997. It was assigned to the Northern Fleet.

Construction and Launch

The K-324 was laid down on 29 February 1980 at Komsomolsk Shipyard in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Russian Far East. It was launched on 7 October 1980 and commissioned on 30 December 1980. It was the 7th ship of the class built at Komsomolsk.

Collision

In 1981, the K-324 collided with an unidentified American submarine of the Sturgeon class

Sturgeon class submarine

The Sturgeon class were a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy from the 1960s until 2004. They were the "work horses" of the submarine attack fleet throughout much of the Cold War...

, purportedly USS Drum

USS Drum (SSN-677)

USS Drum , a Sturgeon class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the drum, also known as the croaker or hardhead, any of various fishes of the Sciaenidae family, capable of making a drumming noise and best known on the Atlantic coast of North...

, in the Peter the Great Bay, not far from Vladivostok

Vladivostok

The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...

. The submarine was heavily damaged, to all reports. The United States government denied any of their submarines were in the area, and no US submarine reported any damage during that time period, but the Soviets reported none of their submarines were in the Bay aside from K-324.

Fleet transfer and operations

The K-324 transited across the Arctic in November and was officially transferred to the Northern Fleet on 3 December 1982.

Disabled

On October 31, 1983, the K-324 snagged the frigate USS McCloy

USS McCloy (FF-1038)

USS McCloy was the second and final . Commissioned as a destroyer escort, the McCloy was redesignated as frigate on June 30, 1975. Decommissioned on December 14, 1990, and stricken from the Navy list on October 4, 1991, the McCLOY was transferred to Mexico on November 12, 1993, where she was...

's towed array 282 miles west of Bermuda, causing damage to the submarine's propeller. The submarine was towed to Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos

Cienfuegos is a city on the southern coast of Cuba, capital of Cienfuegos Province. It is located about from Havana, and has a population of 150,000. The city is dubbed La Perla del Sur...

, Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 for repairs by a Soviet salvage ship beginning on November 5. Soviet technicians recovered some parts of McCloy´s array.

Later activities and decommissioning

The K-324 was again involved in operations around US waters in 1985. She was reported to have detected American SSBNs on three different times, tailing them for 28 hours. K-324 took advantage of temperature variations in the Gulf Stream

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...

. K-324 was in reserve by 1997. The K-324 was written off in 2000 for scrapping.

External links

• Listing of Soviet Submarines