Vsevolod Borisovich Bessonov (russian: Все́волод Бори́сович Бессо́нов) (19321970) was an officer in the Soviet Navy and

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

of the ''K-8''– the Project 627 Kit-class submarine. He was honored with the Hero of the Soviet Union. He died during the sinking of ''K-8''.

Biography

Bessonov joined the Soviet Navy in 1951. He was a torpedo specialist in the

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

arm of the Soviet Northern Fleet and was awarded the order of the Red Banner for taking part in tests on the nuclear-armed torpedo near

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...

. In 1968, Bessonov was appointed second in command of the nuclear-powered submarine ''K-8''. He was made Captain 2nd Rank and commander of this boat in 1970. In 1970 during the large-scale "Ocean-70" naval exercise, ''K-8'' suffered fires in two compartments simultaneously on 8 April 1970. Due to short circuits that took place in III and VII compartments simultaneously at a depth of 120 m, a fire spread through the air-conditioning system. Both nuclear reactors were shut down. The captain ordered his entire crew to abandon ship but was countermanded once a towing vessel arrived. 52 crewmen, including her commander, re-boarded the surfaced submarine that was to be towed. This was the first loss of a Soviet nuclear-powered submarine, which sank in rough seas as it was being towed in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

of the North Atlantic Ocean. All hands on board died due to carbon monoxide poisoning and the flooding of the surfaced submarine during 80 hours of damage control in stormy conditions. 73 crewmen survived. ''K-8'' sank with four nuclear torpedoes on board to a depth of approximately northwest of Spain. Bessonov was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bessonov, Vsevolod 1932 births 1970 deaths People lost at sea People from Rylsky District Soviet submarine commanders Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Soviet military personnel killed in action