On July 4, 1961, K-19 was conducting exercises in the North Atlantic close to Southern Greenland when she developed a major leak in her reactor coolant system. The engineering officers and crew worked for extended periods in high radiation areas to create a coolant system jury rig. All of the crew received substantial doses of radiation, and eight men died of radiation exposure. The crew was evacuated to a diesel submarine, and K-19 was towed to the home base. The damaged reactors were removed and replaced, a process that took two years. The submarine acquired the nickname "Hiroshima."
On November 15, 1969 K-19 collided with [USS Gato (SSN-615)]? in the [Barents Sea]? at a depth of 200 feet. She was able to surface by means of an emergency ballast tank blow.
On February 24, 1972 a fire broke out onboard K-19 while the submarine was at a depth of 380 feet some 700 miles from Newfoundland. A total of 28 sailors died in the fire. The rescue operation lasted more than 40 days and involved over 30 ships.
The movie K-19: Widowmaker, starring [Harrison Ford]? and [Liam Neeson]?, tells the story of this submarine.
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