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December 30, 2002

Russia's first SSBN (ballistic missile Submarine), the K-19, is has been sent to a shipyard for decommissioning and dismantling. The K-19's tribulations on its maiden voyage were the subject of a recent movie of the same name. In that flick, one sailor was heard to call the K-19 "cursed." He was right. The K-19 went on to suffer so many mishaps that sailors nicknamed the boat "Hiroshima."

Eight sailors died in 1961 from radiation sickness. This was the voyage covered in the movie. But if anyone wants a sequel, in 1969 K-19 collided with an American sub in the Barents Sea. In 1972, an onboard fire killed 28 of the crew. There were also fires in 1978 and 1982, but no one died in those. There were numerous other minor incidents. K-19 was taken out of active service in 1990 and docked at Ara bay on the Kola peninsula.