CHAPTER 512 August 2000—Barents SeaLEADERS OF THE NORTHERN FLEET AND RUSSIAN NAVY were confronted with a series of disconcerting facts.First, there had been an enormous undersea explosion. Second, the blast had originated in a sector assigned to the Kursk for patrol. Third, at least one officer on board the Peter the Great, and probably a great many more, was aware that a missile had been fired and that it struck the sea, causing an unusually dramatic eruption of water. Fourth, only a large attack submarine carried sufficient weaponry to produce such a hellacious submerged blast. Fifth, Captain Lyachin had called for permission to release a faulty torpedo. That transmission, according to the media, was picked up by the USNS Loyal. So there can be little doubt the call was made and that ranking officers on board the Peter the Great knew this.Finally, the Peter the Great, a sophisticated heavy nuclear missile cruiser, had first-class submarine-detection abilities. It was operating in a full combat mode with all of its electronic gear searching for the Kursk.
