From ALEX ARMSTRONG
You recently published a letter from Hadrian Jeffs alleging that there
is a wrecked Soviet ‘November’-class submarine 70 miles off Land’s End (Letters,
9 April).
The details quoted in Jeffs’s letter are at odds with the facts, which
have been known for some considerable time.
The submarine was abandoned and scuttled, after a major fire, some 540
miles west-southwest of Land’s End, off the continental shelf, in water
over 2000 metres deep; it is understood that the reactor was fully shut
down and made safe prior to scuttling; this particular submarine had a history
of mechanical failure. There is no evidence held which suggests that a Soviet
Don class support ship has ever visited the site.
Alex Armstrong Ministry Of Defence, London
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