ST.PETERSBURG/SEVEROMORSK. Nov 1 (Interfax-Northwest) - The Missile and Artillery Department of the Russian Northern Fleet hopes that prosecutors will find out the reason for the Kursk wreck and "thus put an end to speculations about the submarine's sinking and its crew," a representative of the department told Interfax on Thursday.
There have been press reports blaming the Northern Fleet command and the department for putting a defective torpedo on board the Kursk that allegedly triggered the submarine sinking.
"Only the investigators can say what triggered the explosion and how much everyone was guilty," the source said.
The prosecutors have visited the Gidropribor research institute in St. Petersburg, which provides the scientific backing in the production of mines and torpedoes, among them the VA-111 Shkval anti-sub torpedo.
The development of the torpedo started in 1960, and the first blueprints were approved in 1963. The first trial launches of the torpedo were done in Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan. However, that torpedo failed to meet safety requirements. The Russian Navy adopted the upgraded Shkval system with the M-5 (VA-111) torpedo in 1977.
The torpedo has a caliber of 533.4 millimeters, is 8,200 millimeters long, weighs 270 kilograms and has a warhead capacity of no less than 210 kilogram TNT. The efficient shooting range is 7 kilometers, and the flight speed is about 100 meters per second. Under the water the torpedo is stabilized by four wings, which come out of its hull after the launch.