The INS Dakar submarine of Israel, carrying a crew of 69, suddenly vanished while on a mission in 1968. It wasn’t until over 30 years later that the wreck of the vessel was accidentally discovered.
Submarines are incredibly unique underwater war machines. They are designed to operate covertly beneath the surface to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, special operations, and combat. Submarines are equipped with sophisticated technologies to “outsmart” enemy sensor systems, turning them into invisible killers beneath the waves.
Thanks to their stealth capabilities, submarines can operate secretly, making it very difficult for adversaries to detect them. However, this stealth feature can also become a “double-edged sword.” Whenever a submarine encounters trouble, its stealth capabilities hinder rescue teams from locating it quickly.
Many submarine disasters have occurred while submerged, leading to mysterious disappearances. Even after the wrecks are found, satisfactory explanations for these accidents often remain elusive. Sputnik has compiled a list of the most mysterious submarine accidents in history, with their causes still a mystery to humanity today.
INS Dakar Submarine of Israel
The INS Dakar is a diesel-electric submarine of the T class, built by HM Dockyard Devonport for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1943 as HMS Totem. In 1965, the Israeli Navy acquired the submarine and renamed it INS Dakar.
Part of the INS Dakar submarine raised and turned into a memorial at the Haifa Naval Museum, Israel. (Photo: Wikipedia).
After undergoing upgrades, the submarine left the shipyard in Scotland to conduct sea trials. After two months of successful testing, on January 9, 1968, the submarine set sail for Israel with a crew of 69. On January 24, the INS Dakar entered the Mediterranean Sea and vanished without a trace.
On January 26, the Royal Navy reported that the Dakar submarine was missing. An international search operation involving the navies of Israel, the United States, Greece, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Lebanon was conducted, but no trace was found.
In 1999, 31 years after the incident, a joint US-Israeli search team discovered a suspicious object lying at a depth of 3,000 meters between Crete and Cyprus. The object was identified as the wreck of the Dakar, which had exploded due to sinking beyond the vessel’s structural limits.
The cause of the accident remains a mystery. The Dakar submarine disaster marked the beginning of a dark year for submarines worldwide, with a series of mysterious accidents occurring in 1968.
Minerve Submarine (S647), France
On January 27, 1968, just days after the inexplicable disappearance of the INS Dakar, the French submarine Minerve (S647) was conducting a training exercise off the coast of Toulon. The submarine was submerged just a few meters and using a snorkel to run its diesel engine, carrying a crew of 52.
The S647 was operating about 46 km from the shore and expected to return to port within approximately one hour. However, S647 suddenly disappeared while still several dozen kilometers from land. The French Navy immediately initiated a large-scale search operation, involving the aircraft carrier Clemenceau and the submarine SP-350 Denise, but nothing was found.
The submarine S647 captured by an aircraft hours before its disappearance. (Photo: Naval.com).
In 1969, the French Navy conducted another search operation involving the deep-sea research vessel Archimède capable of diving to depths of 10,000 meters, assisted by the US Navy. However, S647 remained missing. After 49 years since its disappearance, S647 has never been found.
K-129 Submarine, Soviet Union
K-129 was a diesel-electric ballistic missile submarine of Project 629A, built by the Soviet Union. On February 24, 1968, K-129 was assigned a routine patrol after completing two 70-day patrols in 1967.
The mission of K-129 was quite secretive, and the submarine was ordered to limit communication with headquarters to avoid revealing its location. In mid-March 1968, Soviet Navy officials at the Kamchatka base began to worry when K-129 missed two scheduled radio communications.
The Soviet Navy ordered the submarine to make an emergency communication with headquarters, but no response was received. The Soviet Navy declared K-129 missing in early March, along with its crew of 83, and initiated a search operation. The search efforts were disguised as a training operation at sea to mislead the US Navy about the submarine’s accident.
Special rescue equipment created by the US to recover K-129 during the Azorian Project intelligence operation. (Photo: Wikipedia).
Meanwhile, the US underwater sound surveillance system (SOSUS) recorded a strange explosive sound at the coordinates 40 degrees North, 180 degrees East. The Soviets, unable to locate K-129, eventually canceled the search operation.
The cause of the K-129 accident remains inadequately explained, leading to numerous conspiracy theories. In August 1968, the US Navy, based on the location provided by SOSUS, found K-129 at a depth of 4,900 meters.
The discovery of the submarine, which the Soviets had failed to find, prompted the US to undertake a secret operation to recover K-129 in order to gather intelligence on Moscow’s ballistic missiles. The operation to recover K-129 was codenamed “Project Azorian.” This was the most expensive intelligence operation of the Cold War.
USS Scorpion Submarine, United States
The USS Scorpion (SSN-589) is a Skipjack-class nuclear attack submarine of the United States Navy. It was commissioned in 1960. On May 20, 1968, SSN-589, with a crew of 99, was on a mission in the Mediterranean when it suddenly vanished.
The SSN-589 submarine on a mission at sea before its disappearance. (Photo: Wikipedia).
The US Navy conducted a large-scale search operation but found nothing in the first few weeks following the accident. In late October 1968, five months after its disappearance, the oceanographic research vessel USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11) discovered SSN-589 lying at a depth of 3,000 meters, approximately 740 km southwest of the Azores archipelago, Portugal.
The cause of the accident remains a mystery, with many theories proposed, including the possibility that the submarine was attacked by the Soviets, but none have been convincing. The US Navy has not reached a final conclusion regarding the accident.
In 2012, 13,800 former US Navy sailors signed a petition requesting the Navy to reopen the investigation into the 589 submarine’s accident.
ARA San Juan Submarine of the Argentine Navy
The TR-1700 ARA San Juan (S-42) submarine. (Photo: Wikipedia).
The diesel-electric submarine ARA San Juan (S-42) of the Argentine Navy unexpectedly disappeared while patrolling underwater in November 2017.
After weeks of search and rescue efforts, the submarine was declared missing along with all 44 crew members. Debris from the vessel was later found in 2018, at a depth of approximately 900 meters underwater.
Some theories suggest that the San Juan may have experienced electrical failures, disrupting its entire communication and control systems. However, the actual answer remains unclear.
