Reasoning and proof

Preparation and Planning

This is a compelling lesson and students will certainly want further background information on the relationship between the Russian and British Naval Forces, the rescue operation and the methods by which the submariners were able to conserve water, air and heat. To maintain the suspense, refrain from asking students if they are familiar with the outcome of the incident at the beginning of the lesson. Explain that the uncertainty and rapidly changing circumstances brought to life in the role-play are exactly as per those experienced by the teams attempting the actual rescue, where so much was unknown.

Delivery of the lesson will benefit from access to an overhead projector, however all Student Worksheets standalone and if necessary, this lesson can be delivered without any additional support. In this event familiarise yourself with the sequence of events and where available print out copies of news reports written as events unfolded.

There is a News Article provided that is related to this topic. This can be photocopied for additional information.

About the MOD Topic

On August 4th 2005 AS-28 Priz (a Russian mini submarine) became entangled with the aerial of a hydrophone (used to detect seismic activity) off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East of Russia. The aerial, anchored by 60-tonne concrete blocks, snared the propeller of the submarine, and the submarine then sank to the seafloor at a depth of 190 m (600 ft). This was too deep for the ship's seven sailors to leave the submarine and swim to the surface. British rescuers and Russian officials stated that fishing nets also had entangled the vessel.

Within 24 hours the Russian Navy requested assistance - a much shorter period than that waited after the Kursk sank in 2000 (at a cost of 118 Russian lives). Recent Russian involvement with NATO forces planning for just such an eventuality influenced this decision to seek help in a timely manner. Support was quickly offered by the British Royal Navy, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force and the United States Navy. Japan sent four ships with rescue equipment.

The United Kingdom sent a Scorpio 45 ROV (robot operated vehicle) via long-range cargo aircraft and a team to operate it. The US sent further operating teams, accompanied by a pair of Canadian divers to assess the situation on the seabed if necessary. It was intended that the British unmanned rescue vessel, with its robotic arms, would be able to cut the nets or cables that anchored the submarine. Various tactics were considered and either discarded or not employed, including the use of explosives to cut the antenna (not attempted) and lifting the stricken craft using underslung cables (attempted but this proved futile). To conserve energy and oxygen, the crew of the AS-28 Priz shut down the submarine's non-essential systems (including the heater), donned thermal suits and rested. After a tense operation (during which the cutting gear failed and had to be replaced, with time running out), the British Scorpio successfully cut away the antenna and fishing nets which had snagged the submarine, while surface ships retreated to a safe distance. On August 7th the saga came to a close when the vessel successfully surfaced.

All seven crewmen were alive and able to climb out of the vessel within moments of its surfacing. They had been trapped in the vessel for over 76 hours and rescuers found that they had only enough oxygen to last at most 12 more hours. They also were desperately short of water, of which they had had only three or four handfuls a day.

Since this incident, a new submarine rescue system, owned jointly by France, Norway and the UK, has been in development. In March 2008, it successfully completed trials and when it comes into service it promises to offer a complete rescue package for trapped submariners anywhere in the world.

Further Opportunities for Learning

Citizenship / classroom-based discussion: students debate the international co-operation demonstrated here and in other disaster / potential disaster situations. This extends to non-military (e.g. forensic support lent to New York in 2001) and humanitarian scenarios (e.g. search and rescue teams following the Kashmir earthquake). There are specific issues pertaining to one military force asking for help from another: namely sharing of knowledge, perceived 'weakness' etc. What responsibility does a government have to its military personnel to ask for support when required? Should the Russian government pay all associated costs?

Citizenship / classroom-based discussion: this incident was reported step-by-step in the media, including coverage of the moment when the Russian sailors finally surfaced. What are the merits of such media attention? What pressures does it place on those dealing with the crisis and on the families / friends of the sailors being rescued / involved in the rescue effort?

Invite students to compile and conduct their own questionnaires to explore awareness and attitudes towards the Royal Navy, specifically concerning the Royal Navy's role in the rescue of the Priz. Present this information graphically.

Use the data contained within the Defence Dynamics lesson on Opinion polls and Data Interpretation, inviting students to graphically represent this information.

Invite the class to vote for their favourite and least favourite graph type (based on perceived usefulness or ease of use). Then conduct a graph 'clinic' where students volunteer multiple suggestions for appropriate axes (and relationships) for the selected graph type and sketch them on the board.

ICT-based work: all aspects of this lesson lend themselves to ICT-based project work: still plotting the equivalent of sketch graphs. Advanced students may consider three dimensional graph creation.

The Episodes in this lesson plan support subsequent class-based data-gathering exercises.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.