Editing Soviet submarine K-77 (section)

== Construction and career ==
''K-77'' was [[laid down]] at the [[Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112]] [[shipyard]] in [[Nizhny Novgorod|Gorky]] on 31 January 1963. She was [[ship naming and launching|launched]] on 11 March 1965 and [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 31 October<ref name=h5/> into the [[Northern Fleet]]. The details of ''K-77''{{'}}s career remain largely unknown although she made at least two patrols in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. During her second deployment there, the boat trailed the [[United States Navy]] carriers of the [[United States Sixth Fleet|Sixth Fleet]] between May and November 1974. Two years later K-77 was deployed in the [[Caribbean Sea]] near the [[Puerto Rico]]. In 1977, ''K-77'' (the K standing for ({{Langx|ru|крейсерская|translit=kreyserskaya|lit=cruiser|links=no}}) was redesignated ''Б-77'' (the Б standing for {{Langx|ru|большая|translit=bolshaya|lit=large|links=no}}). In 1987, ''K-77'' was withdrawn from the [[blue-water navy|blue-water]] Northern Fleet and transferred to the 16th Submarine Division of the [[Baltic Fleet]]. Four years later, they were relegated to the 58th Submarine Brigade to finish out their service lives.<ref>Vilches Alarcón, pp. 19–20</ref> ''K-77'' was decommissioned sometime after 1991, and by the end of 1994, all Julietts had been retired.

=== Post-decommissioning ===

==== Finland ====
At the end of the [[Cold War]], Finnish businessman [[Jari Komulainen]], who was married to the daughter of [[President of Finland]] [[Mauno Koivisto]], used his influence as [[Finland]]'s "first son-in-law" to convince the Russian government to lease him a [[Foxtrot-class submarine|Project 641 "Foxtrot"-class submarine]], probably the ex-{{Ship|Soviet submarine|B-39||2}}. Komulainen opened it to the public in [[Helsinki]] in the spring of 1993 as a tourist attraction. He then purchased two Juliett-class submarines, one K-77 replacing the Foxtrot in 1994, becoming a bar and restaurant as well as a tourist attraction.<ref name=HighBeam>{{Cite web|last=Zuckerman|first=Elizabeth|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-109640855.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904090348/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-109640855.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 September 2015|title=Soviet submarine once prepared to attack East Coast now calls Providence home|agency=Associated Press|date=5 June 2005|access-date=24 June 2015}}</ref> Komulainen believed that his restaurant had been ''K-81'', based on a metal plate discovered inside the boat. However, it later transpired that that plate and others bearing different numbers were provided for the crew to display on the submarine's sail during surface running to confuse [[NATO]] reconnaissance aircraft. Komulainen also held a [[beauty pageant]] "Miss Submarine" at the submarine. Model Anitra Ahtola, who won the competition, later became his third wife.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1392969/bio/|title=Anitra Ahtola – Biography|website=IMDb}}</ref>

As a restaurant, ''K-77'' was modestly successful, but was not lucrative enough to satisfy Komulainen. In 1998, he leased his submarine to a Canadian promoter, who towed it to [[Tampa Bay, Florida]].<ref name=HighBeam/> However, the intended mooring location in the harbor was too shallow and the investors were forced to move the proposed tourist attraction to a more remote site.  Soon, the promoter filed for bankruptcy, and ''K-77'' reverted to Komulainen. He did not want to repeat the nerve-wracking trans-Atlantic tow, and instead tried at least twice to auction the submarine on [[eBay]] — auctions #222791130, ending on 20 December 1999, and #270148521, ending on 7 March 2000. In each case, bidding was to start at US$1 million. No bids were received.

==== ''Widowmaker'' ====
The eBay auction, however, caught the attention of [[Intermedia (production company)|Intermedia Film Equities Ltd.]], who chartered ''K-77'' for US$200,000 and towed her to [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], in 2000 to become the set for the motion picture ''[[K-19: The Widowmaker]]'', starring [[Harrison Ford]] and [[Liam Neeson]]. The boat was modified with fiberglass to make it resemble a {{ship|Soviet submarine|K-19||2}} submarine.<ref name=HighBeam/>

==== Museum ====
The film wrapped up in 2002, when the submarine was purchased by the USS ''Saratoga'' Museum Foundation,<ref>{{cite web |title=Homepage of the USS Saratoga Museum Foundation |url=http://www.saratogamuseum.org/ |access-date=30 August 2022}}</ref> towed to [[Collier Point Park]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island]], and opened to the public in August 2002. ''K-77'' offered public tours and a comprehensive educational program in accordance with New Standards and attuned to the advancement requirements of both Boy Scout and Girl Scout programs.

When the ''Saratoga'' Museum Foundation took possession of the submarine, it was described as ''K-81'' in the initial press releases from the ''Saratoga'' Museum Foundation. The foundation spent months refurbishing the interior, which included removing several [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkheads]], moving large pieces of equipment, and going deep into the [[bilge]]s. During this process, documents were found which provided incontrovertible proof that the submarine was ''K-77'' and not ''K-81'' as earlier thought. The records confirming this information include maintenance reports, equipment exchanges, radio messages, duty rosters, log entries, and torpedo firing exercises, which all identify the submarine as ''K-77''.

==== Sinking ====
[[File:K-77 raised.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''K-77'' reappears on the surface, 25 July 2008]]
The submarine sank on 18 April 2007 after a storm, and plans were made to raise it off the river bottom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/19/providence_submarine_museum_sinks/|title=Providence submarine museum sinks – The Boston Globe}}</ref> The Museum's theory on why the submarine sank is that a modified hatch was not properly watertight.<ref>{{cite web | title = Juliett 484 News – WHAT HAPPPENED? &#91;''sic''&#93; | access-date = 2012-09-17 | url = http://www.juliett484.org/juliett/news/archive/whathappened.html| url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110718191751/http://www.juliett484.org/juliett/news/archive/whathappened.html| archive-date = 2011-07-18}}</ref>  Recovery efforts by U.S. Navy and Army divers began in June 2008 as part of a project to train military divers through real-world, community-based projects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/2570461288/|title=Photo of recovery operation.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295835,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080308141743/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295835,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 8, 2008|title=FOXNews.com – Sunken Submarine Becomes Training Ground for Navy and Army Divers|website=[[Fox News]] }}</ref>

On 2 June 2008, divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two in [[Norfolk, Virginia]] arrived and began preparations to raise the submarine. On 25 July 2008, she was brought to the surface by US Navy and Army divers. The work of pumping out water was completed in August 2008.<ref>[http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content/MC_SUNKEN_SUB_09-09-08_93BC053_v19.1a5beb2.html Providence Journal] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628223116/http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content/MC_SUNKEN_SUB_09-09-08_93BC053_v19.1a5beb2.html |date=June 28, 2011 }}</ref> The sub was badly deteriorated and in need of substantial repair.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.saratogamuseum.org/pressreleases/122408pr.html |title= Agreement Reached on Disposition of Russian Submarine |date= December 24, 2008 |access-date= 2009-06-01 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090601051407/http://www.saratogamuseum.org/pressreleases/122408pr.html |archive-date= June 1, 2009 }}</ref>

On 11 August 2009, RI Recycled Metals LLC towed the sub to a facility {{convert|1000|yd}} from the museum site so that it could be [[Ship breaking|scrapped]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.juliett484.org/juliett/news/archive/pressrelease081009.html |title= Juliett 484 – News|website=www.juliett484.org |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927024958/http://www.juliett484.org/juliett/news/archive/pressrelease081009.html |archive-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>

A portion of the vessel remained in the river and in 2017, a judge ordered that the remnants be removed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/k-19-the-widowmaker-sub-must-be-removed-from-river-u-s-court-1.3258198 |title='K-19: The Widowmaker' sub must be removed from river: U.S. court |work=[[CTV News]] |agency=[[The Associated Press]] |date=2017-01-26 |access-date=2017-01-26}}</ref>

A section of the submarine was destroyed in a fire in March 2021 while in the process of being dismantled at a Providence scrapyard.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gammans |first1=Bay |title=Russian sub used in Harrison Ford movie catches fire in Providence scrapyard |url=https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/providence/crews-extinguish-fire-on-old-submarine-in-providence/ |website=WPRI.com |access-date=9 March 2021 |date=9 March 2021}}</ref>