V. V. Panov of the 5th Urgent Unit) instead of a woman, was chosen to smash the ceremonial champagne bottle across the ship's stern. The bottle failed to break, instead sliding along the propellers and bouncing off the rubber-coated hull. This is traditionally viewed among sea crews as a sign that the ship is unlucky. Captain 1st Rank Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev was the first commander of the submarine. Vasily Arkhipov was the executive officer of the new Hotel-class ballistic missile submarine K-19. Early problems In January 1960, confusion among the crew during a watch change led to improper operation of the reactor and a reactor-control rod was bent. The damage required the reactor to be dismantled for repairs. The officers on duty were removed and Captain Panov was demoted. The submarine's ensign was hoisted for the first time on 12 July 1960. The vessel underwent sea trials from 13 through 17 July 1960 and again from 12 August through 8 November 1960, travelling . The ship was considered completed on 12 November 1960. After surfacing from a full-power run, the crew discovered that most of the hull's rubber coating had detached, and the entire surface of the boat had to be re-coated. During a test dive to the maximum depth of , flooding was reported in the reactor compartment, and Captain Zateyev ordered the submarine to immediately surface, where the boat heeled over on her port side due to the water she had taken on. It was later determined that during construction the workers had failed to replace a gasket. In October 1960, the galley crew disposed of wood from equipment crates through the galley's waste system, clogging it. This led to flooding of the ninth compartment, which filled one third full of water. In December 1960, a loss of coolant was caused by failure of the main circuit pump. Specialists called from Severodvinsk managed to complete repairs at sea within a week. The boat was commissioned on 30 April 1961. The submarine had a total of 139 men aboard, including missile men, reactor officers, torpedo men, doctors, cooks, stewards, and several observing officers who were not part of the standard crew. Nuclear accident On 4 July 1961, under the command of Captain First Rank Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev, K-19 was conducting exercises in the North Atlantic off the south-east coast of Greenland. At 04:15 local time the pressure in the