Brendy, having distanced yourself from the "warning shot" theory, I see you're now flying another kite! Whether it's "accepted" that the Brits had two ships in the area is not really the point. The (Royal"!) navy have said none of their ships was involved in any incident, and if they were lying aout that, they would soon be exposed.

It's not so easy to keep the lid on things as 50 years ago, as I hope the imminent return to Britain of the renegade MI5 (secret service) officer David Shayler will soon be reminding us.

I can understand your preference (and the media's) for a dramatic explanation, but my money's on a self-contained incident - most likely a torpedo exploding in the hatch. That would be enough to explain Russian unease at having foreign rescue teams crawling all over the wreck.