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At the same time that the Soviets were harassing the U.S. search efforts, the Soviets were conducting simulated search operations themselves. Admiral Vladimir Vasilyevich Sidorov, Commander of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, directed the simulated (see below) Soviet Search and Salvage operations, having the civilian divers as well as the military under his direct command.

At the same time that the Soviets were harassing the U.S. search efforts, the Soviets were conducting simulated search operations themselves. Admiral Vladimir Vasilyevich Sidorov, Commander of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, directed the simulated (see below) Soviet Search and Salvage operations, having the civilian divers as well as the military under his direct command.

The main Soviet salvage ship was the '''Mikhail Mirchink ''' (pictured above). Designated an S.P.D., Self Propelled Drill ship, the Mirchink was a Swedish built vessel having the great advantage of being able, thanks to its gyros, tostabilize itself dynamically over one spot, regardless of wind or waves.The Mirchink had been positioned mainly within Soviet waters about eleven nautical miles north of Moneron. More than  nineteen underwater operations had been performed from her decks. The divers working off the Mirchink had been flown, immediately after the shootdown, by helicopter from their deep-sea assignment off the shores of Murmansk on the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia and then by transport to the port of Kholmsk on the island of Sakhalin for their “Flight 007” assignment.

The main Soviet salvage ship was the '''Mikhail Mirchink ''' (pictured above). Designated an S.P.D., Self Propelled Drill ship, the Mirchink was a Swedish built vessel having the great advantage of being able, thanks to its gyros, to stabilize itself dynamically over one spot, regardless of wind or waves.The Mirchink had been positioned mainly within Soviet waters about eleven nautical miles north of Moneron. More than  nineteen underwater operations had been performed from her decks. The divers working off the Mirchink had been flown, immediately after the shootdown, by helicopter from their deep-sea assignment off the shores of Murmansk on the Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia and then by transport to the port of Kholmsk on the island of Sakhalin for their “Flight 007” assignment.

The '''Hydronaut (Gidronaut''') , was a combined search and fishing boat, which was mother ship to two small two-man submersibles, the Tinro 2 and the Okeanolog. It's divers had also been hastily flown, this time from Crimean Sevestapol on the Black Sea shores of the Ukraine. The Tinro 2 made most of the dives. Its designer and commander was Capt. Mikhail Girs (see below).

The '''Hydronaut (Gidronaut''') , was a combined search and fishing boat, which was mother ship to two small two-man submersibles, the Tinro 2 and the Okeanolog. It's divers had also been hastily flown, this time from Crimean Sevestapol on the Black Sea shores of the Ukraine. The Tinro 2 made most of the dives. Its designer and commander was Capt. Mikhail Girs (see below).