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Revisit the Cuban Missile Crisis and see the nuclear battle brewing under the sea's surface.
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00:01October 1962.
00:03During what will become known as the Cuban Missile Crisis,
00:07everyone holds their breath.
00:09It was the most frightening moment
00:13of the entire 45 years of the Cold War.
00:17Two global superpowers
00:19appear ready to bring the world to the brink of nuclear war.
00:25But under the sea surface,
00:27a different nuclear battle is brewing.
00:30And no one really understands where the real threat comes from.
00:37Through the 20th century,
00:39a subsea weapon allows warriors to fight from beneath the waves.
00:48With cunning, force and tenacity,
00:50their enemies strike back.
00:55Revolutionary, but still sometimes primitive,
00:58it's a desperate bid.
01:02To change the course of war.
01:05Their stories are legend.
01:07October 1962.
01:08A Soviet submarine races towards Cuba on a top secret mission.
01:16B-59 has just left a Russian port near Murmansk,
01:19and now crosses the Barents Sea.
01:23Radio and radar tech scan for enemy ships and aircraft.
01:25They are approaching the Nordkab Line.
01:26Named after the northernmost point of mainland Europe.
01:27Named after the northernmost point of mainland Europe.
01:28It is a NATO anti-submarine warfare barrier,
01:30which runs from Bear Island to Nordkab Norway.
01:32Soviet captain's second rank,
01:33Soviet captain's second rank, Valentin Savitsky.
01:37must get his crew through the line undetected.
01:40If he is able to attack the aircraft,
01:41he can't be able to attack the military mission.
01:42They are approaching the Nordkab Line.
01:46Named after the northernmost point of mainland Europe.
01:48It is a NATO anti-submarine warfare barrier,
01:52which runs from Bear Island to Nordkab Norway.
01:54Soviet captain's second rank, Valentin Savitsky.
01:59must get his crew through the line undetected.
02:06If he is located, NATO will try to track B-59s every move.
02:11And put three other submarines, B-4, B-36, and B-130 at risk.
02:18Even worse, it could tip off the Americans about Operation Anadir.
02:23A massive Soviet campaign to move troops, military equipment,
02:28and missiles across the Atlantic to Cuba.
02:34Months of secret mobilization
02:36that ultimately triggers the Cuban Missile Crisis.
02:41It will bring the world the closest it has ever come
02:44to global nuclear war.
02:48But the situation in Cuba is complicated
02:51as the island nation's conflict with the United States heats up.
02:55Just three years before, in 1959,
02:59Fidel Castro overthrows the previously U.S.-backed government in Havana.
03:04In response, President Kennedy authorizes CIA-trained exiles from Cuba
03:09to invade their homeland.
03:12Castro fights back vigorously.
03:14The Bay of Pigs invasion is a disaster for the Americans.
03:17While he wins that round, Castro is certain that another U.S. invasion is inevitable.
03:26Suddenly, Khrushchev, head of the Soviet government, realized he had an opening,
03:32and he was going to exploit it.
03:36Castro enters secret talks with Nikita Khrushchev,
03:39who proposes a series of missile sites
03:42as an offer of Soviet protection for their communist ally.
03:46Cuba will be home to dozens of nuclear missiles easily within range of all of the U.S. mainland.
03:51A dangerous provocation in the chess game of the Cold War.
03:59From the Soviet perspective, we see Khrushchev wanting to put missiles into Cuba
04:06that compensate for the missiles that the United States has placed in Great Britain and Italy
04:12and was in the process of putting into Turkey, coupled with our bomber bases around the world,
04:20which had nuclear strike aircraft on them.
04:24Castro agrees to the plan.
04:27After April 1962, the Soviets start to transport some 40,000 troops, artillery and missiles.
04:35The proposal also includes the creation of a submarine base.
04:39The initial plan was that the submarines would go openly to Cuba,
04:46and they would join the group of Soviet forces,
04:49which was supposed to be the biggest group of Soviet forces outside of the Soviet Union.
04:56But the plans changed in the weeks leading up to the submarine's departure.
05:03According to his final orders, Savitsky must now get B-59 through without being detected.
05:10Even worse, he must do so in record time.
05:17The orders that were finally given to the commanders assumed the speed of the travel
05:27and the secrecy of the travel, which were practically incompatible with each other.
05:31To meet Moscow's deadline, Savitsky and the other submarine captains must travel over 10 knots at all times.
05:42But this will strain their Project 641 submarines, also known by their NATO classification, Foxtrot.
05:48The Soviet Project 641 was a diesel-electric submarine modeled in part on the German Type 21 of World War II.
06:00These subs used diesel engines while running on the surface and battery-powered motors when they submerge.
06:05The batteries last for only short periods of time before they need to be recharged on or near the surface.
06:15Foxtrot's incorporate the best of earlier U-boat technology, the snorkel.
06:19When their batteries, which ran them when they were submerged, started to run low, you stuck up a breathing pipe called a snorkel, brought in fresh air for the engines.
06:32But traveling submerged, even with a snorkel, reduces speed.
06:38That limits the speed to about 10 knots, 12, 13 miles an hour.
06:44And it just takes a long time.
06:54The Soviet captains believe that British and Norwegian forces have detected the submarines.
06:58If they pinpoint the sub's exact location, NATO can blow their cover and reveal their course to Cuba.
07:10Forced to travel close to the surface to use their snorkel, there is nowhere for B-59 to hide.
07:18But they may have an option to give them the edge, their radio intercept group.
07:23With strong English language skills, the radio intercept group monitors all open frequencies for relevant information.
07:34Savitsky was skeptical when the group is first assigned to the submarine, just days before departure.
07:40Initially, they were greeted with suspicion, partly because they were not submariners.
07:46They were seen as KGB, they were seen as outsiders.
07:50The submariners did not understand why they needed them, because that was not a standard unit on a sub.
07:59In this period, much communication is carried on open shortwave frequencies.
08:04B-59's radio intercept group works furiously to map out NATO vessels in the area.
08:09More importantly, they listen to learn if the presence of Soviet submarines has been detected.
08:22B-59 closes in on the Nordkap Line.
08:27As they reach it, there is no sign of NATO forces.
08:31B-59 has beaten them.
08:33The Soviet captains believe it is because NATO forces expected Foxtrot submarines to travel at their usual slower speed, unaware of Moscow's aggressive timeline.
08:47All four Soviet submarines cross the Nordkap Line into the Norwegian Sea.
08:53But the Nordkap Line is only the first challenge they face.
09:00Even as they cross this one, they must break through another NATO anti-submarine warfare line to get to Cuba.
09:07And Savitsky has more than NATO to worry about.
09:13He is being watched from within his own submarine.
09:17B-59 also carries captain's second rank, Vasily Arkhipov.
09:23Vasily Arkhipov is the chief of staff of the brigade.
09:27And in his rank, he is the same rank as the commander of the submarine, Savitsky.
09:36The informal rules on the subs were that the commander of the submarine is in charge of making decisions, no matter who else is on the submarine.
09:45But certainly the fact that Arkhipov is on the submarine makes the practice of commanding the submarine more complicated.
09:55Because Savitsky would have to consult with Arkhipov on all the major decisions that he is making.
10:02The crew also includes a political officer named Ivan Meslenikov.
10:06His job is to report anything un-soviet Savitsky does back to the Communist Party in the USSR.
10:22Few Soviet captains have ever crossed these 5,000 miles across the Atlantic.
10:28Balancing both political and military concerns,
10:31this mission to Cuba will prove to be the greatest challenge of Savitsky's career.
10:41October 1962.
10:44As the Cold War heats up,
10:47B-59 and three other Russian submarines travel as part of Operation Anadyr,
10:53the secret Soviet mobilization on the island of Cuba.
10:55The movement of four Soviet subs into the Atlantic could tip off the Americans.
11:02They must remain undetected.
11:05They have just crossed the first of two NATO anti-submarine lines.
11:11Like the other captains, Valentin Savitsky is under pressure to complete the journey in record time.
11:17Now, Savitsky approaches the second NATO anti-submarine warfare line.
11:28The Greenland-Iceland-UK gap.
11:32His orders are clear.
11:35They knew they had strict orders not to be discovered, not to be surfaced.
11:40If a submarine is detected here, NATO can launch patrol aircraft from bases in Iceland and Scotland to track it.
11:49This increases the risk the other subs will be picked up, exposing the scale of the operation,
11:55and endangering the Soviet plans for a nuclear base in Cuba.
12:03Savitsky will go through the Iceland-Faro's gap to the east.
12:06Despite the fishing boats that fill the passage, he sets course on the surface to make better time.
12:19Savitsky gives the order, and B-59 speeds up to 15 knots.
12:27The submarine darts along at high speed, weaving in and out of the fishing boats as discreetly as it can.
12:33Meanwhile, the radio intercept group keeps track of aerial activity overhead.
12:45Those communications were both on the open frequencies, and they also were coded communications that they could pick up because of their equipment.
12:59They even listen in on the conversations between the fishermen to make sure no one has seen them.
13:08They pass the second NATO line, undetected.
13:12Once into the Atlantic, the Soviet submarines find themselves in a radio communications vacuum from Moscow.
13:25Interference blocks out northern fleet radio stations.
13:28For two days, crews seek the clearest frequencies.
13:37Finally, they're able to send and receive messages through occasional windows.
13:41But as they get farther from home, the worse their reception is going to be.
13:50That's likely to be a problem.
13:52The Americans have just made the first discovery of the Soviet build-up in Cuba, and it's shocking.
13:57Top-secret reconnaissance by U-2's spy planes has brought back damning photographic evidence.
14:06They clearly show launch sites for medium-range ballistic nuclear missiles under construction.
14:11The CIA had a monopoly on the U-2 photos, and I suspect that was the best stuff they ever had.
14:23The Americans are stunned, and their intelligence information is incomplete.
14:27Unknown to the United States, the Soviets had landed 134 nuclear warheads and bombs in Cuba.
14:39A large number of these were for the ballistic missiles that could reach the United States.
14:44Tensions rise in Washington, D.C., as everyone scrambles for more information.
14:49B-59 is just one of four Soviet submarines carrying men and materials to Cuba.
15:02After each Soviet sub crosses the Greenland-Iceland-UK line and approaches North America,
15:08the risk of being discovered increases.
15:12They can hide with some help from Mother Nature, but it comes at a cost.
15:17They were kind of helped by a major storm in the North Atlantic.
15:24The anti-submarine warfare units are not as active.
15:28They simply can't fly in that storm.
15:31As a result, they were able to get to the speed.
15:36Since they are pretty sure they won't be discovered,
15:39the submarines travel on the surface and can make better time than when using the snorkel.
15:43They would go up 40-meter waves and then essentially dive down.
15:50And sometimes the angle of the submarine would be 40, 50 degrees, which was very dangerous.
15:57And they said, well, you know, yes, the submarines could have malfunction.
16:02But they didn't. They withstood the storm.
16:04The Soviet Union did have nuclear submarines that could have avoided the storm by traveling submerged powered by nuclear reactor.
16:14But there were issues.
16:16At one point, the Soviet regime planned to send nuclear powered submarines to Cuban waters and actually base some of them in Cuba.
16:29However, in 1962, they were having major problems with their first generation nuclear submarines.
16:35Captain second rank Vasily Akhipov, the brigade chief of staff on board B-59, had first-hand experience with the problems.
16:46He served on submarine K-19 when it developed a nuclear reactor coolant leak.
16:51The radioactive core's temperature rose quickly.
16:58The crew needed to repair the cooling system or the core would melt through the reactor and sink the sub.
17:08Without proper radiation equipment, they use what they have, gas masks and raincoats.
17:15When the first team comes out, they begin to vomit.
17:28They've been exposed to high levels of radiation.
17:33The second group knows their likely fate.
17:52Even so, they continue the repairs.
17:55The crew jerry-rigs a cooling system with the drinking water on board to save the submarine.
18:14But eight men die and everyone else gets contaminated.
18:20It is something Vasily Akhipov will never forget.
18:25Now, in October 1962, additional reconnaissance flights over Cuba have revealed more missile sites.
18:38In Washington, the Joint Chiefs of Staff push for an airstrike against Cuba.
18:45President Kennedy disagrees.
18:47An airstrike would escalate the conflict and risks a nuclear confrontation.
18:51J.F.K. bases his views on his experience as a World War II officer.
18:56He doesn't view nuclear war as a war that can actually be won.
19:01And he really views this as a political problem to solve.
19:05But he also worries American inaction will only embolden Khrushchev.
19:09President Kennedy will have to choose his next steps very carefully.
19:19The The End
19:20The End
19:22The End
19:25October 1962.
19:27Four Soviet submarine crews are exhausted.
19:31While traveling to set up a submarine base in Cuba, they have encountered the remnants of a hurricane.
19:36a hurricane.
19:39Surviving the storm takes its toll as they travel on the surface to make better time.
19:48Captain second rank, Valentin Savitsky, knows that his job is about to get even tougher.
19:54As they sail, they bring B-59 within range of American shore-based facilities and long-range
19:59patrol aircraft.
20:06In Washington, D.C., Kennedy's team debates their options.
20:11You can only imagine how emotionally charged the executive committee is meeting with JFK
20:15in his cabinet room.
20:17The primary adviser is his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, the attorney general.
20:21You've also got Secretary of Defense McNamara, you've got Secretary of State, you've got
20:25the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all debating and arguing how to respond to this
20:30crisis.
20:31The president's brother, Robert Kennedy, is blunt in his assessment.
20:36The president, we have the fifth one, really, which is the East Asian, I would say that
20:41you're dropping bombs all over Cuba, you do the sands, the airports, knocking out their
20:46planes, dropping it on all their missiles, you're covering most of Cuba, you're going to kill
20:50an awful lot of people and we're going to take an awful lot of heat on it.
20:55It boils down to two risky options.
20:57JFK could either initiate an airstrike or a blockade.
21:01If he executes an airstrike, surely the Russians would respond to that.
21:06But even a blockade is still an act of war.
21:09Both options could trigger a larger confrontation.
21:16For the Kremlin, the missiles in Cuba are an act of self-defense.
21:19Khrushchev doesn't believe he's starting a nuclear war.
21:23He looks at JFK as a rational individual and that this is a rational response to positioning
21:29the Jupiter missiles in Turkey.
21:32On October 22nd, President John F. Kennedy makes his famous address to the nation and begins
21:39with the revelation of the missile sites.
21:43The purpose of these bases can be none other than to provide a nuclear strike capability
21:50against the Western Hemisphere.
21:53Several of them include medium-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead
21:59for a distance of more than 1,000 nautical miles.
22:03Each of these missiles, in short, is capable of striking Washington, D.C., the Panama
22:09Canal, Cape Canaveral, Mexico City, or any other city in the southeastern part of the United
22:16States.
22:17In the speech, he lays bare the norms that the Russians have crossed and provides enough
22:21detail to provide a call of action for the Americans.
22:25I have directed that the following initial steps be taken immediately.
22:30Kennedy then proposes a quarantine line, instead of an outright blockade, to come into effect
22:35on October 24th.
22:39All ships of any kind bound for Cuba, from whatever nation or port, will, if found to contain
22:45cargoes of offensive weapons, be turned back.
22:49By calling it a quarantine instead of a blockade, JFK has shifted the focus away from the military
22:54and towards a diplomatic solution.
22:56He's also trying to provide the Russians a de-escalation opportunity.
23:00But in the event that fails, JFK orders the greatest emergency mobilization of U.S. troops
23:08since the Second World War to prepare for a possible invasion of Cuba.
23:14The British consul in Miami describes it like being in southern England right before D-Day.
23:22Some 200 American ships travel to positions on the quarantine line, an arc stretching
23:27out 500 miles from Cuba.
23:29Meanwhile, four Soviet foxtrot submarines make it into the waters off the southeast coast
23:38of the United States.
23:44Thus far, U.S. anti-submarine warfare, or ASW units, have not moved to intercept them.
23:52But it quickly becomes apparent they might not be the right submarine for the job.
24:01The Foxtrons, first built in the late 50s, excellent submarines.
24:07But the problem, these submarines designed for Arctic waters.
24:13And even with the snorkel green and fresh air, when they ran their diesel engines, generating
24:18heat plus the insulation of these submarines designed to operate in Arctic waters, miserable
24:25living conditions, miserable.
24:29They did not have enough fresh water, of course, because their mission was supposed to be to
24:33go to Marielle and dock there.
24:37So the temperature is rising.
24:39It reached up to 140 Fahrenheit in the diesel compartments.
24:44People were fainting.
24:48They practically walked around naked.
24:53It is at this point that American forces finally detect and respond to the Soviet submarines
25:01so close to their coast.
25:05The day after Kennedy's speech, a secret sound surveillance system, called SOSUS, begins
25:11to pick up a lot of targets.
25:14Submarines make sounds that you can pick up at enormous distances.
25:17They don't get distorted by the sea.
25:19They find that they can put these arrays of listening devices in the ocean, and you can
25:24actually hear submarines hundreds of miles away, which is amazing.
25:29In theory, enemy submarines can be detected up to 600 miles out from the U.S. coast.
25:34If they get picked up, you can then send out an airplane to find out exactly where they are.
25:39You can start tracking them.
25:42Beginning on October 23rd, when SOSUS detects the targets, aircraft are dispatched for confirmation.
25:51The aircraft established visual contact with snorkels and periscopes of Soviet subs.
26:03In October 1962, American intelligence knows the Soviet submarines pose a real threat.
26:09The four Foxtrot submarines each had 21 conventional torpedoes, high-explosive weapons designed to sink surface ships or submarines.
26:22But there is one critical fact the Americans do not know.
26:26Just before they left port, a special weapon was added to the arsenal of the Soviet submarines.
26:33In addition, each of the four submarines had one nuclear torpedo.
26:39With ten kilotons of explosive, we're talking about something larger than half the explosive power used against Hiroshima or Nagasaki.
27:01The orders of how and when to use these weapons is murky.
27:05The captains later report they were given a verbal briefing before leaving the USSR.
27:10They said the oral instructions were you use it in three situations.
27:17First, you use it if you are attacked and you have a hole in the hull above the water.
27:22If you are attacked under the water and you have a hole in your hull.
27:26And the third one, if you get direct orders from Moscow.
27:30Apparently, Admiral Foykin said something to the effect,
27:34well, if they slap you on the right hand, don't let them to slap you on the left. Use your weapons.
27:41Do not become the shame of the fleet.
27:44The use of a nuclear torpedo during a naval battle would have been unprecedented.
27:49If one fires a conventional torpedo at an aircraft carrier, it would cause major damage.
27:58To sink a carrier of that size, you would probably need two, three torpedo hits.
28:05A nuclear torpedo even exploding near a carrier would destroy the carrier and any ships within a few miles of the carrier.
28:18And if it didn't sink them, they would be so wrecked that they'd be floating hulks.
28:24The scale of this potential devastation was confirmed by American tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946.
28:39After Kennedy announces his plan for a quarantine line, Moscow orders the Soviet subs to withdraw to an area called the Sargasso Sea and await further orders.
28:53The captains receive little additional information from the Kremlin.
28:57Once more, the subs radio intercept group proves its value.
29:02They gather information from open broadcast. They listen to US radio and TV.
29:08The Soviet submarine crews have been kept in the dark about the nature of the build-up in Cuba.
29:14For the first time, they learn what the rest of the world knows.
29:19It's from this unit that the commanders learn about the fact that the Soviet Union installed nuclear weapons on Cuba.
29:29They had no idea about that.
29:31The crew also learns of Kennedy's threat to stop and search any ship approaching the quarantine line.
29:36But they have no idea how the Soviet Union plans to respond.
29:41On October 24th, the White House monitors two Soviet ships reported to be close to the quarantine line.
29:53As the administration waits, intelligence sources reveal the presence of Soviet submarines in the region.
30:00Into the 1960s, the threat posed by enemy submarines were the same as during World War II.
30:08The main issue with submarines is they'll attack your ships.
30:13When the White House learns that there is at least one or maybe two submarines near the quarantine line, discussions heat up.
30:20President Kennedy imagines a worst-case scenario.
30:25If this submarine should sink our destroyer, then what is our proposed reply?
30:34Everyone worries that any military action could escalate to a nuclear conflict.
30:41To avoid an incident, Defense Secretary McNamara proposes a protocol to bring the Soviet submarines to the surface.
30:48We have death charges that have such a small charge that they can be dropped and they can actually hit the submarine without damaging the submarine.
30:58Kennedy remains skeptical.
31:01The first thing we attacked is the Soviet submarines.
31:06McNamara believes the threat to American ships can be reduced if the Soviet subs can be brought to the surface and escorted out of harm's way.
31:14He intends to ask Moscow to inform the submarine captains of the plan.
31:20Critically, the Americans remain unaware of the weapons on board the Soviet submarines.
31:31McNamara does not know that the greatest threat for a nuclear attack may come from the very submarines he is trying to force to the surface.
31:39In October of 1962, President Kennedy imposes a quarantine line around Cuba to prevent any further build-up of nuclear weapons on the island.
31:54Nearly 200 US Navy ships have been mobilized and prepare to stop any ships approaching Cuba.
32:01The Navy monitors two vessels in particular, the Yuri Gagarin and Kimovsk.
32:09Everyone worries that if the Soviet ships refuse to stop and be searched at the quarantine line, war will be inevitable.
32:19On October 24th, after days of tension, the White House learns that the Yuri Gagarin and Kimovsk have reversed course to the Soviet Union.
32:27Their relief is immediate, but there is still a problem.
32:34Even though Khrushchev ordered the Soviet ships to turn around, the submarines are still in the area and considered a threat.
32:40The four Soviet submarines start to withdraw into an area called the Sargasso Sea and await orders from Moscow.
32:46Most people don't realize that even after the Soviet ships turned around, we are still approaching the brink of nuclear war.
32:59In the Sargasso Sea, just off the U.S. coast, an American hunter-killer group, led by the aircraft carrier USS Randolph, tracks Soviet sub B-59.
33:13With assistance from five destroyers and aircraft, they pursue the sub using underwater sound surveillance, or SOSUS detections.
33:26In a classic cat-and-mouse game, for two days, Soviet Captain Savitsky has fought to keep his submarine concealed.
33:36But Savitsky is worried.
33:39The crew continues to suffer from extreme heat, and his batteries begin to die.
33:46If he gets close enough to the surface to use his snorkel to run his engines and charge his batteries, he will be spotted immediately.
33:58Even so, Savitsky decides he has no choice.
34:03He must surface.
34:05But B-59 has managed to trigger an American detection device known as a sonar buoy.
34:10A sonar buoy is a word made out of sonar plus buoy.
34:15Buoy means it's sitting in the water, the sonar is something underneath.
34:19The whole point of a sonar buoy is it's something the airplane can drop that goes into the water.
34:25If most of detecting subs is listening for their sound, the airplane has to have some ear that can stick into the water.
34:33When the sonar buoys detect submarines, they transmit information to help planes hone in on the target.
34:40The nearest tracker plane closes in.
34:46They know they've located a foxtrot submarine.
34:51Aircraft from aircraft carrier USS Randolph call in assistance from a surface unit of destroyers.
34:59All converge on B-59.
35:04As per his orders, Savitsky cannot allow the American vessels to intercept his submarine.
35:10Taking advantage of his speed on the surface, he heads north to hide within a rain squall.
35:20But before he gets there, he's spotted by a tracker plane.
35:24Savitsky orders a crash dive.
35:27The destroyers continue to close in, using their active sonar to locate the sub with pings.
35:42As per Defense Secretary McNamara's plan, the ships begin to drop practice depth charges to signal the submarine to come to the surface.
35:54The practice depth charges are intended to alert, not damage to the sub.
35:59McNamara had notified the Soviets of his servicing plan through diplomatic channels, but word had not made it to the submarine captains.
36:08Deep below, Savitsky knows there are many American craft overhead.
36:14And B-59 has not had enough time to charge its batteries, and they are dying.
36:24Savitsky racks his brain in the awful heat to figure out what to do next, when explosions start going off.
36:32It sounded to them, it felt to them, that they were actually attacked by these depth grenades.
36:45One or two of them exploded right on the hull.
36:49And as they described it, it feels like you're sitting in a metal barrel, and somebody is hitting it with a hammer repeatedly.
36:58The combination of sonar pings and explosions could be a submarine captain's worst fear.
37:05The irony with this plan is that these are the exact same systems used to attack a submarine.
37:11Savitsky is convinced that war has broken out, and a nuclear exchange may be imminent.
37:18He must be ready to counterattack with his torpedoes.
37:21He orders the officer in charge of the nuclear torpedo to ready the special weapon.
37:28You are in this incredible heat.
37:31You have no communications with Moscow, because you cannot surface for the communication.
37:36And you have no information from radio intercept.
37:40And at the same time, you are being hammered.
37:42With his batteries nearly dead, Savitsky once again has no choice but to come to the surface or lose the submarine.
37:54Believing he is under attack, to even the odds, he could fire his nuclear torpedo.
38:00And in so doing, trigger the world's first nuclear war.
38:14October 27th, 1962.
38:18Soviet submarine B-59 has just been forced to the surface by American destroyers and the carrier USS Randolph.
38:25What made the situation even more frightening is that unknown to the United States, each of those Foxtrot submarines had a nuclear torpedo on board.
38:44And we know the submarine commanding officer was becoming so frustrated with our anti-submarine forces and the living conditions in the submarine,
38:54the lack of communications with Moscow, that he was considering using a nuclear torpedo against U.S. ships.
39:04In many respects, it was the most frightening moment of the entire 45 years of the Cold War.
39:14The submarine's captain, Valentin Savitsky, the political officer on board and brigade chief of staff, Vasily Arkhipov, must all agree to fire the weapon.
39:23The political officer consents, but Arkhipov hesitates.
39:30Savitsky was the more emotional one of the two, and he was just kind of really bursting with emotion, anger, humiliation at being in the middle of all this pursuit.
39:45Despite the clamor, Arkhipov seems to recognize they are not being attacked.
39:51Their submarine has not been damaged.
39:54His presence proves critical. He calms Savitsky down.
39:58I think having him next to Savitsky at that moment really helps, because Savitsky probably would have come to the same conclusion once he looks around, but who knows?
40:13The submarine is surrounded by ships. Search lights illuminated in the dark.
40:24On the surface, Savitsky sees the American ship signaling. He has his signaling officer reply, identifying his Soviet submarine and asking the U.S. forces to stop their provocative actions.
40:39With the realization there is no immediate threat, Savitsky uses the opportunity to recharge his batteries.
40:50When they are fully charged, Savitsky submerges and breaks away from the destroyers.
40:57But the other three submarines are still at large.
41:07Pursued by the carrier, USS Essex, B-130's three engines break down.
41:13They limp as far as the Azores, on one rebuilt engine, before it also gives out.
41:18We have a hit in 1,000 yards, bearing 2-1-5.
41:24A U.S. destroyer spots and begins to escort B-36 out of the area.
41:29B-36 manages to escape with a deep dive.
41:37Soviet submarine B-4 may have been detected, but is never located and forced to surface.
41:43In the end, the Cuban missile crisis is resolved by compromise.
41:52Khrushchev agrees to remove the offending missiles from Cuba.
41:56But JFK's tough talk hides his concessions.
42:00It looks as though we win because we conceal the fact that there's really a deal.
42:05The real deal is that we remove the missiles in Italy and Turkey.
42:09Once that's the case, Khrushchev has eliminated the immediate threat that bothers him.
42:16At the time, the Americans did not know how close they came to a nuclear exchange.
42:22It takes decades before the U.S. learns about the tactical nuclear weapons aboard the Soviet submarines.
42:27It was very dangerous. It was more dangerous than we thought.
42:35Not because Kennedy and Khrushchev and Castro were lunatics, but because of these developments that they could not control.
42:43In the moments of tension, malfunctioning equipment, lack of information, people could act rationally for their circumstances, leading to completely irrational, tragic outcomes.
43:00All the Soviet submarines returned to the USSR by December.
43:06Their mission was regarded as a failure.
43:09Instead of heroes who avoided a nuclear war, some felt the captains should have used their nuclear torpedoes.
43:16According to all the commanders that I talked to, what matters is that they violated their orders.
43:23So they're coming back and people are saying, you know, how embarrassing.
43:30You violated your orders. You humiliated the fleet. The reception was very unfriendly.
43:37The Soviet submarines confirmed the real risks posed by just the presence of nuclear weapons.
43:45The threat from individual misunderstandings or even mistakes.
43:51The story of B-59 reveals the human vulnerabilities that could ultimately bring us all to the brink of war.
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