On October 27, 1962 (during the Cuban Missile Crisis), the Russian diesel-powered submarine B-59 started experiencing[1] nearby depth charges from US forces above them; the submarine had been detected and US ships seemed to be attacking. The submarine’s air conditioning was broken,[2] CO2 levels were rising, and B-59 was out of contact with Moscow. Two of the senior officers on the submarine, thinking that a global war had started, wanted to launch their “secret weapon,” a 10-kiloton nuclear torpedo. The captain, Valentin Savistky, apparently exclaimed: “We’re gonna blast them now! We will die, but we will sink them all — we will not become the shame of the fleet.”
The ship was authorized to launch the torpedo without confirmation from Moscow, but all three senior officers on the ship had to agree.[3] Chief of staff of the flotilla Vasili Arkhipov refused. He convinced Captain Savitsky that the depth charges were signals for the Soviet submarine to surface (which they were) — if the US ships really wanted to destroy the B-59, they would have done it by now. (Part of the problem seemed to be that the Soviet officers were used to different signals than the ones the Americans were using.) Arkhipov calmed the captain down[4] and got him to surface the submarine to get orders from the Kremlin, which ended up eventually defusing the situation.
The B-59 was apparently the only submarine in the flotilla that required three officers’ approval in order to fire the “special weapon” — the others only required the captain and the political offer to approve the launch.
From skimming some articles and first-hand accounts, it seems unclear if the captain just had an outburst and then accurately wanted to follow protocol (and use the missile), or if he was truly reacting irrationally/emotionally because of the incredibly stressful environment. Accounts conflict a bit, and my sense is that orders around using the missile were unclear and overly permissive (or even encouraging towards using the missile).
For anyone interested in watching a dramatic reconstruction of this incident, go to timestamp 43:30–47:05 of The Man Who Saved The World. (I recommend watching at 1.5x speed.)
Vasili Arkhipov is discussed less on the EA Forum than Petrov is (see also this thread of less-discussed people). I thought I’d post a quick take describing that incident.
Arkhipov & the submarine B-59’s missile
On October 27, 1962 (during the Cuban Missile Crisis), the Russian diesel-powered submarine B-59 started experiencing[1] nearby depth charges from US forces above them; the submarine had been detected and US ships seemed to be attacking. The submarine’s air conditioning was broken,[2] CO2 levels were rising, and B-59 was out of contact with Moscow. Two of the senior officers on the submarine, thinking that a global war had started, wanted to launch their “secret weapon,” a 10-kiloton nuclear torpedo. The captain, Valentin Savistky, apparently exclaimed: “We’re gonna blast them now! We will die, but we will sink them all — we will not become the shame of the fleet.”
The ship was authorized to launch the torpedo without confirmation from Moscow, but all three senior officers on the ship had to agree.[3] Chief of staff of the flotilla Vasili Arkhipov refused. He convinced Captain Savitsky that the depth charges were signals for the Soviet submarine to surface (which they were) — if the US ships really wanted to destroy the B-59, they would have done it by now. (Part of the problem seemed to be that the Soviet officers were used to different signals than the ones the Americans were using.) Arkhipov calmed the captain down[4] and got him to surface the submarine to get orders from the Kremlin, which ended up eventually defusing the situation.
(Here’s a Vox article on the incident.)
The B-59 submarine.
Vadim Orlov described the impact of the depth charges as being inside an oil drum getting struck with a sledgehammer.
Temperatures were apparently above 45ºC (113ºF).
The B-59 was apparently the only submarine in the flotilla that required three officers’ approval in order to fire the “special weapon” — the others only required the captain and the political offer to approve the launch.
From skimming some articles and first-hand accounts, it seems unclear if the captain just had an outburst and then accurately wanted to follow protocol (and use the missile), or if he was truly reacting irrationally/emotionally because of the incredibly stressful environment. Accounts conflict a bit, and my sense is that orders around using the missile were unclear and overly permissive (or even encouraging towards using the missile).
For anyone interested in watching a dramatic reconstruction of this incident, go to timestamp 43:30–47:05 of The Man Who Saved The World. (I recommend watching at 1.5x speed.)