1983 False Alarm

In the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the USS Beale (a destroyer) noticed a submarine below the surface.  With the classic American pleasantries, they began to drop depth charges, to invite the submarine to surface.  The international waters didn't bother them.
Moscow had ghosted the Submarine for a few days, and once the Submarine sank to avoid contact with the Americans, they lost all contact with the American broadcasts, leaving them unable to eavesdrop.  To those on board, it seemed as if a war had broken out.

The B-59

The submarine itself was diesel-electric.  It had a submerged speed of 16 knots, about half of the 11 chasing US destroyers, and held 22 torpedoes.  Had it not been for the one nuclear-tipped torpedo, it was mostly harmless.  

But unlike the other submarines in its flotilla (the B-4, B-36, and B-130), it held the flotilla's commodore. He was second-in-command on this particular submarine, but in the event of a nuclear launch, he had a vote, along with the captain and the political officer, who served as a civilian supervisor to the captain.

After October 27th

The submarine was forced under periscope depth, which meant that they could not reach radio broadcasts.  Conditions had worsened, with the coldest temperatures nearing 45 degrees celsius (113 Faherenheit).  Crew members dropped "like dominoes" according to the radio specialist Orlov.  Water resources had to be rationed to 250 grams per person per day.  As the officers were sweating constantly, they became easily dehydrated.  Captain Savitski, drained from the attack on the B-59, became furious with the lack of radio communications.  He called in the officer in charge of the nuclear torpedo, and ordered him to ready that special torpedo.  To justify his order, he shouted, "Maybe the war has already started up there, while we are doing summersaults here.  We’re gonna blast them now! We will die, but we will sink them all – we will not become the shame of the fleet."

But after this rashness, the captain called on both of the other officers to make the decision. It led to an argument, and Vasily Arkhipov, the commodore, convinced the other two officers not to fire.

The submarine had to resurface, due to its almost-empty batteries and damaged air-conditioning.  It reappeared inside of a group of US ships, which engulfed it with lights.  Jazz played from a band on one of the decks.  Savitsky realists that war has not been declared, and turns the submarine east.  The next day they escaped the blockade by resubmerging without warning and returned to the Soviet Union.

Because that missile was never fired, World War 3 was avoided.  Arkhipov, who along with the crew would be disgraced by superiors back in the Soviet Union, saved the world with his actions.

Further Readings

Further Analysis:
Military Report:


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