60 years ago today on the 27th October 1962, human life on Earth came the closest it has ever come to a terrible ending. Everyone alive today owes their life to this handsome devil, and most of us don't even know his name. Let's change that - a thread 🧵
First, a little historical context - in October 1962, the Cuban Missile crisis erupted with USSR responding to American missiles in Italy and Turkey by spiriting missiles to Cuba. This stand-off is often considered the most dangerous moment of the cold war: that is not correct..
..for while Khrushchev & Kennedy were engaged in frantic talks to avert disaster, the real drama was playing out deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, unbeknownst to either leader. Away from Moscow and Washington, a deadly game of cat & mouse had begun with terrible ramifications.
Soviet submarine B- 59 had been detected by the US Navy, diving too deep to communicate with the outside world. Pursued by a US aircraft carrier & 11 destroyers, the B- 59 crew had been unable to contact Moscow for days. No one aboard knew if war had begun nor how to proceed
Attempting to force B-59 to surface, the Americans dropped depth charges, unsurprisingly interpreted as raw aggression. Senior officers on board, Capt Valentin Savitsky, political officer Ivan Maslennikov, & flotilla commander Vasili Arkhipov – gathered to formulate a response
What the Americans could not know is that the beleaguered B-59 had a nuclear arsenal; a T5 nuclear torpedo. Cut-off from Moscow, B- 59 had autonomy to respond to threats and, if required, authority to deploy the nuke. Unaware of this, the Americans continued their pursuit
The atmosphere on B-59 was oppressive. Air con had failed and the cramped enclosure was like an inescapable sauna, with temperatures above 50ºC. Carbon dioxide had risen to dangerously high levels, & oxygen & water were low – not situations conducive to rational decision-making
Depth charges constantly rocked B- 59, "like sitting in a metal barrel with someone hitting it with a sledgehammer". The rattled Savitsky accepted that war had already begun. "We are going to hit them hard. We shall die ourselves, sink them all, but not stain the navy’s honour"
Maslennikov agreed. Normal protocols dictated that a decision to launch required approval of the captain and political officer only. But Arkhipov’s position as flotilla commander gave him equal rank with Savitsky. For B-59 to use its nuclear weapon, all 3 would have to consent
With Savitsky and Maslennikov resolved to fight, the decision to strike now rested entirely upon Arkhipov’s broad shoulders. Upon his word, the Randolph would have been completely vaporised by the nuclear payload, an act that would have certainly triggered a Third World War.