In 1962, four Soviet attack submarines carrying nuclear torpedoes prepared to cross the blockade into Cuba. More than 60 U.S. warships besieged and threw depth charges. The internal temperature of the Soviet submarine was as high as 50 degrees, and the angry captain ordered the launch of nuclear torpedoes in retaliation.
By February 1962, the United States already had 5,500 nuclear warheads, but the Soviet Union had only 300, not even a fraction of the other side's. Moreover, the 1800-kilometer "Jupiter" long-range missile, which was also deployed to Turkey, was enough to cover the core area of the Soviet Union, and if a major war broke out, it would be in an extremely unfavorable situation.
Faced with this situation, Operation Anadyr was born, an unprecedented weapons transfer operation in which the Soviets planned to deploy 7 missile regiments to Cuba (including 67 nuclear missiles). In addition, 50,000 soldiers and a large number of weapons and equipment also went.
In order to keep it absolutely secret, all soldiers were dressed in civilian clothes, were not allowed to communicate with the outside world, disembodied and disembodied in the middle of the night, kept radio silent throughout the process, and relied on the most primitive flags and letters for the transmission of orders. Such painstaking means successfully concealed the US military intelligence system.
In September 1962, 45,000 Soviet soldiers arrived in Cuba, 43 MiG-21 fighters and 40 Il-28 bombers were in place, and 22 SAM anti-aircraft missile positions were delivered. What's more, 78 medium-range missiles were deployed, and once an attack was launched, it would take only 5 minutes to sweep across the east coast of North America.
At this point, the completion rate of Operation Anadyr reached 85%, and when it was about to be completed, there was an accident - on October 14, a U-2 reconnaissance plane of the US military took more than 900 photos at an altitude of 18,000 meters, from south to north throughout Cuba. After the US military analysts inspected it, they were shocked to find that Soviet-made heavy bombers and nuclear missiles had quietly appeared in the back garden of their homes!
What this means, there is no need to say more. On October 21, eight U.S. aircraft carriers, two cruisers, 113 destroyers, and more than 300 warplanes formed a blockade line off the coast of Cuba, blocking the island nation's encirclement. All ships were required to be inspected and sunk if they dared to resist, and in order to prevent the other side from understanding, each warship was also equipped with a Russian translator.
Looking at the unusually tight sea blockade, the Soviet command ordered all transport ships to stand by. At the same time, the 261st Submarine Formation was ordered to continue to advance, crossing the blockade line from the bottom of the sea in support of the Cuban base. This formation has a total of 4 Foxtrot-class attack submarines, although they are all conventional power, but each carries 2 nuclear torpedoes, which is very powerful.
After the formation left the port, it hid under several distant-water fishing boats, used the huge noise of the fishing boats as a cover, and cleverly crossed the "deep-sea anti-submarine network" built by the US military. But as they approached the blockade line, there were no more fishing boats to provide cover, and the four submarines had to venture through with their heads and were immediately spotted by anti-submarine destroyers.
A large number of ships and aircraft quickly gathered around, dropped hundreds of sonar search buoys, and began to chase and intercept. The three submarines could not withstand the pressure and chose to float and escape, only the B-59 submarine insisted on hiding on the bottom of the sea, ready to continue to complete the mission.
When the Foxtrot-class submarines sail underwater, they rely on batteries to drive electric motors to propulse, and must surface every 4 days to recharge and ventilate. In order to avoid the pursuit, the B-59 did not float "panting" for 6 consecutive days, and the air in the cabin became more and more turbid. By October 27, the air conditioner was completely stopped, the temperature quickly rose to 50 °, many crew members are confused, physical strength has long reached the limit, all rely on willpower in the bare support.
Seeing that the B-59 did not appear, the US military could not resist and decided to drop a depth charge to force the opponent to float and surrender. But they also worried that if the submarine was sunk with live ammunition, the matter would be a big problem, so after some weighing, more than 20 simulated training shells were thrown into the sea.
Although the training bombs only sounded and could not explode, they could produce a huge roar, still shocking the people in the submarine to the point of dizziness, and coupled with the increasingly high temperatures, captain Savičević's anger reached its peak. After another loud noise, he believed that the two sides had gone to war and that the other side was trying to sink them, so he ordered the nuclear torpedo insurance to be turned on and ready to start a counterattack!
According to the Soviet military's operational regulations, in the event of war and the interruption of communications, the use of nuclear weapons must be confirmed by both the captain and the political commissar. The political commissar Marinisco also expressed his support after thinking about it, and the crew, who could not bear it, unanimously demanded to open fire and completely destroy the opponent.
At this moment, Lieutenant Colonel Arsipov stood up and expressed his firm opposition, he was the chief of staff of the submarine formation and had decision-making power. Arsipov believes that the submarine has not been in contact with the headquarters for 6 days, knows nothing about the situation outside, and if it only relies on a few loud noises, it will rush to use nuclear weapons, and the consequences will be unimaginable.
The captain scoffed at this and continued to order the launch program to start. Angry, Arsipov pulled out his gun and slapped it on the table with a "snap", claiming that no one should want to touch the launch button unless he was killed, and then stated the stakes, and finally made it clear that without the order of his superiors, even if the submarine was sunk, it could not be fired.
After persuasion and deterrence, everyone agreed to abandon the launch and surfaced. It turned out that the US warships were looking at the tiger but did not fire, and after contacting the headquarters, they also knew that the war had not broken out at all, so the B-59 withdrew from the scene after identifying himself.
In fact, 8 hours before the submarine gave up attack, a U-2 reconnaissance plane of the US army was shot down by a Soviet SAM anti-aircraft missile over Cuba, and the pilot Anderson was killed on the spot. As a result, the confrontation situation suddenly escalated - the intercontinental missiles of the two sides entered the preparation for launch, and the strategic bombers began to take off on duty, ready to fight at any time.
Under such a tense situation, as long as a small Spark is needed, it can trigger a nuclear war, and if B-59 chooses to launch an attack, then humanity will face a huge catastrophe.
Therefore, after the crisis was lifted, Savichević was sent to court-martial, Malenisko was dismissed, Arsipov received a heavy award, and finally was appointed vice-chancellor of the Kirov Naval Academy, in recognition of his persistence and calmness at a critical moment!
