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Jump to navigationJump to searchThe Taking of K-129: The Most Daring Covert Operation in History by Josh Dean (view source)
Revision as of 09:23, 11 December 2017
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In February 1968 the Soviet nuclear missile submarine K-129 left the port of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka peninsula with a crew of 98 submariners. The captain and executive officers were experienced: the only factor giving cause for concern was that the crew had only recently returned to base and were expecting a longer break and were only back at sea because two sister ships had experienced mechanical problems and were unfit for combat controlspatrols. The Division Commander complained that the decision was cruel and potentially reckless. He would be proved right - but not publicly - as K-129 went down with all hands in March 1968. It was a while before the sSoviet navy realised that it had lost one of its submarines and despite an extensive search they couldn't find it.
The US Navy could locate it though - but it was three miles down in an area of the Pacific ocean northwest of Hawaii with notoriously rough seas for most of the year. How could the US maximise the intelligence potential at the height of the cold war and how could it be done without the Soviets finding out what was happening? ''The Taking of K-129'' is the story of the most daring covert operation in history and Josh Dean's telling of the story is as close to perfection as it's possible to get.
