I'm almost through reading "RED STAR ROGUE: The Untold Story of a Soviet Submarine's Nuclear Strike Attempt on the U.S." and I must say, what i've read has chilled me to the bone. It's my first foray into the world of submarines during the cold war, I plan on reading Blind Mans Bluff next for added perspective...
I agree with the authors freighting conclusions. The authors essentially put forth the hypothesis that at some point during her last mission, K-129 (soviet ballistic Golf II Class) went rogue and tried to launch her nuclear tipped ballistic missiles on a rogue attempt to attack Pearl Harbor and Hawaii. During the launch sequence, the fail safe activated destroying the warheads thus causing a chain of explosions that sank the sub.
The circumstances surrounding the destruction and subsequent sinking of K-129 is probably the single greatest mystery in the history of nations. If nothing else, it's certainly the most intriguing incident of the entire cold war.
-The strange circumstances in which K-129 left port
-She left port month early ahead of schedule, while in the middle of repairs for no apparent reason (apparently a "standard" mission)
-She left with 11 more crew than she needed.
-The complete absence of any crew manifest at her home port detailing the crew on board, including the 11 extra.
-The complete lack of knowledge by the Soviets about where their own sub sank... (they were looking hundreds of miles away from where she actually sank.)
-Then theres the frightening evidence given by the wreckage
-Project Jennifer
-and finally, there's the strange silence on the part of both nations who have privately agreed never to discuss K-129.
"Retired United States Navy Captain Peter Huchthausen, former naval attaché in Moscow, had a brief conversation in 1987 with Soviet admirals concerning К-129. Huchthausen states that Admiral Peter Navojtsev told him, "Captain, you are very young and inexperienced, but you will learn that there were some matters that both nations have agreed to not discuss, and one of these is the reasons we lost K-129." In 1995, when Huchthausen began work on a book about the Soviet underwater fleet, he interviewed Admiral Victor Dygalo, who stated that the true history of К-129 has not been revealed because of the informal agreement between the two countries' senior naval commands. The purpose of that secrecy, he alleged, is to stop any further research into the losses of USS Scorpion (SSN-589) and К-129. Huchthausen states that Dygalo told him to "overlook this matter, and hope that the time will come when the truth will be told to the families of the victims."
Don't you think it's a bit strange how neither nation has spoken much about the sinking of K-129? What do you guys think caused K-129 to sink? |