** We should thank God for the cool minds of those who had respect for each other! **

Date:   11/26/2019 6:05:29 PM ( 5 y ago)

LITTLE KNOWN HISTORY!


Trivia: Who was credited for saving the world in the 1960s?

HINT: He was a Naval Officer, however, he wasn't in our Navy and he is thought to have saved the world because he disobeyed his orders.

ANSWER: Vasili Arkhipov


Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov was a Soviet Navy officer.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he prevented the launch of a nuclear torpedo and thereby prevented a nuclear war.

* In 2002 - Thomas Blanton, then director of the National Security Archive said that "a guy called Vasili Arkhipov saved the world".


On 27 October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis Boackade, a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph located the diesel-powered nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine B-59 off Cuba.


Despite being in international waters, the Americans started dropping practice depth charges, explosives intended to force the submarine to come to the surface for identification.

There had been no contact from Moscow for a number of days and, although the submarine's crew had earlier been picking up US civilian radio broadcasts, once B-59 began attempting to hide from its US Navy Fleet, it was too deep to monitor any radio traffic, so those on board did not know whether the war had broken out.


The Captain of the submarine, Valentin Savitsky, believing that a war might already have started, wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo.


Three officers on board the submarine, Captain Savitsky, the political officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the second-in-command, Captain Vasili Arkhipov, were authorized to launch the torpedo if agreeing unanimously in favor of doing so.


An argument broke out among the three, in which only Captain Arkhipov was against the launch.

Although Captain Arkhipov was the XO or second-in-command of submarine B-59, he was actually the commander of the flotilla of submarines, including B-4, B-36 and B-130, and of equal rank to Captain Savitsky.


The the reputation of Captain Arkhipov gained from his experience and courageous conduct in the previous year on a similar incident! Since Captain Arkhipov had been the XO in the K-19 incident this also helped him prevail in the debate on the B-59.

Captain Arkhipov eventually persuaded Captain Savitsky to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow.


This presumably averted possible nuclear warfare which could possibly have ensured: caused by having the torpedo being fired at the American Fleet.


The submarine's batteries had run very low and the air-conditioning had failed, so it was forced to surface amidst its US Fleet. The US Navy did not attack and the Sovie Subs' communication was established with the Russian Navy confirming the truth of the incident! A major battle was averted primarily due to one Russian Naval Officer's courage and foresight!!


** We should thank God for the cool minds of those who had respect for each other!




 

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