Soviet submarine B-59
Soviet submarine B-59, a Foxtrot-class diesel-electric submarine, operated near Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 as part of a mission to support Cuba with arms. The crew of 70 faced extreme heat, rising CO2, scarce fresh air, and limited water as US ships and aircraft hunted the flotilla for days.
On October 27, after being forced to surface amid heavy harassment, Captain Valentin Savitsky prepared to launch a nuclear torpedo. But firing the weapon required the agreement of all three senior officers on board: Savitsky, the political officer Ivan Maslennikov, and Vasily Arkhipov, the detachment commander. Arkhipov refused to authorize the launch, insisting they surface and await orders from Moscow.
The sub surfaced and was surrounded by US ships, then returned to the Soviet Union. The incident is widely seen as the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war, and Arkhipov’s decision is credited with preventing catastrophe.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:04 (CET).