The Cold War’s Most Dangerous Moment
The afternoon of October 27, 1962, marked the most perilous day of the Cuban Missile Crisis when the United States Navy successfully located all four Soviet submarines operating near Cuba. This discovery occurred against the backdrop of escalating tensions between the two nuclear superpowers, with the world holding its breath as the possibility of nuclear war seemed increasingly likely. The submarines were positioned in a massive rectangle measuring 400 by 200 miles northeast of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, with two guarding the northern Atlantic route to Cuba and two deployed along the more southerly approach.
The Secret Submarine Hunt
The American search for the Soviet Foxtrot-class submarines was conducted in complete secrecy, unknown to the American public. President John F. Kennedy had generally authorized the Navy to conduct antisubmarine operations with minimal oversight. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara had warned that interfering with field commanders’ decisions regarding potentially threatening Soviet submarines would be “extremely dangerous,” as it could lead to the loss of American ships. The Executive Committee had approved procedures for U.S. ships to signal Soviet submarines to surface, including dropping four or five practice depth charges directly above them. Navy officials assured McNamara these were “harmless,” producing loud underwater explosions without causing physical damage to Soviet vessels.
This high-stakes game of cat and mouse involved four antisubmarine carrier groups, each consisting of an aircraft carrier, dozens of planes and helicopters, and seven or eight destroyers. Additional P2V antisubmarine aircraft from Bermuda and Puerto Rico conducted regular patrols. While the vast ocean provided hiding spaces for the Foxtrot submarines, they needed to surface at least once daily to communicate with Moscow and recharge their batteries.
The Tense Standoff at Sea
That fateful afternoon, American forces detected several Soviet submarines in the quarantine zone. The B-4 was spotted 150 miles inside the blockade line before quickly submerging again. The B-36, commanded by Captain Dubivka, was detected near Grand Turk Island by sonar and began moving slowly eastward. Meanwhile, destroyers from the USS Essex hunted the B-130 under Captain Nikolai Shumkov, which was slowly moving east on diesel power.
The most intense search focused on the B-59 (designated C-19 by Americans), led by the distinguished USS Randolph, a World War II veteran carrier. Helicopters and S-2 Tracker patrol planes spent the day searching, dropping sonobuoys and triangulating echoes in an area 300 miles south of Bermuda under cloudy skies with occasional rain squalls.
When initially spotted, several crew members were visible on the submarine’s bridge before it fully submerged in response to the American aircraft. The U.S. Navy dropped practice depth charges to signal the submarine to surface and identify itself. Helicopter pilots could hear mechanical noises and propeller sounds through their sonar systems, with one even hearing hatch closures that confirmed they had found a submarine. Despite these clear signals, the B-59 remained submerged.
Three American destroyers arrived on scene, circling the area where the Foxtrot had been detected. The USS Cony dropped five more practice depth charges half an hour after initial attempts failed to elicit a response. Unknown to the Americans, the Soviet submarine commanders had never received information about these signaling procedures from Moscow.
The Nuclear Dilemma Aboard B-59
Inside the submerged B-59, conditions were becoming unbearable. After four weeks at sea, Captain Valentin Savitsky and his crew faced extreme physical and psychological strain. Temperatures inside reached 110-140°F, with failing ventilation systems and rising carbon dioxide levels causing dizziness among officers. Crew members were collapsing “like dominoes” from heat exhaustion and oxygen deprivation.
The most critical factor was the submarine’s nuclear torpedo, which unlike conventional weapons required encrypted orders from Moscow for launch but lacked physical locking mechanisms to prevent unauthorized use. When American depth charges began exploding around them – described by crew members as sounding like “someone was hitting a metal barrel with a sledgehammer” – Savitsky grew increasingly agitated.
Cut off from Moscow for over 24 hours and believing war might have already begun, Savitsky ordered the nuclear torpedo prepared for combat. “Maybe war has already started up there while we’re doing somersaults here,” he reportedly shouted. “We’re going to blast them now! We will die, but we will sink them all – we will not disgrace our Navy!”
This critical moment was only averted through the intervention of submarine flotilla chief of staff Vasily Arkhipov, who persuaded Savitsky to surface instead. When B-59 finally emerged at 9:52 PM, its crew found themselves surrounded by four American destroyers with helicopters illuminating the area with powerful searchlights. Despite their battered condition, the Soviet sailors raised their national flag in defiance before attempting to break contact.
The Parallel Crisis in Washington
While these dramatic events unfolded at sea, Washington was embroiled in its own tense deliberations. General Maxwell Taylor reported to the Joint Chiefs that President Kennedy seemed “hypnotized” by the idea of trading Turkish missiles for Cuban ones, feeling time was running out. Meanwhile, new intelligence showed more Soviet troops in Cuba than previously estimated, raising concerns about invasion plans.
The shooting down of a U.S. U-2 spy plane over Cuba that day further escalated tensions, with some officials advocating immediate retaliation against Soviet SAM sites. However, military leaders cautioned against piecemeal responses, favoring instead a comprehensive strike against all Soviet military installations in Cuba if action became necessary.
Robert Kennedy played a crucial role as his brother’s trusted confidant, meeting secretly with Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to convey a delicate compromise: the U.S. would publicly pledge not to invade Cuba if the Soviets removed their missiles, while privately agreeing to withdraw Jupiter missiles from Turkey within months. This backchannel diplomacy required absolute secrecy to avoid undermining NATO alliances.
The World on the Brink
As Saturday night wore on, American officials prepared for possible war. Military plans called for air strikes within two hours of a decision, full-scale bombing within twelve hours, and invasion within seven days. Over 14,000 Air Force reservists were called up, while emergency procedures were activated for government continuity in case of nuclear attack.
In Havana, Fidel Castro expressed outrage at what he saw as Soviet willingness to bargain over Cuba’s sovereignty, while simultaneously celebrating the downing of the U-2 as a victory. Soviet Ambassador Alexander Alekseev worked to calm Castro, portraying Khrushchev’s proposal as a negotiating tactic rather than an actual deal.
Ordinary citizens on both sides remained largely unaware how close the world stood to nuclear war that night. As President Kennedy retired after watching “Roman Holiday,” he reminded an aide about morning mass plans, saying they would need to do “some heavy praying.” Meanwhile, Soviet submarine crews struggled with failing equipment and extreme conditions, and American military forces maintained their vigilant watch, all while the fate of millions hung in the balance.
This dramatic day during the Cuban Missile Crisis demonstrated how quickly events could spiral out of control, and how the actions of individuals – from presidents to submarine captains – could mean the difference between peace and global catastrophe. The world would not come this close to nuclear war again, making October 27, 1962, arguably the most dangerous day in human history.