It was the most spectacular display of brinkmanship in the Cold War era. In October 1962, President Kennedy risked inciting a nuclear war to prevent the Soviet Union from establishing missile bases in Cuba. The risk, however, was far greater than Kennedy realized. October Fury uncovers startling information about the Cuban missile crisis and the potentially calamitous confrontation between U.S. Navy destroyers and Soviet submarines in the Atlantic. Peter Huchthausen, who served as a junior ensign aboard one of the destroyers, reveals that a single shot fired by any U.S. warship could have led to an immediate nuclear response from the Soviet submarines. As absorbing and detailed as a Tom Clancy novel, this real-life suspense thriller is destined to become a classic of naval literature.

Table of Contents

Preface. Prologue. Part I. Cuba Libre. Operation Anadyr. Destroyer USS Blandy. The Art of Antisubmarine Warfare. Operation Kama Departure. October Fury. Part II. Spies and Diplomats. Part III. Russian Roulette. Atlantic Datum. Carrier Randolph Finds Savitsky's B-59. Cecil vs. Dubivko in B-36. Blandy vs. Shumkov in B-130. Part IV. Hide-and-Seek. Soviet Shell Game. Ketov Evades in B-4. Part V. Endgame. Kola Homecoming. Newport Farewell. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

About the Author

Captain Peter A. Huchthausen, U.S. Navy (Retired) has had a distinguished career at sea, as a Soviet naval analyst, and as a naval attache in Yugoslavia, Romania, and in the Soviet Union. He is now a consultant and writer. He lives in Maine.

Reviews

In the fall of 1962, Huchthausen (Hostile Waters) was a junior navy officer on the USS Blandy, a Forrest Sherman class destroyer; he and his fellow crew members were center stage during the Cuban missile crisis as they confronted Soviet submarines and merchant ships off the coast of Cuba. The submarines were equipped with nuclear-tipped torpedoes and had been given secret orders to use those new and virtually untested weapons if American forces attacked them or if American submarine-hunting destroyers forced them to the surface. That set of circumstances came very close to leading to an exchange of tactical nuclear weapons-an event that likely would have sparked nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Huchthausen details the story of what happened in those waters in this riveting account, based on his own experience and extensive interviews he conducted with former Soviet submariners and his former shipmates. Through reconstructed dialogue (and plenty of naval technospeak), he reveals that nuclear war was averted primarily by the heroic actions of three of the players in the high seas drama: Comdr. Edward G. Kelley, the Blandy's quixotic but experienced commanding officer; Capt. Nikolai Shumkov, who courageously and conscientiously commanded one of the four Soviet subs in Cuban waters; and Rear Adm. Leonid F. Rybalko, another veteran naval officer who, from his base in Moscow, countermanded dangerous orders from his superiors and paved the way for a peaceful denouement of the tense confrontation at sea. Nicely balanced between operational and analytical material, this account should satisfy action-seeking lay readers and buffs. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

"Excellent.... Clearly and engagingly reflect[s] the young officer's confidence and enthusiasm--and even glee--during his adventure.... Colorful and exciting."