Synopses & Reviews
Not even the president knew the real danger. When U.S. spy planes revealed the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962, President
John F. Kennedy responded with a naval "quarantine" to send a clear signal to Khrushchev. The Cuban missile crisis had begun. In a tense encounter, U.S. Navy ships and aircraft intercepted a group of Soviet submarines in the midst of the blockade ringing Cuba. The encounters that followed proved far more perilous than the participants knew at the time. One wrong move could have made them the first casualties in an all-out nuclear war.
In October Fury, a U.S. Navy officer who served on one of the ships involved reveals the startling truth behind the single most harrowing moment of the Cold War: Each of the four Soviet submarines was armed with a nuclear-tipped torpedoand their commanders had authority to fire these weapons.
Drawing on his own experiences as well as the personal accounts and observations of U.S. and Soviet officers and sailors, Peter Huchthausen transports you to the deadly center of this showdown at sea. In a vividly detailed narrative worthy of Tom Clancy, Huchthausen takes you on board the U.S. destroyers and Soviet submarines, re-creating the all-too-real events that brought the two superpowers to the very brink of mutual annihilation.
Youll meet all of the key players in the face-off, including Commander Edward G. Kelley, the crusty but extremely capable commanding officer of the USS Blandy, and Nikolai Shumkov, the muscular captain of the Soviet submarine B-130 who opposed Kelley in a nerve-racking round of hide-and-seek. Youll also meet the sinister officer who came aboard Shumkovs vessel to take personal charge of the "special weapon" that had been loaded on board and who actually slept in a bunk suspended above the odd-looking torpedo with the purple nose.
Bristling with action, fraught with suspense, and filled with fascinating details on the technology and tactics of antisubmarine warfare, October Fury also features sensational photos of Soviet submarines never before seen in the West. Thrilling, unsettling, and ultimately inspiring, this extraordinary exposé tells an unforgettable story of skill, heroism, and dedication to duty.
Review
"Huchthausen knows the hidden history of the Cuban missile crisis. . . October Fury contains startling revelations."
–– TOM CLANCY
Praise for October Fury
"Huchthausen details the story of what happened in those waters in this riveting account. . . . Nicely balanced between operational and analytical material."
–Publishers Weekly
"Huchthausen succeeds admirably in portraying sympathetically the sailors who would have been the first to die if war had been declared. . . .The book is tinged with humorous anecdotes, and Huchthausen succeeds admirably."
–Library Journal (starred review)
"Excellent . . . remarkable."
–Associated Press
Review
* 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 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.) (
Publishers Weekly, September 9, 2002)
Most accounts of the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 18-31, 1962), from Robert Kennedy's Thirteen Days to Robert Weisbrot's Maximum Danger and The Presidential Recordings: John F. Kennedy: The Great Crises, recount the harrowing diplomatic parrying betwetn President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Khrushchev to avoid nuclear war. Huchthausen (HostileWaters) tells the lesser-known but no less frightening story of the Soviet and U.S. sailors sent to Cuba to be the nuclear tripwire. The author was a young ensign aboard the USS Blandy, assigned to stop Soviet ships from delivering weapons to Cuba and to make sure that the missiles were ultimately removed. Much of the book is about Operation Anadyr, the Soviet deployment of missiles and troops to Cuba. Riveting details include the hazards of Soviet submarine travel-which entailed dangerous storms, lack of food and fresh water, loss of oxygen, and inescapable diesel fumes-and how nuclear war was narrowly avoided by the quick thinking of U.S. and Soviet captains. Unlike the Americans, the Soviet officers had prior authorization to launch nuclear-tipped missiles from their submarines. The book is tinged with humorous anecdotes, and Huchthausen succeeds admirably in portraying sympathetically the sailors who would have been the first to die if war had been declared. This book will appeal to history buffs and to fans of espionage fiction.
Highly recommended for public libraries. —Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib.; King of Prussia, PA (Library Journa, September 15, 2002)
In October 1962, the Cold War became about as hot as it would get, as the United States and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war.
The spark was the Cuban missile crisis, which is at the core of Peter A. Huchthausen's excellent book, ""October Fury.""
Huchthausen was a participant. He was a junior officer aboard the destroyer USS Blandy, which had been part of the U.S. Navy blockade of Cuba and had pursued one of four Soviet submarines sent to the region.
His recollections, told 40 years later, clearly and engagingly, reflect the young officer's confidence and enthusiasm — and even glee — during his adventure.
Trouble began when the Soviets attempted to establish
Synopsis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was the defining moment of the Cold War. Yet one aspect of that drama--the naval confrontation between the U.S. and Soviet submarines off the coast of Cuba, in October of 1962--has, until now, received scant attention. Written by a naval officer who was there, "
Synopsis
Huchthausen knows the hidden history of the Cuban missile crisis . . . October Fury contains startling revelations.
-- TOM CLANCY
Drama on the high seas as the world holds its breath
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 new 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.
This riveting account re-creates those desperate days of confrontation from both the American and Russian points of view and discloses detailed information about Soviet operational plans and the secret orders given to submarine commanders. It provides an engrossing, behind-the-scenes look at the technical and tactical functions of two great navies along with stunning portraits of the officers and sailors on both sides who were determined to do their duty even in the most extreme circumstances.
As absorbing and detailed as a Tom Clancy novel, this real-life suspense thriller is destined to become a classic of naval literature.
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.
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.