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October Fury
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.
-- 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.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published July 25, 2002
10 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Peter A. Huchthausen
11 books10 followersCaptain Peter A. Huchthausen (USN, Ret.) was an American naval officer, naval attaché, author and businessman.
He received his commission upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1962, and served in many different positions during his career, including two combat tours of duty during the Vietnam War, first with the United States Navy's Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta and later as Chief Engineer in the destroyer USS Orleck, which provided naval gunfire support to Army and Marine forces along the coast of Viet Nam. After service as a naval attaché in Yugoslavia and Romania, he served as chief of attaché and human intelligence collection operations in Western Europe for the Defense Intelligence Agency. During the late 1980s he was the senior U.S. Naval Attaché to the U.S.S.R.; he retired from the U.S. Navy in 1990.
He received his commission upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1962, and served in many different positions during his career, including two combat tours of duty during the Vietnam War, first with the United States Navy's Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta and later as Chief Engineer in the destroyer USS Orleck, which provided naval gunfire support to Army and Marine forces along the coast of Viet Nam. After service as a naval attaché in Yugoslavia and Romania, he served as chief of attaché and human intelligence collection operations in Western Europe for the Defense Intelligence Agency. During the late 1980s he was the senior U.S. Naval Attaché to the U.S.S.R.; he retired from the U.S. Navy in 1990.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 14, 2024
Written mostly from the point of view of the Russian captains of the diesel subs sent to Cuba during the missile crisis. The author was an officer on one of the best antisubmarine warfare (ASW) destroyers in the Atlantic fleet, so his anecdotes are quite interesting as well, but the Russian experiences dominate. I am convinced that submarine warfare is the most intense. After all, you can literally listen to death approaching without being able to really do much about it.
One thing I learned was that Kruschev was an idiot. Or at least criminally served by men who apparently led him to vastly overestimate the ability of the USSR to manage a 5000-mile supply line. The subs were lucky to get back at all, and that's just if they had merely sailed to Cuba and back! Throw in trying to avoid the American fleet and not get shot, and you're faced with an impossible mission. Only 1 of the 4 subs managed to avoid being forced to surface due to US ASW.
Kudos to the brave Admiral Rybalko, who, against orders, transmitted the American orders for subs caught by US ASW ships. No doubt he saved many lives.
Oh, and the other reason Kruschev (and McNamara by extension) was an idiot was how close we came to all-out, global nuclear war. You just can't have military men in close quarters who are unclear about their opponent's rules of engagement, all while wielding extremely powerful weapons. (Nuclear-tipped, in the Russians' case!!). I recall at least one case of the Russians flooding their torpedo tubes to be ready to fire. Plus, the Americans were literally dropping grenades on the Russian subs as "signals!" Finally, one destroyer gun crew were swiveling their gun to fire on a surfacing Russian sub before officers noticed and ordered the gun back to inline. It was all that close.
An it makes me entirely untrusting of those in charge of the current war in Ukraine. The only thing stopping global nuclear war is a vague assumption that US bureaucrats know how far they can push the Russkies before they punch in the launch codes. Well, do they? I'm doubtful, and this book didn't increase my confidence.
One thing I learned was that Kruschev was an idiot. Or at least criminally served by men who apparently led him to vastly overestimate the ability of the USSR to manage a 5000-mile supply line. The subs were lucky to get back at all, and that's just if they had merely sailed to Cuba and back! Throw in trying to avoid the American fleet and not get shot, and you're faced with an impossible mission. Only 1 of the 4 subs managed to avoid being forced to surface due to US ASW.
Kudos to the brave Admiral Rybalko, who, against orders, transmitted the American orders for subs caught by US ASW ships. No doubt he saved many lives.
Oh, and the other reason Kruschev (and McNamara by extension) was an idiot was how close we came to all-out, global nuclear war. You just can't have military men in close quarters who are unclear about their opponent's rules of engagement, all while wielding extremely powerful weapons. (Nuclear-tipped, in the Russians' case!!). I recall at least one case of the Russians flooding their torpedo tubes to be ready to fire. Plus, the Americans were literally dropping grenades on the Russian subs as "signals!" Finally, one destroyer gun crew were swiveling their gun to fire on a surfacing Russian sub before officers noticed and ordered the gun back to inline. It was all that close.
An it makes me entirely untrusting of those in charge of the current war in Ukraine. The only thing stopping global nuclear war is a vague assumption that US bureaucrats know how far they can push the Russkies before they punch in the launch codes. Well, do they? I'm doubtful, and this book didn't increase my confidence.
September 22, 2024
Excellent book covering the Cuban Missile Crisis from both the U.S. and Soviet Navy side. The author provides a first hand account from his time in the navy aboard a destroyer during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It’s also great reading about the Soviet side of events leading up to and during the Crisis. The book is full of adventure, also included are accounts of several Soviet submarines as they attempt to sail to Cuba and then avoid detection from the U.S. Navy.
April 27, 2009
Don't judge a book by it's cover. I was only 9 years old when all these Cuban goings on scared the living daylights out of me. There was I, stood shivering in short pants in the playground, while the rest of the kids kicked footballs and hopped through skipping ropes. I couldn't find anyone else who knew or cared that WWIII was about to kick off.
Peter Huchthausen's 'October Fury' I found to be kind of slow and dull.
"Huchthausen knows the hidden history of the Cuban missile crisis...October Fury contains startling revelations", states the front cover.
The author was a U.S.Navy Officer aboard USS Blandy, part of the ASW group of Destroyers deployed to hunt the Soviet submarines that were part of Operation Anadyr. One false move from either side would have sent us all back into the stone age.
The startling revelations are that the Russian sub commanders were kept in the dark by Moscow, and that they were armed with MRBM warheads.
Peter Huchthausen's 'October Fury' I found to be kind of slow and dull.
"Huchthausen knows the hidden history of the Cuban missile crisis...October Fury contains startling revelations", states the front cover.
The author was a U.S.Navy Officer aboard USS Blandy, part of the ASW group of Destroyers deployed to hunt the Soviet submarines that were part of Operation Anadyr. One false move from either side would have sent us all back into the stone age.
The startling revelations are that the Russian sub commanders were kept in the dark by Moscow, and that they were armed with MRBM warheads.
February 2, 2022
One of the better books about a major event during the Cold War; Cuban Missile crisis. Author was junior Navy officer aboard destroyer involved with blockade to prevent missile getting to Cuba. Lots of first person experiences for him, his ship and other destroyers. Also a bonus feature is what was happening aboard the Soviet submarines that were trying to reach Cuba as part of the missile operation. Be sure to read about the funny underway replenishment accident, practical jokes on the bridge, and the change of command ceremony for the author's ship. BTW: the author became an Navy admiral at the end of his career.
May 8, 2016
The author was there as a young officer on a destroyer that aggressively hunted the Russian subs. The book combined the detailed actions of both the Russian and the US navies, providing very comprehensive record of the events.
Had the Russian nuclear missiles been proven to be reliable, before the Cuban crisis, there is probably a good chance a nuclear war would have started. Instead, the Russian submariners were extremely reluctant to fire the missiles from fear that they would malfunction, sinking the sub that did the launch.
Had the Russian nuclear missiles been proven to be reliable, before the Cuban crisis, there is probably a good chance a nuclear war would have started. Instead, the Russian submariners were extremely reluctant to fire the missiles from fear that they would malfunction, sinking the sub that did the launch.
January 10, 2021
(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).
The great news is that I can listen to a book a day at work. The bad news is that I can’t keep up with decent reviews. So I’m going to give up for now and just rate them. I hope to come back to some of the most significant things I listen to and read them and then post a review.
The great news is that I can listen to a book a day at work. The bad news is that I can’t keep up with decent reviews. So I’m going to give up for now and just rate them. I hope to come back to some of the most significant things I listen to and read them and then post a review.
April 9, 2024
What an excellent book! This history of people at the top of the spear of the Cuban Missile Crisis was very well written. The style was reminiscent of a Tom Clancy novel. The personal viewpoints from people on hand was very good. I learned a lot about this period of history.
March 20, 2019
Very informative and full of details. History buffs will definitely enjoy this!
May 7, 2024
I participated in this acion as a Sonarman.
March 3, 2017
Could be boring at times, but did provide insight into a near disaster from a game of "cat and mouse".
May 13, 2011
This is a collection of personal reminiscences collected twenty plus years after the historical events. No overview of the Cuban Missile Crisis is given and any discussion from the point of view of traditional historians who recount events, repercussions, command decisions, world leaders, and military commanders is left to be done by other traditional historical authors.
Some critical details regarding diesel boat operations are revealed, the distribution of nuclear weapons on Russian submarines, and how poorly planned and handled they were, the overall poor condition of the Russian sub force in the early 60's, and the Russian views of the US fleet of ASW men, ships, and planes of the time.
From my viewpoint I prefer operational summarization details as opposed to what I consider a large volume of trivial personal interaction details as provided in this text. Details as provided can provide a true 3 dimensional perspective and add to a sense of historical reality to a situation, but more then one half of this book could be deleted and the point would still have been driven home.
At some points this almost became a Russian version of Das Boat, where hardship depravities would be unbelievable to today's casual reader. There were enough unexpected details to make the book worth reading.
Some critical details regarding diesel boat operations are revealed, the distribution of nuclear weapons on Russian submarines, and how poorly planned and handled they were, the overall poor condition of the Russian sub force in the early 60's, and the Russian views of the US fleet of ASW men, ships, and planes of the time.
From my viewpoint I prefer operational summarization details as opposed to what I consider a large volume of trivial personal interaction details as provided in this text. Details as provided can provide a true 3 dimensional perspective and add to a sense of historical reality to a situation, but more then one half of this book could be deleted and the point would still have been driven home.
At some points this almost became a Russian version of Das Boat, where hardship depravities would be unbelievable to today's casual reader. There were enough unexpected details to make the book worth reading.
December 30, 2015
The Cuban missile crisis is familiar to most but mostly as political maneuverings in Washington and Moscow. There was talk of blockading Cuba and the positioning of ships BUT really nothing about what was actually going on the Atlantic. Huchthausen's account - primarily from the viewpoint of Soviet submarines - provides an eyeopening perspective of how near to conflict the nations were and how it was only a matter of personalities that prevented the two sides coming to armed conflict. This is an amazing insight into what was really going on and how little people were being told - including some of the participants.
March 27, 2017
Absolutely great book. Part personal memoir and part memoir for the other side. The author was there during the Cuban Missile Crisis serving aboard one of the destroyers that forced one of the Russian subs to service. The author not only fleshes out his account with other information on the US side but does so from eye witnesses on the Russian side as well. Very insightful into how razors edge the Missile Crisis was.
April 8, 2007
Oh my! After reading this book I came to realise how close we came to global annihilation in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crissis. This book covers the Soviet side of the whole affair. If not for the self control of 3 Soviet sub commanders during the Cuban Missile Crissis we would not be here today.
April 12, 2009
Fascinating account of the Cuban Missile Crisis from the decks of a U.S. destroyer where Huchthausen was a junior officer. It's combination a thrilling memoir/history of Russian submarine actions and U.S. counter measures during that frightening October, 1962 when we all thought the world might be coming to an end (and damn near did.)
January 11, 2017
I tried to like this book. It was too filled with quotes and he got onto tangential subjects too much. Before reading this book I did not know that Soviet subs were equipped with nuclear torpedoes. There was a very intense and exciting story to tell here but he missed it because I kept getting bogged down in quote after quote and things that were only marginally related to the events.
October 2, 2015
a little too detailed with military tactics but a good read on how close we came to a complete nuclear war and how cool professional American and Russian soldiers saved us by their level headed responses
March 8, 2016
Useless, 10-word review: Confusing, boring, occasionally gripping. New perspective on history already known.
March 10, 2015
It more of a sub story than about the Cuban crisis. If you are a sub sailor or tin can sailor you will rate it as 5 stars. Good read because it does tell the Russian sub sailors point of view.
March 14, 2015
Fun story to read about the actual confrontation between the nuclear superpowers. Happened when I was 8, I have vivid memories, but not about used their Navies to push each to the brink.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews