Hostile Waters by Peter A. Huchthausen

by Peter A. Huchthausen

As the Cold War drew to a close, a Soviet submarine armed with fifteen nuclear missiles suffered a crippling accident, coming within moments of an apocalyptic meltdown that could have devastated the eastern seaboard of the United States. Although our own government-all the way up to the White House-was fully aware of the potential for disaster, they buried the facts, deciding to protect the American public from the truth...but not from the danger.Now, for the first time, in the words of the survivors, the whole story is told-a minute-by-minute, heartbeat-by-heartbeat account of the underwater terror and top-secret, top-level intrigue. From the military command centers of both the U.S. and Soviet Union to the bridge of the stricken sub itself, you'll share in a riveting true chronicle of courage, deception, and senseless death.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, War, Military Fiction, Nautical, Maritime

Hardcover

First published July 1, 1997

About the author

Captain 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.

Reviews

[Sleepy Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another superb book by Mr. Huchthausen. He has a real knack for taking the non fiction and writing it like a Tom Clancy novel. I couldn't put this one down honestly. Goes a long way to show how the Soviet Union treated their own men, it was more important to try and save the equipment than the lives of the crew. The story itself is excellently told, the dialogue perfect, and the descriptions make you feel like you're there as it happens.

[Eric_W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This extraordinary book describes the events surrounding an accident on the Soviet submarine K-21 9 in 1986, just before a Russian-American summit meeting between Ronald Reagan and Premier Gorbachev.
The missiles in Soviet submarines used a liquid propellant that, when mixed with sea water, combined to form a very corrosive acid and poisonous gas.

The K-219 left her home port with a small leak in one of her missile silos. The missile officer thought he could keep it under control by pumping out the water, which, it was later determined, was coming from an ill-fitting hatch K-218 was a very old sub, one that had suffered an explosion in a missile silo before with the result that she carried only 15 instead of 16 nuclear missiles.

The book describes in detail how the United States managed to know constantly where a II the Russian submarines were located, despite the Soviet Navy's best efforts to defeat our intelligence gathering through acoustical devices. K-218 was being followed very closely by one of the latest American attack subs, the Augustus, skippered by an arrogant and fearless U.S. submariner. During the transittion to her station off the U.S. coast northwest of Bermuda, the K-219, through some fancy maneuvering, managed to actively ping the Augustus, something that was very humiliating to the American skipper, for it meant he had been effectively targete d by an older, noisier enemy submarine.
He was determined to retaliate.

During a "Crazy Ivan," a 1800 turn that permitted the more sensitive sonar gear in the bow of the ship to listen for trailing submarines, the K-218 dove deeply and inadvertently was bumped by the closely trailing Augustus. That collision caused a tear in the missile silo cover that already was leaking, and the water that entered the hole overwhelmed the pumps and caused an explosion in the silo, ejecting the missile and forcing K-218 into a steep, almost unrecoverable dive. With fires in several compartments and poisonous gas leaking through out th e sub, the captain managed to get her to the surface where, because of damage to the control cables which ran through the missile compartment, they lose control of the two nuclear reactors, threatening a melt-down that would send radioactivity across the eastern seaboard. Violating all Russian protocols, the captain sends messages about his ship in the clear, i.e., without encrypting them, so that in effect everyone could hear the status of his vessel.

Naturally, American intelligence was listening carefully. One of the more interesting aspects of this non-fiction thriller - and it is a thriller, indeed - is the description of the inter-service rivalries and how the military used information to try to sway the outcome to its own use. At one point, the author remarks that the Navy was very worried that its most bitter enemy number 1, the U.S. Air Force, might become involved and get some credit. The submariners themselves formed a very tightly knit "sub-service" within the Navy that would often obfuscate and not release information to their own Navy brass if they feared the information might be used against them. Admiral Poindexter and Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Defense, were concerned that Reagan was too much of a nice guy and would "give away the farm" at the forthcoming summit. In their paranoia, they feared the whole incident was a ruse created as a diversion by the Russians to influence the outcome of the summit. Poindexter withheld vital evidence from the president, and Weinberger manipulated information that he leaked to the press in order to force Reagan into making decisions that Weinberger favored.

In the meantime, the skipper of the Augustus, having been given orders to try to force the K-218 into American waters for salvage (i.e., intelligence gathering) was ramming the tow cable between a Russian freighter and the K-21 g, putting his own ship, the Russian sub and perhaps the world at risk. To make matters worse, he then tried to overturn a launch carrying survivors to a waiting Russian freighter ostensibly so he could get a look at the code bags also being transferred. A real cowboy. A major world incident was narrowly averted. It was this act of "piracy" that infuriated his crew. Years later, upset that his actions had not been reprimanded, several of the crew released duplicate copies of the sonar logs.

The official naval investigation remains classified, but his career was over. The authors, one of whom was an earlier executive officer of the K-218, another a retired U.S. Navy officer, assembled from interviews and newly available Russian documents the actual conversations and details of the entire incident which makes Tom Clancy novels pale by comparison. And everything is true.

See also: Crazy Ivan Based on a True Story of Submarine Espionage (not read but on my list supposed to be good) There's also a movie that was made about this incident.

[Marjaana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hostile Waters (Tuhoon tuomitut, suom. Kari Klemelä) on piinavan jännittävä ja järkyttävä tositarina kylmän sodan ajalta. Se kertoo vuonna 1986 onnettomuuteen joutuneesta venäläisestä ohjussukelluveneestä K-219 ja sen miehistöstä.

Kirjassa kerrotaan elävästi sukellusveneen matkasta kohti Amerikan rannikkovesiä ja miten tuhoa edeltävät tapahtumat etenivät vaihe vaiheelta ja johtivat lopulta katastrofiin. Se kertoo kaukana kotoaan olevien merimiesten kamppailusta henkensä kaupalla hirvittävissä oloissa meren, myrkkykaasujen, säteilyn ja tulipalon armoilla heidän yrittäessään pelastaa aluksensa ja toisensa.

Järkyttävää on myös Neuvostoliiton kylmä suhtautuminen onnettomuuteen, uhreihin ja heidän omaisiinsa. Vaikka kapteeni tekee kaikkensa pelastaakseen miehistönsä, häntä odottaa kotimaassaan syyte maanpetoksesta.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Hostile Waters is well written and kept my attention from start to finish. I don’t want to give away too many details of the book but, the actions of Captain Britanov and the crew of K-219 are courageous. Not only does Captain Britanov have to be concerned with his crew and submarine, but the politics of the Soviet Navy during and after the disaster.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up a stack of submarine books the other day. I have missed several over the past few years. I had heard of the K-219 incident, but didn’t know the details around its sinking. Here we have that history, using a number of first sources. I found the Soviet submarine side quite compelling. The USA side is speculation, as the note in the beginning points out that the conversations may not have actually used the words, commands or orders written. For me it put in doubt just what the Americans were doing & how far did they go to not let other know.

The K-219 was an old Soviet Yankee class ballistic missle submarine that was poorly designed and badly maintained. The crew did the best it could, but they couldn’t do much about drunk dock workers or the use of hydrazine as missile fuel. (Who thought the use of hydrazine was a smart solution for a submarine?!) They were on borrowed time, having been forced to take their boat out to the mid-Atlantic where they were ill equipped to handle the environment. All of this was done so the Soviets could have three missile boats on station in the Atlantic. Our Tridents also use the mid-Atlantic as their patrol boxes.

The author does an excellent job of making the sailors of the K-219 read as people who are just as proud as their USA counterparts. The captain puts his crew first, much to the frustration of the Soviet Navy leadership.

The US Navy is painted in a light of being reckless with their attack submarines & keeping said submarines secret, even from the leader of the joint chiefs of staff. It would have been pretty bold if the US Navy was able to tow the K-219 to a US Navy base. The problem would have been how to keep the boat in a safe state. It was going to sink, it was only a matter of where.

The author mentions at the end that when the Soviet Navy came back to the location of the K-219’s wreckage, they could not find any nuclear material. He is inferring the US Navy was able to clear the area using super deep submersibles. If true, it would have been an amazing engineering achievement & also would have help keep the area free of nuclear contamination.

[Chad Rexin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exciting book. Quite fascinating about the ordeal these submariners had to go through and a grim reminder that even in times of peace, that submarines are basically at war all the time. What valiant efforts some of the men took to shut down the reactors knowing full well they would have severe radioactive poisoning and likely die. I think it is a sad state of affairs that politics makes things so rough, both in the US command and in the Soviet Union. It makes you wonder how many other brave stories exist, both for US and Soviet submariners where even just the right against the depths of the ocean can be it's own challenge.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is written more in the style of a thriller novel than a non fiction account but it still scores high marks. Plenty of political intrigue and high seas drama. Some interesting speculation that the event was an attempt to sabotage the meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev in Iceland. Worth reading and the HBO movie is also quite good.

[Richard Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling yet scary insite into the world of submarine operations by both USSR and USA during the Cold War. Based on the incident of K219, a Russian Sub that experienced an emergency during a patrol off the shore of America this well researched book goes into the roles that Party Politics, International Politics and individuals played.

May those still on Patrol rest in peace

[Craig MacKinnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. If this were fiction, I wouldn't have believed it. But as this is a true story, and well written to boot (no pun intended), I highly recommend it to anyone with interest in the sea, the cold war, or the military.

[Esteban Stipnieks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow.......fact is stranger than fiction. It is hard to think of a bigger goat rope saved by an unlikely hero (things could have been much worse). Two likable Russians..... but book is one huge reason to loathe the Russian occupation of Latvia.

[Victorm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Really riveting. Real page turner. Sad for all those involved that it was a true story.

[Phil Jeffery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grooming story, read the entire book in one sitting.

[Thierry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping true story of a near miss nuclear disaster off the coast of the US

[G Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

damm! this guys got a raw deal. but history gave them a miracle.

[Rick James · Rating 2 out of 5]

hard to write a great review on a book where the author made up the entire dialogue. Some aspects of story are also very suspect.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true story and interesting to hear the Russians side of things.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review title: Underwater true thriller

While I've never read a Tom Clancy novel, it is hard to imagine one of them holding the reader's nerves on edge as well as Huchthausen and company do in this true story of a Soviet nuclear sub accident while on tour off the east coast of the US in 1986. The story has the tension of an adventure thriller, a spy novel, or a political thriller, along with the unlikely heroes and villains of a war novel like Catch 22 or The Naked and the Dead.

Failing Russian sub K-219, patched together with haphazard maintenance and already suffering the effects of a failed missile tube caused by a leak 10 years before, sets off for its regular patrol off the eastern US, all the while shadowed by America's superior electronic listening gear. When another missile tube springs a leak during evasion action triggered by an aggressive US sub captain, the interaction of the sea water with the volatile rocket fuels ignite chemical reactions and fires that spread deadly acid throughout the sub and burn through wiring necessary to control the sub--and its two nuclear reactors that fuel the engines.

Captain Britanov shines as the hero of the action, keeping his crew nearly intact--four would die in the initial explosion and fires--despite the rapidly deteriorating conditions. The Russian military command, which provided no support and even condemned Britanov for sabotage for losing his sub and its 30 nuclear warheads, and the American sub captain who dogged K-219 but provided no help, are the villains. While the authors make the point that the Russians were officially not allowed to accept help from the Americans, his lack of human feelings for the endangered crewmen is heartless and inexcusable.

Running underneath the story is a thread of paranoia that was captured in the fictional Fail-Safe twenty years earlier. It is chilling confirmation of the most cynical aspects of the fiction's portrayal of the military mindset of the Russian and American masters of war. That such paranoia could still drive disregard for human lives at the time of K-219's action is frightening.

The veracity of the story is bolstered by an extensive interview list, and the authors (one of them an officer who had served on K-219 before the accident) put it all together with perfect timing and a sense for the tense moments and decision points in the plot.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reason this seems to be a balanced book is in the note to the reader, 'operations involving American submarines are simply not discussed by the United States Navy'. I guess that means there will be more books to follow, most likely from retired crew of USS Augusta. It is always astounding to me that apparently well read authorities repeat history by applying personal agendas to those 'getting their hands dirty' and then are allowed to avoid responsibility or freed by notions of forgiveness they care little about on an ethical level or can move into other positions of authority free of any connective tissue. The Japanese soldier in the Unbroken story is another one of many examples of misappropriated forgiveness and consequence free living as per the financiers behind the GFC. Just as in life, the sailors in K-219, did the work and had the talent, but those with the greatest inverted levels of inadequacy are those with power to order men into inadequate machinery before sea-worthy and war ready, or in positions where communications can be blocked for purile reasons, or claims of righteousness at the same time as seeking advantage as seems to be overlooked in the forward by Tom Clancy - probably out of a sense of necessity. A happy ending much overdue is as old as the hills but all these clean handed officials who can claim knowledge and social kudos by flaunting their 'holy well readedness', from which ideas are largely ignored and unapplied, continue to rise into all manner of positions to claim their extraordinary benefits on the industry of those holding all the responsibility. Sales and IT positions that have become more lucrative than the work of engineers and (true) artists is something out of 'The King With No Clothes' story. Anyone who does not understand what I mean could do worse than learn about Alan Turing, who was kept in his box, but is owed an enormous debt by a society in love with computerised technology.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a pleasant surprise to read a balanced account of Soviet submarine operations during the Crisis, which refutes many of the exaggerated claims still being made about the possibility of unauthorized use of tactical nukes. We learn that Soviet nuclear torpedoes were escorted by armed KGB officers who actually slept on top of the weapons, and the Rules of Engagement were so onerous that a sub would have to be actually sinking before one could be fired. Just to be safe, the sub crews were given no training on the nukes and were kept ignorant of their capabilities. This isn't too surprising when one considers that a military coup was always the secret nightmare of communist governments. If the tactical nukes assigned to Soviet Army units in Cuba were under similar restrictions, it is hard to see how they could ever have been fired––the nightmare scenario still being cited by Robert MacNamara to justify the Kennedys' secret treaty with Khrushchev. Another revelation is the very poor mechanical performance of the Soviet subs which suffered an appalling series of engine breakdowns. From the limited details given in this book, it appears that many of these failures were due to mistakes by poorly trained engineering personnel. (Fatigue due to the intense tropical heat and humidity may be a factor also.) Since these subs had specially selected crews and were just out of refit, the mind boggles at what the average Soviet diesel boat must have been like in 1962. This was a refreshing read. It tells the story from firsthand accounts from both Soviet and American ship and sub crews. A very "human" experience, not just some noted historian recalling the event from someone else’s notes.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 6 of Nuclear Studies:

What a tale! Yes, you should read this book.

Following the intense incident of a breach in a Soviet submarine, the crew struggles to survive. Conditions go from bad to worse, and along with a ruthless--and inefficient--Soviet government, the situation is further complicated.

I appreciated the structure of the narrative. Breaks in the middle of chapters switch perspectives from the Soviet K-219, USS Augusta, and both Soviet and American command centers, lending to an incredibly well-rounded account. I would best characterize this as a dramatization--most American information about the incident is still classified--but the bibliography at the end is amazingly rich including interviews of many of the Soviet officers involved.

What struck me most while reading the book is how human the Soviet officers are portrayed as. In places, they become the victims of a government willing to sacrifice anything to achieve loyalty and power. We follow the officers and experience their anguish as their co-workers perish and sacrifice themselves not for the glory, but because they care for their co-workers and their jobs. Captain Britanov is the ultimate hero of the story, taking on risks in order to preserve his officers, but there are other heroes as well like young Preminin.

This is a tale of courage, companionship, and loyalty. Don't pass it up.

[Alex Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty compelling book to read. It feels very well researched although its presented as a fictional story with narrative. We can do that since the Soviets probably won't read the book. Interestingly the American submarine captain is shown as a kind of ambitious antagonist here as are the Americans and Soviet politicians who do not see the sea but only see military opportunity or public disgrace. The build up of the Soviet crew in relation to its captain is pretty interesting as well. In a way we would consider it to be a fictional story based on true events.

If there is unquestioning neutral ground here, it's that being a submariner is a heroic job because it's so dangerous. In the end the responsibility is to people -- regardless of nations or politics. That when dealing with nature man is for man. For the sailors on the frontline they are all men, brothers in arms even if they are on opposite sides politically.

[Michael Gerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thrilling yet also heart-wrenching book about an aging, nuclear-armed Soviet submarine that had an accident with one of its nuclear missiles off the coast near the USA in 1986, when the Cold War was at its wane. This astonishing story, kept from the world until the end of the Cold War, highlights the courage of the captain and crew of the K-219 in trying to save themselves from the deadly fumes from one of its leaking missiles and avoid an accidental nuclear meltdown in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

[J Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the background of the 1986 US/Soviet peace summit in Reykjavik, the K-219 was involved with one of the most controversial events of the cold war. The K-219, which was damaged (possibly due to a collision with the USS Augusta), suffered an internal explosion due to the a reaction between seawater leaking into the missile silo and the liquid missile fuel. In addition to dealing with the radioactive disaster, the crew also had to deal with toxic gas produced by nitric acid, internal fires, and a runaway nuclear reactor on board the sub.

[Wcs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hostile waters is a great nonfiction book about the soviet submarine K-219.
This book was very well written, switching viewpoints and keeping anyone's attention.
I especially liked this book because it didn't just describe what happened, it also told you about the submariners lives and what they were thinking.
I was amazed about how dedicated the crew was, even though they were in a submarine way behind the times.
The book also had a couple of pictures and the crew, which I found interesting to look at.
Overall, I would recommend this to almost anyone who likes a good nonfiction page turner!

[Keith Veeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's one thing to read a book written about a Soviet submarine incident based on diaries of dead men, official naval records and second guessing from intelligence analysts. One of the three authors of Hostile Waters is Captain 1st Rank (Ret.) Igor Kurdin, Russian Navy. He was an Soviet naval submarine officer serving on K-219 at the time of the incident. His story pulls no punches when it comes to Soviet or American naval activities.

[Nohow2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on a true story of a Russian (Yankee 1) missle submarine loaded with nuclear weapons that threatened our entire east coast due to an accident. Although written from information from interviews and research of records available the account reads like fiction and is a thriller.

[Patrick Belair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in a thrift store, It was a very interesting story about a very brave captain of Soviet submarine in distress who did right thing and saved his crew, contrary to what his political masters wanted.Nice easy read enjoy it if you can!

[David George · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and also horrifying bit of non fiction. The Russian submariners are the unsung heroes in this epic tale of survival. One cannot underestimate their selfless involvement in what otherwise would have been the greatest nuclear disaster of all time.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

submarine warfare. Only read it because a guy I liked suggested it. Although its not my usual fare I enjoyed it.

[Richard]

Very good story of an incident that did happen off the Atlantic seaboard in 1986 - if it wasn't for the fact that Hunt for Red October came out first, you could shrug off the coincidences...