Dean has it all: CIA, Howard Hughes, a stolen Soviet sub
As you can guess from the spoiler-alert title of The Taking of
K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History, the CIA was able to retrieve a sunken Soviet submarine and study it for military secrets.
What you don’t know is how this amazing covert recovery was accomplished — the feats of maritime engineering and the spy agency’s chutzpah in conducting the operation in the public eye, disguising it as an undersea mining venture for a company owned by reclusive and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes.
That synopsis may sound like something from a Clive Cussler novel, but it’s a true story, meticulously chronicled by author Josh Dean (Dutton, 404 pp., eeeg out of four).
K-129 was a Soviet nuclear ballistic missile submarine that went missing in the North Pacific during a routine patrol in 1968. On board: 98 men and three nuclear missiles. The Soviets searched for
73 days without success.
The United States desperately wanted to find the submarine. A series of undersea hydrophones set up by the Navy starting in the
1950s gave officials enough data to calculate the sub’s position.
But the sub was three miles down. And the Soviets would have to be kept unaware of any recovery attempt.
So it was a two-fold, expensive problem: a near-impossible engineering challenge coupled with an overwhelming need for secrecy. But the reward would be ample amounts of intelligence on Soviet codes, nuclear missile makeup and capability, guidance systems and sub construction.
The CIA’s answer was to build a ship capable of lifting the wreckage from the sea floor, and cloaking the operation as a mining endeavor by Howard Hughes.
It’s a complicated affair, but Dean relates it simply and com- pletely. From undersea searches to maritime architecture to spy agency intrigue, the author excels at making complex operations understandable.
The detail is impressive. We learn the major players, how they work together and what skills they bring to the endeavor.
The most fascinating descriptions, even to non-engineer readers, are the technical hurdles. Development of the ship, the pipe connected to the claw-like grabber designed to capture the sub, and the lifting crane are meticulously conveyed to keep readers in step with the operation.
And though he is never seen, Hughes provides the perfect cover. The billionaire was known to be eccentric, so no one really questioned the mining operation. The CIA even staged news conferences to keep the public informed on mining progress.
It was an expensive operation, costing somewhere near $250 million. Dean doesn’t take sides or second-guess the wisdom of the operation. He simply unspools the event, reveals the outcome of the mission, and lets readers decide for themselves.
The Taking of K-129 is a worthwhile addition to the shelves of military history buffs, nautical enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys a well-told story.