That Time Vasili Arkhipov Saved the World
If fame and glory were dictated by the magnitude of the deed, we would wake up every morning and thank Vasili Arkhipov. His birthday, hell his birthday week would be a world holiday. Not knowing who he is would be like not having heard of the sun. If you looked like him? Mad action.
But, history doles out rewards unevenly and with contradiction. Arkhipov resides in the “Did You Know?” section, not completely obscure but certainly lacking appropriate regard. No matter, he’s my favorite person in history.
Ok, so before we get to the real reason why Arkhipov’s great-grandkids shouldn’t have to pay for drinks, a little background on him.
Arkhipov was a Soviet submarine officer. In 1961, he was serving as executive officer (Riker, Pippen) aboard a nuclear submarine near Greenland. The reactor’s coolant system failed, and a meltdown became imminent. Ultimately, disaster was averted but their was heavy loss of life among the crew. Arkhipov was irradiated with the others during rescue efforts.
Does this sound familiar? Remember K-19: The Widowmaker? Neither do Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, and they were in it. But yup, the movie, in which I suppose Arkhipov is depicted as “Russian Sailor #3”, depicts the accident and aftermath.
How does that recipe miss? Ford, Neeson, nuclear sub? Tragic.
Anyway, Arkhipov and the rest of the K-19 crew were very well-regarded among the rest of the Soviet navy after the incident, which brings us to October 27, 1962.
Arkhipov is aboard the nuclear-armed submarine B-59, part of a fleet of subs in the waters off of Cuba. They are protecting Soviet cargo ships from several American destroyers sent to board and inspect the ships for offensive weapons. It is the incident known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The B-59 is commanded by Captain Valentin Savitsky. Interestingly, and it would turn out crucially, Arkhipov is serving as executive officer of the B-59, as well as being in command of the entire flotilla in the area.
So while Arkhipov reported to Savitsky on the ship, they held the same rank. Then again, they’re all communists so the ranks are pretty much decorative.
The B-59 had been forced to stay in deep waters to avoid detection by the Americans for several days. Consequently, they had not communicated with Moscow or, more practically, surfaced and opened the darn door.
On the 27th, their luck ran out. The sub was located by the USS Randolph carrier group, consisting of the carrier plus several destroyers and cruisers. Picture one set of starting pieces for Battleship, maybe a couple more.
Here’s where we arrive at the problem. The big problem. The Americans don’t know that the B-59 carries a nuclear missile on board, so they engage it as if it carries standard weapons like torpedoes. The destroyer USS Beale takes the lead.
Having had no contact with Moscow, Savitsky begins to think that war may have already broken out, given how aggressively he was being pursued.
That hunch was reinforced when the Beale, in what may be the single most dangerous act ever committed by humans, begins dropping dummy depth charges to signal the sub to surface so they can talk. Soon they are joined by other destroyers.
Dummy depth charges sound like explosions, because they are explosions. They just don’t throw shrapnel. Plus, these charges are being dropped far enough away to not damage the sub, but they are still shatteringly loud to the crew onboard.
What the interior of that sub must have been like? Think about getting into your car on a hot day. Maybe when you left your gym stuff in there. The air conditioner had failed. It was probably around that temperature, plus add diesel and Russian dude ass-stench. Plus Yankee Blue Jeans up there who won’t stop exploding things near you. And the only way to make it stop is to end the world.
Savitsky is convinced that war has broken out and missiles have already been launched. He orders the missile readied and aimed at the carrier Randolph.
This will obviously liquefy the B-59 and every other living thing for many miles and trigger a worldwide nuclear exchange, but he ain’t going down without making a BIG fuss.
The normal protocol called for Captain Savitsky to have the consent of the sub’s political officer (Ivan Maslennikov) alone, who gave it. But protocol also dictated that the flotilla commander get a vote on whatever sub he is on.
So in this moment of relentless cacophony, pungent air and mind-bendingly high stakes, Arkhipov, who had lived through a near-meltdown just one year earlier, held his temperament and refused.
The exact exchange is lost to history, although some classified debriefs still may shed light on it. It’s generally thought that Savitsky became animated in his beliefs, and Arkhipov held fast with logic.
Most likely, he pointed out to the captain that the charges were not getting closer, that if the Beale wanted to damage the B-59, she could have done it by now.
But the climate of October 27, 1962 was one of those rare and most terrible days where nuclear war was more likely than not. Savitsky had a pretty good argument for letting fly and saying bye. It’s chilling to see the amount of if’s that had to turn up sevens for us not to be playing Fallout 4 the home game.
I haven’t been able to find out how many total ships were in the flotilla, but there were at least five. If Arkhipov picks another ship, good night.
Arkhipov walked into radiation on the K-19, if not for that Savitsky probably throws him in handcuffs or shoots him because they’re all dust in a few minutes anyway. He was a hero on the ship, so the crew would probably have sooner detained Savitsky. Especially given the options each was proposing: Team Live and See Family! Team Not That!
If Arkhipov doesn’t experience the K-19 disaster, his nerves have a greater chance of not withstanding the unreal stress of the situation.
As is evidenced by your existence, the B-59 stood down and surfaced, receiving the always-nice “No Armageddon Today!” message from Mother Russia as they headed to meet her.
Arkhipov’s distinguished career lasted into the mid 1980s. He passed away at the age of 72, radiation from the K-19 finally getting the better of him.
A lot of smart and dedicated people on both sides kept us alive for those two weeks in October of 1962. It is a moment to remember, when we find ourselves losing faith in the nation around us, that these men chose peace when there was nothing left stopping them from the unthinkable. The terrestrial factory reset. Death.
It is a shame then that they should have to risk Kevin Costner playing them in a movie. History rewards…
If we are ever that close to the brink again, I hope someone with the sanity of Vasili Arkhipov is there.
_______
I used Edward Wilson’s excellent article in the Guardian for factual references.
Twitter: @danfjohnson
