Article Surfing Archive

The is a fictitious Typhoon class submarine in the
Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October and the
movie which followed.

When I first saw this film, written by Tom Clancy,
I thought that an awful lot of research had gone into
the making of this movie, but I often wondered
where someone would come up with such a plot.
Was this filam based on fact, or fiction in the
writers mind. And if it was based on fact, where
did Clancy get his information from.

The main theme of the story partially centers around
the dual capabilities of this submarine. As a submarine
of the Typhoon class, it carries many ballistic
missiles armed with nuclear warheads. With a stealthy
propulsion unit, it can no longer be detected by
NATO naval vessels. As described in both the book
and the film, these capabilities combine to create
a horrific weapon, whereby the submarine could easily
surface near a city, like New York,N.Y. fire its
missiles, and destroy key targets before any government
or miltary leaders could order a counterattack. One
interpretation, as offered in the film and book, is
that this submarine's existence is for one puropse:
not as a deterrant to an Amerian attack on the Soviert
Union, but solely as a weapon of first strike. The U.S.
Government know that they have only two options for
this type of submarine. Either they capture it or
they destroy it.

Marko Ramius,[Sean Connery] a Lithuanian who has risen
to high levels of trust in the Soviet Navy, intends to
defect to the United States with his officers and the
experimental nuclear submarine Red October, a Typhoon
class submarine equipped with a revolutionary stealth
propulsion system.

Jack Ryan,[Alex Baldwin] a naval historian turned CIA
analyst, deduces Ramius' plans. The U.S. high command
agrees warily, while also planning for contingencies
in case the Soviet Fleet has other intentions than their
stated cover. As tensions rise between the U.S. and Soviet
fleets, and the crew of a U.S. attack submarine stumble
across the secret to detecting the Red October,

This film was one of the best movies of the 90's.
It launched Clancy's successful career as a novelist
and the suepurb acting abilities of a number of well
known stares.

And yes this novel and movie were based on true facts
concerning the defection of two Soviet navel officers.
[1]In 1961, Soviet Navy submarine captain Jonas Ple'kys
sailed his vessel from Klaipeda to Gotland in Sweden.
The Soviet authorities sentenced him in his absence to
death by firing squad, but the CIA hid him, first in
Guatemala and later in the United States.

[2]On November 8, 1975, the Soviet Navy frigate Storozhevoy
mutinied. At the time, the Western powers believed it
was an attempt to defect from Latvia to the Swedish
island of Gotland. The mutiny was led by the ship's
Political Officer, Captain Valery Sablin. The mutiny
was unsuccessful, and Sablin was captured, court-martialed,
and executed.

So there you have it. So the next time you go view a "spy
thriller"type of movie, you should always ask yourself!
Fact Or Fiction?