How the CIA Stole a Russian Submarine

it is 1968 in the midst of the Cold War the Soviet submarine k129 quietly sails through the Deep Waters of the Pacific suddenly around 1,500 Mi Northwest of Hawaii it vanishes from radar to this day no one knows why it sank on board the deep sea vessel are weapons and Technology of immense value sparking one of the most spectacular Salvage missions and diversion campaigns in CIA history what are you doing here this is the truly insane story of project aoran [Music] [Music] on March 8th 1968 officers at a US Naval Base record an unusual signal

through their sound surveillance system sosus is a state-of-the-art technology to detect submarines the signal which presumably originates from an underwater implosion can be traced to a specific location around 1,500 Mi Northwest of Hawaii it's an area known to be patrolled by the Soviet navy meanwhile in a Soviet control center the the Soviets make several radio checks on their ballistic missile submarine k129 all without success something is wrong they immediately initiate a massive searge for the missing vessel it will last a full 2 months with no success as a result k129 is considered lost along with

its 83 crew members [Music] the US military closely monitors the activity of the Soviet navy from a distance once the Soviets call off their rescue mission the Americans decide to send the USS Halibut in an effort to investigate the anomalous signal the halibud once a nuclear powerered missile submarine is specifically repurposed for this Mission it now operates as a special op spy ship it features Cutting Edge soner and satellite technology replacing its missile systems with specialized intelligence gathering equipment with the advantage of their advanced technology the US Navy is able to narrow down the search

area in July 1968 the USS hollyood starts its Journey to the search area from Pearl Harbor after 2 months of searching the ocean floor the submarine finally locates something strange they deploy a small cable controlled device this device can descend to adeps inaccessible to the submarine and gather information on the terrain of the seabed like a little fish the device Dives down and takes photos of the strange object on the ocean floor and there it is the wreck of k129 lying at an incredible depth of 5,000 m the US is starting to understand why the

Soviets undertook such a massive Rescue Mission the submarine likely carries highly valuable weapons and top secret technology stuff the Soviets really wouldn't want the Americans to get their hands on back in Washington DC curiosity is growing the government is aware of the unique situation as a result president Richard Nixon approves a risky Mission if it fails could trigger a hot war between the USA and the Soviet Union at that time the Cold War had reached at dayon a temporary ease of the arms race but the chance of retrieving an enemy vessel carrying invaluable military Treasures

is too significant to ignore this marks the beginning of a truly unbelievable Mission the CIA is ordered to conduct a secret operation in contrast to the military the intelligence agency Works more efficiently and is less regulated at least that's what experts say recovering a submarine from a depth of 5,000 m is a challenging and expensive task the agency's solution while seemingly bizarre is very straightforward they want to build a massive claw to lift the submarine from the ocean floor similar to an 8s arcade game but instead of stuffed animals you get a Soviet War Machine

the CIA comes up with a plan a special ship is required it needs to carry a giant claw capable of grabbing a colossal submarine but it has to look like a civilian vessel from the outside how do you build such a ship without arousing suspicion from the press or Soviet spies it wouldn't be a CIA operation without a proper cover story to help them out the CIA selects none other than the billionaire and Aerospace Tycoon Howard Hughes he shall play the leading role in a well orchestrated diversion campign [Music] campaign Howard Hughes lives secluded on

the top floor of the desert in hotel in Las Vegas he's eccentric paranoid and extremely rich the way he does business is unconventional and he's known for his many Ventures some people refer to him as the Elan musk of the' [Music] 60s as part of the diversion campaign Hughes expands business ventures into deep sea mining he creates a company dedicated to Mineral exploration and commissions the construction of a deep sea mining vessel the Hugh glomar Explorer the ship is constructed in plain sight officially it's built for the exploration of manganes nodules small mineral formations found

on the ocean floor to further the illusion Hollywood actor Richard Anderson is hired to endorse Howard Hugh's new Endeavors in a dedicated commercial they tent to try to sell the project to the mining industry I'm now aboard what is probably the most technologically advanced seagoing vessel in the world today the glomar Explorer meanwhile the CIA commissions lock heat renowned for developing spy planes to secretly construct a massive claw capable of grabbing an entire submarine nobody notices what's really happening the construction takes over 4 years and costs around 350 $ million for the US government the

ship is worth every penny the stakes are high the mission cannot fail under any circumstances from a technical Viewpoint the glomar Explorer is truly a fascinating ship it weighs 50,000 tons and is 189 m in length equipped with a giant hoisting mechanism a large internal Hangar the so-called moon pool provides access to the ocean the plan is to use the claw to lift the Soviet sub Marine up into the moonpool where it could be deposited and inspected but how do you lower the claw 5,000 m into the ocean aboard the ship are 600 giant steel

pipes each 9 m in length during the CLA descent these steel pipes are connected to one another by a mounting crane on Deck thus forming one single 5,000 m long pipe that can reach down into the abyss additionally the ship and Claw are equipped with Advanced Sona and Positioning Systems to accurately locate the wreckage site And So It Begins what kind of vessel are [Music] you complex operations like these wouldn't be possible without sophisticated engineering skills a great place to learn such skills is brilliant brilliant empowers you to connect the dots and understand the world

intuitively with interactive lessons in mathematics programming Ai and science brilliant helps you to develop the skills needed to thrive in the information age their Hands-On approach transforms learning into an exciting experience for example brilliant offers a course on how llms work an immersive programming Workshop that lets you experience and harness the mechanics of today's most advanced AI tools if that's not your cup of tea there are numerous other interesting Fields brilliant starts at your current skill level and progresses from there scan this QR code or visit brilliant.org Fern and try it for free for a

full 30 days you'll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription the link is in the description by checking out brilliant you directly support our [Music] channel it's the summer of 1974 6 years of preparation have gone by me meanwhile k129 is slowly decaying on the ocean floor the recovery ship is on course to the recite the preparations went according to plan and moral is high one of the members documents their excitement in a diary the sky was leaden yet the crew had spirits that were as bright as polished silver Mission Impossible nonsense impossible was

not in our vocabulary a few days into the journey the glomar Explorer receives critical intelligence this Soviet trkking ship chasma is patrolling these Waters and expected to cross the glomas path when they arrive the Soviets seem suspicious to further investigate what's going on they launch a helicopter the crew of the glomar is nervously watching as the Soviet helicopter makes several low passes near their ship if the Soviets uncovered the true purpose of the glomar mission it could escalate into a dangerous conflict eventually the helicopter returns to its ship the glomma Explorer and chasma open communication

over radio we are on our way home and heard your foror what are you doing here the Americans are getting real nervous now the chasma was not within hearing distance of the glomma this seems to be a lie but the CIA agents stick to their cover story we are conducting ocean mining tests deep ocean mining tests what kind of vessel are you a deep mining vessel how much time will you be here we expect to finish testing in 2 to 3 weeks I wish you all the best the chasma signs off turns around and heads

back to its Home Port P pavlos following this nerve-wracking encounter the glomar Explorer can finally proceed with its actual Mission very very slowly the Colossal claw begins its descent into the deep dark ocean every now and then a Soviet ship curiously passes by the crew is getting ever more tense after about a week the sonar system attached to the claw detects the seabed another week of prep and troubleshooting follows finally the claw secures the wreck and the lift Begins the the 2,700 ton submarine ascends from its watery grave the claws pulling it up meter by

meter it seems to be going well then suddenly the claw partly breaks and opens in turn over half of the submarine breaks off and sinks Back Into the [Music] Depths with most of k129 tumbling down to the ocean floor the mission failed at least in Parts years of hard work tax money meticulous planning and secrecy for what less than half a submarine but that's not the end of the [Music] story immediately after the failed first attempt the CIA plans a second mission to to recover the remaining parts of k129 but in February 1975 the Los

Angeles Times exposes project aoran in an article they revealed the true mission of the Hughes glomar Explorer during the first mission someone broke into Howard Hughes LA offices and stole top secret files the files link him and his supposed mining ship to the CIA the news spread rapidly forcing the US government to issue a public statement to avoid embarrassing the Soviets and jeopardizing diplomatic progress the government crafts a carefully ambiguous response we can neither confirm nor deny a phrase that became known as the glomma response today it's a popular way for government officials to reveal

nothing while still saying something either way the leak marked the end of project aoran with the cover blown a second attempt to retrieve the remains of K1 to9 was rendered impossible to this day the contents of the recovered section remain a mystery official CIA reports state that only some Torpedoes were found but no cryptographic codes machines or other significant technology the veracity of that claim is of course [Music] debatable the CIA did find six deceased Soviet crew members in the retrieved section of the submarine these men were given a formal Burial at Sea which was

filmed by a CIA documentary crew the footage was Declassified and presented to Russian president Boris yelin in 1992 as a gesture of [Music] Goodwill most of k129 remains 5,000 m deep in the Pacific Ocean the sect coordinates are still classified [Music]