Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage

For decades American submarines have roamed the depths in a dangerous battle for information and advantage in missions known only to a select few. Now, after six years of research, those missions are told in Blind Man's Bluff, a magnificent achievement in investigative reporting. It reads like a spy thriller -- except everything in it is true. This is an epic of adventure, ingenuity, courage, and disaster beneath the sea, a story filled with unforgettable characters who engineered daring missions to tap the enemy's underwater communications cables and to shadow Soviet submarines. It is a story of heroes and spies, of bravery and tragedy.

MOVE OVER TOM CLANCY, February 15, 2001

Review by By E. E Pofahl

Confronted with fading memories, secrecy oaths, security clearances and old loyalties, the authors have done an outstanding job writing a fascinating account that rivals the best cold war fiction. This is a true story of American submarine espionage during the cold war and as the authors note "In silence and stealth, but most importantly in secrecy, attack subs carried out as many as two thousand spy missions as they kept track of Soviet submarines".

In chronological order, the book covers US submarine surveillance during the cold war beginning with the loss of the diesel submarine USS Cochino and ends with the post-cold war secrecy problems still facing the families of lost submarine sailors on both sides. Narratives are given for several incidents such as the submarine USS Gudgeon being caught in Soviet waters and forced to the surface by the Soviets. A most intriguing chapter covers the 1968 loss of the US nuclear submarine Scorpion as it returned from a mission to the Mediterranean Sea. Using acoustic data, a submarine simulator and advanced mathematics, it took nearly five months for scientists to locate the Scorpion. Although the evidence points to an on board torpedo explosion, to this day the cause of the sub's lost is still in dispute.

Blind man's bluff involved tracking Soviet subs, surveillance of missile launches and communications monitoring. Soviet subs were trailed by US submarines to determine the submarine's characteristics, patrol areas plus Soviet Naval operational philosophy and tactics. The book contains a fascinating account of the USS Lapon tracking a Soviet missile sub for 47 days. However, tracking was dangerous. There were several underwater collisions, with the text describing the one where the USS Tautog collided with the Soviet submarine Black Lila. The book states "Tautog flipped on her right side, rolling nearly 30 degrees as she was forced backward and down. Men went grabbing for a handhold on rails and tables. Coffee mugs, pencils, rulers, charts and erasers went flying through the control room." While both submarines were heavily damaged, neither sub sank, although each submarine's commander thought the other had sunk. In a post cold war interview, the Black Lila's commander stated "I thought for a second, `I have sunk a brother submariner'....It was hard to have realized it."

The book narrates the US attempt to raise a sunken Soviet submarine. After locating the sub, Naval Intelligence proposed to remove missiles and code materials using robots. The CIA disagreed, intervened, and took over. Ignoring international law, the CIA contracted with Howard Hughes to build a special ship to recover the entire submarine under the pretex of searching for manganese. The project failed with only a 38-foot piece recovered. The Naval Intelligence's approach was validated years later when Navy robots were successfully used to explore the Titanic.

The book's high point is the narrative of wire taps on Soviet cables in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Soviet White Sea. Under great danger, taps were place on Soviet military cables by divers working outside a specially equipped surveillance submarine. At considerable risk, taps were periodically serviced to recover data tapes. Servicing a tap, the Seawolf once got mired for nearly two days on the bottom of the Okhotsk Sea. To avoid detection, the secret surveillance submarine Parche traveled 15,000 miles one way on a indirect route to place a tap on a White Sea cable and gain intelligence on Soviet Arctic operations. The Soviet's use of the Arctic ice was a critical strategic move and the authors note that "the Soviets shift to the Arctic was a brilliant move....where it would be hugely difficult for US forces to root out Soviet missile subs and destroy them."

Throughout, the text describes the personalities involved discussing the differences arising between individuals, groups and agencies. The handling and briefing of the President, Congress and/or Congressional oversight committees is most interesting. A key player through much of the book is John Cavens of Naval Intelligence. Cavens and his scientists developed the techniques that successfully located the nuclear bomb dropped into the Mediterranean following an Air Force B-52 mid-air collision, located the sunken Soviet sub and pinpointed the location of the lost USS Scorpion.

In summary, the text notes "While satellites replaced many of the spy planes and made intelligence-gathering safer....submarines continued to confront the Soviets directly" and concludes "There is no question that some skippers went too far in their quest for the big score. But then the Navy and the intelligence agencies weighed the gains against the possibility of a violent response, they relied on one simple fact: the Soviets were sending out their spies as well."

The text ends stating that "Now, with the end of the cold war and a new phase in submarine espionage beginning, it's time to look back, time to assess what has so long been hidden." Whatever may be the readers views regarding the cold war, the book tells how so many US Navy submarine sailors when "in harm’s way" so that Americans could sleep safely at night.

The book finishes with appendices and notes which alone are worth book's price. Appendix A describes nineteen confirmed or probable submarine collisions during the cold war while Appendix B gives the Soviet side of this story.

Following the appendices, notes give the sources for each chapter. The principal player's remarks are often revealing. For example, Admiral Watkins, former Chief of Naval Operations, stated that he allowed the U.S. Naval Institute - a private, nonprofit organizations that works closely with the Navy - to publish Tom Clancy's novel ‘The Hunt for Red October’ as part of the Navy's psychological warfare against the Soviets. Admiral Watkins said "about two-thirds of the technical information in Clancy's novel is on target and the rest is wrong, and that it typically overstates the US abilities...." The Admiral continues that the book "did us a service....The Soviets kind of believed it, and we won the battle...."

Extracted January 20, 2016

Joseph Degenfelder

Cc: Douglas Brattebro

     Kevin Reilly

     Sherwin Goodman, Robert Byrne