Introduction

‘Nuclear Sharks’ explores the silent, stealthy symbol of the Cold War.

• A war waged outside public view.
• A war about strategy and world domination.
• A war of technological advancement, with lethal consequences.

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Outline

In March 1968, the Soviet submarine K-129, armed with 3 nuclear missiles, sinks after a mysterious explosion on board.

K-129 was on a secret mission in the Pacific, trying avoid America’s network of underwater listening posts. It was a cat-and-mouse game beneath the ocean waves.

The K-129 was a diesel-electric Project 629 submarine, capable of carrying ballistic missiles, based at Kamchatka with the Soviet Pacific Fleet. Commanded by Vladimir Ivanovich Kobzar, a captain first rank with an unblemished record, the sub had conducted two successful 70-day patrols in the north Pacific in 1967 before leaving on a new mission in February 1968, which was scheduled to end in May.

After conducting dive tests and reporting that all was well, the K-129 missed an expected contact when it crossed the 180th meridian, the dividing line marking its patrol area. Nothing more was heard by the Russian base.

So something had gone wrong and a search was launched. But the wreckage of the K-129 eluded the Soviet searchers, who eventually gave up their mission and listed the submarine as missing at sea.

They decide to keep the disaster secret, unaware that the US Navy has detected the submarine’s sinking.

Nuclear Sharks: Cold War Submarine Adventures Series

You can find a full index of Nuclear Sharks: Cold War Submarine Adventures here.

Production & Filming Details

• Narrator(s): Kenneth Welsh.
• Director(s): Jane Armstrong.
• Producer(s): Jane Armstrong and David Lint.
• Production: FilmRise.
• Distributor(s): Discovery Channel.
• Release Date: 1998
• Running Time: 46-52 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.