Happy Petrov Day
post by Eneasz · 2013-09-26T15:08:21.551Z · LW · GW · Legacy · 4 commentsTake a moment today to not destroy the world.
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comment by James_Miller · 2013-09-26T15:24:19.745Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Besides Petrov, which other relatively obscure people should we seek to raise to hero status? I nominate Norman Borlaug.
Replies from: Lumifer↑ comment by Lumifer · 2013-09-26T15:32:37.804Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Vasili Arkhipov, of course. Same reason, too:
"On 27 October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph located the diesel-powered nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine B-59 near Cuba. Despite being in international waters, the Americans started dropping practice depth charges, explosives intended to force the submarine to come to the surface for identification. ... The captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, believing that a war might already have started, wanted to launch a nuclear torpedo.
Three officers on board the submarine – Savitsky, the political officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the second-in-command Arkhipov – were authorized to launch the torpedo if agreeing unanimously in favor of doing so. An argument broke out among the three, in which only Arkhipov was against the launch."
P.S. And on the opposite side I'm curious who personally was that American who decided that attacking a Russian nuclear-armed submarine in international waters with depth charges was a good idea.
P.P.S. A bit of link-following identifies that person as Defense Secretary Robert McNamara (see here and here)
Replies from: knb↑ comment by knb · 2013-09-26T19:21:22.141Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
And on the opposite side I'm curious who personally was that American who decided that attacking a Russian nuclear-armed submarine in international waters with depth charges was a good idea.
The Navy authorized use of practice charges to signal to Soviet subs near Cuba during the Missile Crisis. They were practice depth charges, meaning they were small devices not intended to damage submarines. The US Navy says they informed the Soviets that they would use practice charges to attempt to signal to Soviet subs that could not be hailed with normal methods. This sub had been out of contact with Moscow for quite a while.
comment by ChristianKl · 2013-09-26T17:07:11.111Z · LW(p) · GW(p)
Given that it happened exactly 30 years ago today is even a special Petrov Day.