0:00:08 > 0:00:1140 years ago at the height of the Cold War,
0:00:11 > 0:00:16these nuclear submarines were locked in battle against the Soviet Navy.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Their crews were bound by a code of silence,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29forbidden to tell their families where they were going or what they were doing.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Deep in the oceans, submariners from three navies,
0:00:37 > 0:00:39British, American and Soviet,
0:00:39 > 0:00:44played cat and mouse on the front line of the Cold War.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I was obsessed with the Soviets.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52The whole idea was to go in and put a decisive blow and walk away.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08The Cold War superpowers pledged to reduce their arsenals of nuclear weapons.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10But beneath the waves,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Soviet and Western submarines spied on each other,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16hunted each other down
0:01:16 > 0:01:21and prepared to fight a war with enough firepower to destroy civilisation.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28In that ship we had more explosive power
0:01:28 > 0:01:31than all the weapons dropped in World War Two.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33And we're talking about both sides now.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37This was a secret war
0:01:37 > 0:01:41driven by espionage to maintain the tactical advantage.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Can you tell how many propellers it has? Yes.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Can you tell how many blades are on each propeller? Yes.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Does one of them have a nick in it? Yes.
0:01:50 > 0:01:55For over 40 years the details of this Cold War stand-off
0:01:55 > 0:01:57have been a closely guarded secret.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03We're in a submarine that actually could sink him in three minutes.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05He would have difficulty sinking us.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Now the story can be told.
0:02:26 > 0:02:27Captain speaking.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33We shall be going from Plymouth towards the nearest point in the ice edge, north of Iceland.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37The submarines of the 1950s had hardly changed
0:02:37 > 0:02:40since the days of the Second World War.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43But Soviet, American and British sailors didn't mind.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Joining up felt like a special calling.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51It's a club, it's a small club, and it's great to be a member of it.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54# No other love
0:02:56 > 0:02:58I can probably tell you fairly rapidly
0:02:58 > 0:03:02whether a chap is a submariner after ten minutes of conversation or not.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06# Now that I've known...
0:03:24 > 0:03:29# Every time, every time...
0:03:29 > 0:03:31He said, "Honey, I really don't want to leave you
0:03:31 > 0:03:33but it's just something I have to do.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36I want you to know I don't want to go."
0:03:36 > 0:03:40I say, "OK." He gets upstairs, he's packing and I hear...
0:03:40 > 0:03:42SHE WHISTLES
0:03:42 > 0:03:43He's happy as a clam!
0:03:45 > 0:03:49# ..to glory in your kiss...
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Good company. And good pay.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57And we had extra food, special food, called submarine comforts.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Things like tinned sausages, that was a luxury in those days.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05Still had rationing in this country. And fruit juice. Absolutely amazing.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07Good life.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16On the surface, submarines were still powered by diesel engines.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Under water, rechargeable batteries took over.
0:04:21 > 0:04:26The maximum sort of speed underwater was sort of 15 or 16 knots
0:04:26 > 0:04:29and you could do that for about ten minutes, the battery ran out.
0:04:31 > 0:04:37Oxygen was limited so the submarine could stay submerged for no more than 20 hours.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Water was rationed.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45The captain used to say, "I will use the basin," which is about so wide and about so deep,
0:04:45 > 0:04:47"first in the morning and have my shave
0:04:47 > 0:04:52and you make such use of what I leave in the pan afterwards."
0:04:52 > 0:04:54So that was it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:56- So you would wash in his shaving foam?- So we didn't wash.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Echo classified submarine.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Submarine, surfacing on the fourth quarter, sir.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04The diesel submarine's limitations
0:05:04 > 0:05:07meant they were often reduced to acting as training targets
0:05:07 > 0:05:10for sonar operators on Nato ships.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Submarine altering course towards us.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16It was known as "ping running".
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Ping running is when the submarine runs for a surface ship
0:05:21 > 0:05:24who pings on him with his active sonar
0:05:24 > 0:05:28and it was a very basic, boring way of spending the time.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32We were really acting very much as the loyal opposition in those days
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and without a particularly warlike role.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38From sturding to Captain Deezer,
0:05:38 > 0:05:39thank you for the Royal Salute,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and regret we must consider ourselves sunk.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48In the Cold War stand-off between East and West
0:05:48 > 0:05:54the battle for supremacy was taking place on land, not on the high seas.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01In 1956, the Soviet Union invaded Hungary.
0:06:02 > 0:06:09For the West, this was an ominous sign that the Soviet still had ambitions beyond the Iron Curtain.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Well, it's easy to forget now what the Cold War was like.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20I mean, we lived with a threat from the Soviet Union
0:06:20 > 0:06:23right up until the fall of the Berlin Wall.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30Nato's conventional forces were far outnumbered by the Red Army.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34The West saw America's long-range nuclear weapons
0:06:34 > 0:06:37as an essential deterrent to Soviet aggression.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45You have to go back and think about how attractive nuclear weapons,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47if you could maintain an advantage,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50how attractive that prospect was for a NATO alliance
0:06:50 > 0:06:55that perceived that it could never defend Western Europe conventionally.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Anything that could give you the promise of compensating for that,
0:07:03 > 0:07:07and that would preserve basically the status quo,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10was incredibly attractive.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17But in 1957 the Soviets launched Sputnik.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20If they could send a satellite into space
0:07:20 > 0:07:25they would soon be able to launch nuclear ballistic missiles
0:07:25 > 0:07:27against mainland America.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31"As Sputnik whirled around the globe,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34American citizen bases became as vulnerable to Soviet threat
0:07:34 > 0:07:39as Soviet defences had been in the past to the nuclear strike power of America."
0:07:40 > 0:07:45It gets the American people alarmed that a foreign country, especially an enemy country, can do this.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47I think it's a very bad thing to have around.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50- To have these satellites going round?- That's right.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53As Sputnik went up
0:07:53 > 0:07:57the Russians were launching missiles more successfully
0:07:57 > 0:07:59than the US was at the time.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01We fear this.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05We fear that they have something out there that the majority don't know about.
0:08:06 > 0:08:12Western Europe could no longer rely on America's land-based nuclear missiles.
0:08:12 > 0:08:18President Eisenhower looked to the navy for a new way to defend the West.
0:08:19 > 0:08:24President Eisenhower said he wanted to be able to shoot a ballistic missile from sea.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28We had no missile, we had no warhead,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31we had no guidance system, we had no submarine.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34The US Navy launched a massive programme
0:08:34 > 0:08:39to build a new kind of submarine, capable of launching nuclear missiles.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44# You keep saying you got something for me
0:08:44 > 0:08:48This is a simplified schematic drawing of a nuclear propulsion plan.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52The part of the navy that Eisenhower liked was the part that had nuclear in it.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56And so this was where the money was, this is what the future was,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59this is what the West's strategy was at the time.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02# These boots are made for walking
0:09:02 > 0:09:04# And that's just what they'll do
0:09:05 > 0:09:09# One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Submariners were back in business.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21What are we going to do on Thanksgiving? We're going to work, that's what we're going to do!
0:09:24 > 0:09:29Your family just almost ceased to exist, you know.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32But we got through it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35# These boots are made for walking
0:09:35 > 0:09:37# And that's just what they'll do
0:09:38 > 0:09:41We were the pioneers for the finest weapon system on earth.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46The nuclear reactor gave the submarine limitless power.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49Twice the speed of a diesel submarine,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52it could also produce its own water and oxygen supplies.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56As long as there was enough food it never had to surface.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Going from diesel to nuclear was like going from riding a bicycle to driving a Formula One.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Armed with Polaris nuclear warheads,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09the missile submarine was capable of destroying Soviet cities
0:10:09 > 0:10:12at a range of more than 2000 miles.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19In that ship we had more explosive power
0:10:19 > 0:10:22than all the weapons dropped in World War Two.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24And we're talking about both sides now.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30It's a terrible responsibility.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35The modern submariner. A new breed.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37Young, technically oriented.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Make your depth 200 feet. Make your depth 200 feet.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Hidden in the ocean, impervious to Soviet attack,
0:10:44 > 0:10:49submarine crews were now on the front line of the Cold War.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55I said, "This sounds dangerous to me,"
0:10:55 > 0:11:01and he said, "I am far safer than you will ever be staying at home."
0:11:01 > 0:11:04He said, "I don't know what's going to happen to you,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07and I don't know what's going to happen to this country,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09but nothing's going to touch me. I'm...
0:11:09 > 0:11:12Where I am they can't get me."
0:11:13 > 0:11:15The defence of the Western world
0:11:15 > 0:11:20was now in the hands of a small band of young American submariners.
0:11:21 > 0:11:27It was a tremendous deterrent that was always available to the National Command Authority.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30We felt proud about that and I think the country did also.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37The Soviet Union was racing to produce its own missile submarine programme
0:11:37 > 0:11:40but it was beset with engineering problems.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43The Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
0:11:43 > 0:11:48needed a land-based launch site within range of the United States.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51In the late summer of 1962,
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Khrushchev sent as many as 40 ballistic missiles to Cuba.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00And provoked the worst crisis of the Cold War.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04It shall be the policy of this nation
0:12:04 > 0:12:07to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba
0:12:07 > 0:12:09against any nation in the western hemisphere
0:12:09 > 0:12:13as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Four diesel submarines, known as Foxtrots,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23were sent to defend the Soviet forces in Cuba.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27Each was armed with a nuclear-tip torpedo.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Enough firepower to destroy the American fleet.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Anatolii Andreev was a young submariner on one of the four Soviet submarines.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59As the Soviet Foxtrots neared Cuba,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02the American fleet was lying in wait.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06We knew they were coming.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10We had known for weeks because of our detection capabilities,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12including our sound surveillance system
0:14:12 > 0:14:14which was top secret at the time.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Unknown to the Soviets,
0:14:17 > 0:14:21the Americans had placed a 3000 mile transatlantic cable
0:14:21 > 0:14:23deep on to the ocean bed.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26It was known as SOSUS.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Devised after the Second World War,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33SOSUS was an early warning system for any approaching enemy Navy.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Fixed on the cable was an array of highly sensitive sonars.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44As the four Soviet Foxtrot submarines entered the Atlantic,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48SOSUS could detect the sound of the submarines
0:14:48 > 0:14:50and pinpoint their position.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59The Soviet submarines were forced to stay underwater
0:14:59 > 0:15:03with no way of replenishing their dwindling air supplies.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34Our orders were simply to harass them to bring them to the surface
0:15:34 > 0:15:36and we were very, very good at that.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07They knew we were right on top of them.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11Our sonar could be used as an offensive weapon essentially.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16We could turn up the volume and the amplitude of the sound
0:16:16 > 0:16:18that we could transmit
0:16:18 > 0:16:22and bounce off the hull of a submarine was immense.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53Starved of oxygen and overwhelmed by two days of constant pounding,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57the Soviet submarines were finally forced to surface.
0:17:23 > 0:17:25They didn't really stand a chance. We had them outnumbered.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Our skill levels were extremely high,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30and I felt sorry for them in a sense.
0:17:30 > 0:17:36I welcome Chairman Khrushchev's decision dismantling offensive weapons,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41returning them to the Soviet Union under UN verification.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Vladimir Chernavin was a young submariner during the Cuban Crisis.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03He would later become commander-in-chief
0:18:04 > 0:18:06of the Soviet Navy.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37The Foxtrot crews would find no heroes' welcome on their return home.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Determined never to be humiliated again,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19the Soviet leadership instructed their shipyards
0:19:19 > 0:19:21to build a new class of nuclear submarine
0:19:21 > 0:19:25that could retaliate in the event of an American nuclear attack.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29The whole idea was in some sense driven by Soviet vulnerability.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32We're in this very dangerous competition,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35we're at a great disadvantage,
0:19:36 > 0:19:41we really have to achieve parity with the US Navy that have been,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45you know, for ten years outbuilding us and had these advantages.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47We have to catch up.
0:19:48 > 0:19:55In just five years the Soviet Union built 34 nuclear-powered missile submarines.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59They called the new class Project 667-A.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06Western submariners dubbed the submarine the Yankee.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15The theory of nuclear deterrence between the superpowers
0:21:15 > 0:21:18was known as Mutually Assured Destruction.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22Many people preferred the acronym MAD.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27# This is the story of the land of the free
0:21:27 > 0:21:29# And what we have done for your security
0:21:29 > 0:21:31# For the greatest thing you must agree
0:21:31 > 0:21:34# Is that you be safe in the land of the free
0:21:34 > 0:21:36# Safe as can be
0:21:36 > 0:21:38The Soviets could go after our bomber bases,
0:21:38 > 0:21:40they could go after our bombers,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43they could go after our land-based missiles.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45# So then we showed that we had the means
0:21:45 > 0:21:47# To launch our missiles from submarines
0:21:47 > 0:21:49# We sent the subs far across the sea
0:21:49 > 0:21:52# For retaliatory capability
0:21:52 > 0:21:54But they couldn't go after the submarines.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57# But then they got the same sort of thing
0:22:09 > 0:22:11# With all that power would any state
0:22:11 > 0:22:13# Dare to tempt such a horrible fate
0:22:13 > 0:22:14# Balance of terror
0:22:14 > 0:22:21The nuclear submarine was the ideal weapon to apply the calculated logic of Cold War strategy.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25When the ballistic missile submarine came along
0:22:25 > 0:22:28it was like this perfect match
0:22:28 > 0:22:33between these theories about trying to seek a kind of balance.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39You can see unfolding a period of not instability but complete stability.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46We wanted to make sure we could properly deter action
0:22:46 > 0:22:49that would be bad for the world, not just for our country.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54In 1966 the Royal Navy joined the nuclear club
0:22:54 > 0:22:59when it launched the first of four ballistic missile submarines.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Britain's submarine force would now work alongside the United States
0:23:03 > 0:23:06to deter the Soviet Union.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10The British and American submarine service relationship was extremely close.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14We talked about almost everything, and we shared information,
0:23:14 > 0:23:17and we had something to offer.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24Britain's bases in western Scotland would now harbour US and British submarines
0:23:24 > 0:23:26before they headed into the Atlantic.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Right. Pipe action stations, set condition 1SQ.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43Polaris missiles had a range of 2500 miles.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Submarines could hide far from the Soviet Union and still remain a threat.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50Launcher prepared.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53They would be a continuous presence.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59Ready to launch, 365 days a year.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04If you consider the Doomsday scenario,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09which is that the UK has been taken out by a nuclear strike,
0:24:09 > 0:24:15there are instructions on board which tell you what you are then supposed to do.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Navigation ready.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24The envelope was kept in a safe in my cabin behind my bunk.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28So I slept alongside it
0:24:28 > 0:24:34and all the other material in that safe every time I lay down.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37It came from the Cabinet office.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I think it gave instructions about
0:24:39 > 0:24:43whether you were to fire your missiles and if so what targets.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Well, I must have sorted it out in my mind at some stage
0:24:48 > 0:24:50and talked to Toby about it
0:24:50 > 0:24:56and if he's happy with what he's doing that's OK.
0:24:57 > 0:25:01I didn't dwell on it because how can you?
0:25:08 > 0:25:12The potential targets for British, American and Soviet missile submarines
0:25:12 > 0:25:15were always a closely guarded secret.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Patrols were classified.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Few were allowed to know the submarine's location.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47Hopefully the navigator knew where you were.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52But the nearest thing you got was you knew the seawater temperature.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56That gave you the nearest indication
0:25:56 > 0:26:01of am I in the Tropics or am I in the Arctic or what.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Critical to the success of the deterrent
0:26:05 > 0:26:09was the submarine's ability to remain undetected by the enemy.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14The prime reason for remaining undetected
0:26:14 > 0:26:21was because you wanted to be sure as you went into missile launch mode,
0:26:21 > 0:26:24that a Soviet submarine that might have been trailing you
0:26:24 > 0:26:27wouldn't then fire a torpedo and take you out.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Staying hidden meant remaining quiet.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Crews were rigorously trained in what was called "noise hygiene".
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Submariners, it's drummed into them from the first day to the last
0:26:40 > 0:26:45that by dropping a spanner at the wrong moment you're capable of getting yourself sunk.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50If a spanner hits a metal deck,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53the noise will be transmitted through the hull of a submarine into the ocean.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Sound travels easily through water
0:26:56 > 0:27:00and enemy sonar would pick up the sound of the spanner.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Britain and America rubber-insulated their decks
0:27:03 > 0:27:07to ensure no sound was transmitted outside the submarine.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Machinery connected to the hull was suspended on rubber mounts.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21New recruits quickly learned the difference between sounds that could be transmitted into the ocean
0:27:21 > 0:27:26and the ambient noise of voices that stayed inside the submarine.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30My first day at sea, I always remember this.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34It was a Sunday and, er, there was a church service on board.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39But somebody mentioned to me they give you a free drink so I went down to it.
0:27:39 > 0:27:45And then after it had finished, after we'd been singing these hymns, which were quite loud,
0:27:45 > 0:27:49I went from 1 Deck down to 2 Deck on a ladder
0:27:49 > 0:27:55and stumbled at the bottom and fell and I made a bit of noise
0:27:55 > 0:27:59and the first lieutenant shouted at me, "You're making a lot of noise there."
0:27:59 > 0:28:03And I thought, that's funny because we'd just been singing for the last hour, you know.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08I used to do a lot of chess myself
0:28:08 > 0:28:10and the winner would win a packet of cigarettes.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13# Hold on honey I'd like to say
0:28:13 > 0:28:16# I'm busting out and breaking away
0:28:16 > 0:28:20On a boat, you're on a tin can, underwater for months on end,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and it becomes very close knit.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26# Think about how it's gonna be
0:28:46 > 0:28:50The only way you identified the days that were going by
0:28:50 > 0:28:53was you got grapefruit segments on Sunday,
0:28:53 > 0:28:55you got mushrooms on Wednesday.
0:28:55 > 0:29:01Food was critical. We had steak once a week. We would have things like lobster once a week.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11We had frogs' legs way too often.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25This time I shall not fail!
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Oh ye gods, help me!
0:29:30 > 0:29:33Crews stayed submerged for two months.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06# Get out of my space
0:30:06 > 0:30:07# Leaving now
0:30:08 > 0:30:10# I'm leaving now
0:30:21 > 0:30:24The nuclear stalemate between the Soviet Union and the West
0:30:24 > 0:30:28failed to deter Soviet aggression in Europe.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34I was duty minister in the summer of 1968
0:30:34 > 0:30:37with the forecast from Nato
0:30:37 > 0:30:40that there would be no invasion in the immediate future,
0:30:40 > 0:30:43and was woken up in the early morning
0:30:43 > 0:30:48to be told that they had invaded with Russian tanks into Czechoslovakia.
0:30:48 > 0:30:51"Heavy tanks rolled through the streets of Prague
0:30:51 > 0:30:56as Russian, Polish and Hungarian troops carry out their cold-blooded occupation of Czechoslovakia."
0:31:00 > 0:31:02We had an enemy and a serious enemy
0:31:02 > 0:31:05and we were in ideological conflict
0:31:05 > 0:31:11with the Soviet Communism all through the Cold War.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27By 1970 the rapidly expanding Soviet fleet
0:31:27 > 0:31:30had further fuelled Western insecurity.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45I couldn't think why they were building so many ships and submarines
0:31:45 > 0:31:48unless they wanted to use them offensively one day
0:31:48 > 0:31:51so it didn't seem like a defensive force.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56At Northwood military headquarters in north London,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58naval intelligence devised a new strategy
0:31:58 > 0:32:04to locate and follow all Soviet missile submarines.
0:32:05 > 0:32:06If war broke out,
0:32:06 > 0:32:10the West would sink the submarines before they could launch their warheads.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16An organisation was set up known as Task Force 311.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19I was the operations officer for two years
0:32:19 > 0:32:22and I ran many, many operations
0:32:22 > 0:32:26out of Northwood prosecuting Soviet submarines.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32SOSUS, the Americans' secret underwater surveillance system,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35remained critical to Western strategy.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Naval intelligence knew that with a missile range of just 1300 miles
0:32:40 > 0:32:44the Soviet Yankee submarines had to cross the Atlantic
0:32:44 > 0:32:47before they could threaten American cities.
0:32:48 > 0:32:49As they entered the Atlantic,
0:32:49 > 0:32:53they still had no idea that SOSUS had located them.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56And SOSUS had improved.
0:32:57 > 0:32:58It was now so sensitive
0:32:58 > 0:33:03it could differentiate between the frequencies emitted by each submarine.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08If naval intelligence could identify the frequencies SOSUS detected,
0:33:08 > 0:33:14they would always know what type of Soviet submarine was entering the Atlantic.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20That became the job of both American and British nuclear submarines in the Cold War,
0:33:20 > 0:33:24which is to acquire those signatures from Soviet submarines
0:33:24 > 0:33:29so that they could be put into a database that would be maintained and updated.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32That would enable SOSUS to maximise its effectiveness.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37To record a Soviet submarine's acoustic signature
0:33:37 > 0:33:40meant shadowing it at close quarters.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45A new kind of submarine was needed.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48The hunter killer.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53They were weapons of war. They're dark, they're black. They're aggressive.
0:33:53 > 0:33:59They look evil, and the whole idea was to go in and put a decisive blow and walk away.
0:34:01 > 0:34:06The hunter killer was smaller and stealthier than the missile submarine.
0:34:06 > 0:34:11It was also nuclear powered so could stay submerged indefinitely,
0:34:11 > 0:34:13shadowing enemy ships.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16It was a complete revolution.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21The whole concept of operations now allowed you to get in close enough
0:34:21 > 0:34:23to get a good readout from this signature,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27which you recognised as only emanating
0:34:27 > 0:34:31from the particular sort of target that you were looking for
0:34:31 > 0:34:35so it was almost possible to fingerprint each submarine.
0:34:36 > 0:34:42In 1975 Britain and America released their hunter killers into the Atlantic.
0:34:42 > 0:34:46"We're going north," that was the phrase.
0:34:46 > 0:34:47We're going to make a northern run.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50When? In the fall.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52OK. Make your plans now.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01I used to say a quiet prayer and hope that it all went well.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08A large number of the operations were extremely highly classified.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19The intelligence they collected was always known as "the take".
0:35:25 > 0:35:27The whole boat was in quiet mode.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34Everybody on the vessel was told to walk around in their stockinged feet, you know.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37No stomping about. If you didn't have to move, don't.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Stay in bed.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45It was all about trying to get close to them.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47It was a whispered excitement.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53SOSUS could guide the hunter killer into the area of the ocean
0:35:53 > 0:35:55where the enemy had been detected.
0:35:57 > 0:36:02Then the sonar crews had to identify the submarine's noise signature.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Bearing node 116.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08Sitting at the sonar stack with the headphones on,
0:36:08 > 0:36:11scanning the water back and forth
0:36:13 > 0:36:15and if you get to a part that sounds different than the rest of it
0:36:15 > 0:36:17that could be a submarine.
0:36:20 > 0:36:21Bearing node 113.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32Very quiet, not really so much as a tone,
0:36:32 > 0:36:35just sort of a ssssshhhh, a different sound in the water.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Can you tell how many propellers it has? Yes.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Can you tell how many blades are on each propeller? Yes.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48Does one of them have a nick in it? Yes.
0:36:48 > 0:36:53We have phase one audible on track 296. Possible dangerous contact.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55That is what you listen for.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00You can tell the difference by the rhythmic beats
0:37:00 > 0:37:03and on the rhythmic beats is one stronger than the rest.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07If one's stronger than the rest there's some sort of damage to that particular blade of the propeller.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16There really wasn't a lot of sound to hear, it was more like low hums.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18Bearing 111.
0:37:22 > 0:37:23But very quietly.
0:37:28 > 0:37:30Once they had found the submarine,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33the hunter killer closed in on its prey.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57So you'd get in behind the Soviet submarine
0:37:57 > 0:38:01recording all the radiated noises from the submarine,
0:38:01 > 0:38:05then usually one of the sonar riders would come out and say,
0:38:05 > 0:38:07"No, no, we didn't get enough, we need more."
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Sometimes the captain would say, "We'll make another run at it."
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Sometimes he'd say a bad word and say, "You've got enough."
0:38:14 > 0:38:18You weren't fighting the submarine, you were fighting the bloke who was driving it,
0:38:18 > 0:38:23and therefore you had to focus on what these people were like.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28It's all about trying to outwit your opponent.
0:38:28 > 0:38:34And that game of chess, if you want to call it that, to me was fascinating.
0:38:35 > 0:38:36Closing, increasing.
0:38:37 > 0:38:42American and British submariners knew that their ability to go undetected at close quarters
0:38:42 > 0:38:46gave them the tactical advantage over the Soviets.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54Although our numbers theoretically were lower than theirs,
0:38:54 > 0:39:00in fact, it certainly convinced me that we were in a position to win a shooting war
0:39:00 > 0:39:02against the Soviet submarine service, yes.
0:39:05 > 0:39:10Collecting intelligence on Soviet submarines wasn't without risks.
0:39:11 > 0:39:17We were very conscious that what we were doing was somewhat dangerous.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26Frank Turvey was a young engineering officer on a British hunter killer submarine.
0:39:27 > 0:39:32Its crew of 98 had been at sea for five weeks.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37One night when I went on watch,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43I left my sleeping area, my bunk space,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46and I had to walk through the control room.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54Everything looked good and we were in silent mode.
0:39:58 > 0:40:04About 25 minutes past midnight there was an awful bang.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07And crushing and scraping.
0:40:09 > 0:40:14And we were pushed right over in our chair...chairs,
0:40:14 > 0:40:19about 74 degrees, so we were almost on our backs.
0:40:20 > 0:40:26There were alarms on all of the panels, bells ringing, red lights flashing.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33The submarine had lost much of its electrical power.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37The severe listing had also damaged some of its engineering equipment.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41But a strange thing happened to me.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45When I was at school we had a great Latin teacher.
0:40:45 > 0:40:50One of the sentences he diagnosed in detail.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55Una salus victus nonum sparare salutem.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59The one hope of the defeated
0:40:59 > 0:41:03is not to think about your safety.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Do the right thing.
0:41:09 > 0:41:10For the next three hours
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Turvey and his team of engineers fought to stabilise the submarine.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Only later did he ask what had happened.
0:41:23 > 0:41:28We were told as far as I remember that we collided with ice.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32An iceberg.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37And, er, that was it.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44What did you think when you were lying in your bunk?
0:41:48 > 0:41:55I suppose I thought that I was, and all of us, we were lucky.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59And er...
0:41:59 > 0:42:04I, er, in situations like that you think of family a lot.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09I did. Erm...
0:42:11 > 0:42:14And I could look forward to...
0:42:28 > 0:42:30It's become known now that during my tenure
0:42:30 > 0:42:34one of our submarines was quite badly damaged.
0:42:34 > 0:42:40I mean, its conning tower was not quite destroyed but very seriously bent.
0:42:40 > 0:42:44And of course we lied about how it had happened
0:42:44 > 0:42:49and just said that now it is known it had hit a Soviet submarine
0:42:49 > 0:42:51because it was shadowing it.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Now, boys will be boys
0:42:57 > 0:43:01and there was an element of just going off and doing this for bravado
0:43:01 > 0:43:05and we needed to curb some of it and I think some of it was curbed.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11The Ministry of Defence has never confirmed any collision with a Soviet submarine.
0:43:11 > 0:43:15Operational details remain classified.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21On their return home, American, British and Soviet crews
0:43:21 > 0:43:24were forbidden to talk about their patrols.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29# No other lips
0:43:29 > 0:43:32# Could want you more
0:43:34 > 0:43:37I didn't know very much because he never told me very much.
0:43:37 > 0:43:43I knew he was at sea, and I knew he would be gone for three months
0:43:43 > 0:43:47and they knew that, and that was it, that was it.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09I was so excited about him coming home, it had been three months,
0:44:09 > 0:44:14so I made this big plaque that said "Tonight's the night",
0:44:14 > 0:44:18and I took it down and waved it over the pier.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Well, I was frowned on.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27- Who frowned on you? - All the Admirals and their wives.
0:44:30 > 0:44:32What did they think was going to happen?
0:44:32 > 0:44:35I think they thought we were going to have sex.
0:44:37 > 0:44:45# The wonder of your smile
0:44:47 > 0:44:49In 1974,
0:44:49 > 0:44:55East and West agreed to reduce their arsenals of nuclear ballistic missiles.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00But at sea, western naval intelligence learned of a new threat.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05The most dangerous ship in the Soviet Fleet,
0:45:05 > 0:45:10a 40,000 ton aircraft carrier called the Kiev.
0:45:12 > 0:45:13Along with fighter aircraft,
0:45:13 > 0:45:17the Kiev had eight Cruise missiles,
0:45:17 > 0:45:18each eight times more powerful
0:45:18 > 0:45:21than the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26We were dealing with some pretty big bits of kit.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32There was a slight sort of apprehension verging on fear
0:45:32 > 0:45:36that the Soviet fleet were flexing their muscles.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40The carrier was also faster than any submarine.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43Within 18 hours of leaving territorial waters,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47she would be capable of launching her missiles on Europe.
0:45:51 > 0:45:57I name this ship Swiftsure. May God bless her and all who sail in her.
0:46:00 > 0:46:06In early 1977, Britain's newest hunter killer submarine, HMS Swiftsure,
0:46:06 > 0:46:12was sent north to find the Kiev and record her acoustic signature.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18Swiftsure was an operational submarine who'd done all its tricks and was ready,
0:46:18 > 0:46:23and what's more, about to go on front line deployment.
0:46:23 > 0:46:25Oh, it's exciting.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35I always found sailing extremely difficult,
0:46:35 > 0:46:40leaving your family knowing that there was going to be
0:46:40 > 0:46:44a very significant challenge ahead.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59There was a feeling that perhaps in the back of our minds, Soviets were eight foot tall.
0:47:05 > 0:47:09We wanted to bring them down to five foot nine, which is probably the average.
0:47:16 > 0:47:22Swiftsure was heading for the Barents Sea, home to the vast Soviet northern fleet.
0:47:24 > 0:47:28The only way you could detect the potential enemy
0:47:28 > 0:47:31was going there close up and covertly.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34And when they're operating in their own areas
0:47:34 > 0:47:37they're obviously a little bit freer and easier,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40thinking that maybe they are on their own.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44They were engaged in a very dangerous activity.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47But they knew what they were doing, they knew how dangerous it was,
0:47:47 > 0:47:49they knew how important it was.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52And they experienced when they did it how difficult it was.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59Among the crew were Russian linguists and electronic intelligence experts.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06We were going to do business with the Soviet Navy
0:48:06 > 0:48:10so Soviet terms would be used, Russian names would be used.
0:48:16 > 0:48:18Swiftsure would be operating near the Arctic Circle.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22With just an hour of daylight in every 24-hour period,
0:48:23 > 0:48:25special red lighting had to be used.
0:48:28 > 0:48:32When it's dark up there, which it is for a lot of the time,
0:48:32 > 0:48:35light inside, at the bottom of the periscope,
0:48:35 > 0:48:38has got to be the same or less than the light at the top of the periscope.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45It was red lighting for the best part of, probably going to be about two months.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48It became very, very tiring.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53When Swiftsure entered the Barents Sea
0:48:54 > 0:48:57the crew found themselves in the middle of a major naval exercise.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05I was surprised at how incredibly busy we really were.
0:49:20 > 0:49:25Your level of activity is absolutely constant, reporting, noise.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33I saw missiles streaking through the air.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35I saw firings by guns.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39I saw a torpedo firing exercise.
0:49:40 > 0:49:43Never ever in my wildest dreams thought I would do that.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Well, you're sitting there at the centre of the spider's web.
0:49:48 > 0:49:52It's a lovely feeling of being surrounded by people who can't see you but you can see them.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59Then, Swiftsure's sonar detected something new.
0:50:01 > 0:50:02The Kiev.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18I remember the excitement first time I saw her.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22The captain and the XO had lots sightings before I did
0:50:22 > 0:50:26and I remember thinking, come on, I want to have a look at this. I really want to see her.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30And when I did she was impressive. Beautiful-looking ship.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34She was big, clean lines, just looked the part.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Soon after that Captain John said, "Right, let's go and have a look at this."
0:50:46 > 0:50:48We started our approach from behind the carrier,
0:50:48 > 0:50:53and obviously we had to go in at a slightly higher speed than his.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58We were constantly assessing his course and speed as accurately as we possibly can.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09Coming up from astern you can identify the wash from the propellers.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12Once we see that we know we are very close.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Course 130. Speed 50 knots.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18We needed to match his speed almost exactly.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Going up one revolution at a time.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24And you give yourself enough time to get down,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27steady on the depth that you want to do this operation at
0:51:27 > 0:51:29and then slide in underneath.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40It was quite a relief to find that we were sliding under him.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44Gently and without incident, so to speak.
0:51:47 > 0:51:52Swiftsure's cameras and acoustic devices began gathering the Kiev's secrets.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56CAMERA CLICKS
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Always tense, always total concentration.
0:52:13 > 0:52:14How close were you to the Kiev?
0:52:14 > 0:52:18Top of the periscope be about 10 to 12 feet.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26We're running 12 feet away from a 40,000 ton aircraft carrier.
0:52:26 > 0:52:29Well, so be it. That's what we're doing.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34If that makes you nervous to think about it, yes, fine.
0:52:34 > 0:52:39But if you're there, you're sharp, you're on the ball.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43You're not day dreaming while you are doing this, that's for sure.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52But we are in a little ship.
0:52:52 > 0:52:57You say it but we are in a submarine that could actually sink him in three minutes.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00He would have difficulty sinking us.
0:53:00 > 0:53:06That's the sort of arrogant bit of knowledge to tuck away.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10We know he's there and we're controlling this whole evolution.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12And he doesn't know we're there.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14CAMERA CLICKS
0:53:19 > 0:53:22After we had been underneath for quite a long time
0:53:22 > 0:53:25we felt we'd seen everything that we could usefully see.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29We pulled out gently and went off to a decent distance.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47After 70 days at sea, Swiftsure returned to Britain.
0:53:48 > 0:53:54Contained in her sonar bays was the Kiev's entire acoustic fingerprint.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57If the carrier ever planned to attack,
0:53:57 > 0:54:00the West would be able to find and sink her
0:54:00 > 0:54:04before she was in range of Britain or Western Europe.
0:54:08 > 0:54:12It was sharp end, cutting edge of the services.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16It was the front line of the Cold War operations.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19And it was a very exciting thing to be part of.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26Over two decades, British and American hunter killers
0:54:26 > 0:54:29brought back vital intelligence about the Soviet fleet.
0:54:31 > 0:54:37This gave the West a priceless strategic advantage over the Soviet Union.
0:54:40 > 0:54:44Well, this was given to me as a parting present by my ship's company
0:54:44 > 0:54:48and it says HMS Swiftsure on it.
0:54:49 > 0:54:54But this actually is a model made by my ship's company
0:54:54 > 0:55:00who, over a glass with them, this was presented to me.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02I was absolutely delighted.
0:55:02 > 0:55:04It's based on the Kiev, the carrier.
0:55:11 > 0:55:13- Did you talk to your wife about it when you came home?- No.
0:55:13 > 0:55:15I wasn't allowed to do that, no.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18So what did you tell your wife?
0:55:18 > 0:55:25I said, well, we had a story that we had just been on a training patrol.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28That's what all the ship's company were told.
0:55:28 > 0:55:34My wife knew that these were difficult patrols
0:55:34 > 0:55:41and she was used to seeing me come back having lost weight and grown a beard and tense.
0:55:41 > 0:55:42No doubt about that.
0:55:45 > 0:55:50My wife was absolutely incredible looking after my children.
0:55:58 > 0:55:59Very, very rarely there.
0:56:00 > 0:56:06Through the Swiftsure days through... Tough.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13The whole part of that world
0:56:13 > 0:56:18that you've put to one side for almost two months you pick it up again.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23You hadn't seen the colour green for a long time.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Grass.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32All the delights, you know. The smell of a woman.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36And I don't mean that salaciously, I just mean smelling a woman.
0:56:36 > 0:56:37And touch.
0:56:37 > 0:56:43No one touches you in a submarine and that's something that I found I noticed.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50- How did it feel?- Ah, it was lovely, lovely. What you haven't had you miss.
0:56:53 > 0:56:56# It's all over
0:56:59 > 0:57:03# Didn't even cry
0:57:07 > 0:57:14# I just stopped living
0:57:17 > 0:57:23# When you said goodbye
0:57:25 > 0:57:28# It's all over
0:57:31 > 0:57:36# Didn't feel a thing
0:57:39 > 0:57:46# I just stopped living...
0:57:47 > 0:57:51In the next programme, the Russians fight back.
0:57:51 > 0:57:57Secret weapons beneath the ice and a disaster at sea.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd