Stalking the Red Bear: The True Story of a U.S. Cold War Submarine's Covert Operations Against the Soviet Union

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
Related Subjects
Meet the Author
Read an Excerpt
Table of Contents

Overview

The thrilling untold story of Cold War submarine espionage and an inside look at the U.S. Navy’s “Silent Service”

Stalking the Red Bear—for the first time ever—describes the action principally from the perspective of a commanding officer of a Sturgeon-class nuclear submarine during the Cold War, taking readers closer to the Soviet target than any work on submarine espionage has ever done before.

This is the untold true story of a covert submarine espionage operation against the Soviet Union. Few individuals outside the intelligence and submarine communities knew anything about these top-secret missions, and with good reason: the curtain of secrecy surrounding submarine operations, beginning in World War II, is nearly impenetrable.

Cloaking itself in virtual invisibility to avoid detection, this Sturgeon-class boat went sub versus sub deep within Soviet-controlled waters north of the Arctic Circle, where the risks were extraordinarily high and anything could happen. Readers will know what it was like to carry out a covert mission aboard a nuke and experience the sights, sounds, and dangers unique to submarining.

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

“An exciting and realistic journey deep into the cold black waters of covert submarine espionage during the Cold War era.” —Kenneth Sewell, New York Times bestselling author of Red Star Rogue and All Hands Down

“No submariner has ever served aboard a boat called Blackfin, and every submariner has. For nukes especially, Stalking the Red Bear is a cross between finding a covert diary and coming home.” —Sherry Sontag, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Blind Man’s Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage

Read More Show Less

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780312605537
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication date: 3/16/2010
Edition description: First Edition
Edition number: 1
Pages: 336
Sales rank: 236,681
Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.10 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Peter Sasgen, who worked closely with the sub’s commanding officer on this project, is an expert on submarines. He has written both fiction and nonfiction on the subject, including several thrillers and a nonfiction book, Red Scorpion, on World War II submarine warfare. He lives in Florida.

Read More Show Less

Read an Excerpt

Stalking the Red Bear

The True Story of a U.S. Cold War Submarine's Covert Operations Against the Soviet Union

By Sasgen, Peter
St. Martin's Press
Copyright © 2009

Sasgen, Peter
All right reserved.

ISBN: 9780312380236

Chapter One

A DEADLY GAME

U.S. NAVY COMMANDER Roy Hunter, captain of the USS Blackfin, heard the sibilant beat of ships' screws and, through the raised periscope, saw the masts of hull-down Soviet warships. Electronic Signals Measures (ESM) intercepts of radar and radio transmissions had confirmed the presence of several ships and ASW helicopters as well as the high-frequency polarized radar the Soviet helos employed for detecting exposed submarine periscopes and masts.

As he lowered the periscope, Hunter ordered, "Lower all masts. All ahead two-thirds. Make your depth two-five-zero feet. The officer of the deck has the conn."

Hunter announced his intention to track the contacts via passive sonar, then ordered the officer of the deck (OOD), a young lieutenant, to station the section .re-control tracking party, the team tasked with keeping tabs on a target's position. Rigged for red, the control room, with its lit up .re-control consoles and other vital instruments, had a spectral look.

"Conn, sonar; active sonar bearing one-three-zero," advised the sonar supervisor. "Frequency five kilohertz; ten-thousand-yard scale. Designate Sierra Ten."

The OOD toggled his microphone switch. "Conn, aye."

The report from sonar meantthat the Soviet warships had shifted to high-powered active sonar, a sure sign they were searching for a submerged intruder.

"Officer of the deck, make your depth four-five-zero feet," ordered Hunter.

Greater depth would provide an extra layer of invisibility, like pulling a blanket over their heads. Since making sonar contact with the ships, Hunter had been thinking, Avoid counterdetection. In other words, don't let the Soviets know you're there. If they do, you lose. Hunter was confident he could give them the slip— unless they got lucky, and so far it didn't seem likely.

The Soviets relied on a rigid and highly codified ASW doctrine, what they called the "struggle against submarines." It was more a theory than a proven tactic. The Sovs, with their inferior passive sonar, often gave up searching for submerged U.S. subs simply because they were too quiet to detect. Yet when using active sonar they often regarded submerged contacts as anomalies caused by scatter or thermal gradients, or reverberations caused by shallow water. Moving west, the Sov ASW team's active sonar slowly started fading. So far so good. It seemed as if they'd lost the scent . . .

"Conn, sonar; picked up a three-hundred-hertz tone. Bearing two-nine-zero, drawing right, designated Sierra Eleven. Classified as a submerged Type II." Sonar had a submerged Russian submarine contact, perhaps a Charlie or Victor nuclear attack sub.

Hunter's submarine, moving silently, was nothing more than a hole in the ocean. Not so the Soviet sub.

"Come left to two-nine-zero," the OOD ordered.

The helmsman confirmed the order; the American sub turned northwest.

A moment later the OOD ordered, "Attention in the attack center. We'll maneuver to solve the target's course, speed, and range." Turning to Hunter, he asked, "Captain, should I try to get lined up for an ASPL?"

"Not yet."

Making absolute sound pressure level recordings of a Soviet submarine's noise levels was high on Holystone's intelligence-gathering list. First, though, Hunter had to determine what this one was up to and whether the contact intended to maintain the steady course and speed essential to making accurate ASPL recordings.

"Conn, sonar. Based on the tonal upshift, the range rate is a hundred yards per minute and closing."

"Conn, aye."

Hunter settled down to wait. After several minutes the OOD ordered, "Come right to course zero-two-zero."

"I have Sierra Eleven on course zero-one-zero," reported the .re-control coordinator. "Speed ten, range forty-one hundred yards." A touch over two miles. "Got a good solution on him for an ASPL—"

"Conn, sonar!" The sonar supervisor broke in on .re control; the urgency in his voice was unmistakable. "Heard a transient, a thump, from Sierra Eleven."

Hunter, his mind working like a computer, reviewed a picture of the setup in his head. He "saw" the approaching enemy sub in relation to his own sub, which he'd maneuvered to gain an advantage on the intruder. He was certain that the Soviet sub hadn't heard the maneuver, so how . . . ? It didn't matter how—that thump could only mean one thing, that he'd opened the outer doors on his torpedo tubes—

"Conn, sonar—a single ping from Sierra Eleven!"

Hunter heard it, too, on the UQC underwater phone at the periscope stand, a shrill pulse of pure sound energy .red by the Soviet sub at Hunter's sub. The ping meant that the Russian had painted the Americans with active sonar, a sign he was about to fire a torpedo at them!

Before Hunter could issue orders, sonar broke in: "Torpedo in the water! Bearing three-one-two!"

Hunter didn't hesitate; instinct and training took over. "I have the conn! All ahead flank! Right full rudder! Come to course one-three-five!"

Caught by surprise, Hunter at first refused to believe what he'd heard. No Soviet sub would ever .re a torpedo at an American sub in peacetime. There were rules in the espionage game both sides were playing, and if they were violated it could start a goddamn war—a nuclear war! His gut tightened. Everything suddenly ground to a halt. There was nothing more he could do, no way to avoid disaster. Like the watchstanders frozen at their stations, he heard the incoming whine of the torpedo's up-Doppler props, counted down the seconds to impact, and—

Lights snapped on in the control room.

A moment later a voice boomed from a speaker: "You're sunk, Hunter."

Chagrined, Hunter and his .re-control team blinked, looked around the attack center simulator's mocked-up control room, and then exchanged glances with each other. Hunter, at the periscope stand, blew through clenched teeth. It had only been an exercise, but goddamn it! The team running the simulation had slipped one in on him.

A week of circling, weaving, chasing down multiple targets, avoiding detection, and now getting sunk had left him exhausted. Still, better to make big mistakes in the attack teacher than up in the Barents Sea where a real mistake could kill you, not just bruise your ego. In the simulator at the U.S. Navy's submarine school in New London, Connecticut, with its perfect scenario reconstruction, a guy could learn from his mistakes and live to tell about it. After all, here it was Americans against Americans. In the Barents it would be Americans against Soviets. Hunter lit a cigarette and thought of all the things that could go wrong up in the Barents Sea—and how it would be his job to make sure they didn't.

Excerpted from STALKING THE RED BEAR by PETER SASGEN

Published in March 2009 by St. Martin's Press

All rights reserved. This work is protected under copyright laws and reproduction is strictly prohibited. Permission to reproduce the material in any manner or medium must be secured from the Publisher.

Continues...

Excerpted from Stalking the Red Bear by Sasgen, Peter Copyright © 2009 by Sasgen, Peter. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Read More Show Less

Preface ix

Introduction 1

Part 1 Genesis

Prologue 11

1 A Deadly Game 15

2 Running the Gauntlet 21

3 A View from the Inside Out 35

4 Subatomics: Making Power 53

5 High Stakes 59

6 On the Beach 77

7 To the Top of the World 89

8 Ice Cream and Blue Noses 99

9 Counterforce 111

Part 2 Stealth

10 Fortress Polyarnyy 123

11 Stalking Shadows 135

12 First Blood 145

13 Eyes and Ears 153

14 The Coveted Prize 167

15 Down Under 177

16 Snoopers 189

17 Cat and Mouse 199

18 Fire in the Deep 207

19 Sneak and Peek 219

20 Into the Intel Abyss 255

Epilogue 229

Appendix 1 237

Appendix 2 245

Appendix 3 257

Acknowledgments and Sources 269

Glossary 275

Bibliography 283

Index 287

Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 3.5

( 15 )

Your Rating:

Poor

Below Average

Good

Very Good

Exceptional

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble

Overview

Pick Up In Store

Available on NOOK devices and apps

Nook Devices

NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet

NOOK

NOOK Color

NOOK Tablet

Tablet/Phone

NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet

NOOK for iOS

NOOK for Android

NOOK Kids for iPad

PC/Mac

NOOK for Windows 8

NOOK for PC

NOOK for Mac

NOOK Study

NOOK for Web

All Available Formats & Editions

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Product Details

Meet the Author

Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

5 Star

4 Star

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

What to exclude from your review:

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

Reminder:

Stalking the Red Bear: The True Story of a U.S. Cold War Submarine's Covert Operations Against the Soviet Union

Overview

Pick Up In Store

Available on NOOK devices and apps Nook Devices NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet NOOK NOOK Color NOOK Tablet Tablet/Phone NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet NOOK for iOS NOOK for Android NOOK Kids for iPad PC/Mac NOOK for Windows 8 NOOK for PC NOOK for Mac NOOK Study NOOK for Web

All Available Formats & Editions

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Product Details

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

5 Star

4 Star

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

What to exclude from your review:

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

Reminder:

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Nicely told Cold War tale

Fiction Novel. Not worth the time.

Awesome read

Im a Submariner. Read this

Available on NOOK devices and apps

Nook Devices

NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet

NOOK

NOOK Color

NOOK Tablet

Tablet/Phone

NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet

NOOK for iOS

NOOK for Android

NOOK Kids for iPad

PC/Mac

NOOK for Windows 8

NOOK for PC

NOOK for Mac

NOOK Study

NOOK for Web