Makeyev and the 40 Percent Range Leap
For four years, the CIA held a report on the Soviet quest to replace toxic fuels and the "catastrophic" failures of the R-29 missiles that Makeyev blamed on his own sailors
By Roy Castellano ·
Soviet Navy
Soviet Towed Arrays and the Silent Hunt for Nuclear Subs
The survival of the West depended on hearing a ghost in the water—a capability the Ministry of Defence tracked through hardware exploitation and records kept secret for decades.
By Eleanor Voss ·
Sierra Class Masts and the Secret Calculation of Soviet Nuclear Power
For decades, the UK Ministry of Defence hid its analysis of Soviet submarine masts, using radar signatures to estimate the reactor outputs that powered the Cold War's deadliest hulls.
By Eleanor Voss ·
Saakyan and the Red Banner's Secret Black Sea Failures
A 1973 CIA report, kept secret for decades, exposes tactical gaps in Soviet naval coordination and the 'extremely sensitive' source who leaked it from the heart of Moscow.
By Vera Kessler ·
Clair George and the Soviet Navy's Manual for Nuclear Self-Sacrifice
Kept secret for decades, a translated Soviet manual details how Communist Party watchdogs ensured sailors would deliver nuclear strikes regardless of the human cost.
By Desmond Okafor ·
Soviet Naval Manual and the CIA's Map for Sabotage
Kept secret for 31 years until its 2017 release, the manual's source remains blacked out while the CIA dissected the automated nerves of the Red Fleet.
By Vera Kessler ·
Kara Class Cruisers and the Joint Intelligence Bureau's Atomic Hunt
The Soviet Navy's most lethal surface predators were tracked by a web of British intelligence divisions for decades, but the sources of their data remain blacked out.
By Roy Castellano ·
Soviet Naval Regulations and the 1983 Blueprint for Carrier Slaughter
For 31 years, the specific Soviet tactics for sinking US aircraft carriers were held under a strict need-to-know seal, with the source of the leak remaining blacked out.
By Vera Kessler ·
BARRACUDA's Titanium Hull and the Secret Asset Who Sold the USSR
Kept secret for over 30 years, a 1984 memorandum details the exact steel and rubber thickness of Soviet subs, though the name of the man who leaked the blueprints remains blacked out.
By Vera Kessler ·
RADM Sumner Shapiro and the 10-Submarine Delusion
For years, the Navy and the CIA fought a secret war over Soviet submarine priorities, a dispute kept from the public while Atlantic shipping was left vulnerable to an underestimated Red Fleet.
By Vera Kessler ·
Clair George and the Soviet Submarines With Eggs
Kept secret until 2017, a 1983 memo details a Soviet gamble to test submarine cores in icebreakers and the radiation limits imposed on the crews who manned them
By Eleanor Voss ·
Soviet Navy's 60-Day Clock in the Norwegian Sea
An August 1976 assessment kept secret for four decades exposes a global fleet that could not refuel under fire, leaving Soviet warships stranded once their initial stores ran dry.
By Roy Castellano ·
Soviet Navy Combat Regulations and the Mole in Moscow
Kept secret for decades, a 1987 breach of the Red Fleet's operational core shows how the CIA mapped Soviet nuclear logistics through a source whose name remains blacked out
By Constance Bell ·
Vice Admiral V. Em and the Struggle for the First Salvo
A secret Soviet naval journal, smuggled from Moscow and held in total secrecy for decades, detailed a blueprint for the total destruction of enemy fleets in 'closed' waters.
By Vera Kessler ·
Admiral Mikhaylin and the 49 Nuclear Submarines of NATO
Kept under strict need-to-know for decades, a Soviet naval manual intercepted by the CIA exposes the Kremlin's obsession with NATO amphibious landings.
By Constance Bell ·
Stansfield Turner and the 112 Soviet Submarines Hunting the Atlantic
For 38 years, the assessment of how the Soviet Union could starve NATO's armies in Europe remained hidden, including the critical gaps in US shipping data.
By Vera Kessler ·