Vasili Arkhipov's (A Soviet Naval Officer) courageous choice

Vasili Arkhipov's (A Soviet Naval Officer) courageous choice

(An anecdote from the Cuban Missile Crisis)

Vasili was on board a Soviet submarine carrying nuclear torpedos. A US aircraft carrier cornered the submarine and began dropping weapons with the intention to force the submarine to surface.

Having no contact with the outside world, the officers inside the submarine thought that the war had begun. They had permission to launch a nuclear loaded torpedo without confirmation from Moscow.

The decision was to be taken by 3 commanders on board, and two of them agreed. Vasili however, refused, even while being constantly hammered by depth charges (anti submarine warfare weapons).

On ground, US and Soviet ambassadors met, intense negotiations followed, and a full blown war was averted.

Trapped in a diesel-powered submarine thousands of miles from home, buffeted by exploding depth charges and threatened with suffocation and death, Arkhipov kept his head. It is argued that Vasili's cool headedness stopped what could've been world war 3.