The Hunt for K-129

REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana

Wondery | Ballen Studios

True Crime, History

4.3 • 668 Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2024

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1968, the Soviet submarine K-129 sank in the Pacific, carrying nuclear weapons and Cold War secrets. After its location was pinpointed three miles beneath the ocean surface, the CIA tasked a trailblazing engineer named Curtis Crooke with designing the technology to bring it back up. Backed by billionaire Howard Hughes, they launched a covert $800 million operation that pushed the limits of engineering and espionage—but the final outcome remained shrouded in secrecy.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wonderry Plus subscribers can listen to Redacted Declassified Mysteries early and ad-free right now.
0:07.0	Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:27.6	It was late afternoon in the winter of 1968, and a Soviet captain was trying to contain his anger. His second in command had just caught two sailors asleep at their stations,
0:32.6	on a submarine carrying three nuclear missiles that could kill millions of people, sleeping on the job could be deadly.
0:41.3	The captain reamed out the two men and put them on kitchen duty.
0:45.3	Then he headed down a narrow hallway filled with overworked sailors.
0:49.3	The 98 men aboard submarine K-129 had been at sea for almost two weeks when they should have been on shore leave.
0:57.4	But a couple other subs had mechanical problems, so the K-129 had been ordered to cover the gap in the Soviet Union's Pacific defenses.
1:06.2	But everyone was growing weary, including the 38-year-old captain himself.
1:12.6	When the captain reached his living quarters, he sat down and unbuttoned his shirt.
1:16.6	Then he glanced in the mirror at his tired face.
1:20.6	The weight of commanding a nuclear sub was evident in his bloodshot eyes alone.
1:25.6	He lay on his bunk and put his head on his pillow.
1:30.0	Over the years, he trained himself to take deep naps at a moment's notice.
1:34.6	The captain closed his eyes and started to fall asleep.
1:39.3	And then, he heard an impossibly loud bang.
1:44.4	But before he could figure out what had made it,
1:46.9	he heard the screams of his men, and he ran into the hallway.
1:50.8	Alarms blared, and red lights flashed.
1:53.9	Men were panicking, running in all directions.
1:57.2	The captain felt the submarine start to tip on his side,
2:00.7	and he grabbed a railing to keep his balance.
	...

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