To find a sub in the ocean
is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Almost three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered with water,
and America's two newest states,
Alaska and Hawaii, are thrust deeply into the Pacific.
And most important,
the most powerful nations in the world border the oceans and the seas.
This global disposition of land and water
may be likened to a gigantic chess board,
where play many strategies and many weapons.
I'm Captain First Class Igor Kurdin.
For 25 years, I had served in the Russian Submarine Fleet.
It became clear that one of the main components of war at sea
must be the submarines with nuclear ballistic missiles.
Golf-class submarines turned out to be very successful,
so we built 24 of them.
This was a thermonuclear unit
with a missile range of 880 miles.
The K-129 was a modernized submarine,
which was armed
with a set of three ballistic missiles
with a load of more than one megaton.
And the most important thing, as a result of modernization,
was that these missiles could fire underwater.
From the depth of 150 feet, very quickly,
a submarine could release its three ballistic missiles.
The task of the K-129
is to stay in an area
that permits firing at more than one target.
For example, San Francisco,
but also other targets on the US territory.
If there are military objects,
the more targets that are within
the K-129 missile range, the better.
I am the son of Dr. Cherepanov.
My father, captain third class,
was major of medical services on the K-129 submarine.
I was ten years old at the time.
My father wasn't supposed to be deployed on this mission.
It was coincidence. It was decided by chance.
Father, of course, knew the whole crew.
This crew was his crew, his commander.
And I knew many of these people.
This deployment was supposed to be his last deployment, his last sea voyage.
K-129 was on full radio silence mode.
But it was supposed to send control reports
when it arrived at control points.
When we didn't receive the control radio dispatch from K-129,
the Navy command, and especially the Pacific Ocean Fleet command,
rolled out a search operation, including search boats and airplanes.
They knew the approximate area for the K-129, but not an exact position.
This search continued. Unfortunately, there were no results.
There was no official statement acknowledging
the loss of the submarine and death of 98 members of its crew.
They just told them that they died while fulfilling their military duty.
Studying nuclear weapons had always been
the first and foremost intelligence task.
Second, they could gain
secret codes for radio connections,
including using a fast-acting system.
All the secret codes.
They could read these secret documents, these telegrams,
and put together quite a good idea
about our Navy fleet tactics, especially for the submarines.
CHAZHMA
They came to the conclusion that the Glomar Explorer
was performing deepwater work,
with the purpose of mining some useful fossils or crude oil,
which they reported to the command and left that area very fast.
This service is being conducted to honor Viktor Lokhov,
Vadim Kostyushko, Valentin Nosachev,
and three other unidentified Soviet submariners
who perished in March 1968 in the North Pacific Ocean.
Yes, I've seen the video.
And the only thing I regret
is that it was done by American sailors.
Definitely, the result of Operation Azorian,
for the American fleet, was of great importance.
Probably helped them discover
the technology behind Russian submarines.
30 YEARS OF CIA
…only the front third could be brought to the surface, the other piece falling
with its nuclear missiles, guidance, transmission devices, codes…
The most realistic version
is the one I was told
by an American officer from a surface ship.
That the K-129, under the periscope,
was in shallow depth for an underwater diesel operation
and was unintentionally hit by a surface ship, the American destroyer.
The destruction of the submarine itself was so fast,
there was no time for them to send an emergency signal.