On this day, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of 11 United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph detected the Soviet submarine B-59 near Cuba. The submarine was one of four sent by the USSR to the Caribbean. Although in international waters, the U.S. Navy dropped signalling depth charges to force B-59 to surface for identification. The crew, who had lost contact with Moscow and could not receive radio traffic, feared that war had already begun and considered launching a nuclear T-5 torpedo. On B-59, three signatures were needed to authorise a nuclear launch. The Captain and the Political Officer were in favour, but the Executive Officer, Vasily Arkhipov, was against the idea and eventually persuaded the Captain to surface. This decision was credited with preventing a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and the USSR.
