​I vaguely remember​ed​ some old stories and rumors about Howard Hughes' undersea mining ship Glomar Explorer, and rumors of an attempt by the CIA to recover a lost Soviet submarine in the Pacific years ago. Then, about ten years ago, I ​read Kenneth Sowell's book "Red Star Rogue" ​which described a potentially rogue Soviet submarine, the K-129, its mysterious sinking, and an attempt by the CIA to secretly recover the lost ship. "The Taking of K-129", by Josh Dean, is a more recent story of that attempted covert recovery of Soviet submarine K-129, and provides a much fuller description of the story. ​

​The Soviet sub, K-129, sank in 1969 in the Pacific for unknown reasons while on a routine patrol. Because the exact location of the ship's sinking was not known, and because the ocean depths where the ship was feared lost were so great, it was given up as lost by the USSR. But the CIA became aware of the ship's sinking, and recognized that if it could locate the ship, and gain access to it, it would reveal a bounty of secrets regarding soviet naval and military capability. ​

​However, as the book points out, finding the lost submarine in the large expanse of the Pacific would be daunting, and the was no known way to gain access to it even if found due to the great depths of the ocean floor. And even if those obstacles could be overcome, there still was the near impossible task of completing such an effort without raising Soviet suspicions and interference.

The first step was to locate the lost ship, something the Soviet navy was unable to do. Using existing underwater tracking devices, ​the CIA ​was able to narrow down the likely area where the ship went down. ​Then, with a deep-sea submersible, they were able to find and photograph the submarine hull. That left the difficult problem of finding a way to latch onto the ship, and raise it off the ocean floor more than three miles deep, and retrieve it for analysis without being detected. None of the technology needed existed at the time.

The clever solution was to enlist the efforts of the creative engineering talents of underwater oil exploration and mining companies. The cover story created for the expedition to enlist the help of a Howard Hughes company, supposedly interested in a pilot project to mine manganese modules from the ocean floor. Then the problem of designing a floating platform, with the ability to reach the ocean floor and lift such a huge load, all done in secret and in a short timeframe, had to be solved. A special ship, the Glomar Explorer, was designed and built for the purpose. For those interested, I found a helpful drawing of the ship at https://goo.gl/images/wSLE9L. From the surface, the ship appeared to fit the cover story of being a seep-sea drilling ship platform. However, kept out of sight was the lifting equipment and trap door in the bottom of the ship specially designed to grab and raise the hull of the submarine.

​Eventually, the technology problems were solved, and the attempt to secretly raise the soviet submarine began in 1974. The ship was successfully secured, and lifted off the ocean floor, however before it reached the surface, a portion of the submarine hull fractured and fell back to the sea floor. Still, approximately 1/3 of the ship was retained, and some of the desired objectives were accomplished.

​"The Taking of K-129" is an intriguing story, especially in the descriptions of the technical problems which needed to be solved, and of the ability of the engineering and construction teams to come up with creative solutions to accomplish this seemingly impossible feat.

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Just seems like a good story. ( )

Nonfiction with scientific & engineering detail of a behemoth of a ship built to pick up a Soviet nuclear submarine 3 miles under the ocean a snooze fest, especially when you meet just about everyone who had anything to do with it? No, it was almost 5 stars. Not knowing its history, the book was suspenseful and spellbounding. To the extent he could learn it, the author gave the Soviet side of the story, too. I learned about spy craft from both sides of the Pacific and how the CIA keeps secrets. It kept this massive project under wraps for almost 6 years! It was fascinating how the USA and USSR dealt with the situation after the project was discovered, especially given the still freezing Cold War and the Vietnam War. One complaint: The subtitle is not accurate and somewhat misleading. But I think that’s what makes the book marketable. Did the USA get the sub? My lips are sealed! That would spoil it! ( )

Josh Dean skillfully navigates the intricate, clandestine path taken by the United States at the height of the cold war to recover the sunken Soviet submarine, K-129. On or about March 11, 1968, K-129 suffered an undisclosed failure in the north Pacific and sank. The Soviet Navy responded with a massive, all-hands-on-deck search and rescue mission but to no avail. Aware of the nature of the Soviet’s activity at sea, the CIA decided to search for and recover the lost sub for any information it might contain.
After having located the U.S.S Thresher and U.S.S. Scorpion, both lost in deep water, the CIA received permission from Howard Hughes to use his name and corporation as cover. Under the pretense of “a deep ocean mining venture,” the “Hughes Corporation” (CIA) built the Glomar Explorer specifically to recover K-129 from 16,500 feet of water. In August of 1974, while ostensibly mining the ocean floor for manganese, a Soviet seagoing tug approached. Harassing Glomar Explorer and taking pictures of the strange ship, the Soviets remained unaware that K-129 was hanging from the capture vehicle beneath the ship. The cover and operation were a qualified success.
Mr. Dean weaves a dizzying cast of characters into a readable narrative that is fascinating in its scope and for its cover story holding for five years. Only when the first phase was complete did a major-media leak scuttle any further attempts. Nicely done Mr. Dean. One complaint, however: The accompanying photos were too few to enlighten, and did neither the Glomar Explorer nor K-129 justice. I had to beseech the Oracle of Google for that. Seriously, seeing K-129 lying on the ocean floor some three miles down gave one pause as to the absurd difficulty of raising a sub from that depth and keeping it secret. The picture of John Wayne posing as a potential customer on the stern of the Glomar Explorer, not so much. Three and a half stars. Well done. ( )