Warnings from the Cuban Missile Crisis - Why Who's President Matters

[Savannahmann]

3. Interesting side note

The executive officer of B-59, the foxtrot submarine mentioned in the article, was Captain Vasili Arkhipov. Most people don't know this, but he was the Executive Officer of the K-19, the first operational "Hotel" class Soviet Submarine. That is the one which famously had a major Reactor failure, and nearly had a for real China Syndrome runaway.

I wonder if the transfer to the B-59 was a reward, away from the trouble prone nuclear submarines of the era, or a punishment? Either way, it put the right man, at the right place, just when he was needed.

I find it interesting, in both incidents, he acted to prevent Nuclear War, showing a great deal of intelligence and understanding of consequential events.

I kind of wish I had met that man. I would like to know if he considered it bad luck, or good luck, that he was able to influence the outcomes of two of the countless incidents that took the world to the brink nuclear war. I have a feeling that he considered it good luck that his voice of reason was able to influence the actions of others as often as it did.