ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 1

November 2000
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest : e2k_news@hotmail.com

Book review

Blind Man's Bluff, The untold story of Cold War submarine espionage.

By Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew with Annette Lawrence Drew.

Published by Hutchinson, London at £18.99

Reading the book I found it fascinating and informative, backed up with diagrams, descriptions and decent photographs. The list of interesting characters grows as one proceeds through the book as does the table of events and the modification or building of submarines from conventional battery powered types through to the dawn and development of the modern nuclear craft.

The description of the various successes or failures of different operations is first class with the description of the techniques of the gathering of technical intelligence, sometimes classic naval, involving the shadowing of specific Russian craft, to the attaching of the « Ivy Bells » to Russian undersea cables laid deep in hostile waters. The attempted lifting of a crippled Soviet submarine is described in good detail and a surprisingly humane event is also stated.

The book describes the compromise of such operations by Naval personnel who were working for the Russians.

A number of accidents occurred between submarines of the opposing players and some of the collisions are documented in a most descriptive way, putting the reader amongst the crew. Sadly some of the accidents caused fatalities amongst the crew or actual loss of crafts on both sides and lists of the boats or crew members are included. The loss of the USS Thresher is also covered and the apparent cause is interesting to say the least.

« Nobody had to be told that the closer Parche moved in, the more she risked discovery. Sonar crews monitored the constant traffic above as Parche'sdivers began their work. Nothing but luck could keep the crew safe from a direct hit by a Soviet sonar ping. If that happened, there were 150 pounds of HBX explosives on board, just as there had been on Halibut and Seawolf.

The spooks were crammed into Parche'snow-locked torpedo room, their eavesdropping equipment sitting on racks designed to hold weapons. While Halibut had the Bat Cave, Parchehad no more space than any other late-generation Sturgeon sub. In fact, to make room for the spooks, most of Parche'storpedoes had been ditched. Now she carried just four live warshots, the minimum number any attack sub was allowed to carry on a mission.

It would take the spooks at least two weeks to sift electronically through the hundreds of lines running through the cable and choose which lines to record-and at what times-over the next year. The process relied on educated guesses and luck. Certain channels would probably be best in the summer months when the ice cleared from the Barents and the Soviets conducted naval exercises. Missile tests tended to be seasonal as well. But lines connected directly to headquarters could be active and profitably tapped year-round. »

Twelve chapters, two appendices, notes, acknowledgements and photo credits in 352 pages make for good reading.

What a splendid idea it would be to check ALAPAGE web site for this book and to buy it there ;-). Feel free to adjust the currency that is suitable for you in the bottom scroll list...

Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew are investigative journalists of note and Annette Lawrence Drew is the books researcher.

This book is a mine of information and a worthwhile account of little known submarine actions by the players in the Cold War, mentioning not only American operations but also gives credit to those by the Royal Navy and the Russian Navy.