Too Close an Encounter

It was a classic case of ships not quite passing in the night. Darkness had fallen, and the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk was plying the Sea of Japan after taking part in “Team Spirit ’84” military exercises with South Korean forces. Suddenly, the 80,000-ton conventionally powered vessel seemed to shudder from stem to stern. Something solid had struck it. Crewmen rushed to the starboard side just in time to catch a glimpse of what had hit the ship. A submarine without running lights was slinking off into the black waters.

The next morning helicopters from the aircraft carrier identified the offending vessel as a Soviet nuclear-powered submarine of the Victor class. The 5,000-ton craft was limping home on the surface at a speed of 3 knots, under the escort of a Soviet cruiser flying a salvage flag. A telltale dent marked the spot where the submarine had grazed the bottom of the Kitty Hawk while trying to pass underneath. That is no easy feat; the huge carrier draws 50 feet of water.

Such superpower cat-and-mouse games are common at sea, but the latest encounter was a bit too close for comfort. Had the submarine come a few inches closer to the surface, there might have been a catastrophic collision. Escort ships following the Kitty Hawk had monitored the sub for several days but apparently broke off contact, and the Soviets managed to get to the aircraft carrier undetected. U.S. officials explained that there is little they can do in peacetime to prevent a Soviet vessel from going where it chooses.

Disaster was narrowly averted on the high seas, but Team Spirit ’84 maneuvers on land ended in tragedy when a U.S. Marine CH-53D helicopter slammed into the side of a mountain. The entire crew of 18 U.S. Marines and eleven South Korean marines are believed to have perished in the fiery crash.