MAIN TITLE Arts and Entertainment
Article Title The Hunt for Red October
This is a fictitious Typhoon class submarine in the Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October and the movie which followed.
When I first saw this film, written by Tom Clancy, I thought that an awful lot of
research had gone into the making of this movie, but I often wondered where someone
would come up with such a plot. Was this filam based on fact, or fiction in the writers
mind. And if it was based on fact, where did Clancy get his information from. The
main theme of the story partially centers around the dual capabilities of this submarine.
As a submarine of the Typhoon class, it carries many ballistic missiles armed with
nuclear warheads. With a stealthy propulsion unit, it can no longer be detected by
NATO naval vessels. As described in both the book and the film, these capabilities
combine to create a horrific weapon, whereby the submarine could easily surface near
a city, like New York,N.Y. fire its
missiles, and destroy key targets before any
government or miltary leaders could order a counterattack. One interpretation, as
offered in the film and book, is that this submarine's existence is for one puropse:
not as a deterrant to an Amerian attack on the Soviert Union, but solely as a weapon
of first strike. The U.S. Government know that they have only two options for this
type of submarine. Either they capture it or they destroy it. Marko Ramius,[Sean
Connery] a Lithuanian who has risen to high levels of trust in the Soviet Navy, intends
to defect to the United States with his officers and the experimental nuclear submarine
Red October, a Typhoon class submarine equipped with a revolutionary stealth propulsion
system.
Jack Ryan,[Alex Baldwin] a naval historian turned CIA analyst, deduces Ramius'
plans. The U.S. high command agrees warily, while also planning for contingencies
in case the Soviet Fleet has other intentions than their
stated cover. As tensions
rise between the U.S. and Soviet fleets, and the crew of a U.S. attack submarine
stumble across the secret to detecting the Red October,
This film was one of the best movies of the 90's. It launched Clancy's successful
career as a novelist and the suepurb acting abilities of a number of well known stares.
And yes this novel and movie were based on true facts concerning the defection of
two Soviet navel officers. [1]In 1961, Soviet Navy submarine captain Jonas Pleškys
sailed his vessel from Klaipeda to Gotland in Sweden. The Soviet authorities sentenced
him in his absence to death by firing squad, but the CIA hid him, first in Guatemala
and later in the United States.
On November 8, 1975, the Soviet Navy frigate Storozhevoy mutinied. At the time, the
Western powers believed it was an attempt to defect from Latvia to the Swedish
island
of Gotland. The mutiny was led by the ship's Political Officer, Captain Valery Sablin.
The mutiny was unsuccessful, and Sablin was captured, court-martialed, and executed.
So there you have it. So the next time you go view a "spy thriller"type of movie,
you should always ask yourself!
Fact Or Fiction?
About the Author
Andrew Conway is an avid author,writer and a classic movie buff. If you love watching movies or just listening to great music, then visit: http://www.ultimate-free-downloads.com