Forty years ago today, The Hunt for Red October hit bookshelves becoming a smash hit that even earned praise from Ronald Reagan. By the end of the 1980s, Tom Clancy became one of the most noted writers of modern military-themed fiction.

A film version of The Hunt for Red October came out six years later in 1990 and both the book and movie featured a memorable exchange between the Soviet ambassador and the U.S. national security advisor with the former explaining a Soviet submarine was overdue and missing.

The response: "You've lost another submarine?"

That short quip has become a popular meme on social media, serving to highlight the ineptitude of the Russian Navy today including the fact that its sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov has been in drydock for years and that the Black Sea Fleet's flagship Moskva was sunk by Ukrainian forces in April of 2022. Clancy sadly passed away in 2013, so he didn't get to live to comment on the loss of the powerful warship.

Yet, it is unlikely there was anything as pleasant as the exchange in The Hunt for Red October to what occurred in February 1991 after a U.S. Navy attack submarine collided with a Russian sub, sparking an international incident. It was a situation Tom Clancy's President Jack Ryan never had to deal with!

Flashback: February 11, 1992

The Cold War was over, as the Soviet Union had ceased to exist only months earlier, yet the United States Navy continued to track the movement and communication of the Russian Navy. The sea service went to great lengths to even tap into Russian communication cables as part of "Operation Holy Stone."

Such activities may not have even been noticed but that changed on February 11, 1992, when an incident even Tom Clancy couldn't have dreamt up occurred.

The United States Navy's Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Baton Rouge (SSN-689) was closely shadowing the Russian Navy's Sierra-class (made out of Titanium) B-276 Kostroma near the Russian naval base at Severomorsk coast of the Barents Sea when the two submarines collided.

Harrison Kass, writing for The National Interest, explained how the incident unfolded:

"At 8:16 pm local time, in international waters about 12 miles from the shoreline of Kildin Island, the Baton Rouge collided with Russian submarine B-276 Kostroma. Exactly what happened is still in dispute. The American press asserts that the Baton Rouge had been monitoring wireless traffic between Russian bases. The Russian press, however, claimed that the two submarines were engaged in a cat-and-mouse game."

That Cat and Mouse Game Led to Collision

It is now undisputed that contact was lost just prior to the collision, as can happen with quick-moving submarines that are operating under the water. The Russian Navy's 9,000-ton Sierra-class boat struck the USS Baton Rouge as it was preparing to surface about 12 miles from shore. Both boats sustained damage, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

The American boat actually received only heavy scratches and a torn ballast tank, yet, it could have been significantly worse, as the U.S. submarine had only a single hull. Had it ruptured, the submarine would have taken on water and it could have resulted in a catastrophe – possibly costing the lives of the crew. Damage to the Kostroma was a bit more significant, and its sail was dented on the front section.

Both submarines were able to return to port under their own power.

Nautical Fender Bender Turned Into Political Disaster

The incident was essentially little more than a nautical fender bender – yet, it was still a major political disaster for the United States, as it exposed the fact that Washington was still keeping close tabs on Russian military activity despite the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

Moreover, even though the collision occurred in international waters, Moscow also felt – and rightfully so – that the U.S. activity had been illegally conducted.

Initially, the U.S. even tried to dispute that it was engaged in shadowing the Kremlin's boat, but the Russian Navy countered that the two subs had been engaged in that aforementioned game of cat-and-mouse. Further investigations by third-party analysts tended to support the Russian claims.

Accidents Will Happen – But Actually Admitting It?

What makes this story noteworthy, even if it lacked the suspense of a Clancy page-turner, is that we know with absolute certainty that it occurred. The collision was certainly an accident, and the U.S. submarine didn't intend to strike the Russian boat. In fact, the USS Baton Rouge even circled to see if the Russian submarine required any assistance.

In a surprise move, the Pentagon acknowledged that a collision had occurred, which was contrary to official policy at the time.

The incident proved significant enough that it prompted a meeting between then-U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Russian President Boris Yeltsin to discuss the situation. No official transcript of what was said has ever been released, and it is doubtful the conversation will ever be made public. But afterwards, the U.S. Navy ceased some specific submarine activities near Russia's naval bases – and that included the tapping of underwater cables or the incepting of wireless communications.

The Aftermath

The Russian Navy was able to repair the Kostroma by June 1992, and she was returned to service, later receiving a major refit in 2005 – although the boat is now in the reserve fleet.

By contrast, the USS Baton Rouge returned to the United States and a decision was made to scrap the boat as she was already scheduled for refueling. She became the first Los Angeles-class submarine to be decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. The Russian Navy apparently took notice of that fact as the sailors of the Kostroma painted a kill marking on its conning tower to commemorate the "defeat" of the USS Baton Rouge.

Even the late great Tom Clancy couldn't have written a more fitting ending.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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