427:. The American submarine is damaged in the bow area and the compartment is evacuated. Sorenson records the Soviet vessel sinking, and breaking up (being crushed by the water pressure as it sinks) on the sonar equipment. To his amazement, he hears what he thinks is torpedo being fired from the sinking vessel before it plunges to the ocean floor. The tape is sealed under orders from the submarine's captain. Everyone, the officers and crew, are all stunned and amazed to think that they managed to sink a ship of the Soviet Navy and are terrified of what the Soviets may do in retaliation. The injured vessel makes its way back to port and dry-dock for repairs.
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Soviet's electric motors driving the submarine away. He tells the captain of the sub his theory and he comes to believe him. When titanium fragments are found on a repaired portion of the bow that came contact with the other submarine during the collision, the crew now have reason to believe that there is a revolutionary class of submarine, using titanium instead of high-tensile
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377:, is determined to learn from Sorensen. Sorenson is something of an eccentric and also has a drug addiction (with drugs provided by one of the vessel's medical officers) and when in port, as a heavy drinker and partier, but this is tolerated because his determination and expertise make him so valuable.
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and all the crew members. Sorenson and
Fogarty retire to Sorenson's bunk. All the crewmen of the sub are horrified to realize they have just committed an act of war. The torpedo that was fired earlier by the Russian sub malfunctions and goes to "active seeking" mode and homes in on the noise made by
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Sorenson soon comes to suspect that the mystery sub did not really sink. Unbeknownst to the superior officers of the ship, he made a separate recording of the collision and the sinking and after listening to it, suspects something is wrong. The sound mistaken for the torpedo firing was actually the
373:. Sorenson is a veteran who jokes about submarine warfare as a game (which he calls "Cowboys and Cossacks"), and he's determined to never lose. Using his sonar gear, Sorensen can find and identify submarines as few others can. Fogerty, a promising but inexperienced sonar analyst newly assigned to
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survives and reports the accident to higher authorities, it is revealed that the Soviet ship was damaged by the collision but was not sunk. It was able to duplicate the sound of an actual submarine breaking up and playing it through the sophisticated stereo system.
400:"sinks" several of the American submarines playing the Soviet Navy vessels. The drill is interrupted by the appearance of a vessel that Fogarty correctly determines, that one of the submarines, which has the sonar signature of the American submarine USS
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takes command of the vessel and places the captain under arrest for his repeated insults against the political officer and what he deems "un-Soviet remarks". Unfortunately, his incompetence leads to a collision with
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is equipped with an experimental stereo/sonar system designed to reproduce recorded tapes of
American, British, and other submarines to fool the sonar nets stationed in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. As the
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s reactor pumps. The explosion blows the
American sub in two; the vessel sinks in eight-tenths of a second and is crushed by the pressure of the deep sea, killing the whole crew.
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564:-class nuclear fast-attack submarine which sank in the Atlantic on May 22, 1968, under circumstances that have yet to be explained. The time and place setting of
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The story then shifts to the bridge of the other submarine, which in fact is a Soviet vessel, and the first of new class of submarine. The first of its kind,
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fires first but the torpedo misses. The Soviet vessel is too deep to shoot with the standard
American torpedo so Sorenson orders the firing of a nuclear
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tells the story of a confrontation between these submarines - one being a new and advanced class of submarine whose existence must remain a secret.
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reaches Cuba and makes a rendezvous with the secret submarine stationed off the coast. This was supposed to be a top-secret meeting because of the
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s arrival at that exact time. The
Russians realize that the American must be sunk from reporting the presence of Soviet vessels in Cuba's waters.
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exercises with other
Western submarines. Its mission is to "hunt" the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet and the flagship, the aircraft carrier. The
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and it is still on the loose somewhere in the Med and most likely on the way to the
Atlantic. The new class is designated an
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no Soviet vessels were supposed to be operating within Cuba's waters. Just as the two vessels are about to make contact,
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Krystal, Arthur. "The Cold War Takes a Dive; To Kill the
Potemkin", Washington Post, Page C3, 1 September 1986.
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572:, which had been involved in operations in the Mediterranean Sea in 1968. A real scorpion is kept aboard
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Since 1968, a willful Soviet attack has been offered as one of several explanations for the loss of
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arrives on the scene. Crew members on all three vessels realize the disastrous consequences of the
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van Rjndt, Phillip. "Shattering myths of US might," Toronto Star, Page M7, 27 September 1986.
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Scorpion Down: Sunk by the
Soviets, Buried by the Pentagon: The Untold Story of the USS
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is a work of fiction, the novel shares parallels with the true story of the loss of
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across the world. At sea, their submarines play a dangerous cat-and-mouse game.
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Clark, G. "Silent war beneath the waves," The
Courier-Mail, 19 September 1987.
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Jack Sorensen, one of the Navy's best sonar operators, is sonar chief of USS
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originally published in 1986. As a paperback, it spent four weeks on
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505:-class submarine, is one of the fastest submarines in the world.
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All Hands Down: The True Story of the Soviet Attack on the USS
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is unable to escape the Mediterranean before being located by
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torpedo. The explosion from the nuclear torpedo destroys the
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under arrest for negligence and the captain back in command,
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and a rendezvous with Soviet vessels working undercover in
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by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise.
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places itself into the Western navies' exercise, the
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Scorpion by Ed Offley - claim that the Soviets sank
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Scorpion by Kenneth Sewell and Jerome Preisler, and
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87:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
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53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
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339:bestseller list in July and August 1987.
237:Learn how and when to remove this message
219:Learn how and when to remove this message
118:Learn how and when to remove this message
439:was seriously damaged; the ship briefly
160:of all important aspects of the article.
443:, causing the reactor to automatically
156:Please consider expanding the lead to
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384:departs its east coast base for the
351:, U.S. and Soviet forces engage in
347:In 1968, a dangerous period of the
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34:This article has multiple issues.
194:too long or excessively detailed
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148:may be too short to adequately
42:or discuss these issues on the
640:Novels set during the Cold War
489:that slowly poisons the crew.
158:provide an accessible overview
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190:This article's plot summary
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455:, is in service with the
16:1986 novel by Mark Joseph
73:This article includes a
583:. At least two books -
102:more precise citations.
576:as the boat's mascot.
568:parallel those of the
477:makes a break for the
394:anti-submarine warfare
645:Submarines in fiction
250:To Kill the Potemkin
566:To Kill the Potemkin
550:To Kill the Potemkin
513:Cuban Missile Crisis
461:Alfa class submarine
380:The novel begins as
366:, a nuclear-powered
357:To Kill the Potemkin
318:To Kill the Potemkin
284:Hardcover, paperback
650:Fiction set in 1968
601:earlier that year.
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336:The New York Times
276:Historical fiction
75:list of references
420:political officer
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343:Plot summary
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145:lead section
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94:Please help
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36:Please help
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635:1986 novels
529:Mk 45 ASTOR
457:Soviet Navy
392:engages in
331:Mark Joseph
259:Mark Joseph
108:August 2016
100:introducing
629:Categories
621:References
538:Barracuda'
39:improve it
574:Barracuda
554:USS
521:Barracuda
517:Barracuda
499:Barracuda
495:Barracuda
465:Potemkin.
432:Barracuda
425:Barracuda
402:Swordfish
398:Barracuda
390:Barracuda
382:Barracuda
375:Barracuda
364:Barracuda
281:Publisher
209:July 2021
150:summarize
45:talk page
593:Scorpion
581:Scorpion
570:Scorpion
562:Skipjack
556:Scorpion
533:Potemkin
525:Potemkin
509:Potemkin
503:Skipjack
491:Potemkin
475:Potemkin
471:zampolit
441:capsized
437:Potemkin
416:Potemkin
410:Potemkin
369:Skipjack
349:Cold War
265:Language
605:Reviews
268:English
199:Please
192:may be
96:improve
548:While
430:While
325:
255:Author
598:K-129
453:steel
445:scram
307:Pages
302:Print
273:Genre
81:, or
560:, a
483:Cuba
323:ISBN
294:1986
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