A Close Call Beyond Instinct

Deep beneath the Caribbean waters, inside the nuclear-armed submarine B-59, two Soviet officers had reached their breaking point. The captain and political officer, convinced World War III had begun, voted to launch their nuclear torpedo. Hours of being pounded by depth charges from U.S. Navy destroyers had pushed them to the edge of reason.

But Vasili Arkhipov, the third officer whose consent was required by Soviet protocol, stood firm. Even as the submarine rocked with each explosion, even as his instincts screamed for retaliation, he remained the voice of reason during one of the tensest moments of the Cold War. What his colleagues didn't know - what none of them knew - was that the "attacks" were merely practice depth charges, warning signals from the American ships tracking them.