Soviet submarine B-59

B-59 near Cuba with a US Navy helicopter circling above, circa 28-29 October 1962
History
Soviet Union
Name	B-59
Builder	Admiralty Shipyard
Laid down	21 February 1960[1]
Launched	11 June 1960
Commissioned	6 October 1961
Decommissioned	19 April 1990[1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Foxtrot-class submarine
Displacement	Surfaced: 1,957 long tons (1,988 t) Submerged: 2,475 long tons (2,515 t)
Length	91.3 m (299 ft 6 in)
Beam	7.5 m (24 ft 7 in)
Propulsion	3 × 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) (diesel) 3 × 2,700 hp (2,000 kW) (electric) 3 shafts
Speed	Surfaced: 16.8 knots (31.1 km/h) Submerged: 16 knots (30 km/h)
Range	Surfaced: 17,900 nmi (33,200 km), at 8 kn (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) Submerged: 400 nmi (740 km), at 2 kn (2.3 mph; 3.7 km/h)
Complement	70
Armament	10 torpedo tubes 22 torpedoes, including one nuclear torpedo with a 10 kt warhead

Soviet submarine B-59 (Russian: Б-59) was a Project 641 or Foxtrot-class diesel-electric submarine of the Soviet Navy. B-59 was stationed near Cuba during the 13-day Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 and was pursued and harassed by US Navy vessels. Senior officers in the submarine, out of contact with Moscow and the rest of the world and believing they were under attack and possibly at war, came close to firing a T-5 nuclear torpedo at the US ships.^[2]