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{{short description|1974 CIA project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129}}
{{short description|1974 CIA project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox historical event
{{Infobox historical event
|Event_Name = Project Azorian
|Event_Name = Project Azorian
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|Imagesize = 300
|Imagesize = 300
|Image_Alt =
|Image_Alt =
|Image_Caption = ''[[Hughes Glomar Explorer]]''
|Image_Caption = ''[[Glomar Explorer|Hughes Glomar Explorer]]''
|Thumb_Time =
|Thumb_Time =
|AKA =
|AKA =
|Participants = [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], [[Soviet Navy]], [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
|Participants = [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]
|Location = Over {{convert|16000|ft|m}} below the [[Pacific Ocean]]
|Location = {{convert|16500|ft|m}} below the [[Pacific Ocean]]
|Date = 1974
|Date = 1974
|nongregorian =
|nongregorian =
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}}
}}


'''Project Azorian''' (also called "Jennifer" by the press after its Top Secret Security Compartment)<ref>{{cite web | via = GWU |url= http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/ |title= Project Azorian: The CIA's Declassified History of the Glomar Explorer |date= 2010-02-12 | first1 =Matthew | last1 = Aid | first2 = William | last2 = Burr | first3 = Thomas | last3 = Blanton |publisher= The National Security Archive |access-date= 2010-02-13}}</ref> was a U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) project to recover the sunken [[Soviet submarine K-129 (1960)|Soviet submarine ''K-129'']] from the Pacific Ocean floor in 1974 using the purpose-built ship [[USNS Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193)|''Hughes Glomar Explorer'']].<ref name= "p30">Wiegley, Roger D., LT (JAG) USN "The Recovered Sunken Warship: Raising a Legal Question" ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'' January 1979 p. 30.</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/deep_sea_mining The secret on the ocean floor]. David Shukman, ''BBC News''. 19 February 2018.</ref> The 1968 sinking of ''K-129'' occurred about {{convert|1600|mi|km|}} northwest of Hawaii.<ref name= "StudiesIntell85" /> Project Azorian was one of the most complex, expensive, and secretive intelligence operations of the [[Cold War]] at a cost of about $800 million, or ${{inflation|US|0.8|1974|r=1}} billion today.
'''Project Azorian''' (also called "Jennifer" by the press after its Top Secret Security Compartment)<ref>{{cite web | via = GWU | url = http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/ | title = Project Azorian: The CIA's Declassified History of the Glomar Explorer | date = February 12, 2010 | first1 = Matthew | last1 = Aid | first2 = William | last2 = Burr | first3 = Thomas | last3 = Blanton | publisher = The National Security Archive | access-date = February 13, 2010 | archive-date = June 3, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100603102439/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/ | url-status = live }}</ref> was a U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) project to recover the sunken [[Soviet submarine K-129 (1960)|Soviet submarine ''K-129'']] from the Pacific Ocean floor in 1974 using the purpose-built ship [[Glomar Explorer|''Hughes Glomar Explorer'']].<ref name= "p30">Wiegley, Roger D., LT (JAG) USN "The Recovered Sunken Warship: Raising a Legal Question" ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'' January 1979 p. 30.</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/deep_sea_mining The secret on the ocean floor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918072757/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/deep_sea_mining |date=September 18, 2019 }}. David Shukman, ''BBC News''. February 19, 2018.</ref> The 1968 sinking of ''K-129'' occurred about {{convert|1560|mi|km|}} northwest of Hawaii.<ref name= "StudiesIntell85" /> Project Azorian was one of the most complex, expensive, and covert intelligence operations of the [[Cold War]] at a cost of about $800 million, or ${{inflation|US|0.8|1974|r=1}} billion today.


The US designed the recovery ship and its lifting cradle using concepts developed with Global Marine (see [[Project Mohole]]) that used their precision stability equipment to keep the ship nearly stationary above the target while lowering nearly {{convert |3|mi|km|spell= in}} of pipe. They worked with scientists to develop methods for preserving paper that had been underwater for years in hopes of being able to recover and read the submarine's codebooks. The reasons that this project was undertaken included the recovery of an intact [[R-21 (missile)|R-21]] nuclear missile and cryptological documents and equipment.
The US designed the recovery ship and its lifting cradle using concepts developed with Global Marine (see [[Project Mohole]]) that used their precision stability equipment to keep the ship nearly stationary above the target while lowering nearly {{convert |3|mi|km|spell= in}} of pipe. They worked with scientists to develop methods for preserving paper that had been underwater for years in hopes of being able to recover and read the submarine's codebooks. The reasons that this project was undertaken included the recovery of an intact [[R-21 (missile)|R-21]] nuclear missile and cryptological documents and equipment.


The Soviet Union was unable to locate ''K-129'', but the US knew where to look, based on data recorded by four [[Air Force Technical Applications Center]] (AFTAC) sites and the Adak [[SOSUS|Sound Surveillance System]] (SOSUS) array. The US identified an acoustic event on March 8 that likely originated from an explosion aboard the submarine. The US zeroed in on the location to within {{convert|5|nmi|mi km|spell= in}}. The submarine {{USS |Halibut|SSGN-587|6}} located the boat using the Fish, a towed, {{convert|12|ft|adj=on}}, {{convert |2|ST|adj=on|spell=in}} collection of cameras, strobe lights, and sonar that was built to withstand extreme depths. The recovery operation in international waters about six years later used mining for [[manganese nodule]]s as its cover. The company was nominally owned by [[Howard Hughes]], secretly backed by the CIA, who had paid for the construction of the ''[[GSF Explorer|Hughes Glomar Explorer]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Polmar|first1=Norman|author-link= Norman Polmar|title= Project Azorian: the CIA and the Raising of the K-129 |year=2010|publisher= Naval Institute Press|location= Annapolis, MD |isbn= 978-1-59114-690-2 | last2 = White | first2 = Michael}}</ref> The ship recovered a portion of ''K-129'', but a mechanical failure in the grapple caused two-thirds of the recovered section to break off during recovery.
The Soviet Union was unable to locate ''K-129'', but the US determined its general location from data recorded by four [[Air Force Technical Applications Center]] (AFTAC) sites and the Adak [[SOSUS|Sound Surveillance System]] (SOSUS) array. {{Clarify span|The US identified an acoustic event on March 8 that likely originated from an explosion aboard the submarine, and was able to determine the location to within {{convert|5|nmi|mi km|spell= in}}.|Did this take place after the US determined the general location, as described in the previous sentence? Or do both sentences describe the same process?|date=July 2024}}
The submarine {{USS |Halibut|SSGN-587|6}} located the boat using the Fish, a towed, {{convert|12|ft|adj=on}}, {{convert |2|ST|adj=on|spell=in}} collection of cameras, strobe lights, and sonar that was built to withstand extreme depths. The recovery operation in international waters about six years later used mining for [[manganese nodule]]s as its [[disinformation|cover story]].
The mining company and ship was nominally owned by reclusive billionaire [[Howard Hughes]], but secretly backed by the CIA, who paid for the construction of the ''[[Glomar Explorer|Hughes Glomar Explorer]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Polmar|first1=Norman|author-link= Norman Polmar|title= Project Azorian: the CIA and the Raising of the K-129 |year=2010|publisher= Naval Institute Press|location= Annapolis, MD |isbn= 978-1-59114-690-2 | last2 = White | first2 = Michael}}</ref> The ship recovered a portion of ''K-129'', but a mechanical failure in the grapple caused two-thirds of the recovered section to break off during recovery.<ref name="AzorianDVD" /><ref name="Netflix" />


== The wreck of ''K-129'' ==
== The wreck of ''K-129'' ==
{{anchor|Target: the wreck of the K-129}}
{{anchor|Target: the wreck of the K-129}}
[[File:Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-129.jpg|thumb|The ''K-129'' submarine]]
[[File:Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-129.jpg|thumb|The ''K-129'' submarine]]{{More citations needed|section|date=July 2024}}
On 24 February 1968, ''K-129'', a Soviet [[Golf-class submarine|Project 629A]] [[ballistic missile submarine]] attached to the 15th Submarine Squadron of the [[Soviet Pacific Fleet]], left Rybachiy Naval Base in [[Kamchatka]] on a routine missile patrol, the boat's third since completing a major modernization the previous year. On the first day, the sub cruised out to deep water, conducted a test dive, surfaced to radio in, and embarked for its patrol station. The sub was to make standard radio contact with its commanders in Kamchatka when crossing the [[180th meridian]] and when arriving on station. But ''K-129'' missed its designated check-ins and did not respond to communication attempts. By the third week of March, the submarine was declared missing.
On February 24, 1968, ''K-129'', a Soviet [[Golf-class submarine|Project 629A]] [[ballistic missile submarine]] attached to the 15th Submarine Squadron of the [[Soviet Pacific Fleet]], left Rybachiy Naval Base in [[Kamchatka]] on a routine missile patrol, the boat's third since completing a major modernization the previous year. On the first day, the sub cruised out to deep water, conducted a test dive, surfaced to radio in, and embarked for its patrol station. The sub was to make standard radio contact with its commanders in Kamchatka when crossing the [[180th meridian]] and when arriving on station. But ''K-129'' missed its designated check-ins and did not respond to communication attempts. By the third week of March, the submarine was declared missing.


In April 1968, many [[Soviet Pacific Fleet]] surface and air assets deployed to the [[North Pacific Ocean]] and performed some unusual search operations. The activity was evaluated by the United States [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] (ONI) as a possible reaction to the loss of a Soviet submarine. Soviet surface ship searches were centered on a location known to be associated with Soviet [[Golf-class submarine|Golf II-class]] strategic ballistic missile (SSB) diesel submarine patrol routes. These submarines carried three nuclear missiles in an extended sail/conning tower, and routinely deployed within missile range of the US west coast. After weeks of searching, the Soviets were unable to locate the sunken boat, and Soviet Pacific Fleet operations gradually returned to normal.
In April 1968, many [[Soviet Pacific Fleet]] surface and air assets deployed to the [[North Pacific Ocean]] and performed some unusual search operations. The activity was evaluated by the United States [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] (ONI) as a possible reaction to the loss of a Soviet submarine. Soviet surface ship searches were centered on a location known to be associated with Soviet [[Golf-class submarine|Golf II-class]] strategic ballistic missile (SSB) diesel submarine patrol routes. These submarines carried three nuclear missiles in an extended sail/conning tower, and routinely deployed within missile range of the US west coast. After weeks of searching, the Soviets were unable to locate the sunken boat, and Soviet Pacific Fleet operations gradually returned to normal.


The US Navy analyzed acoustic data recorded by the [[SOSUS]] [[hydrophone]] network in the northern Pacific—four AFTAC sites and the [[Adak, Alaska]] SOSUS array<ref>{{cite web |title=Sub Pirates World Submarines |url=http://www.cliffhangershideout.com/subpirates/world_submarines/SP_Project-Azorian.html |access-date=3 January 2019 |website=www.cliffhangershideout.com}}</ref>—and found evidence of the implosion that had sunk the Russian sub. [[Naval Facility Point Sur|Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Point Sur]], south of [[Monterey, California]], isolated a sonic signature on its low-frequency array recordings of an implosion that had occurred on March 8, 1968. Using NavFac Point Sur's date and time of the event, [[NavFac Adak]] and the US West Coast NAVFAC were also able to isolate the acoustic event. With five SOSUS lines-of-bearing, Naval Intelligence was able to localize the site of the ''K-129'' wreck to the vicinity of 40.1° N latitude and 179.9° E longitude (close to the [[International Date Line]]).<ref name="AzorianDVD">{{cite AV media | people = Michael White | date = February 8, 2011 | medium = DVD | ISBN = 978-1591146902 | publisher = Michael White Films | ASIN =B0047H7PYQ | title = Azorian: The Raising of the K-129 | url = http://www.projectjennifer.at | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205063115/http://projectjennifer.at/ | archive-date = February 5, 2009 }}</ref>
The US Navy analyzed acoustic data recorded by the [[SOSUS]] [[hydrophone]] network in the northern Pacific—four AFTAC sites and the [[Adak, Alaska]] SOSUS array—and found evidence of the implosion that had sunk the Russian sub.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} [[Naval Facility Point Sur|Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Point Sur]], south of [[Monterey, California]], isolated a sonic signature on its low-frequency array recordings of an implosion that had occurred on March 8, 1968. Using NavFac Point Sur's date and time of the event, [[NavFac Adak]] and the US West Coast NAVFAC were also able to isolate the acoustic event. With five SOSUS lines-of-bearing, Naval Intelligence was able to localize the site of the ''K-129'' wreck to the vicinity of 40.1° N latitude and 179.9° E longitude (close to the [[International Date Line]]).<ref name="AzorianDVD">{{cite AV media | people = Michael White | date = February 8, 2011 | medium = DVD | ISBN = 978-1591146902 | publisher = Michael White Films | ASIN =B0047H7PYQ | title = Azorian: The Raising of the K-129 | url = http://www.projectjennifer.at | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090205063115/http://projectjennifer.at/ | archive-date = February 5, 2009 }}</ref>


[[File:Model of the sunken and deteriorated K-129 submarine was created by the CIA during the AZORIAN mission that has never been displayed before at the CIA Museum in 2022.jpg|thumb|The model of the sunken and deteriorated K-129 submarine]]
In July 1968, the [[United States Navy]] began "Operation Sand Dollar" with the deployment of {{USS|Halibut|SSGN-587|6}} from [[Pearl Harbor]] to the wreck site. Sand Dollar's objective was to find and photograph ''K-129''. In 1968 ''Halibut'', which had been configured to use deep submergence search equipment, was the US Navy's only such specially-equipped submarine. ''Halibut'' located the wreck after three weeks of visual search using robotic remote-controlled cameras. (It took almost five months of search to find the wreck of the US nuclear-powered submarine {{USS|Scorpion|SSN-589|2}} in the Atlantic, also in 1968). ''Halibut'' is reported to have spent the next several weeks taking more than 20,000 closeup photos of every aspect of the ''K-129'' wreck, a feat for which ''Halibut'' received a special classified [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] signed by [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in 1968.
In July 1968, the [[United States Navy]] began "Operation Sand Dollar" with the deployment of {{USS|Halibut|SSGN-587|6}} from [[Pearl Harbor]] to the wreck site. Sand Dollar's objective was to find and photograph ''K-129''. In 1968 ''Halibut'', which had been configured to use deep submergence search equipment, was the US Navy's only such specially-equipped submarine. ''Halibut'' located the wreck after three weeks of visual search using robotic remote-controlled cameras. (It took almost five months of search to find the wreck of the US nuclear-powered submarine {{USS|Scorpion|SSN-589|2}} in the Atlantic, also in 1968). ''Halibut'' is reported to have spent the next several weeks taking more than 20,000 closeup photos of every aspect of the ''K-129'' wreck, a feat for which ''Halibut'' received a special classified [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] signed by [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in 1968.


The photos were sent to the [[National Photographic Interpretation Center]] at the CIA to determine what, if anything, could be determined about the status of the wreck. CIA analysts wrote a report indicating that there was a good probability that the nuclear missile in the #3 missile tube was still intact.<ref name="Netflix" />
In 1970, based upon this photography, [[United States Secretary of Defense|Defense Secretary]] [[Melvin Laird]] and [[Henry Kissinger]], then [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]], proposed a clandestine plan to recover the wreckage so that the US could study Soviet nuclear missile technology, as well as possibly recover [[cryptography|cryptographic]] materials. The proposal was accepted by President [[Richard Nixon]] and the CIA was tasked to attempt the recovery.


In 1970, based upon this photography, [[United States Secretary of Defense|Defense Secretary]] [[Melvin Laird]] and [[Henry Kissinger]], then [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]], proposed a clandestine plan to recover the wreckage so that the US could study Soviet nuclear missile technology, as well as possibly recover [[cryptography|cryptographic]] materials. The proposal was accepted by President [[Richard Nixon]], and the CIA was tasked to attempt the recovery.
==Building ''Glomar Explorer'', and its cover story==

{{Main|GSF Explorer}}
==Building ''Glomar Explorer'' and its cover story==
{{Main|Glomar Explorer}}
Global Marine Development Inc., the research and development arm of Global Marine Inc., a pioneer in deepwater offshore drilling operations, was contracted to design, build and operate ''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' to secretly salvage the sunken Soviet submarine. The ship was built at the [[Sun Shipbuilding]] yard near Philadelphia. Billionaire businessman [[Howard Hughes]] – whose companies were already contractors on numerous classified [[US military]] weapons, aircraft and satellite contracts{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} – agreed to lend his name to the project to support the cover story that the ship was mining [[manganese nodules]] from the ocean floor, but Hughes and his companies had no actual involvement in the project. ''K-129'' was photographed at a depth of over {{convert|16000|ft|m}}, and thus the salvage operation would be well beyond the depth of any ship salvage operation ever attempted.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} On November 1, 1972, work began on the {{convert|63000|ST|adj=on}}, {{convert|619|foot|m|adj=mid|-long}} ''[[USNS Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193)|Hughes Glomar Explorer]]'' (HGE).
Global Marine Development Inc., the research and development arm of Global Marine Inc., a pioneer in deepwater offshore drilling operations, was contracted to design, build and operate ''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' to secretly salvage the sunken Soviet submarine. The ship was built at the [[Sun Shipbuilding]] yard near Philadelphia. Billionaire businessman [[Howard Hughes]] – whose companies were already contractors on numerous classified [[US military]] weapons, aircraft and satellite contracts{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}} – agreed to lend his name to the project to support the cover story that the ship was mining [[manganese nodules]] from the ocean floor, but Hughes and his companies had no actual involvement in the project. ''K-129'' was photographed at a depth of over {{convert|16000|ft|m}}, and thus the salvage operation would be well beyond the depth of any ship salvage operation ever attempted.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} On November 1, 1972, work began on the {{convert|63000|ST|adj=on}}, {{convert|619|foot|m|adj=mid|-long}} ''[[USNS Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193)|Hughes Glomar Explorer]]'' (HGE).


At least two preparatory missions were carried out in the general area of the recovery site using other ships. From September 1970 to January 1971, the drilling ship GLOMAR II collected site data as part of [[Project AXMINSTER]].<ref>{{cite web |title=186. Memorandum to the Chairman of the 40 Committee (Kissinger) |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v35/d186 |website=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXXV, National Security Policy, 1973–1976 |access-date=December 3, 2023 |date=May 28, 1974 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822120303/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v35/d186 |url-status=live }}</ref> From January to July 1972, the R.V. SEASCOPE surveyed the general area to within 45 nm of the recovery site. Both missions also probed the Soviet reactions to research ships in the region.<ref name="Memo19740528_KIss"/>
===Preparatory missions===
At least two preparatory missions were carried out in the general area of the recovery site using other ships. From September 1970 to January 1971 the drilling ship GLOMAR II collected site data as part of [[Project AXMINSTER]].<ref>{{cite web |title=186. Memorandum to the Chairman of the 40 Committee (Kissinger) |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v35/d186 |website=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXXV, National Security Policy, 1973–1976 |access-date=3 December 2023 |date=May 28, 1974}}</ref> From January to July 1972 the R.V. SEASCOPE surveyed the general area to within 45 nm of the recovery site. Both missions also probed the Soviet reactions to research ships in the region.<ref name="Memo19740528_KIss"/>


The primary objective was to recover a major portion of the submarine. In particular, the [[National_Intelligence_Board|United States Intelligence Board]] (USIB) expected to recover [[Cryptography|cryptographic]] equipment, a [[nuclear warhead]], a [[SS-N-5]] missile, the [[navigation system]], [[fire control system]], [[sonar]] system, [[Anti-submarine warfare|ASW]] countermeasures, and related documentation.<ref name="Memo19740528_KIss">{{cite journal |date=May 28, 1974 |title=Memorandum to the Chairman of the 40 Committee (Kissinger) |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v35/d186 |journal=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976 |volume=XXXV |access-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822120303/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v35/d186 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Objectives: items to be recovered===
The primary objective was to recover a major portion of the submarine. In particular the [[National_Intelligence_Board|United States Intelligence Board]] (USIB) expected to recover [[COMSEC_equipment|Cryptographic Equipments]], a [[Nuclear warhead]], a [[SS-N-5]] Missile, the Navigation and [[Fire-control system|Fire Control System]], Sonar and [[Anti-submarine warfare|ASW]] Countermeasures Equipments, and related documentation.<ref name="Memo19740528_KIss">{{cite journal |date=1974-05-28 |title=Memorandum to the Chairman of the 40 Committee (Kissinger) |url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v35/d186|journal=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976 |volume= XXXV|access-date=2023-08-22}}</ref>


==Recovery==
==Recovery==
''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' employed a large mechanical claw, which [[Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company|Lockheed]] officially titled the "Capture Vehicle" but affectionately called ''Clementine''. The capture vehicle was designed to be lowered to the ocean floor, grasp the targeted submarine section, and then lift that section into the ship's [[moon pool]] for processing. One requirement of this technology was to keep the floating base stable and in position over a fixed point {{convert|16000|ft|m}} below the ocean surface.
[[File:K129 HGE recoverysite.png|thumb|280px|The recovery site of ''К-129'' based on the intersection of three circles marking the distances to Long Beach, CA, Pearl Harbor, HI, and Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka.]]
''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' employed a large mechanical claw, which [[Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company|Lockheed]] officially titled the "Capture Vehicle" but affectionately called ''Clementine''. The capture vehicle was designed to be lowered to the ocean floor, grasp the targeted submarine section, and then lift that section into the ship's hold. One requirement of this technology was to keep the floating base stable and in position over a fixed point {{convert|16000|ft|m}} below the ocean surface.


The capture vehicle was lowered and raised on a pipe string similar to those used on oil drilling rigs. Section by section, pairs of {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}} steel pipes were strung together to lower the claw through a hole in the middle of the ship. This configuration was designed by Western Gear Corp. of [[Everett, Washington]]. Upon a successful capture by the claw, the lift reversed the process: {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} pairs drawn up and removed one at a time. The salvaged "Target Object" was thus to be drawn into a [[moon pool]], the doors of which could then be closed to form a floor for the salvaged section. This allowed for the entire salvage process to take place underwater, away from the view of other ships, aircraft, or spy satellites.
The capture vehicle was lowered and raised on a pipe string similar to those used on oil drilling rigs. Section by section, pairs of {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}} steel pipes were strung together to lower the claw through a hole in the middle of the ship. This configuration was designed by Western Gear Corp. of [[Everett, Washington]]. Upon a successful capture by the claw, the lift reversed the process: {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} pairs drawn up and removed one at a time. The salvaged "Target Object" was thus to be drawn into the moon pool in the center of the vessel, the doors of which could then be closed to form a floor for the salvaged section. This allowed for the entire salvage process to take place underwater, away from the view of other ships, aircraft, or spy satellites.


''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' arrived at the recovery site on July 4, 1974, after departing from [[Long Beach, California]], on June 20, and traveling sailing {{convert|3008|nmi|km}}. The ship conducted salvage operations for over a month. During this period, at least two Soviet Navy ships visited ''Hughes Glomar Explorer''{{'}}s work site, the oceangoing [[tugboat]] ''SB-10'', and the Soviet missile range instrumentation ship ''Chazma''.<ref name="StudiesIntell85">{{cite web
''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' arrived at the recovery site ({{coord|40.1|N|179.9|E|display=it|scale:50000000}})<ref name=prc>[http://www.prc68.com/I/crypto.shtml The Project Azorian video by Michael White has these coordinates confirmed by other sources]</ref> on July 4, 1974, after departing from [[Long Beach, California]], on June 20, and traveling sailing {{convert|3008|nmi|km}}. The ship conducted salvage operations for over a month. During this period, at least two Soviet Navy ships visited ''Hughes Glomar Explorer''{{'}}s work site, the oceangoing [[tugboat]] ''SB-10'', and the Soviet missile range instrumentation ship ''Chazma''.<ref name="StudiesIntell85">{{cite web
|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/doc01.pdf
|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/doc01.pdf
|title=Project Azorian: The Story of the Hughes Glomar Explorer
|title=Project Azorian: The Story of the Hughes Glomar Explorer
|date=Fall 1985
|date=Fall 1985
|publisher=Studies in Intelligence, [[CIA]]
|publisher=Studies in Intelligence, [[CIA]]
|access-date=2010-02-13
|access-date=February 13, 2010
|archive-date=January 31, 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131100657/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/doc01.pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref> It was found out after 1991 that the Soviets were tipped off about the operation and were aware that the CIA was planning some kind of salvage operation, but the military command believed it impossible that they could perform such a task and disregarded further intelligence warnings. Later, Soviet Ambassador [[Anatoly Dobrynin]] started sending urgent messages back to the Soviet Navy warning that an operation was imminent. Soviet military engineering experts reevaluated their positions and claimed that it was indeed possible (though highly unlikely) to recover ''K-129'', and ships in the area were ordered to report any unusual activity, although the lack of knowledge as to where ''K-129'' was located impeded their ability to stop any salvage operation.<ref name="AzorianDVD"/>
}}</ref> It was found out after 1991 that the Soviets were tipped off about the operation and were aware that the CIA was planning some kind of salvage operation, but the military command believed it impossible that they could perform such a task and disregarded further intelligence warnings. Later, Soviet Ambassador [[Anatoly Dobrynin]] started sending urgent messages back to the Soviet Navy warning that an operation was imminent. Soviet military engineering experts reevaluated their positions and claimed that it was indeed possible (though highly unlikely) to recover ''K-129'', and ships in the area were ordered to report any unusual activity, although the lack of knowledge as to where ''K-129'' was located impeded their ability to stop any salvage operation.<ref name="AzorianDVD"/>


US Army Major General [[Roland Lajoie]] stated that, according to a briefing he received by the CIA during recovery operations, ''Clementine'' suffered a catastrophic failure, causing two-thirds of the already raised portion of ''K-129'' to sink back to the ocean floor.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} Former Lockheed and Hughes Global Marine employees who worked on the operation have stated that several of the "claws" intended to grab the submarine fractured, possibly because they were manufactured from [[maraging steel]], which is very [[tensile strength|strong]], but not very [[ductility|ductile]] compared with other kinds of steel.
US Army Major General [[Roland Lajoie]] stated that, according to a briefing he received by the CIA during recovery operations, ''Clementine'' suffered a catastrophic failure, causing two-thirds of the already raised portion of ''K-129'' to sink back to the ocean floor.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}} Former Lockheed and Hughes Global Marine employees who worked on the operation have stated that several of the "claws" intended to grab the submarine fractured, possibly because they were manufactured from [[maraging steel]], which is very [[tensile strength|strong]], but not very [[ductility|ductile]] compared with other kinds of steel.<ref name="AzorianDVD"/> Video evidence and eyewitness reports have stated that multiple claws of Clementine sheared off, causing a {{convert|100|ft|adj=on}} section of the submarine to fall back to the seafloor.<ref name="Netflix" /> Eyewitnesses have stated that only the {{convert|38|ft|adj=on}} bow section was raised, while the sail portion containing the nuclear missiles was lost during the raising operation.<ref name="Netflix" />


[[File:Burial At Sea of Soviet Submariners from Hughes Glomar Explorer.webm|thumb|Video of the Soviet sailors being buried at sea]]
[[File:Burial At Sea of Soviet Submariners from Hughes Glomar Explorer.webm|thumb|Video of the Soviet sailors being buried at sea]]


The recovered section included two [[nuclear torpedo]]es, and thus Project Azorian was not a complete failure. The bodies of six crewmen were also recovered, and were given a memorial service and with military honors, [[Burial at sea|buried at sea]] in a metal casket because of radioactivity concerns. Other crew members have reported that code books and other materials of apparent interest to CIA employees aboard the vessel were recovered, and images of inventory printouts exhibited in the documentary<ref name="AzorianDVD"/> suggest that various submarine components, such as hatch covers, instruments and sonar equipment were also recovered. White's documentary also states that the [[ship's bell]] from ''K-129'' was recovered, and was subsequently returned to the Soviet Union as part of a diplomatic effort. The CIA considered the project one of the greatest intelligence coups of the Cold War.<ref name="intel coup">{{cite web|title=Project AZORIAN|url=https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/experience-the-collection/text-version/stories/project-azorian.html|publisher=CIA|access-date=July 9, 2013|date=November 21, 2012|archive-date=September 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927005022/https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/experience-the-collection/text-version/stories/project-azorian.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The recovered section included two [[nuclear torpedo]]es, and thus Project Azorian was not a complete failure. The bodies of six crewmen were also recovered, and were given a memorial service and with military honors, [[Burial at sea|buried at sea]] in a metal casket because of radioactivity concerns. Other crew members have reported that code books and other materials of apparent interest to CIA employees aboard the vessel were recovered, {{Original research span|and images of inventory printouts exhibited in the documentary<ref name="AzorianDVD"/> suggest that various submarine components, such as hatch covers, instruments and sonar equipment were also recovered.|date=July 2024}} White's documentary also states that the [[ship's bell]] from ''K-129'' was recovered, and was subsequently returned to the Soviet Union as part of a diplomatic effort. The CIA considered the project one of the greatest intelligence coups of the Cold War.<ref name="intel coup">{{cite web|title=Project AZORIAN|url=https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/experience-the-collection/text-version/stories/project-azorian.html|publisher=CIA|access-date=July 9, 2013|date=November 21, 2012|archive-date=September 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927005022/https://www.cia.gov/about-cia/cia-museum/experience-the-collection/text-version/stories/project-azorian.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>


The entire salvage operation was recorded by a CIA documentary film crew, but this film remains classified. A short portion of the film, showing the recovery and subsequent burial at sea of the six bodies recovered in the forward section of ''K-129'', was given to the Russian government in 1992.
The entire salvage operation was recorded by a CIA documentary film crew, but this film remains classified. A short portion of the film, showing the recovery and subsequent burial at sea of the six bodies recovered in the forward section of ''K-129'', was given to the Russian government in 1992.
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===''The New York Times'' story===
===''The New York Times'' story===
''[[Time Magazine]]'' credited [[Jack Anderson (columnist)|Jack Anderson]] as breaking the story in a March 1975 radio broadcast.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Press: Show and Tell? (Monday, Mar. 31, 1975) |url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,879475-1,00.html |magazine=Time |date=31 March 1975 |access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="Robarge">{{cite journal |last=Robarge |first=David |date=March 2012 |title=The ''Glomar Explorer'' in Film and Print |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA585911.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412005000/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA585911.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |journal=Studies in Intelligence |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=28–29 |access-date=August 4, 2014}}</ref> Rejecting a plea from the [[Director of Central Intelligence]] [[William Colby]] to suppress the story, Anderson said he released the story because "Navy experts have told us that the sunken sub contains no real secrets and that the project, therefore, is a waste of the taxpayers' money."<ref name="Robarge"/>
''[[Time Magazine]]'' credited [[Jack Anderson (columnist)|Jack Anderson]] as breaking the story in a March 1975 radio broadcast.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Press: Show and Tell? (Monday, Mar. 31, 1975) |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,879475-1,00.html |magazine=Time |date=March 31, 1975 |access-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408202541/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,879475-1,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Robarge">{{cite journal |last=Robarge |first=David |date=March 2012 |title=The ''Glomar Explorer'' in Film and Print |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA585911.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412005000/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA585911.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=April 12, 2022 |journal=Studies in Intelligence |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=28–29 |access-date=August 4, 2014}}</ref> Rejecting a plea from the [[Director of Central Intelligence]] [[William Colby]] to suppress the story, Anderson said he released the story because "Navy experts have told us that the sunken sub contains no real secrets and that the project, therefore, is a waste of the taxpayers' money."<ref name="Robarge"/>


In February 1975, investigative reporter and former ''[[New York Times]]'' writer [[Seymour Hersh]] had planned to publish a story on Project Azorian. [[Bill Kovach]], the ''New York Times'' Washington bureau chief at the time, said in 2005 that the government offered a convincing argument to delay publication – exposure at that time, while the project was ongoing, "would have caused an international incident." ''The New York Times'' published its account in March 1975,<ref>Phelan, James. [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0716FF395E157493C5AB1788D85F418785F9&scp=3&sq=Glomar%20Hughes&st=cse "An Easy Burglary Led to the Disclosure of Hughes-C.I.A. Plan to Salvage Soviet Sub" (fee)]. ''The New York Times'' 27 March 1975, p. 18.</ref> after a story appeared in the ''Los Angeles Times'', and included a five-paragraph explanation of the many twists and turns in the path to publication.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Manjoo |first1=Farhad |title=Prying open the Times |url=https://www.salon.com/2005/12/22/nytimes_8/ |website=Salon |access-date=22 September 2021 |language=en |date=22 December 2005}}</ref> CIA director [[George H. W. Bush]] reported on several occasions to U.S. president [[Gerald Ford]] on media reports and the future use of the ship.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191287.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817012757/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191287.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=August 17, 2016| title=Meeting with the President, Oval Office, 1. December 1976, 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.|date=2 Dec 1976|first=George H.W.| last=Bush|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191284.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817062928/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191284.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=August 17, 2016| title=Meeting with the President, Oval Office, 12. July 1976, 8:00 a.m.|date=12 July 1976|first=George H.W.| last=Bush|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> The CIA concluded that it seemed unclear what, if any, action was taken by the Soviet Union after learning of the story.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0000283807/DOC_0000283807.pdf| title=Implications for US-Soviet Relations of Certain Soviet Activities: Microwaves in Moscow (section 13)| date=June 1976| publisher=Central Intelligence Agency| access-date=2011-01-02| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105124652/http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0000283807/DOC_0000283807.pdf| archive-date=2010-11-05| url-status=dead}}</ref>
In February 1975, investigative reporter and former ''[[New York Times]]'' writer [[Seymour Hersh]] had planned to publish a story on Project Azorian. [[Bill Kovach]], the ''New York Times'' Washington bureau chief at the time, said in 2005 that the government offered a convincing argument to delay publication – exposure at that time, while the project was ongoing, "would have caused an international incident." ''The New York Times'' published its account in March 1975,<ref>Phelan, James. [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0716FF395E157493C5AB1788D85F418785F9&scp=3&sq=Glomar%20Hughes&st=cse "An Easy Burglary Led to the Disclosure of Hughes-C.I.A. Plan to Salvage Soviet Sub" (fee)]. ''The New York Times'' March 27, 1975, p. 18.</ref> after a story appeared in the ''Los Angeles Times'', and included a five-paragraph explanation of the many twists and turns in the path to publication.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Manjoo |first1=Farhad |title=Prying open the Times |url=https://www.salon.com/2005/12/22/nytimes_8/ |website=Salon |access-date=September 22, 2021 |language=en |date=December 22, 2005 |archive-date=September 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921061814/https://www.salon.com/2005/12/22/nytimes_8/ |url-status=live }}</ref> CIA director [[George H. W. Bush]] reported on several occasions to U.S. president [[Gerald Ford]] on media reports and the future use of the ship.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191287.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817012757/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191287.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=August 17, 2016| title=Meeting with the President, Oval Office, 1. December 1976, 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.|date=December 2, 1976|first=George H.W.| last=Bush|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191284.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817062928/https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/DOC_0000191284.pdf| url-status=dead| archive-date=August 17, 2016| title=Meeting with the President, Oval Office, 12. July 1976, 8:00 a.m.|date=July 12, 1976|first=George H.W.| last=Bush|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency}}</ref> The CIA concluded that it seemed unclear what, if any, action was taken by the Soviet Union after learning of the story.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0000283807/DOC_0000283807.pdf| title=Implications for US-Soviet Relations of Certain Soviet Activities: Microwaves in Moscow (section 13)| date=June 1976| publisher=Central Intelligence Agency| access-date=January 2, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105124652/http://www.foia.cia.gov/docs/DOC_0000283807/DOC_0000283807.pdf| archive-date=November 5, 2010| url-status=dead}}</ref>


===FOIA request and the Glomar response===
===FOIA request and the Glomar response===
After stories had been published about the CIA's attempts to stop publication of information about Project Azorian, [[Hank Phillippi Ryan|Harriet Ann Phillippi]], a journalist, filed a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] (FOIA) request with the CIA for any records about the CIA's attempts. The CIA refused to either confirm or deny the existence of such documents.<ref>Philippi v. CIA (Turner et al.), U.S. Court of Appeals, 211 U.S. App. D.D. 95, June 25, 1981</ref> This type of non-responsive reply has since come to be known as the "[[Glomar response]]" or "Glomarization".<ref name="FOIA1986">{{cite web |author=FOIA Update, Vol. VII, No. 1, Page 3 |title=OIP Guidance: Privacy 'Glomarization' |publisher=United States Department of Justice |year=1986 |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_updates/Vol_VII_1/page3.htm}}</ref>
After stories had been published about the CIA's attempts to stop publication of information about Project Azorian, [[Hank Phillippi Ryan|Harriet Ann Phillippi]], a journalist, filed a [[Freedom of Information Act (United States)|Freedom of Information Act]] (FOIA) request with the CIA for any records about the CIA's attempts. The CIA refused to either confirm or deny the existence of such documents.<ref>Philippi v. CIA (Turner et al.), U.S. Court of Appeals, 211 U.S. App. D.D. 95, June 25, 1981</ref> This type of non-responsive reply has since come to be known as the "[[Glomar response]]" or "Glomarization".<ref name="FOIA1986">{{cite web |author=FOIA Update, Vol. VII, No. 1, Page 3 |title=OIP Guidance: Privacy 'Glomarization' |publisher=United States Department of Justice |year=1986 |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_updates/Vol_VII_1/page3.htm |access-date=February 19, 2010 |archive-date=July 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724101407/http://www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_updates/Vol_VII_1/page3.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>


=== 1998 release of video ===
=== 1998 release of video ===
A video showing the 1974 memorial services for the six Soviet seamen whose bodies were recovered by Project Azorian was forwarded by the U.S. to [[Russia]] in the early 1990s. Portions of this video were shown on television documentaries concerning Project Azorian, including a 1998 [[Discovery Channel]] special called ''A Matter of National Security'' (based on Clyde W. Burleson's book, ''The Jennifer Project'' (1977)) and again in 1999, on a PBS Cold War submarine episode of ''[[Nova (American TV series)|NOVA]]''.<ref>[http://www.clydewburleson.com/work2.htm Clyde W, Burleson, author, "The Jennifer Project", 1977]</ref><ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/subsecrets/ PBS, ''Nova'', "Submarines, Secrets and Spies". Broadcast January, 1999.]</ref>
A video showing the 1974 memorial services for the six Soviet seamen whose bodies were recovered by Project Azorian was forwarded by the U.S. to [[Russia]] in the early 1990s. Portions of this video were shown on television documentaries concerning Project Azorian, including a 1998 [[Discovery Channel]] special called ''A Matter of National Security'' (based on Clyde W. Burleson's book, ''The Jennifer Project'' (1977)) and again in 1999, on a PBS Cold War submarine episode of ''[[Nova (American TV series)|NOVA]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clydewburleson.com/work2.htm |title=Clyde W, Burleson, author, "The Jennifer Project", 1977 |access-date=January 4, 2011 |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708165755/http://www.clydewburleson.com/work2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/subsecrets/ |title=PBS, ''Nova'', "Submarines, Secrets and Spies". Broadcast January, 1999. |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-date=June 18, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170618183135/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/subsecrets/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


=== 2010 release of 1985 CIA article ===
=== 2010 release of 1985 CIA article ===
In February 2010, the CIA released an article from the fall 1985 edition of the CIA internal journal ''[[Studies in Intelligence]]'' following an application by researcher Matthew Aid at the [[National Security Archive]]<ref>{{cite news|author=Calvin Woodward|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-gone-fishing-secret-hunt-for-a-sunken-soviet-sub-2010feb13-story.html|agency=Associated Press|title=Gone fishing: Secret hunt for a sunken Soviet sub|date=February 13, 2010}}</ref> to declassify the information under the Freedom of Information Act. Exactly what the operation managed to salvage remained unclear.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7237002/US-admits-salvaging-sunken-Soviet-submarine.html "US admits salvaging sunken Soviet submarine – The American government has finally revealed details of a secret mission to raise a sunken Soviet submarine]</ref> The report was written by an unidentified participant in Project Azorian.
In February 2010, the CIA released an article from the fall 1985 edition of the CIA internal journal ''[[Studies in Intelligence]]'' following an application by researcher Matthew Aid at the [[National Security Archive]]<ref>{{cite news|author=Calvin Woodward|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-gone-fishing-secret-hunt-for-a-sunken-soviet-sub-2010feb13-story.html|agency=Associated Press|title=Gone fishing: Secret hunt for a sunken Soviet sub|date=February 13, 2010|access-date=March 28, 2017|archive-date=March 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195816/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-gone-fishing-secret-hunt-for-a-sunken-soviet-sub-2010feb13-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> to declassify the information under the Freedom of Information Act. Exactly what the operation managed to salvage remained unclear.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7237002/US-admits-salvaging-sunken-Soviet-submarine.html |title="US admits salvaging sunken Soviet submarine – The American government has finally revealed details of a secret mission to raise a sunken Soviet submarine |date=February 14, 2010 |access-date=April 2, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225075309/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7237002/US-admits-salvaging-sunken-Soviet-submarine.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The report was written by an unidentified participant in Project Azorian.


=== 2010 release of President Ford cabinet meeting ===
=== 2010 release of President Ford cabinet meeting ===
President [[Gerald Ford]], Secretary of Defense [[James R. Schlesinger]], Philip Buchen (Counsel to the President), [[John O. Marsh, Jr.]] (Counselor to the President), Ambassador [[Donald Rumsfeld]], USAF Lieutenant General [[Brent Scowcroft]] (Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs), and [[William Colby]] (Director of Central Intelligence) discussed the leak and whether the Ford administration would react to Hersh's story in a cabinet meeting on March 19, 1975, the same day that ''The New York Times'' published the story. Secretary of Defense Schlesinger is quoted as saying,
President [[Gerald Ford]], Secretary of Defense [[James R. Schlesinger]], Philip Buchen (Counsel to the President), [[John O. Marsh, Jr.]] (Counselor to the President), Ambassador [[Donald Rumsfeld]], USAF Lieutenant General [[Brent Scowcroft]] (Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs), and [[William Colby]] (Director of Central Intelligence) discussed the leak and whether the Ford administration would react to Hersh's story in a cabinet meeting on March 19, 1975, the same day that ''The New York Times'' published the story. Secretary of Defense Schlesinger is quoted as saying,
{{Blockquote|This episode has been a major American accomplishment. The operation is a marvel – technically, and with maintaining secrecy.<ref name=cabinetmeeting>[http://nsarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/glomar.pdf Matador Meeting]</ref><ref name=Doc3>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/doc03.pdf memorandum] nsarchiv</ref>}}
{{Blockquote|This episode has been a major American accomplishment. The operation is a marvel – technically, and with maintaining secrecy.<ref name=cabinetmeeting>{{Cite web |url=http://nsarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/glomar.pdf |title=Matador Meeting |access-date=July 4, 2012 |archive-date=October 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006025318/http://nsarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/glomar.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Doc3>[http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/doc03.pdf memorandum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816063212/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb305/doc03.pdf |date=August 16, 2012 }} nsarchiv</ref>}}
Schlesinger indicated at least some form of success that should be confirmed publicly.<ref name=declassified>[http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/document-friday-the-origins-of-glomar-declassified/ Document Friday: The Origins of "Glomar" Declassified], William Burr, June 15, 2012.</ref> CIA Director William Colby dissented, recalling the [[1960 U-2 incident|U-2 crisis]], saying:
Schlesinger indicated at least some form of success that should be confirmed publicly.<ref name=declassified>[http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/document-friday-the-origins-of-glomar-declassified/ Document Friday: The Origins of "Glomar" Declassified] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619093301/http://nsarchive.wordpress.com/2012/06/15/document-friday-the-origins-of-glomar-declassified/ |date=June 19, 2012 }}, William Burr, June 15, 2012.</ref> CIA Director William Colby dissented, recalling the [[1960 U-2 incident|U-2 crisis]], saying:
{{Blockquote|I think we should not put the Soviet Union under such pressure to respond.<ref name=cabinetmeeting /><ref name=Doc3 />}}
{{Blockquote|I think we should not put the Soviet Union under such pressure to respond.<ref name=cabinetmeeting /><ref name=Doc3 />}}
The ''Los Angeles Times'' published a four-page story the next day by [[Jack Nelson (journalist)|Jack Nelson]] with the headline "Administration Won't Talk About Sub Raised by CIA."<ref name=declassified />
The ''Los Angeles Times'' published a four-page story the next day by [[Jack Nelson (journalist)|Jack Nelson]] with the headline "Administration Won't Talk About Sub Raised by CIA."<ref name=declassified />
Line 93: Line 101:
==Conspiracy theory==
==Conspiracy theory==


[[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,879453,00.html| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204225855/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,879453,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 4, 2013| title=Espionage: The Great Submarine Snatch|date=1975-03-31 |publisher=Time Magazine}}</ref> and a court filing by Felice D. Cohen and [[Morton H. Halperin]] on behalf of the Military Audit Project <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19811380656F2d724_11252|title=Military Audit Project v. {{!}} 656 F.2d 724 (1981) {{!}} f2d72411252 {{!}} Leagle.com|work=Leagle|access-date=2017-09-17|language=en}}</ref> suggest that the alleged project goal of raising a Soviet submarine might itself have been a cover story for another secret mission. Tapping undersea communication cables, the cover up of an assassination, the installation of a missile silo, and installation and repair of [[SOSUS|surveillance systems to monitor ship and submarine movements]] are listed as possibilities for the actual purpose of such a secret mission.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/656/656.F2d.724.80-1110.html#fn2_ref| title=656 F.2d 724; 211 U.S.App.D.C. 135, 7 Media L. Rep. 1708: Military Audit Project, Felice D. Cohen, Morton H. Halperin, Appellants, v. William Casey, Director of Central Intelligence, et al.; No. 80-1110.| year=1981| publisher=United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325093649/http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/656/656.F2d.724.80-1110.html#fn2_ref| archive-date=2012-03-25}}</ref>
[[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,879453,00.html| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204225855/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,879453,00.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 4, 2013| title=Espionage: The Great Submarine Snatch|date=March 31, 1975 |publisher=Time Magazine}}</ref> and a court filing by Felice D. Cohen and [[Morton H. Halperin]] on behalf of the Military Audit Project <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.leagle.com/decision/19811380656F2d724_11252|title=Military Audit Project v. {{!}} 656 F.2d 724 (1981) {{!}} f2d72411252 {{!}} Leagle.com|work=Leagle|access-date=September 17, 2017|language=en|archive-date=May 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504010619/http://www.leagle.com/decision/19811380656F2d724_11252|url-status=live}}</ref> suggest that the alleged project goal of raising a Soviet submarine might itself have been a cover story for another secret mission. Tapping undersea communication cables, the cover up of an assassination, the discovery of Atlantis, the installation of a missile silo, and installation and repair of [[SOSUS|surveillance systems to monitor ship and submarine movements]] are listed as possibilities for the actual purpose of such a secret mission.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/656/656.F2d.724.80-1110.html#fn2_ref| title=656 F.2d 724; 211 U.S.App.D.C. 135, 7 Media L. Rep. 1708: Military Audit Project, Felice D. Cohen, Morton H. Halperin, Appellants, v. William Casey, Director of Central Intelligence, et al.; No. 80-1110.| year=1981| publisher=United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325093649/http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F2/656/656.F2d.724.80-1110.html#fn2_ref| archive-date=March 25, 2012}}</ref>


==Eyewitness account==
==Eyewitness accounts==
W. Craig Reed told an inside account of Project Azorian in his book ''Red November: Inside the Secret U.S. – Soviet Submarine War'' (2010). The account was provided by Joe Houston, the senior engineer who designed leading-edge camera systems used by the ''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' team to photograph ''K-129'' on the ocean floor. The team needed pictures that offered precise measurements to design the grappling arm and other systems used to bring the sunken submarine up from the bottom. Houston worked for the mysterious "Mr. P" (John Parangosky) who worked for CIA Deputy Director [[Carl E. Duckett]], the two leaders of Project Azorian. Duckett later worked with Houston at another company, and intimated that the CIA may have recovered much more from the ''K-129'' than admitted publicly. Reed also details how the deep submergence towed sonar array<ref>USS Halibut Crew Member</ref> technology was used for subsequent [[Operation Ivy Bells]] missions to wiretap underwater Soviet communications cables.
W. Craig Reed told an inside account of Project Azorian in his book ''Red November: Inside the Secret U.S. – Soviet Submarine War'' (2010). The account was provided by Joe Houston, the senior engineer who designed leading-edge camera systems used by the ''Hughes Glomar Explorer'' team to photograph ''K-129'' on the ocean floor. The team needed pictures that offered precise measurements to design the grappling arm and other systems used to bring the sunken submarine up from the bottom. Houston worked for the mysterious "Mr. P" (John Parangosky) who worked for CIA Deputy Director [[Carl E. Duckett]], the two leaders of Project Azorian. Duckett later worked with Houston at another company, and intimated that the CIA may have recovered much more from the ''K-129'' than admitted publicly. Reed also details how the deep submergence towed sonar array<ref>USS Halibut Crew Member</ref> technology was used for subsequent [[Operation Ivy Bells]] missions to wiretap underwater Soviet communications cables.


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The documentary film ''Azorian: The Raising Of The K-129'' was produced by Michael White and released in 2009.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090205063115/http://projectjennifer.at/ Azorian – The Raising of the K-129 / 2009 – Two Part TV Documentary / Michael White Films Vienna]</ref>
The documentary film ''Azorian: The Raising Of The K-129'' was produced by Michael White and released in 2009.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090205063115/http://projectjennifer.at/ Azorian – The Raising of the K-129 / 2009 – Two Part TV Documentary / Michael White Films Vienna]</ref>


Spy Ops: Project Azorian (Season 1, Episode 8) is a short documentary also produced by Michael White which adds some details to his earlier work. Two former CIA officials (Robert Wallace, John Cardwell) make their appearance in this film for Netflix.<ref name="Netflix">[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29026398/ Spy Ops: Project Azorian Episode aired Sep 8, 2023]</ref>
''Neither Confirm Nor Deny'' is a documentary on Project Azorian.<ref name="latimes/nCnD-review">{{cite news |last1=Abele |first1=Robert |title=Review: 'Neither Confirm Nor Deny' tells a real-life tale of spies, nukes and Howard Hughes |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-09-23/neither-confirm-nor-deny-review-cia-howard-hughes-project-azorian |access-date=3 December 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=23 September 2023}}</ref><ref name="nytimes/deny-review">{{cite news |last1=Rapold |first1=Nicolas |title='Neither Confirm Nor Deny' Review: Exhumation at Sea |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/21/movies/neither-confirm-nor-deny-review.html |access-date=3 December 2023 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="978-0-231-55032-1">{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=M. Todd |title=Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency |date=3 January 2023 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-55032-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="hollywoodreporter/4091883">{{cite news |last1=DeFore |first1=John |title='Neither Confirm Nor Deny': Film Review - DOC NYC 2020 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/neither-confirm-nor-deny-film-review-doc-nyc-2020-4091883/ |access-date=3 December 2023 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=13 November 2020}}</ref>

''Neither Confirm Nor Deny'' is a documentary on Project Azorian.<ref name="latimes/nCnD-review">{{cite news |last1=Abele |first1=Robert |title=Review: 'Neither Confirm Nor Deny' tells a real-life tale of spies, nukes and Howard Hughes |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-09-23/neither-confirm-nor-deny-review-cia-howard-hughes-project-azorian |access-date=December 3, 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 23, 2023 |archive-date=December 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203212940/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-09-23/neither-confirm-nor-deny-review-cia-howard-hughes-project-azorian |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nytimes/deny-review">{{cite news |last1=Rapold |first1=Nicolas |title='Neither Confirm Nor Deny' Review: Exhumation at Sea |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/21/movies/neither-confirm-nor-deny-review.html |access-date=December 3, 2023 |work=The New York Times|date=September 21, 2023 }}</ref><ref name="978-0-231-55032-1">{{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=M. Todd |title=Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency |date=January 3, 2023 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-55032-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="hollywoodreporter/4091883">{{cite news |last1=DeFore |first1=John |title='Neither Confirm Nor Deny': Film Review - DOC NYC 2020 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/neither-confirm-nor-deny-film-review-doc-nyc-2020-4091883/ |access-date=December 3, 2023 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=November 13, 2020}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
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'''Sources'''
'''Sources'''
* {{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=M. Todd |title=Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency |date=3 January 2023 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-55032-1 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Bennett |first1=M. Todd |title=Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency |date=January 3, 2023 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-55032-1 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=Craven |first=John |author-link=John P. Craven PhD%2C JD |title=The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea |year=2001 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-87213-7 |chapter=The Hunt for Red September: A Tale of Two Submarines |pages=[https://archive.org/details/silentwarcoldwar00crav/page/198 198–222] |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/silentwarcoldwar00crav/page/198 }}
* {{cite book |last=Craven |first=John |author-link=John P. Craven PhD%2C JD |title=The Silent War: The Cold War Battle Beneath the Sea |year=2001 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-684-87213-7 |chapter=The Hunt for Red September: A Tale of Two Submarines |pages=[https://archive.org/details/silentwarcoldwar00crav/page/198 198–222] |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/silentwarcoldwar00crav/page/198 }}
* {{cite book |title=The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History |last=Dean |first=Josh |year=2018 |publisher=Dutton Caliber |isbn=978-1101984451}}
* {{cite book |title=The Taking of K-129: How the CIA Used Howard Hughes to Steal a Russian Sub in the Most Daring Covert Operation in History |last=Dean |first=Josh |year=2018 |publisher=Dutton Caliber |isbn=978-1101984451}}
Line 134: Line 144:
* [[Norman Polmar|Polmar, Norman]] and White, Michael (2010) ''Project Azorian: The CIA And The Raising of the K-129'', Naval Institute Press. {{ISBN|978-1-59114-690-2}}
* [[Norman Polmar|Polmar, Norman]] and White, Michael (2010) ''Project Azorian: The CIA And The Raising of the K-129'', Naval Institute Press. {{ISBN|978-1-59114-690-2}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071030160024/http://users.erols.com/marelk/Vets%20Page%20Rework/PUC-%20Citation.htm Presidential Unit Citation – USS ''Halibut'' – 1968]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071030160024/http://users.erols.com/marelk/Vets%20Page%20Rework/PUC-%20Citation.htm Presidential Unit Citation – USS ''Halibut'' – 1968]
* {{cite book|last=Sharp|first=David|title=The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation: Inside the Daring Mission to Recover a Nuclear-Armed Soviet Sub|year=2012|publisher=University Press of Kansas|location=Lawrence, Kansas|isbn=978-0-7006-1834-7|page=344|url=http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/shacia.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728214106/http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/shacia.html|archive-date=2012-07-28}}
* {{cite book|last=Sharp|first=David|title=The CIA's Greatest Covert Operation: Inside the Daring Mission to Recover a Nuclear-Armed Soviet Sub|year=2012|publisher=University Press of Kansas|location=Lawrence, Kansas|isbn=978-0-7006-1834-7|page=344|url=http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/shacia.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728214106/http://www.kansaspress.ku.edu/shacia.html|archive-date=July 28, 2012}}
* {{cite book |last=Sontag |first=Sherry |title=Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage |year=1998 |publisher=Harper |location=New York |isbn=0-06-103004-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/blindmansbluffun00sont }}
* {{cite book |last=Sontag |first=Sherry |title=Blind Man's Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage |year=1998 |publisher=Harper |location=New York |isbn=0-06-103004-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/blindmansbluffun00sont }}
* Varner, Roy and Collier, Wayne. (1978) ''A Matter of Risk: The Incredible Inside Story of the CIA's Hughes Glomar Explorer Mission to Raise a Russian Submarine''
* Varner, Roy and Collier, Wayne. (1978) ''A Matter of Risk: The Incredible Inside Story of the CIA's Hughes Glomar Explorer Mission to Raise a Russian Submarine''

Latest revision as of 20:42, 3 December 2024

Project Azorian
Date1974
Location16,500 feet (5,000 m) below the Pacific Ocean
ParticipantsCIA, U.S. Navy
OutcomeSuccessful recovery of a portion of Soviet submarine K-129

Project Azorian (also called "Jennifer" by the press after its Top Secret Security Compartment)[1] was a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine K-129 from the Pacific Ocean floor in 1974 using the purpose-built ship Hughes Glomar Explorer.[2][3] The 1968 sinking of K-129 occurred about 1,560 miles (2,510 km) northwest of Hawaii.[4] Project Azorian was one of the most complex, expensive, and covert intelligence operations of the Cold War at a cost of about $800 million, or $4.9 billion today.

The US designed the recovery ship and its lifting cradle using concepts developed with Global Marine (see Project Mohole) that used their precision stability equipment to keep the ship nearly stationary above the target while lowering nearly three miles (4.8 km) of pipe. They worked with scientists to develop methods for preserving paper that had been underwater for years in hopes of being able to recover and read the submarine's codebooks. The reasons that this project was undertaken included the recovery of an intact R-21 nuclear missile and cryptological documents and equipment.

The Soviet Union was unable to locate K-129, but the US determined its general location from data recorded by four Air Force Technical Applications Center (AFTAC) sites and the Adak Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) array. The US identified an acoustic event on March 8 that likely originated from an explosion aboard the submarine, and was able to determine the location to within five nautical miles (5.8 mi; 9.3 km).[clarify]

The submarine USS Halibut located the boat using the Fish, a towed, 12-foot (3.7 m), two-short-ton (1.8 t) collection of cameras, strobe lights, and sonar that was built to withstand extreme depths. The recovery operation in international waters about six years later used mining for manganese nodules as its cover story.

The mining company and ship was nominally owned by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, but secretly backed by the CIA, who paid for the construction of the Hughes Glomar Explorer.[5] The ship recovered a portion of K-129, but a mechanical failure in the grapple caused two-thirds of the recovered section to break off during recovery.[6][7]

The wreck of K-129

[edit]

The K-129 submarine

On February 24, 1968, K-129, a Soviet Project 629A ballistic missile submarine attached to the 15th Submarine Squadron of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, left Rybachiy Naval Base in Kamchatka on a routine missile patrol, the boat's third since completing a major modernization the previous year. On the first day, the sub cruised out to deep water, conducted a test dive, surfaced to radio in, and embarked for its patrol station. The sub was to make standard radio contact with its commanders in Kamchatka when crossing the 180th meridian and when arriving on station. But K-129 missed its designated check-ins and did not respond to communication attempts. By the third week of March, the submarine was declared missing.

In April 1968, many Soviet Pacific Fleet surface and air assets deployed to the North Pacific Ocean and performed some unusual search operations. The activity was evaluated by the United States Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) as a possible reaction to the loss of a Soviet submarine. Soviet surface ship searches were centered on a location known to be associated with Soviet Golf II-class strategic ballistic missile (SSB) diesel submarine patrol routes. These submarines carried three nuclear missiles in an extended sail/conning tower, and routinely deployed within missile range of the US west coast. After weeks of searching, the Soviets were unable to locate the sunken boat, and Soviet Pacific Fleet operations gradually returned to normal.

The US Navy analyzed acoustic data recorded by the SOSUS hydrophone network in the northern Pacific—four AFTAC sites and the Adak, Alaska SOSUS array—and found evidence of the implosion that had sunk the Russian sub.[citation needed] Naval Facility (NAVFAC) Point Sur, south of Monterey, California, isolated a sonic signature on its low-frequency array recordings of an implosion that had occurred on March 8, 1968. Using NavFac Point Sur's date and time of the event, NavFac Adak and the US West Coast NAVFAC were also able to isolate the acoustic event. With five SOSUS lines-of-bearing, Naval Intelligence was able to localize the site of the K-129 wreck to the vicinity of 40.1° N latitude and 179.9° E longitude (close to the International Date Line).[6]

The model of the sunken and deteriorated K-129 submarine

In July 1968, the United States Navy began "Operation Sand Dollar" with the deployment of USS Halibut from Pearl Harbor to the wreck site. Sand Dollar's objective was to find and photograph K-129. In 1968 Halibut, which had been configured to use deep submergence search equipment, was the US Navy's only such specially-equipped submarine. Halibut located the wreck after three weeks of visual search using robotic remote-controlled cameras. (It took almost five months of search to find the wreck of the US nuclear-powered submarine Scorpion in the Atlantic, also in 1968). Halibut is reported to have spent the next several weeks taking more than 20,000 closeup photos of every aspect of the K-129 wreck, a feat for which Halibut received a special classified Presidential Unit Citation signed by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.

The photos were sent to the National Photographic Interpretation Center at the CIA to determine what, if anything, could be determined about the status of the wreck. CIA analysts wrote a report indicating that there was a good probability that the nuclear missile in the #3 missile tube was still intact.[7]

In 1970, based upon this photography, Defense Secretary Melvin Laird and Henry Kissinger, then National Security Advisor, proposed a clandestine plan to recover the wreckage so that the US could study Soviet nuclear missile technology, as well as possibly recover cryptographic materials. The proposal was accepted by President Richard Nixon, and the CIA was tasked to attempt the recovery.

Building Glomar Explorer and its cover story

[edit]

Global Marine Development Inc., the research and development arm of Global Marine Inc., a pioneer in deepwater offshore drilling operations, was contracted to design, build and operate Hughes Glomar Explorer to secretly salvage the sunken Soviet submarine. The ship was built at the Sun Shipbuilding yard near Philadelphia. Billionaire businessman Howard Hughes – whose companies were already contractors on numerous classified US military weapons, aircraft and satellite contracts[citation needed] – agreed to lend his name to the project to support the cover story that the ship was mining manganese nodules from the ocean floor, but Hughes and his companies had no actual involvement in the project. K-129 was photographed at a depth of over 16,000 feet (4,900 m), and thus the salvage operation would be well beyond the depth of any ship salvage operation ever attempted.[citation needed] On November 1, 1972, work began on the 63,000-short-ton (57,000 t), 619-foot-long (189 m) Hughes Glomar Explorer (HGE).

At least two preparatory missions were carried out in the general area of the recovery site using other ships. From September 1970 to January 1971, the drilling ship GLOMAR II collected site data as part of Project AXMINSTER.[8] From January to July 1972, the R.V. SEASCOPE surveyed the general area to within 45 nm of the recovery site. Both missions also probed the Soviet reactions to research ships in the region.[9]

The primary objective was to recover a major portion of the submarine. In particular, the United States Intelligence Board (USIB) expected to recover cryptographic equipment, a nuclear warhead, a SS-N-5 missile, the navigation system, fire control system, sonar system, ASW countermeasures, and related documentation.[9]

Recovery

[edit]

Hughes Glomar Explorer employed a large mechanical claw, which Lockheed officially titled the "Capture Vehicle" but affectionately called Clementine. The capture vehicle was designed to be lowered to the ocean floor, grasp the targeted submarine section, and then lift that section into the ship's moon pool for processing. One requirement of this technology was to keep the floating base stable and in position over a fixed point 16,000 feet (4,900 m) below the ocean surface.

The capture vehicle was lowered and raised on a pipe string similar to those used on oil drilling rigs. Section by section, pairs of 30-foot (9.1 m) steel pipes were strung together to lower the claw through a hole in the middle of the ship. This configuration was designed by Western Gear Corp. of Everett, Washington. Upon a successful capture by the claw, the lift reversed the process: 60-foot (18 m) pairs drawn up and removed one at a time. The salvaged "Target Object" was thus to be drawn into the moon pool in the center of the vessel, the doors of which could then be closed to form a floor for the salvaged section. This allowed for the entire salvage process to take place underwater, away from the view of other ships, aircraft, or spy satellites.

Hughes Glomar Explorer arrived at the recovery site (40°06′N 179°54′E / 40.1°N 179.9°E / 40.1; 179.9)[10] on July 4, 1974, after departing from Long Beach, California, on June 20, and traveling sailing 3,008 nautical miles (5,571 km). The ship conducted salvage operations for over a month. During this period, at least two Soviet Navy ships visited Hughes Glomar Explorer's work site, the oceangoing tugboat SB-10, and the Soviet missile range instrumentation ship Chazma.[4] It was found out after 1991 that the Soviets were tipped off about the operation and were aware that the CIA was planning some kind of salvage operation, but the military command believed it impossible that they could perform such a task and disregarded further intelligence warnings. Later, Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin started sending urgent messages back to the Soviet Navy warning that an operation was imminent. Soviet military engineering experts reevaluated their positions and claimed that it was indeed possible (though highly unlikely) to recover K-129, and ships in the area were ordered to report any unusual activity, although the lack of knowledge as to where K-129 was located impeded their ability to stop any salvage operation.[6]

US Army Major General Roland Lajoie stated that, according to a briefing he received by the CIA during recovery operations, Clementine suffered a catastrophic failure, causing two-thirds of the already raised portion of K-129 to sink back to the ocean floor.[citation needed] Former Lockheed and Hughes Global Marine employees who worked on the operation have stated that several of the "claws" intended to grab the submarine fractured, possibly because they were manufactured from maraging steel, which is very strong, but not very ductile compared with other kinds of steel.[6] Video evidence and eyewitness reports have stated that multiple claws of Clementine sheared off, causing a 100-foot (30 m) section of the submarine to fall back to the seafloor.[7] Eyewitnesses have stated that only the 38-foot (12 m) bow section was raised, while the sail portion containing the nuclear missiles was lost during the raising operation.[7]

Duration: 14 minutes and 4 seconds.Subtitles available.
Video of the Soviet sailors being buried at sea

The recovered section included two nuclear torpedoes, and thus Project Azorian was not a complete failure. The bodies of six crewmen were also recovered, and were given a memorial service and with military honors, buried at sea in a metal casket because of radioactivity concerns. Other crew members have reported that code books and other materials of apparent interest to CIA employees aboard the vessel were recovered, and images of inventory printouts exhibited in the documentary[6] suggest that various submarine components, such as hatch covers, instruments and sonar equipment were also recovered.[original research?] White's documentary also states that the ship's bell from K-129 was recovered, and was subsequently returned to the Soviet Union as part of a diplomatic effort. The CIA considered the project one of the greatest intelligence coups of the Cold War.[11]

The entire salvage operation was recorded by a CIA documentary film crew, but this film remains classified. A short portion of the film, showing the recovery and subsequent burial at sea of the six bodies recovered in the forward section of K-129, was given to the Russian government in 1992.

Public disclosure

[edit]

The New York Times story

[edit]

Time Magazine credited Jack Anderson as breaking the story in a March 1975 radio broadcast.[12][13] Rejecting a plea from the Director of Central Intelligence William Colby to suppress the story, Anderson said he released the story because "Navy experts have told us that the sunken sub contains no real secrets and that the project, therefore, is a waste of the taxpayers' money."[13]

In February 1975, investigative reporter and former New York Times writer Seymour Hersh had planned to publish a story on Project Azorian. Bill Kovach, the New York Times Washington bureau chief at the time, said in 2005 that the government offered a convincing argument to delay publication – exposure at that time, while the project was ongoing, "would have caused an international incident." The New York Times published its account in March 1975,[14] after a story appeared in the Los Angeles Times, and included a five-paragraph explanation of the many twists and turns in the path to publication.[15] CIA director George H. W. Bush reported on several occasions to U.S. president Gerald Ford on media reports and the future use of the ship.[16][17] The CIA concluded that it seemed unclear what, if any, action was taken by the Soviet Union after learning of the story.[18]

FOIA request and the Glomar response

[edit]

After stories had been published about the CIA's attempts to stop publication of information about Project Azorian, Harriet Ann Phillippi, a journalist, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the CIA for any records about the CIA's attempts. The CIA refused to either confirm or deny the existence of such documents.[19] This type of non-responsive reply has since come to be known as the "Glomar response" or "Glomarization".[20]

1998 release of video

[edit]

A video showing the 1974 memorial services for the six Soviet seamen whose bodies were recovered by Project Azorian was forwarded by the U.S. to Russia in the early 1990s. Portions of this video were shown on television documentaries concerning Project Azorian, including a 1998 Discovery Channel special called A Matter of National Security (based on Clyde W. Burleson's book, The Jennifer Project (1977)) and again in 1999, on a PBS Cold War submarine episode of NOVA.[21][22]

2010 release of 1985 CIA article

[edit]

In February 2010, the CIA released an article from the fall 1985 edition of the CIA internal journal Studies in Intelligence following an application by researcher Matthew Aid at the National Security Archive[23] to declassify the information under the Freedom of Information Act. Exactly what the operation managed to salvage remained unclear.[24] The report was written by an unidentified participant in Project Azorian.

2010 release of President Ford cabinet meeting

[edit]

President Gerald Ford, Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger, Philip Buchen (Counsel to the President), John O. Marsh, Jr. (Counselor to the President), Ambassador Donald Rumsfeld, USAF Lieutenant General Brent Scowcroft (Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs), and William Colby (Director of Central Intelligence) discussed the leak and whether the Ford administration would react to Hersh's story in a cabinet meeting on March 19, 1975, the same day that The New York Times published the story. Secretary of Defense Schlesinger is quoted as saying,

This episode has been a major American accomplishment. The operation is a marvel – technically, and with maintaining secrecy.[25][26]

Schlesinger indicated at least some form of success that should be confirmed publicly.[27] CIA Director William Colby dissented, recalling the U-2 crisis, saying:

I think we should not put the Soviet Union under such pressure to respond.[25][26]

The Los Angeles Times published a four-page story the next day by Jack Nelson with the headline "Administration Won't Talk About Sub Raised by CIA."[27]

Conspiracy theory

[edit]

Time magazine[28] and a court filing by Felice D. Cohen and Morton H. Halperin on behalf of the Military Audit Project [29] suggest that the alleged project goal of raising a Soviet submarine might itself have been a cover story for another secret mission. Tapping undersea communication cables, the cover up of an assassination, the discovery of Atlantis, the installation of a missile silo, and installation and repair of surveillance systems to monitor ship and submarine movements are listed as possibilities for the actual purpose of such a secret mission.[30]

Eyewitness accounts

[edit]

W. Craig Reed told an inside account of Project Azorian in his book Red November: Inside the Secret U.S. – Soviet Submarine War (2010). The account was provided by Joe Houston, the senior engineer who designed leading-edge camera systems used by the Hughes Glomar Explorer team to photograph K-129 on the ocean floor. The team needed pictures that offered precise measurements to design the grappling arm and other systems used to bring the sunken submarine up from the bottom. Houston worked for the mysterious "Mr. P" (John Parangosky) who worked for CIA Deputy Director Carl E. Duckett, the two leaders of Project Azorian. Duckett later worked with Houston at another company, and intimated that the CIA may have recovered much more from the K-129 than admitted publicly. Reed also details how the deep submergence towed sonar array[31] technology was used for subsequent Operation Ivy Bells missions to wiretap underwater Soviet communications cables.

The documentary film Azorian: The Raising Of The K-129 features interviews with Sherman Wetmore, Global Marine heavy lift operations manager; Charlie Johnson, Global Marine heavy lift engineer; and Raymond Feldman, Lockheed Ocean Systems senior staff engineer. They were the three principals in the design of the Hughes Glomar Explorer heavy lift system and the Lockheed capture vehicle (CV or claw). They were also on board the ship during the mission and were intimately involved with the recovery operation. They confirmed that only 38 ft (12 m) of the bow was eventually recovered. The intent was to recover the forward two thirds (138 ft [42 m]) of K-129, which had broken off from the rear section of the submarine and was designated the Target Object (TO). The capture vehicle successfully lifted the TO from the ocean floor, but a failure of part of the capture vehicle on the way up caused the loss of 100 ft (30 m) of the TO, including the sail. Norman Polmar and Michael White published Project Azorian: The CIA And The Raising of the K-129 in 2010. The book contains additional documentary evidence about the effort to locate the submarine and the recovery operation.[6]

CIA Museum artifacts

[edit]

A number of artifacts from Project Azorian and Glomar Explorer are on display at the CIA Museum. The museum has shared declassified images and video featuring the artifacts through its website; however the physical grounds of the museum are on the compound of the George Bush Center for Intelligence and thus physically inaccessible to the public.

Documentaries

[edit]

The documentary film Azorian: The Raising Of The K-129 was produced by Michael White and released in 2009.[32]

Spy Ops: Project Azorian (Season 1, Episode 8) is a short documentary also produced by Michael White which adds some details to his earlier work. Two former CIA officials (Robert Wallace, John Cardwell) make their appearance in this film for Netflix.[7]

Neither Confirm Nor Deny is a documentary on Project Azorian.[33][34][35][36]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

  1. ^ Aid, Matthew; Burr, William; Blanton, Thomas (February 12, 2010). "Project Azorian: The CIA's Declassified History of the Glomar Explorer". The National Security Archive. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010 – via GWU.
  2. ^ Wiegley, Roger D., LT (JAG) USN "The Recovered Sunken Warship: Raising a Legal Question" United States Naval Institute Proceedings January 1979 p. 30.
  3. ^ The secret on the ocean floor Archived September 18, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. David Shukman, BBC News. February 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Project Azorian: The Story of the Hughes Glomar Explorer" (PDF). Studies in Intelligence, CIA. Fall 1985. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  5. ^ Polmar, Norman; White, Michael (2010). Project Azorian: the CIA and the Raising of the K-129. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-690-2.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Michael White (February 8, 2011). Azorian: The Raising of the K-129 (DVD). Michael White Films. ASIN B0047H7PYQ. ISBN 978-1591146902. Archived from the original on February 5, 2009.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Spy Ops: Project Azorian Episode aired Sep 8, 2023
  8. ^ "186. Memorandum to the Chairman of the 40 Committee (Kissinger)". Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXXV, National Security Policy, 1973–1976. May 28, 1974. Archived from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
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  31. ^ USS Halibut Crew Member
  32. ^ Azorian – The Raising of the K-129 / 2009 – Two Part TV Documentary / Michael White Films Vienna
  33. ^ Abele, Robert (September 23, 2023). "Review: 'Neither Confirm Nor Deny' tells a real-life tale of spies, nukes and Howard Hughes". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
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  35. ^ Bennett, M. Todd (January 3, 2023). Neither Confirm nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-55032-1.
  36. ^ DeFore, John (November 13, 2020). "'Neither Confirm Nor Deny': Film Review - DOC NYC 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 3, 2023.

Sources

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