5 Times Nuclear Mistakes Nearly Ended the World
What Happened: When Technology and Tension Nearly Killed Us All
The Soviet Submarine That Almost Started World War III (October 27, 1962)
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet patrol submarine B-59 found itself cut off from Moscow, under attack by what its captain believed were real depth charges. In reality, the USS Beale was dropping practice charges to signal the submarine to surface. Commander Valentin Savitsky, convinced that war had already begun, ordered the launch of a 10-kiloton nuclear torpedo against the American fleet.