Azorian: The Raising Of The K-129 Access

The Soviet Golf II-class submarine K-129 , carrying three nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, sank in the Central North Pacific. While the Soviet Union failed to find it, U.S. intelligence located the wreck within weeks using advanced acoustic listening devices.

The recovered section contained the remains of six Soviet sailors . In a rare act of wartime humanity, the U.S. gave them a formal military burial at sea with Soviet honors, filming the ceremony for history. Why It's a "Must-Watch" Azorian: The Raising of the K-129 (TV Movie 2010) - IMDb Azorian: The Raising of the K-129

The documentary (2010) chronicles one of the most ambitious and expensive covert operations of the Cold War: the CIA's secret attempt to recover a sunken Soviet ballistic missile submarine from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Core Premise and Historical Context The Soviet Golf II-class submarine K-129 , carrying

Launched in 1974 under President Nixon, the operation was disguised as a deep-sea mining venture led by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes . Technological and Operational Highlights The recovered section contained the remains of six

The U.S. sought to recover the submarine to gain insights into Soviet nuclear technology, sonar capabilities, and cryptographic materials.

During the lift in August 1974, a mechanical failure in the claw caused two-thirds of the recovered section to break off and fall back to the ocean floor. Only about 38 feet of the bow section was successfully retrieved.

The Hughes Glomar Explorer was a custom-built, 619-foot-long salvage ship designed to secretly lift the 1,750-ton submarine section from a depth of over 16,000 feet.