During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, the Soviet submarine B-59, armed with a nuclear torpedo, found itself cornered by US Navy ships near Cuba. American forces dropped depth charges to force it to surface, unaware the submarine was armed with nuclear weapons. The crew, enduring intense heat and low oxygen, believed war had begun. The captain wanted to launch the nuclear torpedo, but launch required unanimous agreement from three senior officers. Vasily Arkhipov refused, preventing nuclear escalation and possibly World War III. The submarine surfaced, averting disaster.
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