Something strange had been happening for the last few hours.
After leaving the Mediterranean Sea, the crew aboard the USS Saratoga aircraft carrier spotted
an unidentified vessel following them. She had failed to identify herself and
had kept radio silence, but the submarine was on Saratoga’s tail, simply keeping the pace.
After waiting long enough, the crew grew afraid of a possible torpedo attack, and the captain
then gave the order to steam at full speed. As Saratoga accelerated at some 60 kilometers
per hour, the mysterious submarine finally disappeared. Or so they thought.
To the crew’s dismay, the submarine was no longer at the ship's rear but at the front, leading the
way and moving at a pace of at least 80 kilometers per hour, something quite unprecedented.
It was time to call the Pentagon and decide on the next steps if they wanted to survive.
Project 661
In the late 1950s, the Soviet Union began looking for a solution to eliminate American
aircraft carrier strike groups. The nation had not fully recovered from World War 2 and was in
no shape to directly engage the US Navy at sea. Following a strategy similar to that of Germany
during World War 2, the USSR decided to develop state-of-the-art submarines that could get close
and personal with the enemy aircraft carriers. But first, the Soviets had to devise a weapon that
the submarines could use effectively, as their torpedoes did not reach beyond four kilometers.
Soviet engineer Vladimir Chelomey then developed a new type of weapons system, creating the powerful
P-70 Ametist or N7 Starbright, with an astonishing operational range of 65 kilometers per hour.
With this issue solved, the Soviets began working on a unique platform capable of
carrying and launching the desired missiles. This unique submarine was codenamed Project 661.
Nikolai Isanin, from OKB16, was the mind behind the ambitious program, and development began in
1960. However, it took almost ten years to complete the one-of-a-kind submarine.
Dubbed K-162, the vessel was unlike any other submarine of her time.
She became the first submarine with a hull made of titanium alloy, which was anti-corrosion,
had low magnetism, and was highly durable. Also, the two-hull structure comprised nine
compartments, but this was only the start of her innovative features. K-162 had more to offer.
The Golden Fish
Besides her titanium hull, K-162 innovated using ten powerful P-70 Ametist missiles.
She was also equipped with an MGK300 sonar system, a Sygma 661 navigation apparatus,
a Radian 1 radar system, and a Nichrom friend or foe detection system.
Furthermore, she was fitted with two light-water nuclear reactors, two steam turbines,
and two shafts to make her a swift attack submarine able to take down aircraft carriers.
This would allow K-162 to reach an impressive top speed of up to 83 kilometers per hour,
a feat no submarine could ever do. The only drawback of these tremendous
speeds was that noise could reach up to 100 decibels inside the submarine’s central station.
K-162 had a length of 109 meters, a beam of six meters, and a draft of eight meters,
and she displaced over 7,000 tons when submerged and could reach a depth of about 400 meters.
She was quickly nicknamed The Golden Fish because of her
massive cost of approximately two billion rubles.
Surprising USS Saratoga In the fall of 1971,
when tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States were still ardent,
a strange event occurred at the Atlantic Sea. The United States had given up on Vietnam and
had evacuated most of its troops from the South Asian country.
Still, the US Navy patrolled the seas to track down any Soviet Navy movements.
The Soviets did the same, and they had grown bolder with their brand new submarine,
eventually deciding to go for a dive in the Atlantic to test some of her innovative features.
They knew the Atlantic was part of the American home turf, but the eager sailors did not care.
Still, they were cautious and tried to avoid contact with any vessel within their radius until
they saw a juicy target they could trick off. This vessel happened to be the imposing aircraft
carrier USS Saratoga of the United States 6th fleet. After patrolling the Mediterranean,
the gigantic warship was bound for Miami, Florida. USS Saratoga was the second of four
Forrestal-class supercarriers built for the United States Navy in the 1950s.
She had a length of 324 meters, a beam of 40 meters, and a draft of 11 meters.
Saratoga was powered by four Westinghouse geared turbines, four shafts, and eight
Babcock & Wilcox boilers, giving her a top speed of some 65 kilometers per hour.
But that was not enough to outspeed the Golden Fish, and her crew was willing to prove it.
The Unexpected Guest K-162 decided to chase USS Saratoga to test her
top speed and hiding capabilities. It was perilous and could lead to a full-fledged conflict,
but the sailors were tired after a tedious patrol and wanted to relax and provoke the Americans.
At first, K-162 approached USS Saratoga discreetly. However, the submarine quickly
accelerated to reach the American vessel until the US sailors could finally spot her.
Minutes later, the Pentagon received an alarming message from USS Saratoga.
Many refused to believe it, while other intelligence personnel became highly nervous.
Saratoga reported that an unidentified submarine had been following the warship for the past hours.
She had failed to identify herself and was simply following Saratoga behind her tail.
The American ship had attempted to break away, but the submarine
insisted on following her under the water. During the alleged chase, the Golden Fish
decided to go full speed at 80 kilometers per hour and went past the Saratoga before vanishing again.
It was the first and last time an American and Soviet submarine got so close during the Cold War,
and the US Navy was incredibly puzzled. The American sailors could not believe
that a secret Soviet submarine had managed to bypass a powerful aircraft carrier;
it was unprecedented for a submarine to travel that fast. USS Saratoga had been moving at full
steam, at more than 60 kilometers per hour, and she was still left behind.
They didn’t know there was a submarine in the world with such capabilities.
But they were now face to face with K-162, The Golden Fish.
Legacy In 1978, Soviet submarine K-162 was
renamed K-222, but the Golden Fish nickname stuck. Although NATO forces knew very little about her,
they had classified her as a Papa-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine.
Still, despite the many innovations of the Golden Fish, her days were counted.
As the years passed and new technology became available, K-222 stopped being an innovation
and became a liability for the Soviet Navy. On September 30, 1980, one of the K222’s nuclear
reactors was damaged during maintenance, limiting her operational capability.
The Golden Fish was costly to maintain and she drained more resources than a standard
submarine. Hence, as the Soviet Union began to crumble, funds had to be cut.
The revolutionary vessel was placed in reserve at the Belomorsk Naval Base in Severodvinsk and
was then formally decommissioned from the Soviet Navy in 1988 after almost 20 years of service.
She was then scrapped in March of 2010 and carefully dismantled with
the nuclear reactors and fuel still on board. Still, even after her career came to an end,
the legacy of the unique submarine lived on with the Russian Alfa and Sierra-class submarines.
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