THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD

No, I am not talking about someone from Avengers, they only save the US. But this post is about this guy,

© The Guardian

Captain Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov ( 30 January 1926 – 19 August 1998) . He was a Soviet navy officer who is often credited with the title as the 'man who saved the world'.

The world owes an enormous debt to a quiet, steady Russian naval officer who probably saved my life. And yours. And everyone you know. Even those of you who weren’t yet born.

Let's see how we all are indebted to this great guy.

It was the October of 1962, the Cuban missile crisis was at its height, the American navy detected the Soviet ballistic submarines in the Caribbean Sea. Then POTUS John F. Kennedy, had blockaded the Cuba and no sea routes were open.

The submarine was hiding in the ocean, and the Americans were dropping bombs left and right of it.

But what they didn't know was that there was a tactical nuclear torpedo on board, available to launch on the Soviet submarine, and that the Russian captain is asking himself, Shall I fire?

The nuke on this missile had roughly the power of the bomb at Hiroshima.

As there was no radio signals, and the Americans dropped the practice depth bomb on the sub, Russians thought that the war had been already declared.

The submarine was out of the contact from the Moscow, so the captain and his other teammates had to take the decision.

The Captain was doomed.

The missile was ready to be fired with Russian Captain screaming on top of his voice that “Maybe the war has already started up there … We’re gonna blast them now! We will die, but we will sink them all—we will not become the shame of the fleet.”

But that's when the hero of our story steps in.

There was a vote among three officers on whether or not to launch a nuke, with Arkhipov being the lone "no" vote.

© M. YAROVSKAYA AND A. LABUNSKAYA

He argued that this was not an attack and it was only a signal that the Americans knew of thier presence, and they only wanted the submarine to show up and have a talk. He even suggested that the bombs are not targeted at them, but they are just dropped here and there as signals.

At last the Russian sub rose up on the surface and after agreeing with the crew on the American destroyer they finally decided to return back.

There were no inspections, so the U.S. Navy had no idea that there were nuclear torpedos on those subs—and wouldn’t know for around 50 years, when the former belligerents met at a 50th reunion.

Just imagine the destruction that the world would have faced if Arkhipov had not acted wisely on time.

Both US and Soviet Union were capable of fully fledged nuclear war, and we all know if Russia attacked that day, Americans would have retaliated for sure.

And I don't think any one is ignorant enough to not know the wrath of a fully fledged nuclear war.

So yes it is rightly said, sometimes right temperament matters specially when you have to take a decision involving nuclear weapons!