David H. Sharp - The CIAs greatest covert operation : inside the daring mission to recover a nuclear-armed Soviet sub

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T HE CIA S G REATEST C OVERT O PERATION

The CIAs Greatest Covert Operation

Inside the Daring Mission to Recover a Nuclear-Armed Soviet Sub

D AVID H. S HARP

University Press of Kansas

2012 by David H. Sharp
All rights reserved

Published by the University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas 66045), which was organized by the Kansas Board of Regents and is operated and funded by Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and Wichita State University

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sharp, David H.

The CIAs greatest covert operation : inside the daring mission to recover a nucleararmed Soviet sub / David H. Sharp.

p.cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7006-1941-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-7006-2251-1 (ebook)
1. Jennifer Project. 2. Glomar Explorer (Ship) 3. K-129 (Submarine) 4. United States. Central Intelligence AgencyHistory20th century. 5. Soviet Union. Voenno-Morskoi FlotSubmarine forcesHistory. 6. Submarine disastersSoviet Union. I. Title.

vb31.u54s53 2012
910.9164'9dc23	2011041677

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data is available.

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The paper used in this publication is recycled and contains 30 percent postconsumer waste. It is acid free and meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1992.

There are small but great moments in history when some few have dared to do the impossible. This book is a record of one of those moments.

All statements of fact, opinion, or analysis expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official positions or views of the CIA or any other U.S. government agency. Nothing in the contents should be construed as asserting or implying U.S. government authentication of information or agency endorsement of the authors views. This material has been reviewed by the CIA solely to prevent the disclosure of classified information.

Contents

Preface

In the summer of 1974 the CIA executed a clandestine recovery mission in the central North Pacific Ocean.

On February 7, 1975, the Los Angeles Times exposed the recovery mission on the front page of its late edition. The expos was followed within a few weeks by many more articles in nationally distributed newspapers and magazines, putting an end to any possible plans for future espionage missions with the Explorer .

Since that time, at least three books have been written purporting to tell the true story of the CIAs recovery program, and more than half a dozen books have addressed some aspects of the program and its results within their pages. None of these booksusing mainly second- or thirdhand informationhas portrayed an accurate and complete history of the recovery mission itself. Attempts to tell the story of the CIAs role in the development and operation of the recovery system, or the creation and execution of the complex security plan that enabled the recovery mission to be performed clandestinely, have been little more than uninformed speculation. The CIA has kept its secrets well.

AZORIAN is the most fascinating example of what has sometimes been described as the technical arrogance of the CIAs Directorate of Science and Technology during the Cold War years. The CIA has said very little about the program since it was exposed in 1975. The agency initially acknowledged only that it was the owner of the Hughes Glomar Explorer , and that the ship was built for the purpose of collecting intelligence. In 1992, however, the director of central intelligence (DCI), Robert Gates, acknowledged to the president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, that the Explorer had been involved in a partially successful attempt to recover a portion of the K-129 submarine. Gates also hand-delivered a visual record of the burial-at-sea ceremony for the six Soviet sailors whose bodies had been recovered along with parts of the submarine. After Gatess visit to Moscow, the CIA remained silent on the subject of AzoRIAn until January 2010, when special circumstances forced them to release a heavily redacted history of the program through Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) channels.

In the summer of 2007, after reading one more book on the Hughes Glomar Explorer program that was full of inaccuracies and absurd conspiracy theories, I suddenly realized four sobering facts: (1) The true story of the CIAs role in the Glomar Explorer program has never been accurately documented; (2) there was almost no institutional memory of the program remaining in the CIA; (3) I was one of the last remaining members of the CIA program team who had been heavily involved with all phases of the program, from concept development through operations, and all aspects of the program, including engineering, security, program management, and politics; and (4) I wasnt getting any younger. If I didnt write the story, who would be left to tell it?

I started to write. I had lots of memories about the program, as well as my personal notebooks that I maintained while on the ship from 1973 through 1975. I also had a copy of the unclassified deck logs of the Hughes Glomar Explorer for the entire period of the 1974 recovery mission. I thought I had enough material and memory to write the history. I was so wrong. I hadnt realized how much my memory had faded over thirty-five years. Every part of the story I wrote down brought up new questions that I couldnt answer. I realized I was going to need help.

The obvious sources for the help I needed were those program participantsboth government and contractorwho had worked together to achieve such amazing results. I knew their names, but I didnt know where they lived or which ones were still alive. I had to find those guys and see if theyd be willing to help me fill in the blanks in my own memory.

My first contact was with R. Curtis Crooke, the former president of Global Marine Development Inc. I had kept in touch with Curtis over the years and knew where to find him. Curtis, in turn, got me back in touch with Sherman Wetmore, the chief Global Marine engineer on the ship during the mission, and with Oscar Ott Schick, the Lockheed program manager who oversaw the construction of those parts of the recovery system built by Lockheeds Ocean Systems Division. Sherm then introduced me to Michael White, a European film producer and remarkable researcher who was creating his own historical film of the AZORIAN program.

Eventually, this chain of contacts developed into a network of government and civilian friends who were able to fill in the blanks in my memory. More than that, though, they provided new information and stories that I had never known about. Especially satisfying was the opportunity to get back in touch with old friends that I hadnt heard from for many years.

By June 2008, I had a draft manuscript completed. As a former CIA employee, Im required by law to submit any book or article that I want to publish to the agencys Publications Review Board (PRB). The PRB performs an expedient reviewwith a thirty-day goalof a submitted manuscript and provides the author with a revised copy containing appropriate recommendations for redactions or changes that are needed to protect national security. I submitted my manuscript on June 24, 2008.

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