Ret. Navy Captain Peter Huchthausen wrote the book K19: The Widowmaker: the Secret Story of the Soviet Nuclear Submarine. The true story of a barely averted catastrophe aboard the nuclear-powered submarine was adapted into a film of the same name starring Harrison Ford. Huchthausen served as technical director on the film. On July 4, 1961, the sub was taking part in a military exercise in the North Atlantic. A pipeline in a reactor's cooling system ruptured. In a race against time, the crew worked to improvise a repair. Until now, the story has been kept secret. Huchthausen is a retired U.S. Navy captain who served as naval attaché in Moscow from 1987 to 1990. This interview first aired July 2, 2002.
Copyright 2002 Fresh Air