prominent American intellectuals, such as Joseph Heller, Harry Harrison, James Jones, and Norman Mailer, having been drafted into the military during World War II and exposed to military life first-hand, lashed out in the 1950s-60s by writing novels that portrayed American military leaders as stupid and vicious. A recurring theme of the writings of the American intelligentsia during the Cold War was the fear of a rogue officer acting recklessly (at least) and exposing the world to the risk of a nuclear armageddon. Actual Cold War incident In October 1962, at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet submarine B-59 was pursued in the Atlantic Ocean by the U.S. Navy. When the Soviet vessel failed to surface, destroyers began dropping training depth charges. Unlike in The Bedford Incident, the Americans were not aware that the B-59 was armed with a T-5 nuclear torpedo. As the B-59 had been out of contact with Moscow for several days and was running too deep to monitor civilian radio broadcasts, the Soviet captain thought World War III might have started and wanted to launch the weapon, but he was overruled by his flotilla commander, Vasili Arkhipov, who was using the sub as his command vessel. After an argument, it was agreed that the submarine would surface and await orders from Moscow. It was not until after the fall of the Soviet Union that the existence of the T-5 torpedo and how close the world came to nuclear conflict became known. See also On the Beach – a 1959 film about the last American submarine following a global nuclear war. Fail Safe'' – a 1964 film concerning the accidental launch of a nuclear first strike by the USAF Notes Books References External links 1960s thriller films 1965 directorial debut films 1965 films American black-and-white films American thriller films British black-and-white films British thriller films Cold War submarine films Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Films about nuclear war and weapons Films about the United States Navy Films about World War III Films based on American novels Films based on military novels Films based on Moby-Dick Films directed by James B. Harris Films with screenplays by James Poe 1960s American films 1960s British films