On October 29, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the US Navy dropped signaling depth charges on the Soviet submarine B-59, which was near Cuba. The submarine's crew, cut off from Moscow and believing a war had begun, prepared to launch a nuclear torpedo, but the decision was averted by Vasily Arkhipov, who was a Soviet officer aboard the B-59 and had the deciding vote. The context: The incident occurred at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the US Navy was trying to force Soviet s