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Background : The Typhoon-class, Project 941 Akula "Shark", is a class of nuclear-powered nuclear ballistic submarines designed and built by the Soviet Union in the 80’s in response to the US Navy’s Ohio-class. With their 48,000 tons of displacement, the Typhoons are the largest submarines ever built.
In 2012, Russia canceled it’s modernization project of the Typhoons, favoring instead the construction of the Borei-class. Reportedly, only one unit, Dmitry Donskoy , remains active, though some sources claim that she was decommissioned in 2022. Unlike Tom Clancy’s novel, they only carried their hull number as a designation. The names were only given to the four remaining boats after the Soviet Union became the Russian Federation.
As The Hunt for Red October was written and takes place in 1984, the details concerning the Typhoon-class were scarce and inaccurate at that time and some were proven wrong when the Iron Curtain fell. Whereas Red October sports a smaller conning tower and a bulge on her top rudder with her silos located in a single large room, the real Typhoon-class actually consists of several pressure hulls welded together, thus increasing the survivability in the case of flooding. The silos are not located in a large room but are sealed in the centerline and can be only accessed from the top. The bulge on the rudder is also absent.
A/N : Due to the differences between the novel and the movie, only the novel will be treated here. I am not, under any circumstances, looking down on the movie, it’s a masterpiece and a must-see.
In the Ryanverse, Krazniy Oktyabr – Red October – is the seventh Typhoon-class submarine built. Almost 30 meters larger than her sisters, she sported 6 additional ICMB silos complementing the already 20 existing ones and a special device that virtually made her impossible to detect via passive sonar : the Caterpillar Drive – or Silent Drive, allowing her to sneak into enemy territory undetected and launch her missiles, thus making her a weapon of first strike. The real seventh boat, TK-210 , was laid down in 1986 but was never completed and ended up scrapped on the slipway.
Krazniy Oktyabr ’s first and only deployment took place on the 23rd of December 1984, under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The goal was to conduct exercises with other units, notably the Alfa-class V. K. Konovalov , led by Viktor Tupolev, one of Ramius’ students ; then head to Cuba for some "Comradship". However, Ramius was having none of that. After killing zampolit Ivan Putin, he took control of the vessel and, with the help of fellow officers loyal to him, set sail toward the USA to defect. His route would coincidentally cross the path of the submarine USS Dallas , which began to tail him.
The submarine’s sudden disappearance triggered a gigantic manhunt across the Atlantic. The entire Soviet Northern Fleet and its submarines scrambled after the rogue vessel. The Americans, unnerved by this unscheduled deployment, sortied their own units with USS John F. Kennedy and New Jersey in command, supported by a British task force led by HMS Invincible . At the same time, diplomats of both sides mediated the situation to avoid any escalation. Officially, the Soviets had lost a submarine and wanted to rescue the crew as the officers were sons of high ranking members of the Party. Unofficially, they were to find the rogue submarine and sink it by any means necessary. However, the Americans and CIA analyst Jack Ryan managed to guess Ramius’ goal thanks to a letter he had sent to his superiors via an agent infiltrated in the Kremlin and set an audacious plan to seize the vessel. They established contact with Ramius and informed him that they would help him defect after giving him the coordinates of a rendezvous point.
Once said point was reached, Ramius faked a reactor malfunction and gave the order to evacuate the submarine with the help of the US Navy. He would stay behind with the officers to scuttle the ship. The "scuttling" would be conducted with a decommissioned submarine, the Ethan Allen . A depth gauge belonging to the Soviet submarine was left behind to fool the Russians when they would come to inspect the wreckage. Meanwhile, Ryan, the Captain of the Dallas , Bart Mancuso, and several of his men boarded the Krazniy Oktyabr to meet with Ramius. The plan, though successful, almost failed thanks to the presence of an undercover GRU agent who tried to blow up the submarine by launching a missile. After failing to reason with the man, Ryan shot him.
After a stop at Pamlico Bay to resupply, Krazniy Oktyabr , escorted by Dallas and the Pogy , set sail for Norfolk, Virginia. They would then cross paths with the Konovalov which had stayed behind. Believing that it was just an Ohio-class submarine escorted by two attack subs, the captain, Viktor Tupolev dismissed the contacts until he listened to their acoustic signatures. Realizing that it was the Krazniy Oktyabr , Tupolev engaged, using the rules of engagement to his advantage – Dallas and Pogy were indeed prohibited to fire unless fired upon. After a tense battle, Krazniy Oktyabr sank Konovalov by ramming her.
Krazniy Oktyabr would eventually reach Norfolk, Virginia where she would be analyzed by US military intelligence. Ramius and the officers would be taken to a CIA facility for a debrief and start their new life on the American continent under new identities. She is scuttled in the novel The Cardinal of the Kremlin .
Namesake : Krazniy Oktyabr – or Red October – refers to the Revolution of 1917 which ousted the Tsardom of Russia, and allowed the Bolcheviks led by Lenin to take power.
Stats : As a Typhoon-class submarine, Red October sports an excellent HP pool (A) and firepower (A). Her torpedo stats is lower (B) and due to her size – the largest class of submarines ever built, her Evasion is very low (D).
Personality : Red October follows the steps of her Captain Marko Ramius. Calm and composed, though boastful sometimes, she despises the Soviet Union and considers the Northern Parliament to be a complete failure of a nation whose ideology, which it is supposed to promote progress, in fact constantly evolves backwards and is not so different from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Much like Jack Ryan, she cannot stand airplanes. She owns a house in the Montana and is an amateur of rock ‘n’ roll.
Acquisition : Greetings, Commander. I am Krazniy Oktyabr, modified Typhoon-class submarine of the Soviet Navy, but that belongs to the past. The name’s October, Red October. And I serve the Eagle Union.
Secretary (Idle 1) : Submarine warfare is like fishing, patience is the key. Set the bait and wait until the fish is here. Weeks of preparation for just a couple minutes of action.
Secretary (Idle 2) : Airplanes ? I hate airplanes. Trapped inside a small metal box constantly thrown around by air currents isn’t my preferred method of traveling. What do you mean it’s not different from a submarine ?
Secretary (Idle 3) : Beware of Soyuz and her clique. They may look nice in appearance and manners, but they’re scheming behind the scenes. Keep that in mind the next time you’re working with them. Just like the Sirens, they don’t take a dump without a plan.
Return from mission : Nothing can beat the smell of success. Except maybe the smell of home.
MVP : Heh. I might have received the Hero of the Soviet Union for this. Or maybe it was the Order of Lenin ?
Low HP : Pressure hull breached. Purging ballasts to maintain buoyancy. Double time on those pumps !
Defeated : I would have liked to see the Montana… one last time.
Touch : Please refrain yourself from touching me.
Special touch : [Grabs your hand] What did I just say ?!
Affinity (Disappointed) : [Russian accent slips off] Listen here, cunt. I didn’t cross the Atlantic, got scuttled for political reasons and got brought back to be sunk by the hands of some incompetent boosted Commander. Pull your fingers out off your ass, or you’re signing our death warrants !
Affinity (Stranger) : Though my name might be Russian, I’d appreciate you pronounce it’s anglicism. Like I said earlier, I serve the Eagle Union.
Affinity (Friendly) : Your skills in submarine warfare are impressive for someone who isn’t part of the Silent Service. I’m fairly certain you could fly over the Alps in a windowless airplane with just a stopwatch and a map. Hmm ? Oh yes, I have been taking flight lessons. I never thought the sensations would indeed be so similar to a submarine.
Affinity (Like) : I became an avid listener of rock ‘n’ roll after running to the US. There’s one song in particular that stands out of the bunch and, for me, illustrates perfectly the Soviet Union’s history : a circle of lies and deceptions by a bunch of old men sharing power between themselves. The people get fooled once more and trades one tyrant for another. All under the guise of socialism. Hypocrisy at its finest. The Czar had at least the benefit of not knowing how screwed his domain was. The Politburo knew it and didn’t care. "They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work."
Affinity (Love) : I have a house in Montana. When this war comes to an end, I’d like you to come there. I’m sure you’ll appreciate the sounds of nature opposed to the cold silence of the depths.
Oath : It’s going to be five years since you’ve played this game. (*) And you’ve played it very well. Ever since you took command of this base, the Siren Fleet has trembled before the might of your warships. From the deafening thunder of their guns to their airplanes blotting out the sun and the screeching of their rockets and missiles… But this time it will be different. Well, they will tremble again – at the sound of our silence. All ahead full, love. We are sailing into history.
Sortie with Maryland : Be careful where you’re shooting at. My ordnance doesn’t react too well to shells. (Jack Ryan is from the Maryland)
Sortie with Dallas : I told you already : he isn’t called the Schoolmaster for nothing.
Sortie with V. K. Konovalov : Remember where your prey are.
Sortie with Ethan Allen : Striking resemblance, indeed…
Sortie with Sovetsky Soyuz : Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Sortie with RNS Marx (Noblesse 311, reddit link) : Has anyone ever told you the definition of insanity ? Because it fits you like a glove.
Design : Red October is a woman depicted in her mid thirties. She sports blonde hair tied in a ponytail falling down below her waist. Her hair takes a red tint at the end. Red eyes and a mole located below the left one complement her fair features. October’s attire consists of a black diving suit reinforced with a few pieces of armor (kneepads, cuisses, …) and a couple of belts putting her chest on emphasis. She wears a white double breasted longcoat similar to Sovetskaya Rossiya on her shoulders with the rank of Captain First Rank. An armband with the Eagle Union’s emblem is wrapped around the left sleeve. A scar is visible on her face, courtesy of her collision with Konovalov.
Red October’s rigging differs from the other submarine Kansens as it is not an underwater bike like the Ironblood or the submarine minus the conning tower for the other factions. It takes instead the form of a mechanical two-headed spermwhale. Each head is armed with four torpedo tubes and uses its massive forehead as blunt weapons for ramming attacks. The VLS are located on the back with the Caterpillar Drive intakes on the belly and the tail.