USS Halibut (SSN-587) running at speed
on the surface
In the early 1970's,
the U.S. government learned of the existence of
an undersea cable running parallel to the Kuril
Islands chain, connecting the major Soviet naval
bases at Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk. At this
time during the Cold War, the Sea of Okhotsk was
aggressively claimed by the Russians as territorial
waters, off limits to foreign vessels - especially
U.S. warships. To this end, the Soviet Navy constructed
a net of sound detection devices along the sea floor
to warn of any unwanted visitors. Additionally,
the entire area was the location of frequent surface
and subsurface naval exercises. Nonetheless, despite
these formidable obstacles, the potential for an
unprecedented windfall of intelligence was simply
too great to pass up.
Thus, a joint Navy-National
Security Agency (NSA) mission was initiated, code-named
Operation Ivy Bells, involving the use of U.S. Navy
fast attack submarines working in conjunction with
specially-trained Navy combat divers. Working in
tandem, they would make monthly incursions into
these dangerous waters to "tap" the line.
One of the first such missions involved the USS
Halibut (SSN-587) and the installation of a miniaturized,
waterproof pod on the cable. This "wrap around"
device, developed by the NSA, could eavesdrop on
- and record - all communications passing through
the line without the need for actually penetrating
the wires inside. This capability was deemed necessary
to prevent any possible damage to the cable that
might then attract unwanted attention. In the event
that the Russians chose to perform routine maintenance,
the pod was designed to break off and fall to the
sea bed in the event the line was raised for any
reason.
Once the device
was in place, subsequent missions were required
in which a submarine would return to the location
to pick up the six to eight weeks' worth of recordings
inside the pod. For this operation, the frogmen
would depart the sub's escape trunk, swim to the
cable (reportedly with the aid of a minisub on occasion),
remove the recorded tape, and then make their way
back to the waiting submarine. This tape was then
delivered to the NSA for processing and dissemination
to the appropriate military and civilian agencies.
Not long after the recovery of the first tapes,
it was discovered that the Soviets felt so sure
of the security of their undersea communication
line, that the majority of the concersations recorded
were completely uncoded! Needless to say, the eavesdropping
on traffic between senior Soviet officers provided
an invaluable look inside military operations in
the region.
In 1981, however,
this windfall came to an abrupt end when Western
satellites photographed a small fleet of Russian
warships gathered over the exact location of the
listening device. One vessel was a unique deep salvage
ship that had been monitored hurredly making its
way across the globe to the site. This development
caused a wave of concern through those assigned
to the project, raising concerns that the operation
had somehow been discovered. In what would later
come to be viewed as one of the most dangerous missions
of Ivy Bells, the USS Parch (SSN-683) was sent in
to retrieve the next tape. Upon arrival, divers
discovered that the pod had been removed. They quickly
made their way back to the boat and the team exited
the area, reportedly without incident.
It was clear that
their fears has been well-founded. A major, but
covert, investigation ended in with a startling
revelation: This operation (along with at least
seven other code-word operations) had been betrayed
to the KGB in January 1980 by Robert Pelton, an
employee of the National Security Agency for the
sum of $35,000. Mr. Pelton was later convicted and
sentenced to life in prison where he currently resides.
Operation Ivy Bells
remains one of the most successful intelligence
gathering operations in modern U.S. history, and
could not have been accomplished without the daring
and skill of U.S. Navy submarine officers and crew
- and a handful of Navy frogmen.
(Postscript: The
seized seafloor recording device is now on display
in the museum at the former KGB headquarters in
Moscow.)
Above text by Thomas
B. Hunter. Do not reproduce without permission.
