Project Azorian (the actual CIA code name for the operation), incorrectly referred to as Project Jennifer (the CIA compartmented fake code name) by the mediathe recovery of the Russian GOLF-II-class (NATO reporting name) ballistic missile submarine K-129 (lost in 1968, likely as a result of a fatal onboard casualty) 1800 miles north of Hawaii, is the subject of many speculative books. However, until recently, the full story has been (and still is) very highly classified. It is to date one of the biggest intelligence and recovery operations of the Cold War. Even during my time in the submarine force, there were always many rumors about the operation just 7 years later about how much they actually recovered. The engineering feat cannot be under-emphasized - the attempted raising of an intact sunken submarine almost 3 miles deep isn't easy.

In November 2009, a video by Michael White films, released under the title "Azorian- The Raising of the K-129", is the most detailed analysis of the recovery effort to date, and includes engineers who were responsible for the recovery ship Hughes Glomar Explorer, and who were on site for the attempt. It was made without the consent of the U.S. Government, is available on DVD and has been included in the Netflix streaming plan under Documentaries.

On March 11, 1968, the Soviet GOLF-II (NATO designation) Diesel-Electric submarine K-129 was presumed lost at sea when she failed to make her scheduled check-ins, and failed to respond to open communication from the Soviet Navy HQ. The Soviet Navy sortied into the Pacific in a massive search and recovery effort. While they didn't tell the United States what they were searching for, intelligence analysts correctly deduced they were likely looking for a lost submarine. Searching through acoustic SOSUS records, they found 2 significant acoustic events (likely casualty and impact of the bottom), at a spot 1800 miles north of Hawaii. Discussion was made at the highest levels of government as to whether an attempt could be made to find the wreck, and if so, if it could be raised both intact, and in secret.

After only a relatively short time (a few weeks), the converted submarine USS Halibut (SSGN-587), modified for underwater search and special operations, located the wreck of the K-129. Taking thousands of photographs to document the wreck, a plan was eventually devised to try and raise the wreck intact to gain access to her nuclear missiles and code materials. Since the CIA couldn't do it openly, they approached billionaire Howard Hughes, a long-time government contractor, with the task of building a ship specifically for the one-time attempt at recovering the K-129. The result was the Hughes Glomar Explorer, built by Hughes' company Global Marine. Her cover story was that she was built for mining valuable manganese nodules recently found on the ocean floor. Hughes was rich and eccentric enough to build it for this reason, and most people (even today) still believe that's what it was built for.

The operation remained highly classified until then-President Clinton gave Russian President Yeltsin a copy of a burial-at-sea ceremony film that was taken onboard the Glomar Explorer during recovery of the K-129. 6 remains of Soviet sailors were recovered with the wreckage, and they were buried at sea in services of both the Soviet Navy and U.S. Navy, approximating what was believed to be the closest of what an actual service would've been. It was hoped when it was filmed that the record could one day be given to the Russians to show that we had treated their sailors with respect, despite the adversarial nature of the Cold War.

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