This Submariner Has The Keys To The Nuclear Missiles

Go to www.createspace... to see this 60 minute TV special, The Complete Submariners Story. My Colleagues and I did our best to show you what was 'real" on a US Nuclear powered submarine. Thank you for watching it.
David Hoffman - Filmmaker
www.thehoffmancollection.com

[@mghunn]

I was the officer of the deck aboard USS Michigan in the opening sequence of this. Boy this sure takes me back. It's also nice to have documentary evidence that once upon a time I had hair. Sigh.

[@thomaspinto1111]

Mark Hunn Thank you for your service.

[@johnaustin5677]

Wow! What year was this doc filmed ? Thanks for your service.

[@mghunn]

'89 or '90 if I remember correctly. I left the boat in January of '91.

[@herosjourney8725]

Mark Hunn if a unknown ship or other was in the sea area where a submarine was would the navy people automatically attack or no? Do they go through a process to see if unknown ship is hostile or not? A unidentified flying object is for aircrafts, what is the official words for a sea object instead of a aircraft?

[@StMyles]

Thank you for your service Sir........ 😂 hair

[@johnmooney9742]

Another part of the unspoken of stress is, if an SSBN does launch missiles, it will instantly give away it's position to any nearby enemy hunter killer attack subs. Imagine being aware of this every minute of every day. It's likely the SSBN would know the attack sub is there, but there might not be time to get off a shot before the attack sub shoots. Serious business. Sub sailors are heroes all.

[@Roddy229]

Precisely why sonar operators are always listening for the noise coming from an SSN's propulsion system. The boomer's crew know to bug out if they detect an attack boat stalking them when the order to initiate 1SQ is given by the CO.

[@aztronomy7457]

If you fire your missiles in a nuclear war, you might as well just take your sub to crush depth and take the entire crew. The world above would be a wasteland and a nuclear winter.

[@aztronomy7457]

@Bernard de Fontaines unless you have someplace to go with a large stockpile of food and fresh water away from the blast zones, you're not going to survive nuclear winter and nuclear fallout. Easy with the insults, Bernard. Heres your L. Life survived the asteroid strikes in the form of small rodents and bacteria....Most the big animals died.

[@NobleSteed00]

Really? You just killed millions of people and all you worry is your sorry ass?

[@nicolatesla5786]

​@@aztronomy7457not necessarily add in the southern hemisphere record the trade winds would take the Fallout from a west to east Direction so it would stay in the northern hemisphere the Earth would cool considerably where is the temperature is at the equator would probably drop into the 60s possibly 70s the safest location would be in the southern hemisphere it was stop climate change and the Arctic ice sheets would rebuild themselves

[@r.c.collins6513]

Now i know where the movie Crimson Tide got it's dialogue from. Almost to a word!

[@spicetruckin]

Set condition 1SQ!! (I mean, it's never a nice thing when a nuke is about to fired, but it's cool in the movie)

[@Broadwaymungo]

One of the biggest plot holes in "Crimson Tide" is that in the movie it states it takes around 20 minutes for the Alabama's Trident Missiles to be ready to fire. That is pure fiction for dramatic effect. While the exact time is classified and this video is purposely edited to not give away how fast the missiles can be spun up (either for a drill or God forbid for a real wartime launch) and launched. I can assure you that it does not take 20 some-odd minutes for a well trained Boomer Crew to launch it's flight from the moment it gets and Decodes the EAM to the time the first bird leaves the launch tube. In modern submarine warfare, a Missile Boat would be ineffective as a deterrent if it took them as long as "Crimson Tide" says they need to fire. As a rule, our fast attack Subs are usually always shadowing every Russian Boomer from the moment they leave the channel. It doesn't mean we're perfect but for 60 years we've been pretty damn good at it. #BZ

[@johnleeson6946]

@@Broadwaymungo Fast Boat Veteran sailor here. A Mark 48 torpedo would be headed at a Typhoon or a Delta-Class Ruskie boat before it had the time to open the upper hatch! Glad it never came to that, but I spent 4-1/2 years getting ready for it.

[@submariner50]

Nice video. I rode two boats during the 80's and 90's. I worked in Missile Control Center (MCC) as an FTB tech and supervisor. This video brought back some memories. Ain't nothing like the US sub service.

[@colintraveller]

Lance Brown 60ft launch depth

[@ucantjustdoit]

Submariners are the best! Total commitment, professionalism and sacrifice for your country while the civvies back home continue to be ungrateful and disrespectful. I've never been on board a submarine, but I was a humble British Sapper in the 1980's.

[@lancelot1953]

Hi David, thank you for this great clip. I would like to emphasize two words mentioned at the end of this video, "professionalism" and "loyalty". I had never been part of a unit that was so tightly-knit as the submarine community and I was amazed at the huge responsibility that rested on the shoulders of each and everyone of the crew members, all that power, the potential for all that destruction, all the training, the studying, the drills, the evals, the readiness exercises, FleetEx, ... They were/are America's best (in my heart at least.... along with a few of my squadron shipmates!) Thanks for the memories David, Ciao, L (Veteran, SSBN-642)

[@tommcbride8993]

lancelot1953 are the unlock codes in the safe or do they come in the message like the land based missiles

[@trulyannoying9061]

Tom McBride nice try russian spy

[@tommcbride8993]

trulyannoying Russian spy. Whatever. I'm as patriotic as they come. I know prior to the 80s any captain themselves could format a valid launch order but that has since been changed. I would assume the unlock codes would come in the EAM as they do with the minuteman 3 missiles.

[@videosuperhighway7655]

Tom McBride the launch codes are prepared by the NSA using a one time pad which is of a length impossible to forge. They are delivered by courier to the submarine at a predetermined time. The launchcodes come in a pair sealed in a tamper evident containers with an inscribed validation key. Once delivered the pair of launchcodes are verified to be true via a one way transmission via VLF to insure they have not been swapped. Now only one of the pair is a valid launch code, the other container contains a exercise code, no one knows which is the actual launch code adding another level of safety to unsure the codes cannot be compromised. During an actual event two things happen. The EAM will contain the validation code and the launch code. Both encoded via one time pads. safe one is open if message deciphers fo correct validation key then safe 2 containing the two containers are opened and the container matching validation key is pulled and snapped in half. Now they launch code is matched with EAM message. If it matches the. Safe 3 is opened which contains the red launch keys.

[@rrrogster]

@@tommcbride8993 During my career as a submarine officer I was on the SIOP (Strategic Intelligence Operational Plan) team on 3 different SSBN's that would authenticate the flash messages for launching missiles . There was no way anyone could mess with the message before authentication on the receiving end including the captain. And the code had to match the preprinted one in the safe exactly - they were similar in format to the key codes you need to authenticate Windows software installs today) . During the late 60's and early 70's 3 officers including myself and the captain would authenticate. Things do change through time with the improvement of technology but the possibility of a "rogue" launch was and is impossible in my opinion. And I have been there done that numerous times.

[@Heartford]

There is nothing scarier on this planet than a Nuclear Submarine

[@edgalaxie]

I remember it well! I was one of those junior officers in the early 90s. 1MC: "Alert 1...alert 1" Me: "For Christ's sake! I just got to sleep!"

[@mikegallegos7]

I remember it well; "Man battle stations missile. Spin up all missiles for WSRT."

[@ssmt2]

So do I. Weapon Systems Readiness Test. Or, as we called it, Waste Someone's Rack Time. I did get to do a DASO launch and a four missile ripple OT launch. That was fun. Cleaning the tubes afterwards was a bitch!!

[@shawnstarkET1SS]

Thanks for making these documentaries they really are a blessing.

[@michaelmooney3369]

I like the precaution that the Minuteman missiles have. if 2 air force missile officers for some reason both decide to launch their missiles unless their systems receive a signal from another MCC the missiles will not launch for 2 hours. if they get that signal the missiles launch immediately.

[@bernardkelar6089]

I served in the armed service mid 1980's during the cold war and we were spoon fed that threat. Luckily until the present North Korea situation, nothing has happened and 72 years without a third world war is a blessing. I'm sure we all dread tomorrows younger generation.

[@kbanghart]

Why dread it?

[@Jermster_91]

Now look at Russia threatening to launch if NATO intervenes with its invasion of Ukraine

[@user-zu7ec6bc2j]

I just love submarines💯

[@jonathan401]

1:51 Mute all horns in song we're mixing. Repeat: mute all horns.

[@gyrovague]

Between 1981 and 1989 there was an ongoing quota that stipulated 42% of crew must wear glasses and sport bouffonesque haircuts.

[@r.c.collins6513]

gyrovague That's why Crimson Tide was b.s. The crew looked too damned good!

[@GJones462-2W1]

...and don't forget the porn-style mustaches!

[@rrrogster]

Yes and I had a beard too.

[@robertsilva1016]

We have an EAM Recommend Alert one Recommend Alert one

[@johnleeson6946]

The Electrical Operator on watch could stop the launch by opening the switchboard breakers. I stood that watch station for over three years on my SSN! It was my DUTY to do my job.

[@nicolatesla5786]

That's good that you had manual override all of the icbms in each of the launch tubes

[@kylecoughenour2441]

Could you make a video if the launch code is authorized for a land missile defense launch?

[@tubie666666]

CHILLING

[@jamesthomas1213]

That man has the most Captain-ish voice I have ever head.

[@howardpope3932]

What prevents the missiles from being launched during a drill? Do the crewmen just pretend to unlock the silos?

[@craiga6557]

What would happen if a real order came through during a simulation, would it cause confusion amongst the crew or would they just start over again?

[@Roddy229]

It would immediately go through the exact same verification process that the drill message was given. Once verified as an authentic, and actual launch order, the exercise would be terminated, and the crew would get orders to prepare for firing live ordnance.

[@rrrogster]

Exactly the same procedure, just a few words would be different. We would not "simulate" spinning up all missiles for example. Then there would be the order to open the outer hatch on whatever missiles were selected and a few other similar details.

[@bororobo3805]

Maybe they'd relay it to the closest vessel?

[@jonnyc212121]

In that type of situation, the captain would just come back over the one mc, which is the shipwide announcing circuit that you heard in this video, to say "Secure from exercise"

[@christopherlee7334]

"Secure from the drill. Alert One, Alert One, One-###-###, Man Battle Stations Missile for Strategic Launch, spin up all missiles." "Set Condition 1SQ for Strategic Launch, this is the Captain, the release of nuclear weapons has been directed." "Set Condition 1SQ for Strategic Launch, this is the Executive Officer, the release of nuclear weapons had been directed." "Set Condition 1SQ for Strategic Launch, CONN, Weapons, Aye." "Set Condition 1SQ for Strategic Launch, CONN, NAV, Aye. CONN, Weapons, NAV, Navigation in Condition 1SQ with ###." "CONN, WEPS, WEPS in Condition 1SQ..."

[@RightCenterBack321]

This is unbelievable. How'd you get clearance to show this kind of detail? And what year was this?

[@charliewhiskey8440]

What can you gain from seeing them press some buttons?

[@baraxor]

This was from an episode of the PBS series "Nova" back in the 1980s. A camera crew was allowed aboard one of the USS Michigan's patrols. Sensitive information on gauges and digital readouts was blurred for the broadcast.

[@baraxor]

I checked further, and it was broadcast in February 1992, so it was probably filmed in 1991.

[@sainteyegor]

The CO was my XO on the 711

[@Nedhead100]

I was a Nav ET on the James Madison in the early 70s.

[@alicebaker5464]

My dad served the Madison in 67-68.

[@christopherlee7334]

Hooyah Nav ETs!

[@MikeMiasuki-vy3xx]

Fathers: If you feel life passed you by then do something to improve yourself. Do not take it out on your kid like my father did to me. I wanted to be on subs but he lied to me and told me they would not take me because I wore glasses. He was very good and holding me back with his lies. The only thing worse was the lies my mother told me. Viet Nam was just part of life for us guys then. I salute you sub guys and girls.

[@CliveNEWSTEAD-nu6fl]

I saw this documentary 30 years ago, and liked it. Any idea of the Title and Copyright Owner ?

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

I am the copyright owner and the title is Steel Boats Iron Men. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@Steve_Entwistle]

Is the general alarm sound at around 1:35 realistic for a ballistic missile submarine in this scenario (I would have thought it could be heard from any enemy subs nearby and thereby risk their ability to launch the nukes) or is it just added to this video for dramatic effect ?

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

We recorded on the boat

[@steveo601]

Getting them off quickly and safely is more important than than the well being of the crew afterwards. All that training is necessary to keep their minds off of the fact that a push of those buttons kills a 100,000,000 people and themselves. Would be curious to know what the Commander’s directive is after a real, full on grand finale launch. Make a run for some pre determined safe location? 🤔

[@jonnyc212121]

Yes, that is an authentic general alarm sound. These days, I use it as my alarm clock sound. Ask any submariner if they can sleep through it. None of us can. I've been out for almost a decade and it still wakes me up without fail

[@christopherlee7334]

Yes, that's the General Alarm. That being said there's procedures in place that don't involve alarms.

[@user-jt5je5uw5z]

Crimson tide is best nuclear submarine movie...

[@SaltiDawg2008]

The Hunt for Red October ain't bad!

[@kbanghart]

@@SaltiDawg2008 HFRO is my fav. Crimson tide was a tad too dramatic.

[@dave_in_florida]

@@kbanghart yes, red october much better. One ping only.

[@rrrogster]

It's just a movie and from having lived the life of a submarine officer I can tell you they don't even come close.

[@CrimsonAlchemist]

I have a good question. DO they know where they are shooting at?

[@BeardedDragonMan1997]

Thant Zaw Win no... Its only known to them as target 1, target 2, ect....

[@LK-pc4sq]

When are GPS coordinates programmed in? or is the launch sequence mapped to some kind of GPS coordinates inside the missile guidance system?

[@MrJest2]

Can't speak to subs authoritatively, but I assume it works much the same way as on ground-based missiles. Targeting data is on data cartridges that may or may not be swapped out with each deployment. They are simply labeled with the missile ID; there's no information available to the crew. They are plugged into a console and tested before the boat even sets out to sea. The data is loaded as part of the launch process, in an earlier stage than shown here. They don't use GPS, but rather a very precise inertial navigation system that is entirely internal to the weapon. When they say, "spinning up" the missiles, that is literal - they are setting the internal gyroscopes used by the nav system to spinning up to speed, so the missile can tell what direction it's heading from it's starting point based on the movement of the gyros (and other instruments). No external information is used, deliberately so to prevent "spoofing" of GPS signals and sending the warheads away from their targets.

[@sirraident]

Very interesting. Thanks!

[@ssmt2]

I don't know about now but in the early eighties we could look up the aim points and know what the targets were.

[@markharris1342]

As long you did not here "The release of nuclear weapons' has been directed" on the 1-mc, then you knew it is only a drill.

[@alexriver4997]

This video is so cool I want to become like them some day

[@maddumass]

Alex River crammed in a tin can with nothing but hot sweaty mens for months at a time? 😆

[@Luis-be9mi]

Frank Kepler life on a boomer is not all that bad. Submarine crews get some of the best chow in the US military. But being kept in a literal steel tube spending months under water is extremely stressful.

[@maddumass]

Luis was making a joke about men crammed together sweaty for months at a time.

[@rwjazz1299]

43 likes Like “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds".

[@rrrogster]

Our motto was, Silent and unseen I bring death. And its true. Our mission.

[@amyjojinkerson6745]

ordered to do the unthinkable

[@billyb4790]

The obvious solution would be to include codes they have to enter that would enable the launch.

[@johnsperanza1509]

I know Stacy Keach's voice anywhere

[@MichaelSheehy75]

What class of sub is this? This video appears to be from the 90's or so. Have any of the fundamental procedures substantially changed since then?

[@erikawhelan4673]

Michael Sheehy Almost certainly an Ohio-class SSBN.

[@erikawhelan4673]

Evidently it was filmed aboard USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN-709).

[@baraxor]

This was filmed aboard the Ohio-class USS Michigan (SSBN 727)

[@SaltiDawg2008]

@@erikawhelan4673 An SSN? Huh!

[@Roddy229]

@@SaltiDawg2008 nope. It was SSBN (now SSGN) 727, USS Michigan

[@KetanSingh]

Crimson Tide ❤

[@Ser_Arthur_Dayne]

Anyone know what this is from, ie, the full documentary? Very interested in watching

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYLXaJevnadgoMk David Hoffman - filmmaker

[@keithbethsanborn9742]

This is from "Submarine!" which was produced for PBS NOVA.

[@elliott.blamsky9482]

What happens if a missile blows up inside the silo on the submarine?

[@computer-training-for-seniors]

Missiles. NOT Missles.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you for the correction. David Hoffman filmmaker

[@SilentService697]

Pick a fight with us and rest assured that a black ship of death will be lurking off your shores...nighty, night 😎

[@caveman3086]

Russia: *Haha rockets go brr brr*

[@rrrogster]

We don't need to lurk so close these days. Our current missiles (SLBM's) have a range of around 8,000 miles.

[@CaptainTripppz]

1MC: This has been an exercise. This has been an exercise. Me: pukes off the side of the deck. Yal submariners are a different breed.

[@christopherlee7334]

Run BSM enough times and it becomes a routine, annoying drill instead of an end-of-the-world event.

[@exposinghiddentruth3590]

It's interesting how there are no special agents from different nations trained to sneak up on the dictators of the world to take them out, before they start a nuclear war, which will be like hell on earth... Which actually would make a good movie... But noooooo, we can't have that... Ha Ha... It might give someone an idea... There is a movie on netflex about a group of hired special agents, going around the globe taking out evil dictators... Believe the movie is Called, 24. But the after math of a nuclear war will be like a type of torment... Like hell?... Notice the pattern, of how what happens in the future is always shown in movies first?... Question is; are there egoistical mentally ill maniacs running the world, who are crazy enough to give the command, to turn the key & hit the red death button?... Imagine the pressure on the soldier that's commanded to push the button, that will kill multi-millions of human lives...

[@abhishekrao1525]

Is the narrarator Stacy Keach?

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Yes. David Hoffman - filmmaker

[@shetijay]

Even though the submarine crew have been trained to execute the order once message is confirmed,I pray that day doesn't come.

[@thehusketeers4319]

I would love to turn the key

[@ssmt2]

Turning the ACIP key is not what launches the missile. It's just one part of the firing circuit that enables the launch to happen. It's the Weapons Officers firing trigger that initiates the launch.

[@derekwall200]

actually to launch those SLBMs you have to pull a trigger to launch all 24 of them. the keys just enable the missile so that when you squeeze the firing trigger the missiles will fly. but why would you want to pull the trigger that is going to launch 24 missiles each missile tipped with 10 nuclear warheads which for all you know may be aimed at large cities. one boomer carries 240 warheads total and each warhead has a yield of 375 kilotons. basically enough firepower to kill 100s of millions of people

[@Neddyfram]

0:31 is that guys name beef

[@ItsWill23]

no its keef

[@ericbrauch9677]

Stacy Keech is not breaking new news.

[@michaelmooney3369]

PRP forever.

[@monkeydluggy17]

i know this question sounds stupid. but why red lights on a submarine.

[@ikagura]

DxGlightning to spend less energy on lights

[@beetlesaysohnwod523]

DxGlightning tbh idk why you would need them but we sure as hell dont use em on my boat

[@beetlesaysohnwod523]

ikagura we have a nuclear reactor on board. Using a little extra power for full visibility isnt going to do anything at all

[@corinaquintero178]

The red lights are for the eyesight of the crew. Coming out of sleep to battle stations it’s much easier for eyes to adjust and see in dimmer red light than bright incandescent bulbs.

[@rrrogster]

@@corinaquintero178 Someone finally got it right.

[@bernardkelar6089]

I'd hate to be inside one of these submarines in the event of a nuclear Armageddon because the crew will die a lingering death, as a result from a counter strike.

[@CrimsonAlchemist]

If its against Russia or China yea... they're gonna die. Its traceable

[@itsumonihon]

who cares if it's traceable; if they're in a good firing position they would clear the firing datum long before even an aircraft could get to them. it would be a shitty life but they'd be able to sail to a relatively non affected area of the world and stay put there.

[@appleintosh]

Bernard Kelar No, that's kind of the whole point of missile submarines; they're hidden and mobile. Unless the enemy is lucky enough to have an attack submarine or ASW aircraft in the area at launch, they're never going to find the sub after launch. These submarines are the quietest ever made, and no other country comes close to our boomers. The people you should actually feel bad for are the poor fuckers in the land silos, since they're dying for sure.

[@appleintosh]

itsumonihon There's probably a procedure on where submarines are supposed to go after launching their missiles. Maybe some remote island base like Diego Garcia.

[@LK-pc4sq]

I would imagine some nation would be least interested in dropping a nuclear icbm on a silo since the they would place priority of a large city first.

[@chrisglover2697]

Not bad for a security guard 😉

[@MC-mh2ju]

meh...Where's Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington?

[@bestamerica]

' navy submariners men are NOT allowed to uses their contact lens and eyeglasses at working in the submarine... men musts be perfect seesights visions 20/20

[@ssmt2]

I don't know where you got your info from but it's wrong. I spent six years on a boomer (ballistic missile boat) and I wore my glasses every day I was on it. I knew others that wore contacts instead of glasses.

[@Saltee323]

Well that can’t be true since this is a video of an actual submarine crew and several are wearing glasses.

[@christopherlee7334]

False, the Navy issues authorized glasses to submariners that can be worn with EABs.

[@masterbrice]

Trump: "Kentucky Fried Chicken"

[@davidhoffman1278]

Who are you and why do you have my name? 😉 Oh yeah, there are perhaps 700,000 of us named David Hoffman on Earth. Nice video. Thanks for uploading it.

[@trevoranderson7182]

I imagine you leave that bit after every comment?