Sticking with the sub service today we will learn more about Crazy Ivan. Those who have taken the time to read “The Hunt fro Red October” know this term. It is a sudden turn taken by a Russian, or Soviet, sub to make sure nobody is following him. The turn can be to port or to starboard and is done suddenly without warning.

During the Cold War US submarines would travel behind the Soviet sub in it baffles. The US sub could travel here and not be heard or detected. So to prevent this from happening the Soviet sub would turn suddenly to check for subs following. Normally the US sub would go to quick quiet and make like a hole in the water.

However on June 20, 1970, when USS Tautog collided with the Soviet Echo class submarine known as "Black Lila". Fortunately, both boats survived the collision. As they departed, the American crew heard what they thought was the Soviet submarine breaking up and sinking. When Tautog arrived in Pearl Harbor, a large portion of one of K-108’s screws was found embedded in the wreckage of Tautog’s sail. Over thirty years later, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it transpired that K-108 had limped back to Petropavlovsk and the collision had caused no personnel casualties.

Today with advances in towed array technology the Crazy Ivan is an obsolete technique.