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The Silent War: Episode 2: The Russians Are Coming!

Documentaries

The Russians Are Coming!

Episode 2

Episode 2: The Russians Are Coming!

The Silent War

BBC Two - The Silent War, The Russians Are Coming!

How the Cold War underwater arms race took ballistic missiles beneath the Arctic ice.

Documentary. Cold War submariners talk more openly than ever before to reveal how the underwater arms race took ballistic missiles beneath the Arctic ice.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, the front line of the Cold War was hidden beneath the ocean. Submariners from three navies - American, Soviet and British - played a deadly game of cat and mouse in a secret war of espionage and intimidation. The nuclear balance between East and West was constantly shifting. This was a constant struggle to gain technological advantage, and the Soviets developed submarines that were ever more sophisticated - bigger, faster and more luxurious - than any developed by the West. 

For over 40 years the details of this tense stand-off have been a closely guarded secret. Now submariners from all three navies are able to talk more openly than ever before. They reveal how the underwater arms race took ballistic missiles beneath the Arctic ice, and they remember how it nearly ended in nuclear disaster at sea.

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Factual: History

The story of the underwater war between US, UK and Soviet submarines.

The story of the underwater war between US, UK and Soviet submarines in the second half of the 20th century.

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