CIA Stole Entire Soviet Nuclear Sub From Ocean Floor - Project Azorian

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]In 1974, the CIA pulled off the most audacious heist in history. They stole an entire Soviet submarine from the bottom of the ocean. The target was K-129, a nuclear sub that had mysteriously sunk 3 mi down in the Pacific. Inside were nuclear warheads, secret codes, and Soviet military secrets. The CIA's cover story?

[00:00:21]Billionaire Howard Hughes was mining the seafloor for minerals. They built the Glomar Explorer, a massive ship with a giant mechanical claw hidden beneath.

[00:00:30]While Soviet ships searched frantically above, American operatives worked in total silence below. The submarine weighed 4,000 tons. Lifting it from 17,000 ft underwater was an engineering nightmare. When they finally cracked it open, they found crew compartments with bodies still inside, nuclear warheads, codebooks containing Soviet military secrets. The Soviets never suspected a thing. [music] For decades, this operation remained completely classified. The CIA had literally stolen a nuclear submarine from under their enemies' noses. Project Azorian changed underwater espionage forever, >> [music] >> and it proved that in the Cold War, nothing was impossible.