`Soviet Alpha-class submarine`

Centerpiece case of the lecture. Soviets deployed all-titanium attack submarines around 1980 — deeper diving than US depth charges, faster underwater than US destroyers on the surface. Mothballed within two years due to (1) fatigue cracks producing acoustic signature audible to sonar dropped from helicopters, and (2) unsolved creep-fatigue interaction at near-room-temperature seawater. Tom learned of the deployment from an *International Herald Tribune* article on a flight from Europe; learned in 1982 that the Soviets had not solved the creep-fatigue problem — they had built the submarines anyway.

Anybody know what happened in 1980? Ever heard of the Alpha sub? Ever read or watched the movie The Hunt for Red October? They had Alpha subs in there. Those were the titanium attack submarines. I was coming back from Europe reading on an airplane, reading the International Herald Tribune, and here's an article about: the Soviet Union has just deployed the Alpha subs, all titanium subs, years ahead of the United States. We have yet to this day ever built a titanium sub. Congress hit the ceiling, because the Soviets had leapfrogged us again. When was the first time they leapfrogged us? Sputnik. They've leapfrogged us a number of times in a number of areas, but this was a huge thing.