August 9, 2025 • 6 mins
The Dudes welcome author Kenneth Sewell, author of Red Star Rogue that uncovers one of the Cold War's most shocking and secretive events — the mysterious sinking of the Soviet submarine K-129 in 1968. Officially dismissed as an accident, Sewell presents a chilling theory: that K-129 was on a rogue nuclear strike mission against the United States, possibly orchestrated by Soviet hardliners, and sabotaged from within to prevent World War III.
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Support my mission and become a Member of the show:
https://TheWordAtWar.Supercast.com
Learn more about our show, guests, or sign up for our newsletter:
https://www.TheTFHC.com
Listen:
https://pod.link/1701482390
Watch:
https://YouTube.com/@TheTFHC
https://Rumble.com/TheTFHC
Like, subscribe, follow and share on social media:
https://Facebook.com/TheTFHC
https://Instagram.com/TheTFHC
https://Twitter.com/TheTFHC
https://TikTok.com/@TheTFHC
Thanks for all the love and support!
Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org/cyberpunk-electro-sport-atomic-by-infraction-amp-alexi-action-113674.mp3
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
So okay, we get these guys on the boat. The
KGB put about ten fifteen guys on the boat. We
don't even get our first radio. We miss our first
radio call in we go you know, a couple of
days or whatever. Later and obviously, you know, these guys
get to where the KGB takes over the boat. They
go down four hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii,
(00:29):
and then they surface the boat to make it look
like it's a Chinese launch, and it seems like is
you is your Obviously this goes wrong because the boat,
instead of launching a nuclear missile and destroying Hawaii, the
boat winds up going boom and then sinks to the
bottom of the ocean, which, by the way, is like
what how many sixteen thousand feet deep?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Many?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
How many?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Was it was ten five hundred? I actually interviewed the
guys on the three ass I got a copy of
their logbook from that dive.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
And also the scorpion you know, she's a couple of
miles down.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Wow. So they do this.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
It had entered later this whole concept. Later on, during
the cover up, they try to say we've lifted the
whole submarine and have broken all that it was in
five pieces. And you know a lot of people, you know,
this is the thing that gets me about you know, journalists.
Journalists are some of the ones that are running around
want to write these stories. They do no background, you know,
uh studies, don't dive into anything, don't ask experts. They
(01:30):
just go with it. But the tip twenty one was
the Germans built it as a modular both they built
sections and welded it together. It didn't have a big
keel and if you took it up a thirty degree
up angle, it could have you know that that was
a no note could break in half. Well, you set
off a missile with the power of you know, and
(01:52):
what that missile had not only did blow the submarine
and half on the surface, but the two parts are
going to be going about forty fifty miles an hour
and they slam into the ocean floor and it's going
to break along the dotted lines at the ball caps
and it did. Yeah, no, summer, you'd look at our scorpion.
Look at you know a lot of these subs they
don't sink and not break up when they hit the bottom.
(02:15):
Both you know, they're pointing on both ends they're really
heavy and there's nothing to stop them, and they reach
incredible speeds when they hit the bottom.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
So it seems like the the theory would be. What
it sure seems like is the exo and the captain
knew that this was going to be the plan. And
I wonder they knew each other because they had deployed
several times before. Ride these two guys, and it seems
like and they knew they were they were going to die,
so they were probably like, we can't let this happen,
(02:44):
or you know, who knows what?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Right, Well, first of all, you know, these guys were patriots.
I mean, they were willing to die for Russia. I mean, yeah,
it's funny when you look at sub captains and fighter
pilots during the Cold War. They were rock stars. Yeah,
these are the guys they bought drinks for and everybody
wanted to know and be with them. I mean, because
this was the pinnacle of their ultimate you know, Protsky's
(03:08):
ultimate Soviet Man and he had a family, and he
knew that a war with the United States. He had
no clue about the economics, he had no clue about
them going bankrupt. You know, they always got what they wanted,
you know, as sub captains and sub crews, they were hampered,
I think, you know, and you know, they didn't have
(03:30):
to stand in the line for a lot of stuff.
And but he, you know, he knew that their families
would be killed in the United States. These guys played
with us all the time, and they knew that, you know,
they all of a sudden, you know, we'd give them
a little ping for we turn away after wetrailed them.
Just we did stuff to humiliate the hell of them
out of them. We wanted to know that, you know,
(03:52):
you guys aren't going to last very long. And he
knew that the power of the United States and h
and saw the ships and knew our capabilities and everything.
He probably knew that this operation was not sanctioned by
the polic and he knew it was sanctioned by the military,
and so he knew these guys were rogue. And uh,
you had to have three codes. One, you know, the
(04:13):
po that polic Bureau would send out, you know, the government,
and then one for the k g B. Would Kevin
then nable one and you know he had that code.
I don't. And I think what they probably did is
put a gun to his head or his other head
or somebody else's head, and uh, you know, put it
in or you know, if he put in the wrong code.
(04:35):
He knew that thing would blow up. He knew he
was signing his death. Weren't and you know, but he knew,
you know, it was either that sub.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Or you know, millions of people. That's crazy.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So well, we have no way of knowing, absolutely no way.
This is all speculation. But you know, why would he
do it? I think it's just to save as family. Yeah,
and just yeah, and you know, it's funny. I asked
an admiral once then we interviewed and I said, you know,
blowing up your submarine. You know, if somebody puts in
(05:13):
the wrong coat, isn't that a little drastic? And he said, Ken,
we are not worried about them launching a missile at you.
We are worried about them launching the missile at us
and trying to overthrow the government. So, you know, their
own distrust of the men who swore lay their life
on the line and defend the Mother Russia, that is
(05:34):
what ultimately probably led to the downfall, which is kind
of ironic, but the Russian mentality is so paranoid and
so bizarre.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Yeah, so these guys like, these guys are probably like
maybe some of the greatest heroes in history and will
never even really know about its bos.
So okay, we get these guys on the boat. The
KGB put about ten fifteen guys on the boat. We
don't even get our first radio. We miss our first
radio call in we go you know, a couple of
days or whatever. Later and obviously, you know, these guys
get to where the KGB takes over the boat. They
go down four hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii,
(00:29):
and then they surface the boat to make it look
like it's a Chinese launch, and it seems like is
you is your Obviously this goes wrong because the boat,
instead of launching a nuclear missile and destroying Hawaii, the
boat winds up going boom and then sinks to the
bottom of the ocean, which, by the way, is like
what how many sixteen thousand feet deep?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Many?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
How many?
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Was it was ten five hundred? I actually interviewed the
guys on the three ass I got a copy of
their logbook from that dive.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
And also the scorpion you know, she's a couple of
miles down.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
Wow. So they do this.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
It had entered later this whole concept. Later on, during
the cover up, they try to say we've lifted the
whole submarine and have broken all that it was in
five pieces. And you know a lot of people, you know,
this is the thing that gets me about you know, journalists.
Journalists are some of the ones that are running around
want to write these stories. They do no background, you know,
uh studies, don't dive into anything, don't ask experts. They
(01:30):
just go with it. But the tip twenty one was
the Germans built it as a modular both they built
sections and welded it together. It didn't have a big
keel and if you took it up a thirty degree
up angle, it could have you know that that was
a no note could break in half. Well, you set
off a missile with the power of you know, and
(01:52):
what that missile had not only did blow the submarine
and half on the surface, but the two parts are
going to be going about forty fifty miles an hour
and they slam into the ocean floor and it's going
to break along the dotted lines at the ball caps
and it did. Yeah, no, summer, you'd look at our scorpion.
Look at you know a lot of these subs they
don't sink and not break up when they hit the bottom.
(02:15):
Both you know, they're pointing on both ends they're really
heavy and there's nothing to stop them, and they reach
incredible speeds when they hit the bottom.
Speaker 1 (02:24):
So it seems like the the theory would be. What
it sure seems like is the exo and the captain
knew that this was going to be the plan. And
I wonder they knew each other because they had deployed
several times before. Ride these two guys, and it seems
like and they knew they were they were going to die,
so they were probably like, we can't let this happen,
(02:44):
or you know, who knows what?
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Right, Well, first of all, you know, these guys were patriots.
I mean, they were willing to die for Russia. I mean, yeah,
it's funny when you look at sub captains and fighter
pilots during the Cold War. They were rock stars. Yeah,
these are the guys they bought drinks for and everybody
wanted to know and be with them. I mean, because
this was the pinnacle of their ultimate you know, Protsky's
(03:08):
ultimate Soviet Man and he had a family, and he
knew that a war with the United States. He had
no clue about the economics, he had no clue about
them going bankrupt. You know, they always got what they wanted,
you know, as sub captains and sub crews, they were hampered,
I think, you know, and you know, they didn't have
(03:30):
to stand in the line for a lot of stuff.
And but he, you know, he knew that their families
would be killed in the United States. These guys played
with us all the time, and they knew that, you know,
they all of a sudden, you know, we'd give them
a little ping for we turn away after wetrailed them.
Just we did stuff to humiliate the hell of them
out of them. We wanted to know that, you know,
(03:52):
you guys aren't going to last very long. And he
knew that the power of the United States and h
and saw the ships and knew our capabilities and everything.
He probably knew that this operation was not sanctioned by
the polic and he knew it was sanctioned by the military,
and so he knew these guys were rogue. And uh,
you had to have three codes. One, you know, the
(04:13):
po that polic Bureau would send out, you know, the government,
and then one for the k g B. Would Kevin
then nable one and you know he had that code.
I don't. And I think what they probably did is
put a gun to his head or his other head
or somebody else's head, and uh, you know, put it
in or you know, if he put in the wrong code.
(04:35):
He knew that thing would blow up. He knew he
was signing his death. Weren't and you know, but he knew,
you know, it was either that sub.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Or you know, millions of people. That's crazy.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
So well, we have no way of knowing, absolutely no way.
This is all speculation. But you know, why would he
do it? I think it's just to save as family. Yeah,
and just yeah, and you know, it's funny. I asked
an admiral once then we interviewed and I said, you know,
blowing up your submarine. You know, if somebody puts in
(05:13):
the wrong coat, isn't that a little drastic? And he said, Ken,
we are not worried about them launching a missile at you.
We are worried about them launching the missile at us
and trying to overthrow the government. So, you know, their
own distrust of the men who swore lay their life
on the line and defend the Mother Russia, that is
(05:34):
what ultimately probably led to the downfall, which is kind
of ironic, but the Russian mentality is so paranoid and
so bizarre.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Yeah, so these guys like, these guys are probably like
maybe some of the greatest heroes in history and will
never even really know about its bos.
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