Hunt for Red October (novel)

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Hunt for Red October (Original title: The Hunt for Red October ) is Tom Clancy's first novel from 1984, which quickly became a bestseller . It is the first appearance by Clancy's fictional CIA analyst Jack Ryan . The German translation is by Hardo Wichmann and was first published in 1986 by Scherz Verlag , Bern , Munich and Vienna . This transmission has since been used for all new editions.

action

The Soviet Union succeeds - in the middle of the Cold War - in shifting the strategic balance ( arms race ) with the USA in its favor. The Red October , a strategic nuclear submarine of the Typhoon class , is equipped with an almost silent drive known as a " caterpillar" , which is almost undetectable by sonar . This makes the Red October the ideal first strike weapon .

However, Marko Ramius , who was appointed captain of the boat, plans to overflow with his officers (up to four) and hand over his nuclear- armed submarine to the United States. The Soviet Union mobilized then their entire Northern Fleet to the defectors intercept. The Americans know of Ramius' plans through their spy Cardinal . CIA analyst Jack Ryan boarded the British aircraft carrier HMS Invincible and tried to contact Ramius after the Typhoon was tracked down by the USS Dallas . Once this has been achieved, Ramius simulates a nuclear accident aboard his boat and lets his team down to the most officers and a GRU -Agenten by an American rescue submarine of the Mystic class evacuate. In order to create the illusion among the rescued crew that the Red October was destroyed, the US Navy detonates the decommissioned submarine USS Ethan Allen underwater.

Ryan himself goes on board the Red October . Together with the rest of the Soviet officers, he succeeds in neutralizing another GRU agent and escaping the Soviet fleet . Red October is temporarily hidden in Pamlico Sound , where some crew members of the Dallas - including its commander Mancuso - come on board as a support team. In the short time later following underwater battle between four submarines (the USS Dallas , the USS Pogy , the Red October and the VK Konovalov , a Soviet hunting submarine of the Alfa-class ; the name alludes to the real submarine -Commander Vladimir Konovalov ) the Soviet attacker is destroyed. The Red October is damaged (by a torpedo and a self-initiated ram), but can be hidden in a shielded dock in the Norfolk naval port .

success

First published in October 1984 by Naval Institute Press , the debut novel Clancys made it onto the bestseller lists straight away and became an international success. The first edition was only 14,000 copies, due to the high demand the novel had to be reprinted immediately. Several million copies have now been sold in various languages.

filming

In 1990, the hit novel by director John McTiernan with Sean Connery as captain Marko Ramius and Alec Baldwin as Jack Ryan was filmed under the same title . The plot was slightly modified in the film.

Trivia

  • Clancy's novel is based on the mutiny on the Soviet frigate Storoschewoi ( Kriwak class ) from 1975.
  • In his novel, Clancy first revealed details about the SOSUS eavesdropping system, which was officially declassified only in 1991.
  • The character Jack Ryan also forms the basis for the main character of the same name in the TV series Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan .

expenditure

  • Tom Clancy : The Hunt for Red October. Roman (Original title: The Hunt for Red October ). German by Hardo Wichman . Original edition, Scherz, Bern and Munich 1986, ISBN 3-502-10127-2 .
  • Tom Clancy: The Hunt for Red October. Roman (Original title: The Hunt for Red October ). German by Hardo Wichman. Hardcover, Tosa Verlag, Vienna 1996, ISBN 3-85001-660-0 .
  • Tom Clancy: The Hunt for Red October. Roman (Original title: The Hunt for Red October ). German by Hardo Wichman. Paperback edition. Heyne, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-453-72178-0 .