An expert, illustrated history of how the Cuban Missile Crisis spurred the Soviet Navy to transform itself into a global force, and how it shaped the Cold War.

In the aftermath of the humiliation of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Navy sought to transform its capabilities to project seapower globally. Over the next three decades, the Soviet ocean-going fleet would take on the US Navy in a high-stakes confrontation over the Yom Kippur War, use its maritime muscle to support allies around the world, and its spy ships and aircraft would gather intelligence on the West's navies, from NATO exercises to the Falklands task force.

Professor Alexander Hill, a specialist on Soviet military history, presents the first book to examine the development of the Soviet Union's bluewater fleet, including submarines, surface combatants and helicopter and aircraft carriers, and the technology behind them. He explores the USSR's strategic imperatives, the naval exercises that honed the fleets, and how both logistical needs and foreign policy objectives led to the Soviets' acquisition of naval bases around the world, from Cuba to Angola and Vietnam.

Illustrated with archive photos, superb new artwork, maps and diagrams, this study reveals the secret history of how the Cold War was fought at sea.