Operation Ivy Bells

In 1970, Captain James Bradley had a daydream – a daydream that inspired one of the most audacious aquatic espionage missions of all time. Operation Ivy Bells gave the USA unprecedented access to Soviet undersea communications cables, and hastened the end of the nuclear stand-off between the two nations. Sophia Di Martino joins journalists Christopher Drew and Sherry Sontag for a thrilling and often claustrophobic tale of covert submarine warfare. From SPYSCAPE, the home of secrets. A Cup And Nuzzle production. Series producers: Gemma Newby, Joe Foley. Produced by Ashley Clivery. Music by Nick Ryan.

CIA Top Secret Mission To Wiretap Soviet Underwater Cables

The NSA, CIA and the US Navy were on a joint mission, wiretapping unencrypted Russian communication with a specifically outfitted submarine and special divers that planted a device on undersea cables in the territorial waters of the sea of Okhotsk. Russia never imagined any adversaries getting near these cables, so didn’t bother encrypting anything that went over it. They couldn’t be more wrong.

USS Halibut: The Iconic Cold War Spy Submarine

Earlier this year, the US Navy announced the construction of an advanced spy submarine capable of conducting covert operations from the ocean floor. But did you know that this development recalls a similar endeavor from over 45 years ago, highlighting the Navy’s historical use of submarines for espionage purposes? In 1971, recognizing the strategic importance of underwater communication cables, the US deployed USS Halibut on a classified mission to intercept and tap into Soviet underwater communication cables. Operation Ivy Bells proved to be one of the greatest US intelligence operations during the Cold War. In this video, we’re taking a closer look at the story of the iconic USS Halibut!