Overview
In March 1968, the Soviet Golf II-class submarine K-129 sank in the North Pacific Ocean with three nuclear missiles on board. While the Soviets could not locate the wreckage, the U.S. Navy used its sophisticated underwater acoustic surveillance system (SOSUS) to pinpoint the site at a depth of 16,500 feet.
Project Azorian: The Impossible Lift
The CIA launched "Project Azorian" to recover the submarine, a feat thought to be technologically impossible. To mask the operation, they built the Hughes Glomar Explorer, a massive deep-sea drilling vessel. The public cover story, provided by billionaire Howard Hughes, was that the ship was a commercial venture to mine manganese nodules from the seafloor.
The "Neither Confirm Nor Deny" Origin
After a partial recovery in 1974, details began to leak to the press. In 1975, when journalist Harriet Ann Phillippi filed a FOIA request for documents, the CIA issued a reply that became a staple of government secrecy: "We can neither confirm nor deny the existence of the records." This became known as the "Glomar Response," and it was eventually upheld in court, creating a permanent legal loophole for the U.S. government to hide secret operations without technically lying.