49 pages • 1 hour read
Tom ClancyThe Hunt for Red October
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1984A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 15-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 15 Summary, “The 15th Day – Friday, 17 December”
The Dallas and Pogy join up with Red October at Ocracoke Inlet. Dallas and Pogy donate 10 men plus a corpsman to care for the injured and to help pilot the Red October. These men include Mancuso and Jones from Dallas. Mancuso arranges for a depth gauge to be removed from Red October. Jones gathers equipment from Dallas to allow the submarines to communicate, and he also grabs a television and other items to introduce the Soviets to American customs.
The White House contacts Arbatov to inform him of the rescue of Red October’s crew and the reactor accident that destroyed her. Russian officer Captain Igor Kaganovich is on board the American three-man submarine Sea Cliff to investigate the wreckage of Red October. The Sea Cliff recovers a depth gauge from the debris, and Kaganovich reads the numbers and identifies it as a piece of Red October. They also see a Soviet missile on the seabed that Kaganovich also identifies as having been on Red October.
In Moscow, officials meet to discuss Red October. The new KGB chief, Nikolay Gerasimov, tells them about the investigation of the wreckage by Kaganovich and information that perhaps Ramius did not try to defect but was set up by Polish intelligence. He suggests proof of this ruse lies in the fact that instead of arriving in New York, Red October went down a “thousand kilometers south” (535) of her destination. In the end, they announce that they believe Ramius had too much freedom, and practices in the Navy will have to change.
Chapter 16 Summary, “The 16th Day – Saturday, 18 December”
The Pigeon arrives in the US, and the Soviet enlisted men are cared for at a hospital and given a place to rest until transportation back to the USSR can be arranged. Four men decide to defect to the US, a fact that angers Arbatov. However, the president makes it clear that Arbatov has no room to argue. After Arbatov leaves, the president and his advisers conclude that the Soviets bought their story
A Soviet satellite passes over the coast of the US and detects warmth in the water at Pamlico Sound, suggesting one or more submarines in the area. The Soviets decide to leave Konovalov and Shabilikov in place off Norfolk and Charleston. However, the rest of the Soviet Naval Fleet begins to make its way home. At Dulles International Airport, the crew of Red October boards a Soviet aircraft to return home. When questioned about Ramius and Red October, the men speak to his bravery and the sabotage of the boat.
Chapter 17 Summary, “The 17th Day – Sunday, 19 December”
As the Red October makes her way to Virginia, her crew gets a chance to watch American movies and experience American food. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Soviet submarine VK Konovalov located the Pogy and decided to follow her. It doesn’t take long for the sonarman to recognize the sounds of two submarines, identifying one as Ohio class and the other as a larger submarine with two propellers. The Pogy sonar hears sounds behind them and identifies them as coming from a Soviet submarine. The Pogy sends five pings to warn both the Red October and Dallas. The Dallas hears the warning from Pogy and immediately calls for an “all stop” (595). However, Red October does not hear the warning and continues forward. Pogy pings the Konovalov and realizes Red October never stopped and will soon move between Pogy and Konovalov. The Red October receives the danger signal and shuts down her engines, drifting in the water.
As the Dallas moves back, Mancuso explains to Ryan that neither Dallas or Pogy can fire on a Soviet submarine unless it fires first. For that reason, the Red October’s only option is to hide. Ramius suggests they turn on the caterpillar and move northeast as the Dallas and Pogy move south. However, after Red October starts the caterpillar, the sonarman on Konovalov hears a strange sound and asks the captain, Tupolev, to listen. He instantly recognizes the sound as the Red October and tells his political officer their orders to sink the Red October are still in force. Konovalov fires on Red October. Under Ramius and Mancuso’s direction, Red October evades the first missile but is struck by the second. The damage is mostly contained because of the placement of the batteries close to the outer hull, but there is a significant leak in the radio room. The Red October quickly dives to the bottom to make the Konovalov believe those inside were fatally wounded.
The Dallas attempts to trick the Konovalov into believing it is Red October, but Tupolev instantly knows this is not how Ramius would respond. Therefore, he continues northeast to locate and finish Red October. Ramius orders the engines turned back on and the helm to turn west. He is heading straight toward the Konovalov as the Soviets fire on Red October again. They continue on course, and the missile bounces off the hull because of the safety mechanism that does not allow it to explode too close to the originating platform. Red October continues forward and rams into Konovalov, causing catastrophic damage to Konovalov and significant damage to Red October. Dallas, Pogy, and Red October all surface and make repairs to Red October before finishing their voyage to Norfolk.
Chapter 18 Summary, “The 18th Day – Monday, 20 December”
Red October arrives in Norfolk to minor fanfare from a handful of Navy personnel. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daniel Foster welcomes Ramius to America and tours Red October. Ryan is taken to meet with Moore and Greer. He tells his story as they share drinks, and then he is sent off to catch a plane home. For the first time, he sleeps peacefully on the flight. At the same time, the Russian officers from Red October are taken to a CIA safe house in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Chapters 15-18 Analysis
Again, the motif of lies plays a vital role in the plot as Mancuso removes a depth gauge from Red October that will later be found among the wreckage of the USS Ethan Allen. This gauge is used to prove to the Soviets that Red October is destroyed. The Soviets believe it and even accept the story one of their spies planted in the US tells them: Polish spies set Ramius up to be blamed for the loss of Red October. This story allows Ramius to retain his reputation in the Soviet Union and places blame on the shoulders of the naval commanders rather than on the GRU. This protects the spy, Cardinal, in addition to allowing the Americans to successfully keep Red October in order to learn from her technology and improve their own.
These chapters explore the theme Lifestyle Differences: The US versus the Soviet Union in the 1980s. When the Americans board the Red October to help pilot her to Virginia, they bring American food and several American movies. The food they are served and the themes in the films they watch amaze the Soviets. They dream of the different life they will have in the US, with one man amazed at the idea that he can own a personal computer.
While the enlisted men from Red October are cared for in the US and offered asylum and Soviet satellites continue to search for activity around the US coastline, two Soviet submarines are ordered to stay near Carolina and Virginia just in case. This showcases the Soviets’ distrust in their enemies as well as their own people. While the crew from Red October will remain loyal to Ramius and stick to the reactor story, mostly because they believe it, the Konovalov’s captain, Tupolev, continues to search for trouble off Virginia’s coast. When he comes across Pogy, he decides to follow her. This is how he accidentally stumbles on Red October. He breaks rules by refusing his political officer’s insistence that they contact Soviet Naval Command. If Tupolev complied, the Soviets would have learned that the US lied about Red October’s destruction and would have had a case for getting the submarine back. However, he chose not to because of his ego and his desire to best his former teacher.
Tupolev goes after Red October, insisting his orders to destroy her are still in effect. However, Ramius proves to be effective at strategy and manages to evade the missiles Tupolev fires at him from the Konovalov. When Ramius turns the Red October into the Konovalov, everyone questions him, including Mancuso, but they trust him because he knows his boat and Soviet technology better than anyone else on the boat. This shows the incredible contrast of trust when talking about the Soviet Union and the US. Americans receive trust from their superiors, their government, and in each other, and they show this as they allow Ramius to take all of their lives in his hands and make an incredibly risky move that, if it goes badly, could kill everyone on board the Red October. At the same time, Mancuso knows enough about these same things to understand Ramius’s thinking. Ramius wins a game of chicken with Tupolev, ending the threat that the American lies to the Soviet government will be revealed and ensuring the safety of Ramius and his officers. At the same time, the American Navy receives a gift in the Red October, as it will be used to help them develop technology to defend themselves from the Soviet Union.
In the end, Ryan and Ramius both get what they want. Ramius is given asylum in the US, and Ryan is allowed to get home in time for Christmas. Ryan sleeps on the plane on his way home, which contradicts his fear of flying, suggesting that being out in the field and facing his fears head-on allowed him to overcome them. Whether this is permanent may be seen in other books featuring Ryan.
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