The real Hunt for Red October

Two years after Tom Clancy's best seller was published, a liquid fuel missile aboard soviet ballistic missile submarine K219 exploded inside the launch tube. Seawater poured into missile room. Nitrogen tetroxide rocket fuel leaking from the other shock damaged missiles vaporized and formed nitric acid when ever it encountered water. Breathing the fumes caused nitric acid to form inside crewmembers lungs.
K219 was operating off Bermuda at the time of the accident. By blowing all ballast tanks and ordering full power from the engines the captain managed to surface his stricken vessel. He radioed for assistance and three soviet merchantmen were diverted to render aid. An American deep sea tug, a patrol aircraft and an attack submarine appeared upon the scene.
This sensational event occurred just as Reagan and Gorbachev were meeting in Iceland. Both national leaders downplayed the incident so as not to disrupt the summit meeting. Much of the rest of the story bears an uncanny resemblance to the events in Tom Clancy's novel. Facinating read. "Hostile Waters" Peter Huchthausen St Martins Paperbacks. ISBN 0-312-96612-1