SSN 585 History

On September 1, Soviet Air Defense ordered the downing of Korean Airlines Flight 007, killing all 269 people aboard. Aircraft from USS Midway and USS Enterprise had repeatedly overflown Soviet military installations in the Kuril Islands during FleetEx ’83, resulting in the dismissal or reprimanding of Soviet military officials who had been unable to shoot them down – a critical point to consider in understanding the KAL007 downing. There was also a heightened alert around the Kamchatka Peninsula because of a Soviet missile test at the Kura Missile Test Range that was scheduled for the same day. A United States Air Force Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft flying in the area was monitoring the missile test off the peninsula. The downing of the civilian aircraft was considered intentional by the United States, with Reagan calling it “…an act of barbarism born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights and the value of human life and seeks constantly to expand and dominate other nations.” This further inflamed Soviet sensibilities.