Red October (fictional submarine) subs were only about 175 meters long with about a 23-meter beam. "Red October" would also have been about 5,000 tons heavier than the normal Typhoon class sub. No Soviet submarines were officially named "Red October". Only the Japanese experimental civilian boat "Yamato 1" has managed to use this type of advanced propulsion system. In the film, "Red October" appears much like a standard Typhoon-class submarine though it has a number of significant differences. The aft section of the submarine contains two ducts for the caterpillar drive. The upper rudder carries a towed sonar array which typical Typhoon-class submarines do
The Hunt for Red October sales qualifying the bestseller lists from mass market paperback back to hardcover, a trend that other “brand-name” authors such as Stephen King, Clive Cussler, Michael Crichton, and Danielle Steel would later follow. On April 20, 2018, "The Hunt for Red October" was included in the list of 100 most-loved books in the U.S., compiled by PBS as part of their new series and multi-platform initiative "The Great American Read". The book appeared in a fake commercial ad serving as a teaser trailer for the third season of the Netflix web television series "Stranger Things", which was released on July 16,