Red October (fictional submarine) by the Soviet Navy, "Red October" manages to rendezvous with USS "Dallas" and the United States is able to engage in a complicated rescue plan. Along for the ride on "Dallas", and later on "Red October", is a part-time CIA analyst named Jack Ryan, who reads Ramius' intent and suggests setting up the rendezvous. The rescue plan results in the Soviet Navy's belief that the submarine has been destroyed. The Soviet Alfa-class attack submarine "Konovalov" discovers "Red October"'s survival, but is destroyed before it can report back that "Red October"'s sinking had been staged. Most of the officers defect with
The Hunt for Red October novel as "the most satisfactory novel of a sea chase since C.S. Forester perfected the form". Due to an extensive marketing campaign by the Naval Institute Press for their first published work of fiction, which was initially aimed on the military, the book sold 45,000 copies by March 1985. Clancy said in a 1991 interview: “I thought we’d sell maybe five thousand or ten thousand hardcovers and that would be the end of it. I never really thought about making money.” After Reagan's endorsement, "The Hunt for Red October" topped the national bestseller lists, particularly "The New York Times". It