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 are many deviations, including "Red October" traveling up the Penobscot River in Maine to dry dock, and the "caterpillar drive" being described as a magnetohydrodynamic drive system, essentially, "a jet engine for the water". The film received mainly positive reviews from critics, holding an 87% rating from Rotten Tomatoes based on 66 reviews. It was the 6th top-grossing film of the year, generating $122 million in North America and more than $200 million worldwide in box office. In a 1991 interview, Clancy remarked of the film's success: "It was reasonably true to the spirit of the book, although the movie