In the shadows of Cold War tensions, beneath the surface of the Sea of Japan, a little-known but significant event unfolded in August 1957 that marked a turning point in submarine espionage and international maritime confrontations. The USS Gudgeon (SS-567), a U.S. Navy submarine, became the first American submarine forced to surface by a foreign power during the Cold War—a moment that revealed the fragility of Cold War boundaries and the stakes of underwater intelligence gathering.
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