Whiskey on the Rocks Volumes 1-2

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Whiskey on the Rocks – Volumes 1 & 2 
By Michael Fredholm von Essen

In October 1981, a Soviet Navy Whiskey-class submarine ran aground deep inside Swedish territorial waters — just a few kilometres from one of Sweden’s largest naval bases. What followed was a tense Cold War confrontation that brought Sweden and the Soviet Union to the brink of armed conflict and exposed the shadowy world of underwater espionage and naval brinkmanship in the Baltic.

Drawing on newly declassified Swedish, Soviet, and U.S. intelligence documents, military archives, and first-hand accounts, historian Michael Fredholm von Essen provides the most detailed reconstruction to date of this extraordinary incident and its far-reaching consequences.

Volume 1 – Soviet Submarine Stranded in Swedish Waters, 1981
On 27 October 1981, the Soviet Whiskey-class submarine S-363 of the Baltic Fleet ran aground near Karlskrona Naval Base on Sweden’s south coast. Swiftly surrounded by Swedish naval and army forces, the stranded vessel became the centre of a major diplomatic and military crisis.

As Swedish authorities prepared to storm the submarine, intelligence analysts concluded it carried nuclear-armed torpedoes. Meanwhile, a Soviet naval task force, led by Vice Admiral Aleksey Kalinin, assembled just outside Swedish waters, heightening fears of a rescue attempt and potential escalation.
Using declassified intelligence and operational records, Fredholm von Essen reconstructs the incident in meticulous detail — from the submarine’s voyage and grounding to the diplomatic standoff that followed. The volume also explores Soviet naval doctrine and fleet organisation, setting the incident within the broader context of the USSR’s Cold War maritime strategy.
Illustrated throughout with rare photographs, maps, and specially commissioned colour artworks.

Volume 2 – The Swedish–Soviet Confrontation, 1981
Continuing the story, this volume provides a deeper analysis of the Swedish–Soviet confrontation that unfolded in the days following the grounding. Drawing on further declassified sources, Fredholm von Essen reveals the behind-the-scenes diplomatic manoeuvres, intelligence assessments, and military preparations that took place as the world watched the crisis unfold.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Thorbjörn Fälldin’s famous order to “Hold the line!” epitomised the nation’s resolve as both sides prepared for the possibility of direct combat. The author examines competing interpretations of the event — deliberate Soviet provocation versus navigational failure — and the incident’s impact on Swedish defence policy and NATO intelligence cooperation in the years that followed.

Richly illustrated with archival photographs and the @War series’ signature colour artworks of the men, ships, and aircraft involved, this volume brings to life one of the Cold War’s most dramatic maritime confrontations.

Together, Volumes 1 & 2 provide the definitive account of the 1981 “Whiskey on the Rocks” incident — a gripping and meticulously researched study of espionage, diplomacy, and brinkmanship in the Baltic during the height of the Cold War.