In the late 1970s, the National Security Agency and others
within the American Intelligence Community developed a "modern
multi-sensor collection system to monitor Soviet Strategic Missile
testing." This system, interestingly enough due to the Air Force role in
its creation, was a ship code-named “Cobra Judy.” The Cobra Judy, which was a
refitted U.S. Navy ship, took four years of study and four years of
construction to complete, work that was largely done in the Baltimore.
The Cobra Judy was an unwitting participant in one of the
more under-appreciated and amusing Cold War incidents. In October 1979, the
Belorussyia, a cruise ship with 450 passengers, dragged a dead pilot whale into
the Harbor on its bow, requiring an elaborate security and maritime response to
keep the whale carcass from disrupting shipping, people from sawing on the
whale, and the Soviet tourists on task and on time. (1)
It is under-appreciated because the incident has largely been
forgotten and because the National Security Agency apparently misunderstood the
nature of the Soviet vessel. In an 1983 Cryptologic Quarterly article, the Belorussyia,
not named in the article, is described as a mere "cargo ship". You
can read the NSA’s article on Cobra Judy
here.
Ultimately, though details are not forthcoming, the NSA’s
author described the article as having “delivered as promised.”
(1) David Ress, Dead Whale Makes the Trip Up Bay on Soviet Ship's Bow, Baltimore Sun, 10/19/1979
Before he became DIRNSA, John Samford was the United States Air Force director of intelligence. In late July 1952, he came to public attention when he served as the public face of an effort to debunk the belief that Washington D.C. was under attack by UFOs. Samford and the USAF argued that "sightings" were caused by temperature inversion, which is where a layer of warm, moist air covers cooler, drier air that is lower to the ground.