... don't mess with Ike!
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1955 ... and the winner is !
... dirt; lots and lots of dirt! That's the best way to ride out a nuclear blast. This is probably aftermath of one of the fifteen 'shots' during "Operation Teapot" during 1955 at the Nevada proving grounds. All sorts of 'blast-effects' were documented during this series of atomic bomb detonations; including what sorts of shelters worked best. We are looking at a reinforced concrete structure, mostly below grade, with a big mound of dirt piled on top.
note: don't be directly behind that door when the bomb goes off - it looks pretty thin and won't stop much of the 'hard radiation' x-rays and gamma rays coming from the instant of detonation.
Soviet Civil Defense (early 1980's)
... more death and destruction from the seemingly endless supply of Soviet Union (USSR) instructional posters.
On the other hand the babe in the upper series is someone I'd like to have in my shelter!
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2005 ... would the Nike have saved us?
... I got all excited thinking this was a promotional pamphlet from the time the 'Nike' nuclear tipped anti-aircraft missile was in operation. I was going to give it a big thumbs-up for the scare your pants off division of Cold-War information. Turns out to be a history article from a 2005 issue of 'Air & Space'. Oh well. I can't find the full article on the Internet so I'll throw in a documentary sure to leave you hiding under your beds!
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1964 (?) ... prettiest baby on the lot!
"... take a walk down the tarmac and you can see we've got three great little models for you- yessir!"
Left to right; engine intake and wing of the Martin B-57 'Canberra', North American XB-70 "Valkyrie'and the Lockheed YF-12. The YF-12 is pretending to be a possible super-duper interceptor so no one pays attention to the nearly identical SR-71 'Blackbird' spy-plane (still confuses me!).
1968 ... catch me if you can!
... looking every bit the deadly predator that it was not; the BQM-34E 'Firebee' Target Drone runs for it's life!
Marvelous painting by Keith Ferris.
LINK
1950's ... the "Aluminum Overcast"
... a 'flight' of B-36 'Peacemakers' darkening the sky. I miss my childhood days (late 50's early 60's) when the USAF was much more keen on burning aviation fuel and scaring the barnyard chickens. All sorts of stuff used to go zooming over my small Ohio town. We got to see our "tax dollars at work!".
It was in fact reassuring and instilled some pride and sense of patriotism. For those of us that lived it; the Cold War was a very scary time!
BTW - I noticed how sharp the 36 sets of props are (and by all the dust marks I had to remove I can guarantee it's an original Air Force photo). My guess is that at the fastest shutter speed of the time, 1/1000th of a sec was enough to freeze those huge slow turning blades.
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... everything you'll need for avoiding Atomic Zombies!
... it's important to note that with everything is in full color these days - we may be safer from Atomic Annihilation!
1996 ... time to react with REACT!
... some wonderful graphics on placement and control of Americas ground based ICBM's; from our neighbors at 'Nuclear Companion'.
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1956 ... "Battle of Palmdale"
... I had heard of this; but an enthusiastic fan provided much more info (and he just can't stop laughing about it!) The fan, Greg Renner, also provided the 'commemorative' art !
... on the morning of 16 August 1956, the USAF was trying desperately to shoot down a large, errant target drone which had wondered off on it's own over Los Angeles. A Comedy of Errors with so many details it's best to follow the links to catch all the fun!
wiki LINK
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1981 ... Project 941 Akula; 'Typhoon'
... big ugly fellow isn't it? Did you know that of the six 'Typhoons' built; only [1] remains in service?
(Note to self: any presence of steam or smoke makes a picture semi-steampunk and twice as awesome!)
2020 ... new kid on the block!
... shout-out for a new Cold War blog "Nuclear Companion". Glad to see you guys. It was getting sort of lonely out here!
1961 ... a lot of fun at parties!
... B-41 Hydrogen Bomb - yield 25 megatons - 500 built - largest weapon ever fielded by the the USA.
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