... notice there is no mention of Polaris Ballistic Missile Submarines? They won't come on duty till next year (1961). Instead of a 'mix' it will be the Triad!
all images - Right Click - Open in New Window or Tab = super size!
... notice there is no mention of Polaris Ballistic Missile Submarines? They won't come on duty till next year (1961). Instead of a 'mix' it will be the Triad!
all images - Right Click - Open in New Window or Tab = super size!
At first, in the early sixties, the range of the SLBM's (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles) was only about 1,200 miles. US subs had to lurk in waters close to the USSR as shown by the map above. The accuracy of the subs solid fuel 'Polaris' missiles was not good enough for hitting precise military targets. Instead the 1 megaton warhead was targeted at large population centers. A 'Polaris' Submarine carried sixteen missiles. The Soviet Union test launched their first SLBM about 2 months after the USA. The 'Triad' of air, land and sea atomic annihilation was in place. 'Assurance' was complete.
* Pentagon planners would rather we use the word 'deterrence'
Note: the USSR began operating their missile carrying nuclear subs two months after the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/41_for_Freedom
List of USN 'Polaris' submarines
... painted by master illustrator Keith Ferris and brought to us by the wonderfully cranky host of 'Up-ship'
all images - Right Click - Open in New Window or Tab = super size!
The Soviet Union was always a scary place. Lot's of violence and blood. Lot's of murder in the name of utopia. But the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin was it's darkest chapter. Stalin's paranoia and absolute control fashioned an adversary of dark and unknowable threat. When the Soviets got 'the Bomb' in1949 the world was in a nightmare it could not wake up from!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stalin