ATOMIC-ANNIHILATION

1950 ... here come the British!

... from a marvelous, and endless, site of aviation history.
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/index.html

all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!

... 'our friend the atom'

... two ominous images from a recent series of articles I wrote for 'UltaSwank' on the push for atomic power in the 1950's and '60's.

http://www.ultraswank.net/science/our-friend-the-atom-%E2%80%93-part-1/

1951 ... soviet wonder weapons

all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!

1951 ... extreme civil defense

1950's ... catastrophic comics

I spoke with someone who grew up in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He said that he did not remember anything like this being offered to youngsters there.

... NATO air power

The European countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization maintained a vigorous aerospace industry which produced designs equal to the US and USSR. (Draken 1955, Swift 1954)

... cold Cold War

US Air Force personnel and B-50 Strategic bomber. The shortest air route between the Russia and the US was over the North Pole. A percentage of our atomic strike force was stationed at forward bases in Alaska and Greenland.

... 1951

... the cover illustration shows what looks to be a MIG-15 in the front position. It was an unexpected leap in fighter technology and a nasty surprise for American bomber and fighter pilots during the Korean War. Not only did Russia provide them to their North Korean and Chinese allies but much of the combat was secretly done by Russian pilots.

... yellow pages

... airburst: 20 kiloton

... this illustration by famed artist Chesley Bonestell depicts a Hiroshima sized atomic bomb detonating at several thousand feet above a major American city. Detonating the weapon at an altitude above the target maximized blast damage. Illustrations like this, in major publications, helped to personalize the specter of atomic war. Producing both anti-war sentiment and anti-communist paranoia.

... here is a depressing British documentary about the effects of a bomb 500 times larger detonated over London- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AYMS1po0L8

... James Stewart was a distinguished bomber pilot during WW2. He remained in the Air Force Reserves for most of his life. He retired at the rank of Brig. General.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Stewart#Military_service

It's sort of strange to imagine that George Bailey kid dropping hydrogen bombs- but he does get kinda riled once in awhile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruE8yhkHke8