... top the British Vulcan bomber. Below- B-52s and KC-135 tankers parked on 'ready ramps' at Minot AFB, N.D.
... bombers of the West
... top the British Vulcan bomber. Below- B-52s and KC-135 tankers parked on 'ready ramps' at Minot AFB, N.D.
1959 ... time enough!
... Burgess Meredith in the post-apocalyptic Twilight Zone episode 'Time Enough at Last!""Time Enough at Last!" full episode- part one
1955 ... dog-tags for Armageddon.
... because millions of children would most likely be in school if a surprise nuclear attack came; a method was suggested for identifying their crispy, charcoaled little bodies. The program never became widespread.http://nccdhistory.blogspot.com/2009/07/pet-milk-and-dog-tags-for-cold-war-kids.html
... Hustler 'Pod' Revealed!
... America's supersonic, medium range atomic bomber, the B-58 'Hustler' was designed with an unconventional weapons delivery system. Instead of an internal bombay that was a part of the planes body, weapons would be carried in a large aerodynamic 'pod' under the belly of the aircraft. There were a variety of configurations; including a pod within- a- pod system. This allowed for extra fuel to be carried as well as Hydrogen Bombs. After it had run dry the outer fuel tank could be dropped away leaving the smaller 'bomb' pod- or you could just say 'screw-you' and throw the whole thing at the enemy. Whatever menus were selected it allowed the bomber to shed a lot of weight and drag and go into 'run-like-hell mode' after it has performed it's door to door service.... Atomic Comics!
1945 ... Hiroshima bomb 'Little Boy'
... top photo is of the actual weapon, in the sunken loading pit, before it was jacked up into the bombay of the B-29 Superfortress. Second photo is of a 'Man of the Future' viewing a replica, 60 years later, at the Atomic Weapons Museum in New Mexico.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy
... historical meagatonage
1964 ... Kubrick and Sellers.
... director Stanley Kubrick makes a point to Peter Sellers during the filming of "Dr. Strangelove'. Meanwhile one of the Soviet delegation relaxes on the floor.
1958 ... XF-108 "Rapier"
... proposed as a three times the speed of sound interceptor, this North American Aviation design never got very far off the drawing board. It was hoped that SAC would buy a bunch as long-range fighters to protect it's Mach 3 B-70 Valkyrie bomber. Ironically, the Soviets did put a lot of time and money into building the Mig Foxbat as an interceptor aimed at the never utilized B-70. More pieces being moved around the Cold War chess board.
1952 ... truth is grim!
... adequate and complete early warning systems were not a reality until the late 1950's.Hence the fear of sudden 'surprise attack'.
1958 ... Presidential communications
... in an era of vacuum tubes and teletypes keeping the President of the United States in control of America's nuclear arsenal while traveling the world was an arduous task.Also of interest is the mention of 'site R' or Raven Rock. This is an underground 'super-hardened' site intended for use as a doomsday command post.
1964 ... Miss Foreign Affairs
... Stanley Kubrick directs Tracy Reed as 'Gen. Buck Turgidson's secretary, in a scene from 'Dr. Strangelove'. Miss Reed plays not only the role of the slinky 'Miss Scott' but also makes a momentary appearance as the centerfold, 'Miss Foreign Affairs' , in the magazine being perused by Slim Pickens, 'Major Kong', in the first scene on the flightdeck of the B-52 bomber. Although it looks like it was a lot of work, this particular angle shot never appears in the finished film.
1961 ... you can survive!
... scary Life magazine cover from issue that has the nifty illustrations of different family fall-out shelters. (earlier post)
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