...significant step in the 'miniaturization' of atomic weapons, the MK-12 was a fission weapon with a total yield of just under 15 kilotons.
1962 ... rations: Greenbriar Bunker
... speaking of spending the rest of your life hiding in your basement from mutant atomic zombies; here's a nice view of some of the rations stockpiled at one of the 'continuity of government' bunkers. Just kidding about the 'rest of your life' kids - even Congressmen at the Greenbriar bunker only had to hunker down for two weeks.
all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!
1963 ... everybody's favorite nuke!
... with over 3,000 built and having a handy 'dial-a-yield' of 0.3 - 340 kiloton the slim and trim B-61 thermonuclear weapon is always popular favorite for your next Armageddon get-together!
... here's a nifty early 1970's 'industrial film' about all the wonderful innovations included in the B-61. Seems like everyone, including Gus the auto mechanic, get's a hand in manufacturing this little wonder!
1956 ... Survival!
... surviving World War Three isn't just a self-preservation issue. It is your patriotic duty!
If all of 'us' are dead than 'they' win!
1956 ... fill 'er up for the jet-age!
"... that's a pretty big pitot tube you got there big fella!"
Introducing the Boeing KC-135 'Strato-tanker'! Next to nuclear weapons, the biggest development in strategic bombing was the perfection of aerial refueling. The idea had been played with from the earlier days of aviation. In the early 50's propeller driven KC-97's were in service. But the mis-match of speeds between props and the jets made an already tricky piece of flying a real nail-biter.
... the early development of long-range heavy lift jet aircraft for America was a military priority. Commercial jet ideas took a back-seat. This was not a big complaint for the airlines as early jet engines were unreliable and their high fuel consumption made them uneconomical. The 'Strato-tanker' came into service several years before it's slightly larger cousin the Boeing 707.
... the vital role of the tankers cannot be overstated. Their mission of refueling the bombers on their way to the target and on their return was a lynch-pin of the SAC's manned bomber deterrent.
... the vital role of the tankers cannot be overstated. Their mission of refueling the bombers on their way to the target and on their return was a lynch-pin of the SAC's manned bomber deterrent.
all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!
...if you do not feel well!
... sadly - radiation sickness has a cruel twist; many victims feel better (just before they start dying).
1954 ... F-100 North American "Super-Sabre"
... shown here in a 'conventional' ground-support role, the F-100 "Hun" was also nuclear capable. Hell - in the fifties and 60's if it had wings they would strap a small H-bomb on it!
all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!
all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!
1953 ... first use of Atomic bomb against Martians!
... frame capture from George Pal's 1953 production of "The War of the Worlds". Our heroes wait tensely for the arrival overhead of non-other than the mighty YB-49 Flying Wing to nuke those pesky Aliens!
1954 ... all the glory!
... here we have NACA test-pilot George Cooper doing the brave test-pilot pose by his sleek and wonderful F-86D North American "Sabre-Dog". Here at Atomic-Annihilation we try to keep a balanced and politically correct presentation of the Nuclear Triad. But let's face it; missile silos and submarines are not nearly as cool looking as big silvery airplanes.
For gosh sakes- two legs of the Triad are either underwater or underground! The reality is; for the first twenty years of the Cold War the deterrent force was either exclusively airborne or heavily reliant on it. And nobody remembers the good old Army! Between their battlefield atomic artillery, short and medium range missiles and the nuclear tipped Nike anti-aircraft batteries, the Army had the biggest pile of warheads by number if not by megatonage.
... yep - the Air Force gets all the primo 'photo-ops'.
1947 ... NO to Red Canada!
... who knew that our neighbors to the North also feared gigantic hairy hands from Russia plucking up their blue-green churches!
1953 ... better toilets for World War 3 !
... this is the hapless two story average American home mentioned here. It is a series of motion picture frames from "Operation: Upshot Knothole" that we have seen over and over. Only recently have I spotted what appears to be an American Standard toilet being ejected out the back of the dwelling (?)
In the second frame and the enlargement it certainly seems shaped like a toilet.(enlarge each image by: right click/open in new tab) The test house had furniture, mannequins a kitchen. I suppose it would make sense to have a bathroom. Or at least a basic W/C so the doomed store-dummy family would have a place to re-leave themselves as the seconds ticked down to zero.
The initial position and trajectory seem a bit high, unless it was in the attic. However the house is simultaneously collapsing, being pushed backwards and the roof is peeling back. If the toilet was connected to a sturdy waste stack then it is possible that it is simply 'holding it's own' while the house is being blown apart around it.
Given the mystery of "the stray shoe" (see link above) it is also possible that the Corporal in charge of installing the toilet simply stashed it in the attic: not knowing that 61 years later his slovenly actions would be discovered!
... When Britain Ruled the Skies! [video]
... very informative presentation about the British Aerospace Industry after WWII and how it lost it's lead to the United States.
1953 ... safe in the basement!
... "Operation: Doorstep" a part of "Upshot Knothole" was the construction of several typical American suburban homes at the Nevada test site in order to study blast effects and the effectiveness of various types of shelters. Seen here is a lean to construction in the basement. If everything was pre-cut, you had the right tools and had drunk a couple of cups of black coffee; you could wham it together in, say, 30 minutes?
... the deal is that it worked! At 3,500 feet from ground-zero of shot "Annie" a 16 kiloton (Hiroshima size A-bomb) the mannequins inside did just fine. However the house did collapse partially into the basement so getting out to find flee or find shelter from the coming fallout would be difficult.
... the shoe? Ironic historical humor? We'll have to check with the Army Corps of Engineers.
... see the KAFLOOEY footage below!
... at about 30 sec. you get to see (for the zillionth time) the kaflooey of the two story house. In still frames; I am sure that a we see an 'American Standard' toilet shoot out the the rear of the second story [more on that later].
... the house is at 3,500 feet from ground zero- which is around the same distance as Indiana Jones finds himself at minus 10 seconds ...
1952 ... first microseconds
... there is some confusion about the terminology. One millionth of a second is a 'Micro-second'. ( I think milliseconds [one thousandth sec]sounds cooler and gets used more often. These images are produced by a "Rapatronic Camera" developed by EG&G.
"... At this point in the explosion, a true hydrodynamic shock front has just formed. Prior to this moment the growth of the fireball was due to radiative transport, i.e. thermal x-rays outran the expanding bomb debris. Now however the fireball expansion is caused by the shock front driven by hydrodynamic pressure (as in a conventional explosion, only far more intense). The glowing surface of the fireball is due to shock compression heating of the air. This means that the fireball is now growing far more slowly than before. The bomb (and shot cab) vapors were initially accelerated to very high velocities (several tens of kilometers/sec) and clumps of this material are now splashing against the back of the shock front in an irregular pattern (due to initial variations in mass distribution around the bomb core), creating the curious mottled appearance." via
... in microsecond time- I second would last 11 days. 13 hrs!
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