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7 comments to "Close Calls in the Nuclear Age."
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Danielle
February 20th, 2007 at
11:50 pm
#6 = WarGames with Matthew Broderick
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Craig
February 24th, 2007 at
11:35 am
They left out September 26, 1983, when Stanislav Petrov saved the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov
I remember hearing that for his effort, the Russians rewarded him with a telephone.
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Bob
April 22nd, 2007 at
4:37 am
Regarding #6, I was in the Air Force then and in a group commander’s staff meeting when someone rushed into the room, interrupted the proceedings, and spoke hurriedly to the group commander. The GC immediately told everyone of the “launch” and told everyone to return to their posts.
I have known the fear of death three times in my life and that is one of them. I did my job, but I found a moment to call my wife at home and tell her to get under the basement steps and not to come out. I could not tell her what I knew, so she didn’t get the reason for my call, but I’m sure she sensed the urgency in my voice, and probably my fear.
Being on a Strategic Air Command base with B-52 bombers, that base being located in the middle of the largest nuclear missle field in the free world, we were a prime target for multiple incoming missiles. Getting under the steps was about as useful as getting under the student desks as we were instructed back in second grade in the 50’s. But when it comes to loved ones, you do what you can.
The incident may have taken only 6 minutes at headquarters, but I can assure you it took a lot longer than that out at field level. I kept wondering if I would hear our missles leaving their silos or if I would hear the incoming detonation, or if I would hear nothing at all.
As I type this the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end.
THAT one of the three hit home the hardest. It involved my family, and it is as vivid in my mind today as when it occurred. I can smell the air of that day right now.
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Dirk
May 5th, 2007 at
9:44 pm
As for #5, it’s actually quite impossible for a nuclear reaction to occur in any implosion device by setting off the explosives through fire or other means. The core in an implosion device requires perfectly timed explosions happening at equal magnitudes from all angles all beginning at as close to simultaneously as possible. An explosion by fire or excess acceleration would detonate the conventional explosives asymmetrically, so it would have ZERO chance of going supercritical. There has been a lot of incidents involving nuclear weapons that have been involved in aircraft accidents that did nothing but cause their conventional explosives to go off. One happened in Palomares, Spain, where 4 hydrogen bombs were dropped after a midair collision between a B52 and a fueling aircraft. I believe two the conventional explosives in two of the bombs detonated and spilled radioactive materials, but there was no nuclear explosion. If anything, the reliability of nuclear weapons and their radioactive materials as well as relative volatile conventional explosives are much bigger problems than accidental detonation.
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julian
May 15th, 2007 at
9:54 am
One of the more publicized U.S. false alarms took place in November 1979. A technician at NORAD — the North American Air Defense Command — accidentally placed a training tape into the main systems at NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado. That mistake made NORAD’s early warning system computer think the United States was undergoing a massive Soviet missile attack — and it responded by alerting NORAD officials.
Within minutes, they realized the error. The incident was one of five missile warning system failures that took place over an eight-month period between 1979 and 1980. It also prompted a government reassessment of NORAD and its operations. -
wayne
July 10th, 2007 at
7:50 am
I was a Fire Data computer operator, in a power test station, on a Combat Alert Station with a Pershing Battery in Germnay.
In 1979 we received launch codes for our weapons, which caused the rounds to be counted, PAL (Permissive Action Link) was enabled, ball lock pins were pulled, Nine Missles were erected, fire buttons were exposed, recorders were copying launch codes, within the (BCC) Battery Control Central, all you could think of durning that time was do your job, you don’t think of family, you don’t think “What If”. We had no idea what happened all we knew was an attck was in progress and we were to have First Strike Capability (NATO Doctrine).
We were very close to launch, when abort, was announced, it was a chore to get those weapons down back into their cradels and relocked in place.
Many of us whent outside and smoked a cigarette and reflected, on the then “What If”.
That was my only close call with God All Mighty. -
SFC PRUITT
March 18th, 2008 at
11:00 pm
Pershing never experienced such an occurance, I served in Germany from 1978-1989 with the 56th FA (Pershing) and there are several incorrect facts here.
The poster did not even correctly describe the sequence of events that would have occured and he gives his position at the time as a Fire Data computer operator, in a power test station, neither of which existed.
Additionally he states 9 missiles were erected which is incorrect again as the Pershing 1a would not have allowed this to occur.
“we were to have First Strike Capability (NATO Doctrine)” This is a real laugh for anyone familiar with Emergency Message Authentication systems in place at that time….
As a Former inspector of launch crew profciency and with a Top Secret security clearance I would rate this post as a “Wanna Be important” persons attempt to impress someone
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