Concept of deterrence

[Ninurta]

Very very hard to get things going against a threat with such a short flight time.

We may be referring to different things as "tactical nukes" - the ones I'm talking about were also referred to as "battlefield nukes", and were generally supercharged howitzer shells with low-yield nuclear payloads that had a damage radius measured in meters. anywhere from 500 to 1000 meters. They weren't really a danger to anyone not on the battlefield, or farther away than howitzer range. In order for Russians to hit us with those, they would have to disembark with howitzer batteries here in the US.

Same sheet of music, Brother.

Tac nukes/Battlefield nukes can make a mess if their blast radius sucks up dirt. Most of the planning for the use of these was against softer targets (troops in the open).  We were surely going to (try to) use them up into the '80s if the NORKs invaded South Korea. I guess they've got another way to stop that these days.

They call artillery the King of Battle for a reason.  Getting shelled by the conventional stuff will make you a believer.  Can't imagine a battery of those sending the kind that make mushroom clouds (even if they're small).

Back in the day, Release Authority rested at the O-6 level for non-conventional artillery strikes.  It was still a complicated drill putting that type of ordinance into a tube.  I never thought it could be accomplished should the balloon actually go up, but it was good times and they're all in the past now.

How does @"F2d5thCav"'s signature block read?  Fading anachronism? -chuckle- Aren't we all?

Atomic Cannon crowd pleaser...



Or the W-54 Davy Crocket




The Day Called X (1957) – Dramatized atomic evacuation of Portland, Oregon. (27 min)

Thank you for those videos. They took us back, some of us, anyhow. Several of the members here grew up under the threat of "nuclear annihilation", myself included.

We remember the days of the drills to hide under your desk at school to save you from "the bomb". The running joke back then was that the purpose of the exercise was really just to get you into position to kiss your own ass goodbye.

Regarding the last one, "A Day Called X" in Portland OR, I think that the nuclear annihilation of Portland would have been preferable to what has actually played out there...

It may well be that I will never forgive the Soviets for not erasing Portland, LA, New York, Denver, and Chicago when they had the chance. It might have solved a whole lot of trouble the US is facing today, 50 or 60 years on. I personally think the rest of the problem areas would have figured out how the rabbit eats the cabbage if just the Big Five had been erased.

But that's just me. I'm old and grouchy.

ETA: I do like how they keep flashing on-screen "an attack is not taking place". No repeats of the "War off the Worlds" scenario.

I liked the line "if the government does not survive, it's people do not survive". I thought that was bullshit then, and I still think it's bullshit now. The government comes from  the People, not the other way round, so it's bass-ackwards.

However, we realize that was 1957 style propaganda. In the actual event, since no plan survives first contact, their carefully crafted plan as presented would have gone all to shit inside 3 minutes.


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