Pax Americana-1960
Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 6:13 pm
In the early sixties SAC had grown from a force with 30 aircraft, mostly the "aluminum overcast" B-36s, to, at the time of the cuban Missile Crisis, a force of 1500 B-47s armed with Thermonucler weapons.
The exact mark of the bomb they carried i do not recall.
also, the B-52-the best bomber in history, began its carreer about 1954 and I saw films of thermonuclear blasts on Eniwetok delivered by B-52's.
the lates B-52 in service still, has a tail number indicating 1958 production.
I will track down the names of the various weapons and the Test shots made during the 40's 50's and 60's in various "operations" starting with "Operation Crossbow" ie: test shot "Able" and Baker" at Bikini lagoon.
The Baker Underwater blast, despite only (ONLY??) a 40 Kiloton blast was frighteningly effective.
The blast is easily identified should you happed to see it as the right side of the stem of the Mushroom has a black spot in it, which was a surplus WWII warship of conderable size.
The famous ships "Saratoga" and "Prinz Eugen" (Bismarcks' consort) met their end in Bikini lagoon. The lagoon's bottom is at the very limit for SCUBA diving.
Nevertheless, dives were recently made by Dennis Hilbert (???the Unit).
The warships in the lagoon carried full war loads of ammunition and aircraft, so a dive onto the wrecks would be a divers paradise.
Truk lagoon, the subject of a savage American air attack, contains many ships now considered to be "War Grave SItes" by the US and Japan.
So, when faced with 1500 plus Nuclear armed B-47s, called the "Doomsday fleet" it is small wonder that Kruschev blinked during the Cuban missile crisis.
It was aparently a double good thing as American estimates of Soviet Nuclear Assets and conventional assets were woefully innacurate.
If the planned invasion of cuba took place it is almost a certainty that the Soveits would have used tactical nukes.
If the invasion did not go well, and/or the Soviets used tactical nukes, of which many more were operational than known, a nuclear exchange on the tactical level would hae taken place.
Also underestimated were the numbers of MRBM's operational. These, as we know, could have struck as far north as Boston on the Continental US's east coast.
If tactical nukes were used, could the conflict have been contained at that level???
The existence of the most powerful air fleet in history, the "Doomsday Fleet" having unimaginable thermonuclear capability, deterred the Soviets.
Hell, it would have deterred me.
At the time of the crisis the B-47/B-52 fleet was either disbursed to every possible civilian and military air strip or in the air waiting for orders.
JFK had an operation in place which placed at least 50 bombers in the air at all times and a substantial number ready to lift of on 15 minutes notice..
considering their probable e payload,-------!!!!
the Doctor Strangelove event I think.
The exact mark of the bomb they carried i do not recall.
also, the B-52-the best bomber in history, began its carreer about 1954 and I saw films of thermonuclear blasts on Eniwetok delivered by B-52's.
the lates B-52 in service still, has a tail number indicating 1958 production.
I will track down the names of the various weapons and the Test shots made during the 40's 50's and 60's in various "operations" starting with "Operation Crossbow" ie: test shot "Able" and Baker" at Bikini lagoon.
The Baker Underwater blast, despite only (ONLY??) a 40 Kiloton blast was frighteningly effective.
The blast is easily identified should you happed to see it as the right side of the stem of the Mushroom has a black spot in it, which was a surplus WWII warship of conderable size.
The famous ships "Saratoga" and "Prinz Eugen" (Bismarcks' consort) met their end in Bikini lagoon. The lagoon's bottom is at the very limit for SCUBA diving.
Nevertheless, dives were recently made by Dennis Hilbert (???the Unit).
The warships in the lagoon carried full war loads of ammunition and aircraft, so a dive onto the wrecks would be a divers paradise.
Truk lagoon, the subject of a savage American air attack, contains many ships now considered to be "War Grave SItes" by the US and Japan.
So, when faced with 1500 plus Nuclear armed B-47s, called the "Doomsday fleet" it is small wonder that Kruschev blinked during the Cuban missile crisis.
It was aparently a double good thing as American estimates of Soviet Nuclear Assets and conventional assets were woefully innacurate.
If the planned invasion of cuba took place it is almost a certainty that the Soveits would have used tactical nukes.
If the invasion did not go well, and/or the Soviets used tactical nukes, of which many more were operational than known, a nuclear exchange on the tactical level would hae taken place.
Also underestimated were the numbers of MRBM's operational. These, as we know, could have struck as far north as Boston on the Continental US's east coast.
If tactical nukes were used, could the conflict have been contained at that level???
The existence of the most powerful air fleet in history, the "Doomsday Fleet" having unimaginable thermonuclear capability, deterred the Soviets.
Hell, it would have deterred me.
At the time of the crisis the B-47/B-52 fleet was either disbursed to every possible civilian and military air strip or in the air waiting for orders.
JFK had an operation in place which placed at least 50 bombers in the air at all times and a substantial number ready to lift of on 15 minutes notice..
considering their probable e payload,-------!!!!
the Doctor Strangelove event I think.