7 Close Calls in the Nuclear Age

Here is a formula for pleasure: arming two great powers to teeth with thousands of nuclear warheads. Make sure it is very hostile and doubt each other. Now, cut diplomatic communication, move about 50 smaller countries with their own business schedules on each side, and got yourself cold war.

Below is seven times that international relations in the atomic era did not go according to the plan, adapted from the book of the mental thread Prob.

1. The Suez crisis was not // 1956
2. Displays communications // 1961
3. Spy plane is very close // 1962
4. Unsaturated bear // 1962
5. Nuclear near the north // 1968
6. Training for terrorism // 1979
7. Computer chip chaos // 1980

The Suez crisis was not // 1956

On November 5, 1956, during Suez crisisNorth America’s Air Defense Command (NORAD) received warnings that it seemed to indicate that the widespread Soviet attack was underway. The data indicated that the Soviet fleet was moving from the Black Sea to a more aggressive position in the Aegean Sea, and 100 MB of Soviet was discovered as it was flying over Syria, and a British striker was dropped in Syria, and the planes were not specified on a flight over Türkiye, causing the Turkish Air Force to go to a great alert.

All signs indicated a fateful result, except that each of the four warnings was found on a completely innocent interpretation. The Soviet fleet was to conduct routine exercises, and Migs was part of a natural accompaniment – which was exaggerated in size – for the President of Syria. The British striker achieved a decline in emergency situations after mechanical problems. Last but not least, it turns out that unidentified aircraft on Türkiye are a large herd of swans.

Displays communications // 1961

On November 24, 1961, all communications links between the American strategic leadership (SAC) and Norrad suddenly died, cutting SAC from three early warning stations in England, Greenland and Alaska. The collapse of communication has no meaning, though. The total failure in all communication circuits was considered impossible because the network included many excess systems that should have been safe. The only alternative interpretation was a large -scale Soviet nuclear blow.

As a result, all SAC bases were put on alert, B-52 crews pushed their engines and their planes were transported to runways, pending the attack on the Soviet Union with nuclear weapons. Fortunately, these orders have never been presented. He discovered that the circles were not actually excessive because they all ran through a single deportation station in Colorado, where it was one engine that heated and caused the entire system to fail.

Spy plane is very close // 1962

U-2 spy planes were high-height aircraft that took pictures of the Soviet Union with very strong telephone lenses. During the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, U-2 pilots were ordered to fly 100 miles from the Soviet Union to avoid the Soviets. However, on October 26, 1962, the U-2 pilot flying over the Arctic a series of navigational errors because the changing lights of Aurora Borealis prevented him from taking accurate readings with Sikritt. As a result, he ended up flying over the Chuchchchi Peninsula in East Siberia, causing the Soviets to ask a number of MIG objections to photograph his plane immediately.

However, instead of allowing him to bring him down, the United States quickly responded by sending the F-102A militants with nuclear missiles to accompany the U-2 to the American airspace and prevent Migs from following it. Incredibly, the tactic work. Even more shocking: a decision has been left whether to use their nuclear missiles for American pilots and can easily lead to a nuclear conflict.

Unsaturated bear // 1962

On October 25, 1962, again during the Cuban missile crisis, he saw a security guard at an air base in Duloth, Minnesota, a mysterious figure, a scaling of one of the walls surrounding the base. He shot the intruder and activated an infiltrated alarm, and automatically removed the infiltrated warnings in the neighboring bases. However, at the Volcan air base in Wisconsin, the Klaxon amplifier was incorrectly wireless, and instead it seemed a stimulant asking for an inviorse of the armed F-106A armed with nuclear missiles to take it off. The pilots assumed that the nuclear conflict widely with the Soviet Union began.

The planes were about to take off when a car raced from the air traffic control tower below the airport runway and indicated the stop. The intruder was finally identified: it was a bear.

Nuclear near the north // 1968

On January 21, 1968, a B-52 fire broke out with a nuclear load near Greenland, forcing the crew to the rescue. Then the uninhabited plane crashed about seven miles from the early warning radar station in Greenland. The damage that occurred can be noticeable. The plane exploded, as the explosives surrounding the radiological nature of nuclear weapons (which require traditional explosives to detonate) did. Given the state of nuclear weapons technology at the time, this type of unintended bombing of traditional explosives in the first stage can theoretically lead to the reaction of fission in the second stage, which leads to a nuclear explosion.

Fortunately for the world, he did not. The resulting explosion was not only the regular communications clip between the early warning station and Nourad, but would also lead to emergency warning based on the radiation readings taken by sensors near the station. The only conclusion at the NORAD headquarters, in this virtual but very reasonable scenario, was that the Soviets were launching a preventive nuclear strike, and the United States was somewhat responding.

Training for terrorism // 1979

On November 9, 1979, four US nuclear arsenal leadership centers received data on their radar screens, indicating that the Soviet Union had launched a full nuclear strike at the United States. Over the next six minutes, the planes were launched and nuclear missiles were created for an immediate revenge strike. The function of the air -portable National Emergency Command – an armored jumbo plane with radioactive shielding and advanced communications capabilities, was also launched to allow the president to stay in contact with the government and the armed forces during a nuclear war – although strange without President Jimmy Carter.

However, the alarm was canceled because he did not discover any sensors or satellites launching an actual Soviet missile. The resulting warning was the result of computer programs used in training exercises depicting the first Soviet nightmare. Senator Charles Persie, who coincided with the NORAD headquarters during this event, said that the reaction was from panic and overwhelming terrorism.

Computer chip chaos // 1980

Electronic offers in NORAD, The SAC and the Pentagon included highly prominent and visible digital meters showing the number of enemy nuclear missiles discovered. They usually offered four zeros (0000), indicating that no nuclear missiles have been launched. However, on June 3, 1980, at 2:25 am, the meters began to replace the number randomly 2 to 0. As a result, the crews that transport the bombers that carry nuclear weapons were requested to start warm up their engines, the minuteman missiles were prepared for launch, and airports were launched by air.

It was determined that this first event was a wrong warning, but after three days, it happened again – which led to the procedure for responding to the entire emergency cases to start rolling again. The problem was finally tracked to one defective computer chip with defective wires.

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