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They lost me at this: >Force pilots were allowed to fire their nuclear anti-aircraft rockets to shoot down Soviet bombers heading toward the United States. Nu
by phaus 13y ago
They lost me at this:
>Force pilots were allowed to fire their nuclear anti-aircraft rockets to shoot down Soviet bombers heading toward the United States.
Nuclear anti-aircraft rockets?
- totalforge 13y agoCorrect. The Genie anti-aircraft nuclear weapon had no guidance system, and was therefore a rocket, not a missile.
- joyeuse6701 13y agoI was kind of in surprise at the wording too, I didn't believe they would use a nuclear anti aircraft weapon, it seemed overkill, and then I read the rationale of the genie. I'm surprised to say the least.
- aaronem 13y agoHardly overkill, when you consider these weapons were designed for use against squadrons of nuclear-armed Soviet bombers, and the abysmal performance of fighters and interceptors against bomber squadrons during World War II.
- maxerickson 13y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Nuclear_anti-aircraft_weapons http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Nuclear_anti-aircraft_...
- arethuza 13y agoDuring the Cold War there were nuclear anti-aircraft missiles, nuclear anti-missile missiles, nuclear depth charges, nuclear artillery shells, nuclear torpedos, nuclear man-portable demolition charges, even nuclear recoilless guns: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_%28nuclear_device%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_%28nuclear_device... Crazy times....
- ceejayoz 13y agoThe Davy Crockett makes a pretty good rebuttal to the "nuclear suitcase bombs are impossible" people. That would easily fit in a large suitcase.
- arethuza 13y agoNo need to wonder - you can see a picture of the man-portable Mk-54 SADM here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demolition_Munition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demolition_Munit... Mind you, it's a pretty big thing to carry, but one man could carry it.
- CapitalistCartr 13y agoIts not the size, its the weight. Imagine a 50 kilogram suitcase.
- ceejayoz 13y agoI've taken a 100 pound suitcase to Australia. Had to pay an additional fee to United Airlines, but with wheels it's no problem. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demolition_Munition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demolition_Munit... says the W54 was half that weight, 50 pounds (22.6 kg).
- mikeash 13y agoWell, "nuclear suitcase bombs" are usually envisioned as taking out a city. Wheel one into Times Square, push the button, and boom, millions dead. The Davy Crockett's yield was about 20 tons, so it would be like a really big truck bomb going off. Not a good thing to happen in a crowded city, but we're talking about a couple of city blocks being destroyed. For a sneak attack, you'd probably be better off buying or stealing a tractor trailer and loading it to the gills with ammonium nitrate.
- ceejayoz 13y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demolition_Munition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Atomic_Demolition_Munit... says the yield could be up to a kiloton. That's about 400x the Oklahoma City bomb. It wouldn't destroy a city, but letting that off in Manhattan is going to ruin a lot of peoples' days.
- ceejayoz 13y agoIn the early days of guided missiles, having a kill radius of a mile or so rather than a few hundred feet had quite the appeal.
- drivers99 13y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Nike http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Nike Anti-aircraft missiles with optional nuclear warheads. Basically, the idea was to nuke their nuclear bombers.
- guizzy 13y agoProject Nike... Somehow, "Just Do It" doesn't strike me as a reassuring slogan to associate to nuclear weapons.
- PavlovsCat 13y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_%28mythology%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike_%28mythology%29
- mikeash 13y agoMake up for accuracy with power. It doesn't mater if your missile can only make it within a mile of the target if it destroys every aircraft within a mile when it detonates.
- run4_too 13y agoAR-2 Genie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIR-2_Genie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIR-2_Genie