First Strike (Part 1)

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 เม.ย. 2007
  • The US bomber force is destroyed on the ground and the Minuteman missiles in their silos in this highly realistic dramatization filmed with the unprecedented cooperation of the US Air Force. The people shown are the actual men and women of the US Air Force and Navy who would have been targeted.
    This is a short version of the scenaio used in the 1979 documentary film, FIRST STRIKE, which examined how the Soviet SS-18 missile force together with submarine launched missiles might be used to destroy our strategic forces in a surprise, preemptive attack.

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  • @Bbendfender
    @Bbendfender 10 ปีที่แล้ว +644

    I went through something like this in 1973 while on duty at a Titan II ICBM site outside Wichita, KS. All of the our Strategic forces went to high alert. This was not known by the public until about 30 years later. We were just minutes from our first launch "window". The Russians had launched 2 of their ICBM's from their operational sites and didn't give the US any warning. Our radar calculated impact point of western US. We couldn't wait to see where they might impact. Luckily, the US was able to contact Russia and found out the missiles were test launches and the payload was two satellites I will never forget that day as long as it live. It was very traumatic to all of the missile forces.

    • @Bbendfender
      @Bbendfender 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      @@ronaldlavender1137 Yes, I was in the 381st Strategic Missile Wing, 532nd Strategic Missile Squadron. I pulled most of my alerts at 2-3 sites that were west and a little south of Wichita. It's been a long time but I remember a lot of stuff from those days. I've heard Wm. Perry speak on nuclear war. I think he suspects it will happen. That is the reason he lives in Mexico now.

    • @janelllonga1898
      @janelllonga1898 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      I lived in Wichita when this happened. I would have been 5. I remember the missile sites, most of them aren’t there anymore, thanks to various treaties. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s made our world safer. Especially now with Putin using them as blackmail. I still fear we’re going to have to learn our lesson the hard way.

    • @janelllonga1898
      @janelllonga1898 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@ronaldlavender1137 Actually there would have been survivors. Many of the buildings on campus have fall out shelters in the basement and many still have supplies in them. Or at least they did when I was there in the late 80’s. And Lawrence nor Kansas City would have been targeted, but Wichita and Topeka were. The silos were more in the middle of the state, the issue would really be radiation and the effects from an air blast. But, yes, practically everything between Lincoln and Oklahoma City would have been gone.

    • @2cthetruth
      @2cthetruth 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      US response time is slow. Also, none of our subs are armed with ICBM's, just intermediate range. Most all of our subs are at port at any given time and are sitting ducks. Russia can launch from port. Also, they are gutting our military with all this woke shit. It's amazing that we haven't been attacked yet!

    • @robinhodson9890
      @robinhodson9890 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      The inverse scenario is possible too, ie Russia declares a satellite launch, but it's an attack. There was a film made which extended that to an actual satellite launch, but the satellite contained an EPM nuke. A serious EPM-only attack could kill as many people as a nuclear war, by effectively destroying the food/fuel supply network modern countries depend upon.

  • @lancelot1953
    @lancelot1953 9 ปีที่แล้ว +714

    These attack scenarios and exercises were unbelievably stressful, you never knew if it was the real thing or not - I am speaking from the Navy side, I am sure that the other branches had it as bad! Thank you for posting, thank you to all members of the our Armed Forces for their dedication and service, Ciao, L (a Veteran)

    • @davidhoffman5789
      @davidhoffman5789 9 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      easystreets70 , SOP(Standard Operational Procedure) is to have designated and advanced announcement of areas of the sea for war games by any nation. Ballistic missile tests are specifically announced so as to preclude misinterpretation. The notice may be short, but it is there. Nobody tests missiles with real nuclear warheads since the Atmospheric Nuclear Test Ban treaty went into effect decades ago. Putin knows this.

    • @lancelot1953
      @lancelot1953 9 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      easystreets70 Hi Easystreets70, you do bring a good point; just like David Hoffman said, in the US Navy or NATO exercises that I have participated in, we had very strict rules of "the game" so as not to create confusion or misinterpretation on the part of the Soviet Union forces. As far as I know, while I was on active duty, they (CCCP) did the same (i.e. warning us of a future exercise). We (and they) would then send "observers" obvious or not, to see what they (or we) were doing. Civilian authorities were also notified when it involved airspace that bordered civil air routes and navigation routes (i.e. the entire area is "swept clear" throughout the exercise(s)). For the importance of these warnings, look up LCOL Stanislav Petrov's story when he found himself as the first link in chain that could have let to total nuclear annihilation. May Peace be with you (and us), Ciao, L

    • @davidhoffman5789
      @davidhoffman5789 9 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      easystreets70, Putin says things in public to please his support base that can gather in the public square. The reality is often somewhat different. His complaints about what type of missile is being tested are illogical. Putin knows full well that almost any type of short, medium, or long range missile can now be fitted with some sort of nuclear weapon due to weapon subsystem miniaturization. His own background in the old USSR government means he knows of the suitcase sized nuclear weapons that the USSR created decades ago. With more advanced miniaturization, those same weapons yields would be in even smaller sized packages.with total volumes of no more than 100 liters or 0.1 cubic meter. If Putin is making such complaints he is doing it for public perception politics and not because he is being denied some needed information from the USA or NATO.

    • @lancelot1953
      @lancelot1953 9 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ***** Hi Mike, actually, on the unclassified side, the US has produced atomic weapons around 20 kg (unreflected critical Pu critical mass ~ 10.5 kg). I think that the reactive part of the W54 155 shell got down to ~23 kg (published). This would provide "low yield" detonations but would be extremely radiation-contaminating since a lot of the material would not react (i.e. fission) and would irradiate a sizable area. The idea (at the time) was that such weapon could be used by a two-man team providing "dial-a-yield" effects of 10 to ~ 200 tons of TNT, excellent for terrorist use because of the contamination. All you would need is to add U-235 or U-238 around the core to increase the lethality of the "gadget".
      Hope it helps (no pun intended), Ciao, L (retired military)

    • @lancelot1953
      @lancelot1953 9 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      easystreets70 Hi EasyStreets70, since Hitler had almost absolute control over Germany socio-economic-military direction and production, he did not have the education, the foresight, and perhaps most of all, the openness of mind (like leaving war planning to the professional military) to consider an atomic weapon. Remember, it took nearly three (3) years for the Manhattan project to go full steam ahead (Jan 1942, following the historical Einstein-Szilárd letter warning (Aug 1939) President Roosevelt about the possibility of Germany making such weapon.
      The concept of fission were known from most theoretical physicists following the publication of Hahn/Meitner/Strassmann fist successful uranium fission experiments (Jan 1939) but Germany did not have the money, resources, and scientists to undertake such project. The concept may look easy to grasp on paper but it is the practical engineering, calculations, chemical separation, physical obstacles, etc. that are just staggering even with today's technology; it was not even within reach of German scientists and industries by 1945.
      Hitler let his county and its citizens be completely, hopelessly destroyed before cowardly committing suicide. Hitler was an infantryman in WW I and had a small (restricted) view of the battlefield. He neglected his Kriegsmarine and his Luftwaffe, he was thinking in terms of land battles, territorial conquests, and ideological priorities; he did not have the knowledge, the experience, nor the "openness" to view let alone wage total war on a intercontinental scale.
      Hope it clarifies my comments, Ciao, L

  • @rf200774
    @rf200774 2 ปีที่แล้ว +114

    At 05:35 when the call for the bomber crews to go to their aircraft goes off it was no joke. My dad was stationed at Wurtsmith AFB in Michigan and we dealt with those type of alerts all the time. Blue lights lit up and sirens would go off on post and all you would see is everyone getting off the roads so the crews could get to the flight line as quickly as humanly possible. Watching the entire fleet of B52's take off all within seconds of each other was quite a sight to see.

    • @josephcontreras8930
      @josephcontreras8930 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Do they really call the command plane Alice or the looking glass plane?? And do they call the secondary air force one plane E-4?? Like they've done in by dawns early light movie(a great movie)

    • @matthewlivermanne4441
      @matthewlivermanne4441 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It's an awesome sight, I am sure.

    • @voin5371
      @voin5371 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@martinnuman1097 Because believe it or not, jet engines are very loud and when your based in the middle of a busy runway, it can make flight operations complicated, its why airports don't have ships and waiting zones in the middle of the runway and all the docking platforms are either outstretched in arms or enwrap the airport itself, allowing for a quicker deployment.

    • @grahammaguire404
      @grahammaguire404 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Hi know exactly where you are coming from, I live between the 2 Largest Air fields that were home to the British nuclear bombers and the munitions site that made a certain type of nuclear missile as well. From the mid 60's when I knew what was our friendly but deadly neighbours to life was often on hold when the Attack warning Siren blasted out its message of take cover and be prepared for anything. Meanwhile the UK Nuclear Bombers were airborne remarkably rapidly and fully loaded with nuclear weapons to, more often than not up to 20 aircraft could be scrambled and they sometimes flew over our home and the sight, sound, vibration and aviation fuel vapour was intoxicating daytime and night time, thank the sweet lord the worst case scenario never occurred but if it did..... You wouldn't be reading this!!!

    • @user-fz2ul7wl2d
      @user-fz2ul7wl2d 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Read some of Tom Clancys books, very real, very dangerous.
      Without warning is one of my favorites. Day. X is coming

  • @Ben-bb7mi
    @Ben-bb7mi 2 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    I love how this footage of the silo was used in "The Day After"

    • @TheSemperac
      @TheSemperac 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      no this film was used in the day after

    • @jerrymander8020
      @jerrymander8020 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I know I saw part of this doc on The Day After.

    • @DrLoverLover
      @DrLoverLover 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Why do you love that?

    • @billyponsonby
      @billyponsonby 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      This film 1979. The Day After 1983.

    • @purefreedom282
      @purefreedom282 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@billyponsonbybut some scenes of this documentary were used in the day after, actually many of them

  • @tomp8094
    @tomp8094 7 ปีที่แล้ว +390

    I was actually on crew when this documentary was made. I spent 5 years as a Minuteman II nuclear certified Combat Crew Member. We constantly trained, constantly exercised and were constantly evaluated on our ability to carry out our wartime mission of launching our ICBMs if an execution order was received.

    • @amkrause2004
      @amkrause2004 6 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      I am LT KRAUSE ! People without clearance and knowledge----I love thier bullshit comments.

    • @insideoutsideupsidedown2218
      @insideoutsideupsidedown2218 6 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      kudos to you for calling your girlfriend from the silo.....wait, you could do that??

    • @chickenfriedsteak2475
      @chickenfriedsteak2475 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Tom P bullshit

    • @twistedneck
      @twistedneck 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Seriously.. should we believe Chickenfried Steak or Tom P? I'm just sayin by the name convention only its like Chickenfriend.. I mean dood if we were talking about a southern tasty restaurant i'd say you were for sure the credible party but in this case i'm going with Tom P and Anthony Krause.
      And to Tom P and Anthony Krause, thanks for your service boys - God Bless America.

    • @MarcosLopez-yz2wr
      @MarcosLopez-yz2wr 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Another HOOAH for the Pershing guys & gals.
      Guess after all these years, you can chatter about this now

  • @mikecimerian6913
    @mikecimerian6913 7 ปีที่แล้ว +252

    This was used in the movie The Day After.

    • @snidelywhiplash
      @snidelywhiplash 7 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      It was also used in a CBS News report called "The Defense of The United States" in 1981.

    • @jlscott64
      @jlscott64 4 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      I remember. The Day After made me a believer in maintaining a strong deterrent force.

    • @iandezur4043
      @iandezur4043 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Mike Cimerian "This was used in the movie The Day After."
      Yep, the guys in the silo capsule were called "Boyle" and "Starr," and they successfully fire the missile.
      Those are the ones that the silo crew are talking about "being 60 feet down behind an 8-ton steel door," and they say that a direct hit will still take them out.

    • @darrelldarrell1447
      @darrelldarrell1447 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      It's actually from many different movies and war games was one as well.

    • @mickeygarlock4611
      @mickeygarlock4611 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      And about 3 others.

  • @Ben-bb7mi
    @Ben-bb7mi 2 ปีที่แล้ว +50

    The problem with this scenario is that the Boomer fleet would have enough for a 2nd strike. We had 41 SSBNs that the Soviets could not track, of which any 25-30 of them would be out to sea at any given time with the blue/gold rotation. with 160 warheads per boat (16 missiles at 10x MIRVs per Poseidon missile). That's several thousand warheads still available for a 2nd strike as there is no realistic scenario where the Soviets can kill the US boomers at sea in a preemptive strike.

    • @stevefisher8323
      @stevefisher8323 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      Absolutely true.

    • @rd264
      @rd264 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      dont buy the techno macho hoopla. stop regurgitating.

    • @bulgingbattery2050
      @bulgingbattery2050 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      Yes, the submarine fleet makes a 1st strike scenario impossible.

    • @09rja
      @09rja หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      This scenario has 17 of them destroyed in port and more (presumably) destroyed at sea. So that really cuts down on those numbers.

    • @Ben-bb7mi
      @Ben-bb7mi หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      @@09rja Patrol patterns would ensure that at least 25 are out at sea and the idea of the Soviets being able to preemptively destroy boomers at sea is laughable given how far ahead the US was in submarine stealth.

  • @jamesritchie1594
    @jamesritchie1594 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    As a SAC Controller in the 1980s this definitely brings back memories.

  • @jennymillbank
    @jennymillbank 11 ปีที่แล้ว +313

    8:44 I felt so bad for that missileer. He seemed so excited about his date at The Hacienda. Poor guy.

    • @scootertooter6874
      @scootertooter6874 4 ปีที่แล้ว +33

      Well hell...we're expendable...don't worry. Plus, from what I've heard, the food at the Hacienda sucked.

    • @iandezur4043
      @iandezur4043 4 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      Well don't worry, I'm pretty sure she didn't show... something "came up."

    • @lupahole
      @lupahole 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      He might even let her treat :P

    • @ronaldlavender9657
      @ronaldlavender9657 4 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      He's a single young man in fucking North Dakota! How do you think he's going to sound about a date?

    • @ronaldlavender9657
      @ronaldlavender9657 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@iandezur4043 😀😀😀😀😀😀

  • @JosephRajewskiWIII
    @JosephRajewskiWIII 10 ปีที่แล้ว +181

    I love these Cold War documentaries.

    • @gamer55551
      @gamer55551 9 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Same here

    • @timothyhouse1622
      @timothyhouse1622 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@rexluther9721 Yep, it was nothing but pure BS propaganda.

    • @stacylockhart9684
      @stacylockhart9684 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Were still in the Cold War.

    • @NotNykoh
      @NotNykoh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Stacy Lockhart with China and Russia I presume?

    • @danedgar1539
      @danedgar1539 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Same here!

  • @lard_lad_AU
    @lard_lad_AU 3 ปีที่แล้ว +92

    6:54 impressive how quickly these B-52 crews could scramble.
    The numerous ICBMs inbound must have been very motivating.

    • @Dickusification
      @Dickusification 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      They would probably not even know how many or even if it was an exercise

    • @californiaslastgasp6847
      @californiaslastgasp6847 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      SBLMs, and the alert crews didn't know anything. When the klaxon horn rings, they didn't know if it was real or an exercise until they were taxing down the runway.

    • @guyazbell7844
      @guyazbell7844 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yea really makes one's scrotum itch!

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      The time between first launch detection (of the SLMBs) and detonations on every base west of Dakota and east of Michigan would be 6-10 minutes. That’s not enough time for the president to receive notice, decide to authorize the SIOP, send orders out to alert aircraft, have the crews scramble, start up the engines, taxi to the runway, take off, and then get enough distance between them and the base such that they aren’t blown out of the sky by the blasts.
      I suggest watching the film By Dawn’s Early Light to see how even a B-52 that did make it far enough from Fairchild in time still suffered a casualty due to the shockwave. I highly doubt many B-52s would clear the blast radius in time. A Russian first strike right now in 2021 would almost certainly guarantee the world was ruled by Russia forever after.
      TLDR: if a nuclear war is going to happen, just make sure to be the one to fire first. 🦅

    • @charliewerchan7252
      @charliewerchan7252 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@SuperpowerBroadcasting I agree with most of your statement, I however disagree with the statement a Russian first strike now would guarantee the world ruled by Russia....the idiots can't even run there own country correctly, and you think they can rule a world....I totally disagree....Just a thougth

  • @deaustin4018
    @deaustin4018 2 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    I lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis - now I'm still alive and have to live through it all over again - not fair.

    • @baahcusegamer4530
      @baahcusegamer4530 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Time will tell. Hang in there brother.

    • @slaff632
      @slaff632 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      What about the 1983 crisis,Reagan-Andropov?🤔

    • @johnleidle9910
      @johnleidle9910 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I lived through October 1962 I talked briefly of it when my oldest boy reached adulthood his comment was " all a bluff there was not chance of an exchange" I wonder if he thinks the same today ?

    • @chubbymoth5810
      @chubbymoth5810 ปีที่แล้ว

      Cheer up! Maybe you get to see the end of humanity after all.

  • @chigozienwachukwu4786
    @chigozienwachukwu4786 8 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    When I first watched this intro years ago, it sent a chill through my spine.

    • @scootertooter6874
      @scootertooter6874 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yes, but the LEFTISTs back then assured us that the commies were our "friends"...kind of like today...

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@scootertooter6874 And now it’s the populist conservatives trying to tell us the Russians are our “friends.” Look at Comrade Carlson on Fox News.

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 11 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    For that time period, yes. For many years a large portion of SAC's bombers and tankers "stood" hard ground alert. Crews generally rotated on week-long tours and resided in hardened/semi-hardened alert facilities adjacent to the alert force parking area. Facilities within an adequate response radius were equipped with Klaxons so the crews could respond in alert force vehicles, driving directly to the alert aircraft. Ground alert was terminated in 1991, after the collapse of the USSR.

  • @CanadianPrepper
    @CanadianPrepper 2 ปีที่แล้ว +78

    Well acted and terrifying

    • @colinmainwaring9471
      @colinmainwaring9471 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Damn right, CD.

    • @TS-ef2gv
      @TS-ef2gv 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      That's one of the things that made this documentary so effective. The use of actual military people who knew their jobs and weren't playing "dress up and pretend" gave it realistic feeling that no Hollywood production could ever hope to match. These were AF and Navy people doing what they had trained for and rehearsed many times over, and their proficiency is obvious.

    • @DustyGamma
      @DustyGamma ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@TS-ef2gv You hit the nail on the head. Even an actor trained by these fellows, wouldn't fully embody their lackadaisical nature, then immediate tonal shift to stiff duty.

    • @stewartmackay
      @stewartmackay ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Many of the people in this film were real personell, not just actors.

    • @Three_Random_Words
      @Three_Random_Words ปีที่แล้ว

      @@stewartmackay duh

  • @encinobalboa
    @encinobalboa 4 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    Modern movie directors should watch this sequence. It has tension, realism, and is believable.

    • @Nighthawke70
      @Nighthawke70 ปีที่แล้ว

      It was real as it got. They ran actual training tapes, instructed to ignore the film crews and go through the exercises as if it were real.

    • @seanbumstead1250
      @seanbumstead1250 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@Nighthawke70some of this is stolen footage from a movie

    • @d23g32
      @d23g32 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@seanbumstead1250 Unless you think they could have "stolen" footage from a movie which wouldn't be made until five years in the future, you have it backwards. In reality, as has already been discussed numerous times in these comments, the movie you're referring to is "The Day After" from 1983. The movie used footage from this documentary, which was filmed five years before in 1978, and released in '79.
      Instead of spreading false information, read and educate yourself.
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Strike_(1979_film)

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 11 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Not many people living witnessed the exercises involving readying Atlas missiles for launch. I certainly never saw this. You saw a huge part of Cold War history that not many have seen. The Atlas D, E, and F, and the Titan I were the only ICBMs that had to be raised/elevated to an above-ground launch position. Because of this, doing so was exercised periodically and some, such as yourself, were able to watch. Fascinating. You saw something that most of us only saw on film.

  • @daviddietrich9449
    @daviddietrich9449 11 ปีที่แล้ว +121

    Thank you for the insight on this. A scenario like that, I think, would be the most terrifying. I remember a line from The Day After when the maintenance techs were heading back to a silo to get a chopper after the missiles went of:
    "You know what that means, don't you? Either we fired first and they're going to try to hit what's left, or they fired first and we just got our missiles out of the ground in time. Either way, we're going to get hit."
    That about sums it up.

    • @decimated550
      @decimated550 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      thousands of those men would die, killed instantly or trapped in rubble of their silo shelters over long days, not knowing what started it, what the outcome was, the status of their families...nothing

    • @scottstrang1583
      @scottstrang1583 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      And being forced to let ones family die alone is the most horrifying. I'd rather risk court marshal and be with them than let them die alone. That's the way it is.

    • @rjr6274
      @rjr6274 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@scottstrang1583 I would do the same. And I don't expect to be court marshalled after that, because the mess that would install on the military there would be other priorities and even the communications would be affected so that my desertion could be never actually known.

    • @heywoodfloyd9
      @heywoodfloyd9 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yes because movies = real life. Please stop.

    • @JPF941
      @JPF941 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@heywoodfloyd9 exactly. So many security protocols in place, if you were near a nuclear weapon, if we were shooting the lockdown would make it impossible to get away. Really think you could get to your family in 14 minutes? Fantasy.

  • @chrislochner4038
    @chrislochner4038 3 ปีที่แล้ว +67

    "Well, boys, I reckon this is it - nuclear combat toe to toe with the Roosskies."- Major T. J. "King" Kong.

    • @MrScottbot101
      @MrScottbot101 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I’m sure everyone depicted here got some awards and personal citations, regardless of their race, their color or their creed.

    • @carbonunit2012
      @carbonunit2012 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Major Kong: "Goldie, did you say Wing Attack Plan R?"
      "How many times have I told you I dont want no horsin' around on this airplane?"

    • @WednesdayAddamsMW
      @WednesdayAddamsMW 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      "Major Kong, is it possible this is some kind of loyalty test? Y'know, give the go-code, then recall, to see who would actually go?"

    • @General.Longstreet
      @General.Longstreet 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Fantastic movie!

    • @starguy2718
      @starguy2718 ปีที่แล้ว

      At this height, they might harpoon us, but they dang sure ain't gonna pick us up on no radar screen.

  • @dsalbert3
    @dsalbert3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    This was shown to our class at Air Force Officer Training School in the 80s. Definitely an attention getter. My first assignment was at March AFB which is shown where the bombers are alerted and taking off. By the time I got there the bomber wing was gone and replaced by refueling aircraft KC-10s and KC-135s. This was really nicely done.

    • @Nighthawke70
      @Nighthawke70 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The Day After sobered a lot of folks up. And that movie was based on the BEST-CASE scenario.
      Topeka Municipal Airport, Manhattan KS, Kansas City, Sedan, Burlington, Parsons, Joplin, Neosho, St Charles, Whiteman AFB, plus the silos that remain or are perceived to still be there from bad intel or just simple assumption.
      All along the Kansas-Missouri state line, nothing would have remained.

    • @d23g32
      @d23g32 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      I was at March when this doc was made and was an instructor in '81 - '82 before we sent our D's to D-M and became an all tanker wing. I got a copy of it and typically showed it to my students on Day 1 as a motivator and a "why we're here" reminder, and to stimulate discussion. It seemed to do the job.

  • @ElectoneGuy
    @ElectoneGuy 9 ปีที่แล้ว +601

    This is a pretty optimistic result for the Russians. 96% of the ICBM force destroyed in their silos, 93% of the bombers destroyed on the ground and the most ridiculous outcome is that the majority of the US strategic submarine force has been wiped out. I don' think so...

    • @PointReflex
      @PointReflex 9 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Just like another Pearl Harbor...

    • @deltadromeuss
      @deltadromeuss 9 ปีที่แล้ว +158

      Audioquest56 I agree with you, this dramatization is definitely not realistic, but after all it was made by the Air Force in order to convince whoever would watch it that it was absolutely necessary to immediately increase the defense spending in order to avoid the events depicted here from ever happening.

    • @imreloadin
      @imreloadin 9 ปีที่แล้ว +81

      Marco Tanghetti Nothing like some good ol' fearmongering propaganda to increase job security.

    • @deltadromeuss
      @deltadromeuss 9 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Not So Pro Gamer Yeah, it usually works pretty well.

    • @randy109
      @randy109 9 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      Audioquest56 Back in the 1950's and 60's both sides knew that a large percentage of their missiles wouldn't fly right and a large percentage of warheads wouldn't detonate correctly. You still see a fair amount of Rocket and Missile tests fail and this is 2015! Remember when we Test a missile right now we fly in experts and engineers from all over the country and still have regular failures. Imagine two kids in a hole in the ground in Montana turning the keys on a missile that has been setting in the hole in the ground since 1967. Do you really believe even half will fly right, hit their target AND detonate an extremely complex thermonuclear warhead? Main reason the USA nor the Soviet Union tried a massive First Strike was it would be quite embarrassing if half your weapons didn't function as advertised. NO First Strike could have disabled even a third of your enemies weapons and if Luck was against you the retribution could be massive. Just think about two bored kids in a hole, sixty feet under the cornfield turning keys on electronics and hardware that was made the year their dads were born. Would YOU Trust the Technology with YOUR Life? Neither side ever did, Thank God...

  • @GenPatton0043
    @GenPatton0043 12 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    Absolutely a great read. Even though that era was before my time, those days of the Cold War are very intriguing. I actually often took a "good ribbing" from guys in my platoon. We were in Iraq from early '04-'05 and I spend a lot of my free time reading similar books from that time period.

    • @bretwhitmore8855
      @bretwhitmore8855 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      If you should ever find yourself in western South Dakota and would like a personally-guided tour of a genuine Minuteman II ICBM site that I guarded more than once in the early 1980s (now under the stewardship of the National Park Service), feel free to give me a shout-out. I was a young punk 20-something when I did that work but it was "The Best Job I Ever Had" if you understand the reference. Even 40 years later I could do that job blindfolded. As some have said before me, "It was the only time anything I ever did really mattered." And they were damned right.

  • @carbondragon
    @carbondragon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +199

    As a former member of the USAF, and having lived with my Dad, a Lt.Col in SAC, and having been stationed at NORAD, this is vanishingly unlikely. The missiles would be gone before the first missile ever hit the US.

    • @californiaslastgasp6847
      @californiaslastgasp6847 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      What was the SLBM fly time from the pacific coast to targets? How long did detection take? How long from detection to orders to turn the key? Minutes count here.

    • @NeverTalkToCops1
      @NeverTalkToCops1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      So what? The most likely scenario today is an accidental nuclear detonation, many consider this inevitable.

    • @carbondragon
      @carbondragon 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@NeverTalkToCops1 It's really a matter of how the system works and how people are trained.

    • @max8286
      @max8286 2 ปีที่แล้ว +44

      @@carbondragon yes and I don´t believe the small number of surviving subs. 18 Ohios in service, let´s assume half of them permanently on sea. 8 warheads on each of 24Tridents makes about 1700 impacts on enemy soil. This would be alone enough to vaporize every major city.

    • @oldtimerf7602
      @oldtimerf7602 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Indeed. Not to mention that now we have anti ballistic missile defenses.

  • @metalhd4life
    @metalhd4life 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    My only wish for today, tomorrow, and for the days following my life's passing is for humanity to never reach this point.

    • @theeagleman9407
      @theeagleman9407 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The Huminity and the Animals walk toward this Point

    • @maryshaffer8474
      @maryshaffer8474 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The creators of these weapons are already in their reward- the grave.

    • @RT-qd8yl
      @RT-qd8yl 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I hope to see it happen on the very last day of my natural life. Live a long, fulfilling life, then once I'm done and about to die naturally anyway, what better way to go than to watch the annihilation of human civilization as we know it?
      Plus, I just wanna see a nuclear explosion IRL.

  • @Zoomer30
    @Zoomer30 9 ปีที่แล้ว +188

    Don't know what was worse about the 80s: The threat of nuclear annihilation or Tab cola (yeeesh, vile concoction)

    • @afitz34
      @afitz34 9 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      +Zoomer30 It was awful!

    • @Zoomer30
      @Zoomer30 8 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Sweetened with Saccharin. The Boomerang effect was vile (defines "aftertaste")

    • @Zoomer30
      @Zoomer30 8 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      talesin- god of the internet I could have asked the USSR:
      Do you want flaming death or Tab Cola?

    • @moonlitphantasm
      @moonlitphantasm 8 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      That's like choosing a fully loaded revolver for a round of Russian Roulette or a Tab. At least with the gun there is the remote possibility of a round having a bad primer.

    • @PlasmaCoolantLeak
      @PlasmaCoolantLeak 8 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      +Zoomer30 And don't forget that abomination unto God and man, New Coke...

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 12 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Thanks for the support, Chris. And, congratulations on becoming an uncle again (I hope your sister and everthing related is fine) and your academic endevours. I believe you'd do well teaching history. If I had it to do over again, that is precisely what I would/should have done when I retired from the Service.

  • @canislupis3129
    @canislupis3129 2 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    My dad served in the Canadian Air Force and during the missile crisis of Cuba in 62 with president Kennedy, my dad and the whole base was on high alert. He couldn’t leave the base at all. I remember my mom talking to him and she was scared. I’m told, and I do believe it:we had Canadian planes with nukes from America on them ready to go.

    • @dyveira
      @dyveira ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Yes, Diefenbaker briefly consented to having American BOMARC missiles stationed on Canadian territory.

    • @flipwilson9360
      @flipwilson9360 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      yes .... Canadian jets had Genie - air to air missiles armed with low kiloton nukes supplied by the u.s. I believe Canada has since returned them to the u.s. .. also second in command at NORAD is a Canadian general

  • @smokeytmacgowan
    @smokeytmacgowan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    This Scenario seems implausible. Its an Air force centric view of our nuclear deterrent. Even if a surprise russian boomer attacker wiped out our SAC bombers and Minuteman silos our nuclear subs on war patrol most likely at this time period the George Washington Class carried 16 Polaris A3 SLBMs each. Just one surviving boat could devastate the USSR. This seems more like a video made to scare congress into releasing more funding. It was common during the cold war for the Military to vastly over estimate the Soviet military equipment. A good example is the MiG-25 and the resultant FX fighter program that built the F-15, Intelligence thought the MiG-25 was a super fighter. At this time frame Russian submarines were still 2-3 orders of magnitude louder than US subs. I'd seriously doubt so many could get into firing position and hit us.

    • @Elthenar
      @Elthenar 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      That was the part that got me. "Somehow most of our boomers were destroyed at sea"
      That is unlikely, our subs were far better than the things they would use to find and kill them. We also had patrols of B-52's in the air at all times. Plus, we all had nuclear armed cruise missiles by the early 80's, meaning our surface ships were capable of flattening cities.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      It was implied the Russians sunk the boomers before they struck the mainland. The Kremlin decided a few hundred warheads from surviving US subs was a good deal to destroy America and win the world forever more.
      The time between first launch detection (of the SLMBs) and detonations on every base west of Dakota and east of Michigan would be 6-10 minutes. That’s not enough time for the president to receive notice, decide to authorize the SIOP, send orders out to alert aircraft, have the crews scramble, start up the engines, taxi to the runway, take off, and then get enough distance between them and the base such that they aren’t blown out of the sky by the blasts.
      I suggest watching the film By Dawn’s Early Light to see how even a B-52 that did make it far enough from Fairchild in time still suffered a casualty due to the shockwave. I highly doubt many B-52s would clear the blast radius in time. A Russian first strike right now in 2021 would almost certainly guarantee the world was ruled by Russia forever after.
      TLDR: if a nuclear war is going to happen, just make sure to be the one to fire first. 🦅

    • @chrisp4190
      @chrisp4190 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@SuperpowerBroadcasting There are enough warheads based on subs to ensure mutual destruction even if we lost all silos and bombers.

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 10 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Hi, Chris. Both Klaxon alerts were crucial. The actual Klaxon devices/horns were installed at locations allowed to be visited by the Alert Force during normal alert, BX, gymnasium, etc. The exception was the chapel where a very visible "Alert" light was intalled. The voice Klaxon Advisory ("For Alert Force, For Alert Force, Klaxon, Klaxon, Klaxon") was also used and, in many instances, more important. The former could be activated by the unit and fixed headquarters command post/centers.

  • @coolcat6303
    @coolcat6303 7 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    At first I thought i was watching an extended version of the 80's tv movie "The Day After". I noticed several of these scenes were used in that film.

    • @StinkFingerr
      @StinkFingerr 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Yes, this was the episode where they were in another film.

  • @bamagrad99
    @bamagrad99 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    I’ve seen clips from this a dozen times in ‘The Day After.’ I never knew the video was originally a Pentagon produced infomercial for a new missile they wanted 🤣

    • @BarberJ95
      @BarberJ95 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This is so good tbh. For for once though the Pentagon didn’t get something lmao. That silo concept was kinda cool though lol.

    • @looneyburgmusic
      @looneyburgmusic 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ​@@BarberJ95 And totally worthless - the Soviets would have simply targeted every potential site with at least a few warheads, then stringed some more along the missile transit routes for good measure.
      Wouldn't have been hard for them at all when they had thousands and thousands of nukes to play with...

  • @russvoight1167
    @russvoight1167 2 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    The general officer coming aboard the EC-135 was Brigadier General Clarence Autrey. He had been the 28th Bomb Wing commander when I was at Ellsworth AFB, SD.
    While stationed there, he was one of 2 wing commanders who arrived as colonels and left as brigadier generals

    • @halb37
      @halb37 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      I also served with Gen Autrey...he was my ops officer and later sq commander at Zweibrucken in 1972, flying RF-4Cs. I flew with him many times. He went by his middle name, Reuben, but close friends called him "Gene". I recall he even had a name tag with Gene Autrey on it. He was destined for greatness and rose in ranks when returning to SAC. In these scenes he is not acting...as a BGen he actually served in the flying Command Post out of Offutt. His combat tours were RB-66s out of Tahkli and RF-4s out of Udorn in the late 60s. He retired as a Major General and passed in 2010.

    • @TravisSept79
      @TravisSept79 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      so u met him personally. Was he always calm like that seen in this doc?@@halb37

  • @mikecimerian6913
    @mikecimerian6913 7 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    This was a case for the MX missile system. A surprise attack is practically impossible nowadays. Signal analysis and satellites makes such an attack impossible. There are always circumstances leading to conflict which are completely left out in this obsolete scenario.

    • @StoutProper
      @StoutProper ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Hypersonic missiles launched from a sub off the coast?

    • @Spaghetter813
      @Spaghetter813 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@StoutProper I believe the issue for hypersonics in their current form is low accuracy- something very important for counterforce strikes. They're also pretty rare. Regardless, the at-sea deterrent would not be affected.

    • @StoutProper
      @StoutProper ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Spaghetter813 low accuracy? Why aren’t they accurate? In any case, nukes don’t need to be accurate

    • @Spaghetter813
      @Spaghetter813 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@StoutProper they do depending of the target. If you target a city you're generally right (although you might need 2 or 3 impacts with low accuracy to achieve maximum destruction) . If you want to destroy an underground nuclear missile silo you're completely wrong.

    • @gnarl12
      @gnarl12 ปีที่แล้ว

      Sub launched hypersonics with megaton or high kiloton warheads would perform decapitation strikes extremely well.

  • @Silavite
    @Silavite 9 ปีที่แล้ว +140

    8:30
    I love how it says "GENTLY" above the keyhole.

    • @amkrause2004
      @amkrause2004 9 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      +Silavite Too many people would break the keys off or jam them in the keyholes.

    • @BenInSWMO
      @BenInSWMO 9 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      +Anthony Krause Couldn't help but notice the DMCCC was Lt. Krause.......if you're the same man, I want to thank you for your service!
      Those Officers in the MCC had the chance to do something I've always wanted to....but never had the opportunity to.
      I always wondered about the "Gently" label too.

    • @amkrause2004
      @amkrause2004 9 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      I am not the guy from the film. But he is my father though. He loved his time in SAC he always talks about it.

    • @tanit
      @tanit 8 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      +Anthony Krause He was an actual SAC officer at the time of this film? I am also a Krause :) from NY.

    • @amkrause2004
      @amkrause2004 8 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      correct he was an actual SAC officer. The film shows all real military people. According to our family tree we moved from New York sometime at the turn of the century (1900s) and ended up in Green Bay WI. from there to Mississippi after world war 2

  • @c0xb0x
    @c0xb0x 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    It always amazed me that not a single high-value movie or TV-series was made about WW3 (not necessarily nuclear war). Practically unexplored space in non-written media and so much material.

  • @w.c.d4892
    @w.c.d4892 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    At all times there are missile submarines in the Pacific and Atlantic covering a specific target package. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the only thing that gave Khrushchev hesitation about launching was knowing it would be impossible to know where those subs were hiding.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I wish there were more US ones. 3.5% of GDP on defense today when we have 2 (TWO!) cold wars is insufficient. I support spending $2 trillion or more per year on defense.

    • @looneyburgmusic
      @looneyburgmusic 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Where do you people get this misinformation from?
      Durning the Cuban crisis the Soviets never had any intention of attacking the US. The thought never occurred to them. They only placed those missiles in Cuba as a counter to US missiles in Turkey.
      Where the Soviet Union's leadership miscalculated was with how they thought Washington would react - they figured that the US would simply negotiate to remove both sets, from Turkey and Cuba, not that US leadership would basically panic, and the US Military would try to start WWIII.

    • @rd264
      @rd264 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@looneyburgmusic VERY FEW people anywhere have learned the most important lesson that JFK learned in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

  • @SkinnyCow.
    @SkinnyCow. 6 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    That orange cravat the Lt missileer is wearing is the thing of greatest fear in this movie.

    • @louisvarre2197
      @louisvarre2197 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      SkinnyCow Which was usually tipped off as soon as you were underground! Lol

  • @fetengineer9151
    @fetengineer9151 3 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    My father was in the USAFSS from 1954 to 1984. He was mainly in Aerial Reconnaissance for most of his career flying abroad the RB-29, RB-36, EC-121, EC-47Q, RB-52 and the EC-135, etc... I'm sure he has some great stories along with his 20,000 hours of flying time... but he refuses to tell them. But thank God for the internet... I've researched a few of his former USAFSS units.... TFA, 6908th, Det 3 - 6994th, 6913th, TUSLOG 94 etc. I was truly amazed at his work as a Russian Voice Intercept/crypto, DF operator and later a AMS onboard the EC-47Q out of NKP, Thailand.

    • @rickthomas6606
      @rickthomas6606 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      2022 now if join it might happen

    • @marstuv5068
      @marstuv5068 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Shame he does not (tell the stories) 😢 Would be VERY Interesting

  • @tocoyopaco2278
    @tocoyopaco2278 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Beautiful. I love seeing movies like this.
    They must make the youth of today watch movies like this so they can feel what we felt back in the good old days.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yeah. Most people my age don’t even think about nuclear warfare

  • @AnonAnonAnon
    @AnonAnonAnon 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I took part in a military exercise in West Berlin in the 1980s, Exercise Rocking Horse (as in a Russian attack is more likely than 'rocking horse shit', or something like that). Two days into the exercise a nuclear weapon was 'detonated' above West Berlin. At that point, we 'lost comms', went into NBC state, and told not to move from our location, just defend. I can't remember how the exercise ended. I believe that instead of invading West Berlin, Warsaw Pact forces just left the city as a dying contaminated waste land, enclosed by a wall and fence.

    • @Reebus_
      @Reebus_ 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Ah the vehicles driving around at some random hour blaring out " alert alert exercise rocking horse" was 10 years old at the time and didn't really get it :)

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 10 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    This footage was shot specifically for the documentary you viewed, "First Strike". The same footage was later used in "The Day After".

  • @tybo09
    @tybo09 12 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    There was a large industrial park near my grandmother's that must have been similar to a target somewhere in the USSR.
    My cousins and I used to climb the hill and watch B-52's come over the top of the hill, dive into the valley and make practice runs on the industrial park.
    They were, at most, about 150 feet over our heads on top of the hill... Very cool.
    so glad they never had to do more than practice.

    • @cdrom1070
      @cdrom1070 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      those bombers are the enemy of all tractors, and also tanks. All the dual use soviet industry would mean that when they bomb the tractor/tank factories there would be a massive famine eventually. The solution is the light tractor?

    • @marstuv5068
      @marstuv5068 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You KNOW it!!! 😮😢😅😂

  • @MrDaddynomates
    @MrDaddynomates 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Imagine hearing those words "this is not an exercise". Your heart would fall out your ass.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      If you were west of Dakota or east of Michigan, you’d know you’d be vaporized before your B-52 had the chance to get off the ground and clear the base. 6 minutes isn’t enough time for the president to receive notification, authorize the SIOP, scramble out to the bomber, taxi to the runway (waiting for those other bombers to take off knowing there are Russian warheads coming your way within minutes). It’s game over.
      If a nuclear war is going to happen, just make dang sure to be the one to nuke Russia first.

    • @lanniehillabrand8872
      @lanniehillabrand8872 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      "Group commander, I'm afraid this is not an exercise." - General Ripper.

  • @ArmyJames
    @ArmyJames 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    General: “Do you have your key?”
    Colonel: “Oh shit, I left it on the nightstand this morning!”

    • @stevt100
      @stevt100 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I thought the same thing

    • @nigelmorse3909
      @nigelmorse3909 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I was wondering what would happen if an officer forgot his key - game over?

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 11 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    The Atlas F was a massive facility. Not just the silo was buried. There was also an extraordinarily large launch control facility and associated infrastructure underground as well. If you research articles from that period, many Americans were concerned with the expense in spite of the importance. Regardless, it was an amazing system and an extraordinary construction accomplishment.

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 12 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I had the pleasure of flying with him a few times in the very early 80s. He was a no-nonsense, stoic, and serious leader. This was very typical of SAC General Officers, particularly from that time period. He was a good man. I never once heard anyone complain about him. Very fair and extremely smart.

  • @bramptongora2008
    @bramptongora2008 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The missile alert interrupting dude's morning newspaper is so Air Force it kills me

  • @Phoenixesper1
    @Phoenixesper1 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    God I'd hate to be that guy stuck in the shitter when that "get the fuck off the ground now" alarm blares through the air base.

  • @Experiment632
    @Experiment632 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    "Here's the launch key...no wait that's my car key. Hold on...Ah here it...oh no that's my house key. Umm...no that's my locker key. Where's the blasted thing. Got it! No that's just a paperclip. Perfect just perfect. No wait, yes here it is..." *Bright flash and BOOM!*

  • @SquidkidMega
    @SquidkidMega 7 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    5:14……yikes, what a way to ruin a dude's saturday night

    • @xChemistryFTWx
      @xChemistryFTWx 6 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      SquidkidMega It sounded pretty lame anyways

    • @damanyocum149
      @damanyocum149 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yeah, i would agree-Lt Krause sounded like he was really looking forward to some time off...oh well 😔

    • @zacharyhughes7628
      @zacharyhughes7628 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      hey I gotta go

    • @WednesdayAddamsMW
      @WednesdayAddamsMW 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Stand by to copy the message.

    • @danrepaci6015
      @danrepaci6015 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@WednesdayAddamsMW Lt. Krause was cock blocked by a nuke

  • @edwardarruda7215
    @edwardarruda7215 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I was in SAC in the 70s...spent many days on alert. These are actual SAC crew.

  • @robertmarks2218
    @robertmarks2218 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I Remember watching the B47s taking off from Pease AFB 60-61. My dad was an aircraft commander.

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 11 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Thank you, Chris, for defending General Autery's memory. I hope you and your family are having a great 4th of July.

    • @russvoight1167
      @russvoight1167 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      General Autrey was the 28th Bomb Wing commander at Ellsworth AFB, SD during the time I was assigned there. He was the second wing commander in a row to make Brigadier General while at the 28th

  • @DBarns7
    @DBarns7 6 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I remember they used some of these documentary clips in the 1983 TV movie "The Day After". Both of these were scary 'what if' scenarios.

    • @kdlofty
      @kdlofty 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Watch the BBC movie/play "Threads" by Barry Hines. Much more gritty and realistic than "The Day After". It goes to about 10 years after the nuclear war. Depicting the effects of a nuclear winter and the breakdown of society.

  • @robertbenoit5374
    @robertbenoit5374 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    It was Also used in the 1990 film By Dawns Early Light. In addition a lot of the WWIII training scenarios featured this footage as well

  • @ericzerkle5214
    @ericzerkle5214 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    The Day After brought me here!!

  • @johnd.obrien6838
    @johnd.obrien6838 9 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    It's kind of remarkable just how MUCH footage from this Nicholas Meyer used in "The Day After."

    • @davidglover2023
      @davidglover2023 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Should have been so much more, this is really a climatic elevation to the attack segment in the day after... holy shit, how exciting this would have been..

  • @GrnArrow092
    @GrnArrow092 8 ปีที่แล้ว +45

    Scenes from this video were used in the making of the 1983 TV movie The Day After.

    • @jackhartford521
      @jackhartford521 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      GrnArrow092 I thought I recognized some of those scenes!

    • @robertbenoit5374
      @robertbenoit5374 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      yep. I recognize some of them

    • @tredis36
      @tredis36 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      GrnArrow092 pretty good movie too

    • @SiegfriedDeniz
      @SiegfriedDeniz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      yes! I have it here on dvd

    • @Trump145
      @Trump145 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I saw that film in high school

  • @jbsmith966
    @jbsmith966 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    1st strike would be from SLBMs launched close enough that so there would little to no time to react. That is what makes SSBNs the most scary part of the triad. Land based ICBMs or bomber planes would give plenty of time to launch a counter attack. You want the 1st strike to be as fast , short and devastating as possible. Like you just saw in the film.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The time between first launch detection (of the SLMBs) and detonations on every base west of Dakota and east of Michigan would be 6-10 minutes. That’s not enough time for the president to receive notice, decide to authorize the SIOP, send orders out to alert aircraft, have the crews scramble, start up the engines, taxi to the runway, take off, and then get enough distance between them and the base such that they aren’t blown out of the sky by the blasts.
      I suggest watching the film By Dawn’s Early Light to see how even a B-52 that did make it far enough from Fairchild in time still suffered a casualty due to the shockwave. I highly doubt many B-52s would clear the blast radius in time. A Russian first strike right now in 2021 would almost certainly guarantee the world was ruled by Russia forever after.
      TLDR: if a nuclear war is going to happen, just make sure to be the one to fire first. 🦅

    • @looneyburgmusic
      @looneyburgmusic 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      There are a lot of people commenting on this video who have no clue what they are talking about.
      Back in the 80's, at the height of the Cold War, both US and Soviet Nuclear Doctrine was "Launch on Warning". The response would have occurred within minutes. Even a SSBM based attack would never have worked, since the entire US ICBM force would have been gone from their silos long before any Soviet sub-launched warheads began their terminal stage.
      And better still, in that era, SAC maintained a large portion of the US Bomber force on 24-hour AIRBORNE alert - there never would have been so many bombers on the ground, with their engines cold. I remember back in the late 70's - early 80's, when I was younger, seeing flights of bombers flying high over our town every day it seemed, (either heading out or back to base), it was actually strange when that ceased to occur.

    • @damiangonzalezlopez829
      @damiangonzalezlopez829 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@SuperpowerBroadcastingno obstante los SSBN americanos, franceses y británicos plantean la misma amenaza a Rusia, aún si esos países ya han sido arrasados: en el momento en el que estos sumergibles pierden contacto con su base y el centro de mando nacional comenzarán a cargar sus misiles (14 minutos para posición de lanzamiento) y subirán a profundidad que permita establecer fácil conexión de radio... Sabiendo que Rusia estaría a la escucha y triangularán su posición para hundirlos, los comandantes de submarino, sin una orden en contra y/o con evidencias de que su país ha sido atacado seguirán las directrices prefijadas lanzando toda su furia sobre Rusia tan pronto los SLBMs hayan acabado de cargar, para evitar ser alcanzados y destruidos. Una transmisión falsa rusa pidiendo el alto el fuego o la rendición no llegará con el código de verificación correcto. Ese primer golpe sería devastador para la nación que la sufre, pero, al mismo tiempo no estaría exenta de una represalia igual de cruenta y rápida en contra. El escenario de ésta película no es creíble.

  • @hub5343
    @hub5343 2 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    I grew up on air force bases in the 80's, and now in 2022 every now and then I come back to this video to remind myself that there is still danger, still the threat of imminent death for everyone, and there is much work to do in the world along with constant effort and vigilance to not let this dominate our lives. The scene at 2:30 is particularly poignant - where a ghastly machine of human genius that lurks in the dark has the power to end all meaningful life.
    The only real solution is universal worldwide disarmament to zero nuclear weapons - coupled with both constant open intelligence surveillance and then open and immediate controlled manufacture again if an aggressive nation begins to create one where all other conventional means are exhausted for any rogue nuclear threat. There is no place nor time in the world where these ghastly weapons should exist at all. Constant vigilance is the price we must all pay then to keep total collapse at bay.

    • @jkeelsnc
      @jkeelsnc 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      And it is ironic that it is more likely to happen now. Yet I fear this less than I did in the 80s.

  • @valiantthor6930
    @valiantthor6930 6 ปีที่แล้ว +86

    at 6:18 "do you have your key?" "No sir I left it at home"

    • @DavidSmith-hp7li
      @DavidSmith-hp7li 5 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      I sold it for crack sir!

    • @rprince418
      @rprince418 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      "Fuck!"

    • @ZeeboLaywicker
      @ZeeboLaywicker 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      ikr? you don't have your key??? wth ya gonna do now? drop and give me 20!

    • @MistressGlowWorm
      @MistressGlowWorm 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Oof.

    • @billhuber2964
      @billhuber2964 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Dohhhhhh !!!!!!!!

  • @mattsieluv
    @mattsieluv 10 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    I like how the B52 stays low to the ground when it takes off. That's what they did in alerts, and when practicing for them. The planes would want to put as much distance as possible from their bases before they'd get hit. So, when they departed on an alert, they'd go fast but climb at a shallow angle. They still do that today, but no longer take-off at 15-second intervals. Check out the clip here from Minot for a good example.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Even still, the time between first launch detection (of the SLMBs) and detonations on every base west of Dakota and east of Michigan would be 6-10 minutes. That’s not enough time for the president to receive notice, decide to authorize the SIOP, send orders out to alert aircraft, have the crews scramble, start up the engines, taxi to the runway, take off, and then get enough distance between them and the base such that they aren’t blown out of the sky by the blasts.
      I suggest watching the film By Dawn’s Early Light to see how even a B-52 that did make it far enough from Fairchild in time still suffered a casualty due to the shockwave. I highly doubt many B-52s would clear the blast radius in time. A Russian first strike right now in 2021 would almost certainly guarantee the world was ruled by Russia forever after.
      TLDR: if a nuclear war is going to happen, just make sure to be the one to fire first. 🦅

    • @drunkrumjack
      @drunkrumjack 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@SuperpowerBroadcasting There' s no way the US or NATO would agree to come to terms with any country that did this to them, and the birds would be on the way to hit them in retaliation from bases, stealth platforms, subs or mobile launchers they and certainly not we don't even know about worldwide. Only a fanatic who doesn't give a crap about what happens after would do this. The scary thing about the By Dawn’s Early Light film's scenario is that one false flag missile framing NATO Turkey is launched on Donestk, Ukraine (part of the Soviets back then) essentially the current war zone that starts nuclear exchanges between the superpowers including China who in that movie have a treaty with the US but now in reality would likely target us. Also the toxins in addition to radiation emitted in the air from destroyed chemical/oil/nuclear facilities would not be contained to just CONUS but go worldwide ensuring the madness that even if Russia hit whoever hard they'll rule alright --over a poisonous realm slowly killing themselves too.

    • @rontate7719
      @rontate7719 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@SuperpowerBroadcasting 2022 ,,and link up with chicomms and or norks,
      Kind of spooky..
      What with the chicom underground great wall,the russian dead hand system and posiden torpedos...
      10.18.2022

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting ปีที่แล้ว

      @@rontate7719 Fortunately, Russia is too bogged down in Ukraine to be a threat to us currently

    • @d23g32
      @d23g32 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@SuperpowerBroadcasting It has nothing to do with alerts or practicing for them. The nose low climb out is typical with B-52s due to the way the wings are mounted to the fuselage (high incidence) and its unique quadricycle main gear. Also, like all B-52s from the A - G models (the H models got non water injected TF33 fans), the D models in this documentary had water injected J57 turbojets and were not exactly overpowered or known for their breathtaking acceleration down the runway. Hence the 12k - 13k foot SAC runways, which they tended to use most of especially when heavy and/or operating in high ambient temps. Get off the ground, pull the gear up, pick up some airspeed, then claw for altitude. In SAC we used to say, the Air Force paid for every foot of that runway, so we're gonna use it. 😄

  • @MrYeahright75
    @MrYeahright75 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Step 1: I take you to dinner
    Step 2: I let you treat.
    Step 3: I gotta go,
    “Step 1: Launch key inserted....”

  • @alswann2702
    @alswann2702 4 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    Mutually assured destruction was a stunning success. We're all alive and FREE to leave comments here!

    • @josephcontreras8930
      @josephcontreras8930 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thank you all for your hard work and diligence. Ultimately we want you on that wall we need you on that wall so I thank you and I'll rest easy knowing that, because nothing going to hurt us today not on their watch...

    • @llamallama1509
      @llamallama1509 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Not having nuclear weapons in the world was a stunning success too

    • @sethkimmel7312
      @sethkimmel7312 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@llamallama1509 ask the Imperial Japanese Empire that question....

    • @llamallama1509
      @llamallama1509 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@sethkimmel7312 Okay, gimmie a sec, brb...

    • @RMB42
      @RMB42 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Ironically, on the US DoD ARPANET, which was originally designed as a communication system with packets and nodes, and thus able to survive a nuke attack.

  • @1991ROLEX
    @1991ROLEX 5 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Watching this, I can remember the smells of the BUFF (I was a maintenance troop on them for two years) and the accuracy of the rest of the program, having been a command post controller for 20 years. It was scary then, and still scary now.

    • @scootertooter6874
      @scootertooter6874 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thank you for your service.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thank you for your service. This could happen today, and I feel that White Flag Joe would hesitate to authorize the SIOP. Imagine he waited 5 minutes. Game over. Russia wins the world forever. Kids 10 million years from now would be living under fascism.

    • @stratrat57
      @stratrat57 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      423x0.....you? Castle AFB 75-79

    • @1991ROLEX
      @1991ROLEX 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@stratrat57 32151G, Defensive Fire Control Systems (DFCS) 22 AMW 79-81, then a 27450/1C390, for another 20 years.

    • @stratrat57
      @stratrat57 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      I remember troubleshooting the limit switches on those units that lowered and raised on 4 cables at the rear guns on the 52. All the rear gun electronics cooling systems......and those limit switches!

  • @album183
    @album183 11 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    You are right, this was put out by the Air Force and shown on most PBS stations at the time. I remember in Detroit at the time the local station also did an aftershow local talk segment talking about how Detroit was a prime target by the Soviets due to the heavy manufacturing base the region had. The intended result was to shake up some old cold war fear and have people "demand" that their Congressman/Senator approve the then stalled funding for the MX Missle and B-1 Bomber programs.

    • @Frostiken
      @Frostiken ปีที่แล้ว

      Nowadays they wouldn't hit Detroit because it would probably improve the city to nuke it.

  • @maples328
    @maples328 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Here after rewatching By Dawns Early Light. Found it on TH-cam. 🤗

  • @saved777
    @saved777 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Sadly, we won't have any armed forces left in a few years because of the nefarious poison popsicle

    • @alanwren4898
      @alanwren4898 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The orange flavor one

  • @sixwest
    @sixwest 6 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Where's Michael Madsen aiming his pistol at John Spencer's head telling him to "turn his key"?

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 11 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Atlas, "The Ultimate Weapon", was the first ICBM deployed. The "D" and "E" were the only horizontally deployed ICBMs. They were raised from a horizontal, stowed position to a vertical, launch position. The "D" was deployed in above ground Missile Launch and Service Buildings, protected but not really hardened, and the "E" was in a structure just below the ground surface. Both had sliding roof tops. The latter was somewhat hardened. I will continue in another post.

  • @hundredcaws
    @hundredcaws 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    i love the atmosphere of this movie. including music. so nostalgic, deep and lovely. all that good people. those soldiers...

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Check out By Dawn’s Early Light if you haven’t seen it yet

    • @heywoodfloyd9
      @heywoodfloyd9 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Good people =/= soldiers

    • @natowaveenjoyer9862
      @natowaveenjoyer9862 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@heywoodfloyd9Guy who would break down crying if the drill sergeant yelled at him says what?

    • @marstuv5068
      @marstuv5068 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@natowaveenjoyer9862😮😢😅😂

  • @robertbolding4182
    @robertbolding4182 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    in the earliest days, the ICBM force was only partially hard. they were erected and fueled at almost ground level and for 20 minutes could be lost. even a hardened silo of today cant take a direct hit but they can launch in a moment

  • @orangejoe204
    @orangejoe204 10 ปีที่แล้ว +85

    I like how the General is the one guy who's unable to conceal that it's just a drill being filmed for the cameras. Bored as can be. Everybody else is in full haul-ass mode, just like the rest of the time.

    • @sce2aux464
      @sce2aux464 6 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      No, it's just that Clarence R. Autery (1933 - 2010) was one really cool dude.

    • @scootertooter6874
      @scootertooter6874 6 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      The REALLY sad thing is this is the shortened version...you don't get to see him in all of his uncut AEAO glory...Great film that hit the world when I was an ICBM crewmember...highly motivating...and the crazy thing is...the threat is pretty much IDENTICAL today as it was back then, but dysfunctional, highly-indoctrinated, leftist thinking has lulled the US into complacency.

    • @RJM1011
      @RJM1011 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      LOL :)

    • @rogerhudson9732
      @rogerhudson9732 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Haven't i seen that 'drill' used in 3 films?

    • @night040
      @night040 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I have not seen the full version in years. Any idea where we can get it?

  • @barbapapa9741
    @barbapapa9741 9 ปีที่แล้ว +63

    Didn't Director Nicolas Meyer use some scenes for his movie "The Day After"?

    • @bkrjayce
      @bkrjayce 9 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Yup.
      From memory, the US military pulled co-operation on the movie when it wasn't made clear to the viewing public who fired first.

    • @btbucks
      @btbucks 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      barbapapa9741 Yes

    • @savethedeveloper
      @savethedeveloper 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      yes

    • @amkrause2004
      @amkrause2004 6 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      YES because the AIR FORCE DID NOT RELEASE THE FIRST STRIKE UNTIL AFTER THE 1980 ELECTION to keep it from being political. ABC could not use US again, as we were in the military active duty, so they took the clips for THE DAY AFTER. Signed, LT TIM KRAUSE, the missileer in FIRST STRIKE, DAY AFTER, and CBS "NUCLEAR BATTLEFIELD" interview by Bob Schieffer in 1981

    • @freedomvigilant1234
      @freedomvigilant1234 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      +Anthony Krause I take it you were the Lt Krause in the actual film?
      Can you tell us more about your career in the USAF?

  • @JasonSmith-vg8ew
    @JasonSmith-vg8ew 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The music that goes along with this video is absolutely terrifying....

  • @sheldondean7949
    @sheldondean7949 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love how the clips were reused for the day after movie, saved a budget

  • @brooklyndrive
    @brooklyndrive 8 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    And what about all the other Trident subs still safely underwater in the North Atlantic and North Pacific?

    • @quentinroberts3854
      @quentinroberts3854 6 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      At least 4 of them are deployed and ready to launch at any time.

    • @John-wp9su
      @John-wp9su 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      brooklyndrive what about them dumbass the Russians would still launch or their Soviets at that time

    • @PhilForrest
      @PhilForrest 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The ultimatum given by the Soviets in the film was "any attempt at retaliation would result in the annihilation of US cities".

    • @wombatlover2796
      @wombatlover2796 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The three most people on planet earth, the President, Vladimir and the captain of a boomer..
      You've got love the UGM - 133 locked and loaded with a W88 weapon system, designed to strike fear... WORLD WIDE!!!!

    • @WednesdayAddamsMW
      @WednesdayAddamsMW 5 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Incorrect. In America, only the President of the United States has the authority to order the release of nuclear weapons. The same procedure exists in Russia. Not much is known about Chinese procedures, but what is known is that China has a strict "no first use" policy.

  • @MikeHarpe
    @MikeHarpe 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I've commented before but I'll say it again. The Air Force footage is just remarkable. This should have been considered for an Emmy or Oscar at least.

    • @bretwhitmore8855
      @bretwhitmore8855 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Emmys and Oscars are awarded to actors pretending to be a person they actually aren't. The USAF personnel filmed for this informational film were not "acting". They were performing duties nearly identical to those they would have been required to perform in actual combat. Having served in the Air Force (1981-1996) and having been a USAF Security Policeman guarding Minuteman II ICBMs just two years after this film was shot (and a year before, and doing one of the very duties depicted in the world-frightening film 'The Day After') none of this was "acting" depicted in this footage. This was genuine day-to-day duty stuff that we trained on constantly in all sorts of worst-case scenarios. Remember, the mentality among those of us in the Strategic Air Command was "War Every Day". We had to maintain that mindset if we were to face the weighty duties that were expected of us. Back then, it fell to the Air Force to uphold two legs of Americas strategic defense triad (nuclear bombers and ground-based ICBMs). The Navy upheld the third leg (SLBMs). All of this was deadly-serious business since America's (and much of the world's) safety, sovereignty and indeed even its continued existence depended on all of us working together as a team to uphold the deterrent readiness that kept the USSR from doing anything stupid. Believe it or not, both the USAF and the Navy uphold that same (albeit significantly upgraded) Nuclear Deterrence Triad today in the modern-version drawn from my old Major Command. It was the Strategic Air Command (SAC) in my day, but now with combined services, it is known as Strategic Command, in homage to its origins. It saddens me a great deal to think that so many of the younger generations consider the Cold War to have been a joke, a myth, and nothing but a propaganda war. It was far from all of that. When you bury brothers and sisters who died in the line-of-duty working to uphold SAC's mission of keeping the world safe, there is no doubt just how real and serious the Cold War actually was. I served both in SAC in western South Dakota and in U.S. Air Forces Europe in the tactical (theater) nuclear mission with the Ground Launched Cruise Missile. There was nothing fake or pretend or "just propaganda" when both sides in the fight spent unprecedented amounts of their national treasure to try to stay ten steps ahead of the other. The diplomats and politicians may have started the fight in the first place with all their ridiculous threats, but it was us G.I.s at the ground-level who had to do all the hard work to keep America at the razor's edge of readiness at all times. Politicians also got all the credit for saving the world, when in fact, it was all those of us young American G.I.s whose backsides would have been the first casualties had those suits screwed the pooch. It was also American troops who actually won that war by our resolve in preventing World War III.

    • @MikeHarpe
      @MikeHarpe 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bretwhitmore8855 Lighten up, Francis.

    • @marstuv5068
      @marstuv5068 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@bretwhitmore8855Much & Many Thanks to you & your fellow servicemen (& women)!! There are those of us who know what it meant (& Means), and don't take it lightly. It is unfortunate that these weapons & procedures had/have to exist, but humans are what we/they are and history (& experience) has shown that nations that do not prepare (& remain Vigilant & Capable) for the Worst, usually end up facing that "worst-case" scenario. And often with terrinble consequences. Being "Prepared" is often "half the battle", and this is true in so many areas of human existence & endeavours. Above all when it involves your/our very survival. War (as well as extreme weather/climate/terrain/or dangerous activities) just takes that Maxim to a whole 'nother level. Like it, or not. That's just the way it is. Preparedness does not come Easy (and often) nor cheap! It requires Dedication, intelligence/wisdom, effort & Consistency; and of course, Somebody's got to do it. It can't just be "Theoretical".
      So, once again, Thank you!!
      You & your brothers (& sisters ❤❤) -in- arms [have] save(d) a LOT of people a LOT of HARDSHIP & PAIN. And i for one would like to think that it's been worth it (the sacrifice & treasure). Of course (as with ANYTHING), It could have been better, perhaps. But it also Could have been MUCH WORSE. 😢 And like you said, I'm not sure that Everyone quite gets that (Unfortunately), nor APPRECIATES it.
      So RESPECT. Not everyone is "cut out" to do the job. (Or even wants to for that matter). But without folks like you, the rest of us would be in serious problems! (And that goes for so Many Professions/Activities) ❤❤

  • @alphakky
    @alphakky 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    In the 80s, I told a friend who lived near Mather AFB is he saw all the B-52s taking off, there's likely inbounds. And when they did a MITO exercise, it scared the crap out of him.

  • @daviddietrich9449
    @daviddietrich9449 4 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I've commented on this video before. I have a question... Exactly how long would it take between that first "blip" on radar to ICBM, SLBM, and our bombers being "safely" in the sky? I've always watched this video and thought our procedures would take a while to fully execute. Also, what happens to the submarines, carriers, and the airborne command center when all is said and done? You may be alive, but there really isn't anything to come back home to. Mind wandering questions.

    • @piotrd.4850
      @piotrd.4850 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Depends on launch distance, and minimum range of SLBMs. Had some Tomahawk crusie missiles been used from within 1k km range of coast - I doubt there would be detection at all.

    • @SuperpowerBroadcasting
      @SuperpowerBroadcasting 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The time between first launch detection (of the SLMBs) and detonations on every base west of Dakota and east of Michigan would be 6-10 minutes. That’s not enough time for the president to receive notice, decide to authorize the SIOP, send orders out to alert aircraft, have the crews scramble, start up the engines, taxi to the runway, take off, and then get enough distance between them and the base such that they aren’t blown out of the sky by the blasts.
      I suggest watching the film By Dawn’s Early Light to see how even a B-52 that did make it far enough from Fairchild in time still suffered a casualty due to the shockwave. I highly doubt many B-52s would clear the blast radius in time. A Russian first strike right now in 2021 would almost certainly guarantee the world was ruled by Russia forever after.
      TLDR: if a nuclear war is going to happen, just make sure to be the one to fire first. 🦅

    • @dethray1000
      @dethray1000 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      from space the detection is only 5 seconds---the story is unverified is there are missiles(bombs) off the east coast,buried--when they go off 500 ft waves will hit the east coast

    • @tomp8094
      @tomp8094 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@SuperpowerBroadcasting The Commander in Chief Strategic Air Command had the authority to launch the B-52 and F-111 ground alert aircraft force to ensure their survivability. He DID NOT have the authority for release of a nuclear weapon - that can only come from the President or his lawfully designated successor. Once launched the aircraft would fly to a pre-determined Positive Control Point depending on their target package and wait for a valid execution order to continue to their targets or return to base.

    • @hydra70
      @hydra70 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@SuperpowerBroadcasting That assumes that Russia is able to get enough submarines in close to execute such a strike without being detected. That's pretty unlikely since their subs are garbage. Also, you're ignoring the US submarine fleet. US subs are actually good and would be able to annihilate Russia with a second strike even if every bomber and land-based missile was destroyed, and there is nothing Russia could do to prevent that.

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 11 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    SmilingGiantess, I believe you're truly a nice and well meaning person. The reason Great Britain, along with other allies, aren't mentioned in this documentary is because it wasn't about them. It was about how the US would deal with a Soviet first strike given the politics at the time. No one disputes the importance of Great Britain. But, Great Britain and its weapons and weapons delivery systems are not subject to the United States' execution of US nuclear weapons.

    • @marstuv5068
      @marstuv5068 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Is there No consideration/Coordination?? I wonder?¿ 😮😢

  • @SocialistDistancing
    @SocialistDistancing 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I'm sure that's James earl jones giving the EAM at the Minuteman LCCs

  • @sartainja
    @sartainja 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Pierre Bosquet stated: "C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre." ("It is magnificent, but it is not war.") He continued, in a rarely quoted phrase: "C'est de la folie" - "It is madness.

  • @b3j8
    @b3j8 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I know this posted a decade ago, but I just found it. That part where all the SAC flight crews jump in the trucks to head to the flight line would have made a great DieHard battery commercial!😂😂

  • @FylthyBeest
    @FylthyBeest 12 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Chis, thank you for your supportive and kind comments. I had to laugh at your joke of "floating to the top". I was once told that when the US Navy conducted some of its peacetime LF/VLF transmissions using the now replaced EC-130Q TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) aircraft, they had to file Maritime Advisories advising boaters of the RF being emitted. I was also told that the transmissions sometimes killed fish and they could be seen floating to the surface. True or not, it's a good story.

    • @bashkillszombies
      @bashkillszombies 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The current US sonar array they're testing in California kill millions of fish and displace entire eco systems. There was some satellite imagery that monitors large fish schools and migration patterns and it showed a huge swath of dead zone all around it. That was early 00's, so god knows what modern tech does. Although we're told EMF is safe, no ones ever proven brain cancer from mobile phones etc. Yet idk man, I still don't see those lab coat fuckers microwaving their dinner with the door open, do you?

  • @davidlang2515
    @davidlang2515 10 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    5:28 "yeah, that sounds good, then back to your place-----aw shit we just got orders to launch, can I call you back? What do you mean I never told you what I do for a living?"

  • @Ingsoc75
    @Ingsoc75 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I don't know what's worse...Nuclear War or being stationed at Minot during the winter.

    • @ronaldlavender9657
      @ronaldlavender9657 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Being stationed anywhere in ND at anytime😪

    • @lhaviland8602
      @lhaviland8602 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@ronaldlavender9657 Being in North Dakota period at anytime.

    • @donkellogg881
      @donkellogg881 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Minot was a unique experience.

    • @Matt-mo8sl
      @Matt-mo8sl 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      A nuclear winter or a North Dakota winter? Dunno, sounds almost even .

    • @Tamburello_1994
      @Tamburello_1994 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Why not Minot?
      Freezn's the reason!

  • @dwmzmm
    @dwmzmm ปีที่แล้ว

    I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis, was in first grade and living at Columbus AFB (Mississippi) where my dad (USAF) was stationed. Pulled out of school and recall seeing military aircraft taking off from the base runways around the clock. Also recall those nuclear attack drills we did in school those days, "hiding" under our desks for a few minutes during the drills. Scary days...

  • @uniquelycommon2244
    @uniquelycommon2244 9 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    Also: "Sir, the SAC underground command post puts all the bomber crews in their planes, engines started!!"
    Immediately cut to bomber crews still in their trucks, on the way to their planes. Some Air Force media guys had a little fun there.

    • @WednesdayAddamsMW
      @WednesdayAddamsMW 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Imagine Principal Strickland calling the whole cluster slackers.

  • @neonhomer
    @neonhomer 8 ปีที่แล้ว +33

    All those classic Dodge trucks....

    • @freejizziaformuslims2978
      @freejizziaformuslims2978 7 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      neonhomer. Relying on Dodge Trucks? That's why our balmers never made it up into the air...lol

    • @broncodaddy46507
      @broncodaddy46507 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Older technology works even after an EMP which is what the first missile should launched would probably be

    • @insideoutsideupsidedown2218
      @insideoutsideupsidedown2218 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      the bomber crews never got to their planes because they were driving dodges that broke down on the tarmac......oh the humanity....should had chevys guys, shoulda used chevys...

    • @charles97th
      @charles97th 6 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      And a few International trucks mixed in.

    • @TexWatson-sh8vf
      @TexWatson-sh8vf 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      neonhomer ...i thought the same damn thing.

  • @fdxdsm
    @fdxdsm 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Nothing is seared into my memory more than the sight, the sound and the acrid smell of a cartridge start on the alert pad all the while feeling my heart pounding in my chest wondering if it was an exercise or an actual alert. As the last one to board the aircraft I never knew for sure until the crew entry ladder slammed agains the floor and the door slammed shut behind me what was happening.
    We dreaded the possibility but we meant business.

  • @KingSNAFU
    @KingSNAFU 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Was some of this footage repuporsed for The Day After?

    • @peaceisourprofession3677
      @peaceisourprofession3677 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Yes it was! I think it helped the movie and added a lot of tension, especially with all the menacing synth background music.

  • @RobertNielsen1970
    @RobertNielsen1970 11 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    It was no dream...I live almost straight east from the old Strategic Air Command HQ (Offutt AFB), and have an F-16 wing (132nd Tactical Fighter Wing, Iowa Air National Guard)...which both would have been targets in a Soviet nuclear attack back in the day...Offutt would've been one of the primary targets, and I'm guessing the 132nd would have been a tertiary target (which would have taken my family out, too.) Glad those days are (mostly) over.

  • @riceboy1701e
    @riceboy1701e 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I'll be in this area in a few weeks. The Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site near Cooperstown, ND, is an actual MLF (missile launch facility) that was purchased from the US and turned into a historical facility, open to the public.
    I have goosebumps just thinking about going down into the bunker and thinking of this entire sequence.

    • @riceboy1701e
      @riceboy1701e 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Did it! 50 feet below the plains of North Dakota. I have been into a missile launch facility bunker. Humbling, creepy, yet informative. Never knew if the crew would surface, or what they would come out to after a nuclear strike.

  • @sreggird60
    @sreggird60 ปีที่แล้ว

    I was in SAC from 1981 - 1985 and this sure takes me back to the alerts we had.

  • @timothystockman7533
    @timothystockman7533 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The makers of the movie War Games must have watched this. The missile commander's launch key which activates the nukes has the "Gently" label next to it. You wouldn't want them to disable the launch system by an overly energetic key insertion.

  • @mhermit
    @mhermit 9 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I love the sick feeling the abrupt ending leaves in my stomach.

  • @1701spacecadet
    @1701spacecadet 8 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    'I will vouch for the Lt. Colonel's'??
    No you won't! The Lt Col will show his ID as is required!

    • @fordwk
      @fordwk 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Lt Krause...not Lt Col...

    • @1701spacecadet
      @1701spacecadet 8 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      +William Ford Oh yeah. Well whatever, he'll show his ID like he's supposed to.

    • @abgvi9318
      @abgvi9318 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      What does the guy on the radio on 4:57 say? The only thing I understood was "bothering count".

    • @hoghogwild
      @hoghogwild 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      A system display for East Easy Beam, we have predicted impacts of moderate count at this time.

    • @WednesdayAddamsMW
      @WednesdayAddamsMW 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      kevin drobecz
      Hello, SAC warning? This is the airborne. Confirm inbound missiles on the US. Roger, understand. Major Rinehart, we have twelve sea launched ballistic missiles inbound on the US now.

  • @jeeplife2035
    @jeeplife2035 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    “General !! We need to get Maverick and Goose into the air now! They are our only hope now sir..”

  • @jeffrichards6331
    @jeffrichards6331 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    That lieutenant talking on the phone with his girlfriend from a missle silo?!

    • @desertweasel6965
      @desertweasel6965 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Sure, when.you spend most of your waking hours at a missile silo, you have to talk to someone.

    • @hanscombe72
      @hanscombe72 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Well in the movie war games one of the guys was talking about the quality of some weed he just tried.