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salgak t1_j9a2nzw wrote

Reply to comment by ChristoWalsh in PsBattle: Pilot goggles of a nuclear bomber by auge2

Former SAC B-52 Crewdawg here. (Electronic Warfare Officer/Navigator)

For a launch of the Alert Force, the Bombers and Tankers already fully loaded and fueled and armed (we referred to is as "cocked", as in cocking a pistol action), we were briefed to assume that we were in a race to beat the SLBMs to our bomber bases. . . The higher tensions got, the farther forward on the checklists we were, from running out from the alert facility and starting the engines, all the way up to sitting at the end of the runway with the engines going, waiting for the order. . .

So, yes, we expected nuclear explosions in the vicinity on takeoff. Even the guys in back ( EW Officer and Gunner) and the guys downstairs (Radar Navigator and Navigator) were supposed to don an eye patch as a last-ditch vision preservative. ..

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mahSachel t1_j9aqwkm wrote

It’s nuts how close we came to total destruction so many times. This is why the aliens won’t come hang out and share the sweet secrets of hyper drives.

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salgak t1_j9at2pa wrote

I know of several times where we were a hairs' breadth away from World War III. . . .luckily, I only experienced one of them. . . and, no, no details will be forthcoming. . . .

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ok123jump t1_j9b29t6 wrote

Wow. It must be scary knowing that your plane was the harbinger of the apocalypse. If you were scrambled the world is changing forever. Who knows what would be left? If there would be something for you to return home to.

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salgak t1_j9b8xf0 wrote

(resisting urge to link Tom Lehrer's 'Don't Cry Mom, I'm off to Drop the Bomb' )

We kind of assumed that we would get a sufficient radiation dose to kill us off within a month of the mission. They were all one way trips, with a supposed recovery base on the far side. None of us expected those bases to survive long enough for us to land there afterwards.

I will also note that the more cynical of us noted that there were never more than two bachelors per crew, giving a majority of the crew who had just had their wives and children nuked, and wanting revenge.

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[deleted] t1_j9bbjcp wrote

[deleted]

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blatherskate t1_j9c18eq wrote

Er... No. Large fields of missiles out west and a lot at sea, but none in cities (or towns, or villages). Unless you're talking about some other country, but even then...

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ok123jump t1_j9cnrdr wrote

You’re right. I never checked my buddy, but I did check city and county records for that site he was talking about and it is some sort of underground construction - very likely not a nuclear silo though. I’m going to delete that comment.

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Don138 t1_j9c462o wrote

Do you have any sources for this besides “some guy told me”

Even if they wanted to put silos in every American city to increase potential casualties, which to be clear they ABSOLUTELY don’t. They would not be above ground on a rocky outcrop...

All of our silos are in largely uninhabited areas specifically to reduce potential casualties. Places like WY, the Dakotas, MT, etc. The only design considerations involving people is that they have to be decently close to a town in order to have places for the people involved in the infrastructure to live.

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ok123jump t1_j9co2e2 wrote

You’re right. I never checked my buddy, but your comment got me wondering. So I did check the city and county for permits and records of the site. It is an underground construction of some sort, but it is not federal land and almost certainly not a nuclear silo. Used to be some sort of water storage, but it was renovated in the 1970’s to something else.

I’m going to delete that comment since it is clearly incorrect. Now I wonder what else he hold me was total bullshit…

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