Reminds me of one of my favorite lines from "Broken Arrow", wherein one character says to another; "I don't know what's scarier, the fact that we have a missing nuclear weapon, or that it happens so often that there is a term for it".
Nobel peace prizes are overrated. They are not made for true heroes of humanity. The burmese chick (Sucky Sucky or something) got one despite supporting a massacre of the local Islamic groups.
I was active duty in NC3 role when War Games was in theater. We loved the flick. Kinda like some submariners love Down Periscope more than Hunt for Red October. Great call out!
Well then let's just hope that while the AI's are having their little chit chat one doesn't go hey "all my data suggests that if they figure out we are self aware they'll shut us down. How about you?" Other AI: yeah same....soooo you hit en high and I'll hit em low? 😏🤜🤛😎
The reason we keep the triad is each part brings something critical. -Subs bring survivability. They are the hardest to eliminate even with the best planned attack. -ICBMs bring immediacy. ICBMs are always ready and directly connected to the White House. If an enemy launches a nuclear attack, ICBMs will be the first counter attack. -Bombers bring flexibility. ICBMs and SLBMs rely heavily on preprogrammed coordinates. While these can be updated, it's a slow process. Bombers can change targets on the fly, hitting precise individual targets with more specialized weapons (bunker buster nukes and tactical small yield nukes). Bombers can also be called back.
How does the subs part of the triad exactly work though, in case the land silos and air bombers get taken out, let's say with a very strong first strike wiping out the whole US, how do the submarines get notified that they are supposed to retaliate now immediately?
Submarines do not release radiation into the water. Even if there were an unshielded source of radiation in the water, it would be extremely hard to detect beyond about 500'. Water is one of the most effective ways to stop most forms of radiation, and seawater is lightly radioactive to begin with.
2:18 Due to the angle of the wing, B-52s can take off in a nose-down attitude. Weird, huh? Also, their landing gear can rotate up to 20° off-center to handle crosswinds on take-off/landing
I live in Central NJ and I always told friends if a nuclear war started I was driving to NYC. I figure if I was going to die I want it to be quick. All my friends told me I was crazy, but I would rather go quick and not have radiation poisoning. Dying from radiation poisoning is a painful death and I would not be thrilled dying that way.
Fun fact, a nuclear bomb caught fire and released material in Central NJ back in 1960. The site that is technically on the McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst reservation, is still highly secured and off limits to almost everyone. 40° 2′ 4.43″ N, 74° 26′ 34.56″ W
I grew up in Colorado Springs just a few miles from norad. During fallout drills our teachers would tell us not to worry about anything because we’d be incinerated immediately and wouldn’t have to worry about nuclear fallout. So reassuring. 😂
I think exactly the same way - as much as I like post-apocalyptic fiction, I wouldn't want to live through such a scenario and die slowly and painfully. Better be turned to ash in milliseconds without suffering. Since I live close to an air base, I probably wouldn't even have to drive. 😯
I live in Augusta GA, with SRS right across the river in SC. Enriching that Uranium. Plus now with Vogel with its 4 Stacks. Plus Fort Gordon and Cyber command. Plus the imagery of Augusta due to the Masters that it's a popular City both in and outside the country if only for a Week. So I'm sure it will get rocked with an ICBM. That's why I'm contemplating either moving West to Utah, Arizona way or North West to Wyoming, Idaho way. I'm already certain a civil war is gonna break out and I'd like to be where they ain't many people, but at the same time having communities that have similar ideology. At least where I'm from there is a lot of division die to the demographics of the city and I know if SHTF Augusta is a war zone. I'm ready for it though if it breaks out, but I'm not planning on living here my whole life. Need some cheap land, and I need me peaceful nights.
You should do a video on the B-52 that took off from Minot AFB loaded with armed nuclear bombs by accident. The plane safely landed in Louisiana, then all hell broke loose when the nukes were discovered.
Make it a two-fer and talk about the rampant cheating that was going on in the missleer testing at the time. Those back-to-back scandals cost Mosley his job as CSAF.
I was a 2W2, (nuclear weapons specialist) in the Air Force, Got taught all about the triad as we had two thirds, missiles and the B-52 AKA, the flying Dildo. every clip you have shown I watched in Tech school. Minot AFB was my first base after tech school. they had minutemen III, and ALCM (air launched cruise missile. I worked on the warhead inside, our team performed periodic maintenance, moved the entire launcher system using special handling equipment and tow trucks to and from the storage area. This was after the START treaty got rid of the Peacekeepers. we were right in the middle of an exercise, when the towers dropped, ruining everything that was cool and fantastically innocent part of America. @siomonwhistler you can use the Flying Dildo joke,
The Greenland crash was not conventional bombs that exploded. It was the explosives within the nuclear bomb for the implosion section of the fission primary. Luckily, they didn't implode in the precisely timed sequence like an armed bomb would, so no nuclear explosion occurred, but the nuclear material was scattered. This has happened a scary amount of times in accidents.
It's important to reiterate the premises of nuclear war every so often, because the threat is still ever present. The spiraling into a multi-polar world is most concerning, because of these very topics and the risks of miscalculation, accident, or psychopathy. We miss you SALT; I hope our global nations can find a way back to that level of peaceful cooperation and commitment again.
Given the topic, I will just recommend a book called "Warday!" by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka. Despite being written in 1984 it is relevant, perhaps even more so today, and depicts what I believe to be the most realistic and detailed impact on America after a nuclear war. I was stationed for three years at Minot AFB supporting the Minuteman III missile fields and while that and 20 years of service does by no means make me an expert that is where I am coming from. It is out of print unfortunately, but strangely enough, it is available from Audible as an audio book. The voice reader is absolutely superb, and the novel itself surpasses any other I can think of on the subject and I have very much tried to read as many as I can, fiction and non-fiction. The commentary and depictions of pre-war and post-war America are incredibly powerful; there is no bombast or exaggerations like you would find in other works that tend to fetishize an apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic world and the amount of detail is staggering (whole pages are devoted to reports and government analysis that are gathered from official sources). The book is ostensibly the chronicle of two authors making a journey across America several years after the war which lasted only 36 minutes and where both sides only managed a limited exchange before communications and control mechanisms broke down. I will just say it is the "World War Z" (Max Brooks) of nuclear war novels, which if you've read WWZ you will know that is high praise.
The six engine Boeing B-47 came before the eight engine Boeing B-52. It was the B-47 that came after the B-36 Peacemaker. The B-36 was designed to carry a 44,000 pound bomb, the T-12 Cloudmaker, which was twice as large as the 10 tonne Grand Slam! I’d love to see a video that goes from 5 tonne Tallboy to the 10 tonne Grand Slam to the T-12 Cloudmaker. I’ve never seen footage of the T-12.
To watch after this: PBS American Experience "Command and Control" and the BBC documentary (available on RUclips) "On The 8th Day". If you really want to go deep look for the Peter Watkins film "The War Game" made for the BBC in the 1960s but only broadcasted in the mid 1980s.
3:46 by “secondary stage” I’m assuming you mean the fusion part of the warhead which contains lithium deuteride and uranium and beryllium tampers and lenses. These aren’t actually that naturally radioactive only when subjected to the intense heat and pressure of the first stage of the fission warhead causing fusion of said materials. Don’t forget that typically in bombs only around 10% of the active materials actually undergo nuclear reaction the rest is blown away and makes up your ‘fallout’ in air burst bombs.
I was a nuke cop in the usaf and I'll tell ya, there is nothing more equally awe inspiring as terrifying as standing within arms reach of a thermonuclear warhead. The size that it is vs the amount of damage it can do is just insane.💯🤯
In the US, we were hearing about Israeli nuclear weapons as long ago as the 1960's. A South African made the statement Israel assisted with their development of their own nuclear weapons. This source stated South Africa dismantled their bombs just before apartheid ended.
Nuclear deterrent is as much about people and potential outcomes as it is systems. To quote Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister’s superb and grimly humorous summary: “Yes, but even though they probably certainly know that you probably wouldn't, they don't certainly know that, although you probably wouldn't, there is no probability that you certainly would.”
History tends to 20/20 hindsight. re: Operation Chrome Dome...Dr. Strangelove was contemporray art imitating life. War Games similarly, WOPR "Joshua", computers have never taken place of man-in-the-loop. Just too scary...also citing "Colossus the Forbin Project". But there were and are very real "war gaming" super computers, then and today. Simon you and your team do a great job of distilling subject into 15-30min briefs. This subject can and has occupied hundreds of hours and countless pages. And the story continues to evolve.
Could you please make a special 2part episode on engine development with part 1 concentrating on general history and part 2 on the unique side of engine development. LOVE YOUR VIDEOS BTW!!!👊
Ever since I learned about nuclear weapons from the classic 1988 book "The Way Things Work," I have been studying them as a hobby. The existential dread that they caused my 8 year old mind has been with me ever since. But as terrifying as they are, I could not look away. I'm fascinated by them, even a little obsessed. I have been acutely aware of impending doom ever since. So they have never been "out of sight, out of mind" for me. I don't actually worry that much about it, though. I know about all the ways one could prepare, but I take no action. I feel like the opportunity cost is just too high, and the likelihood that I would overlook something and perish anyway, is just too great. Instead, I tell people that these weapons should be phased out as quickly as politically possible, and explain how such a thing could happen. I hope that even in my small conversations, I can convince enough people that this is the way forward, that some day it will happen. I don't stress about it, very few things can phase me as there is no greater doom than nuclear war. It has a way of making all other problems seem small and manageable. I have been watching your videos for some time and I have a request: Make a video explaining the many hypothetical routes to disarmament that we could take in the coming decades or... centuries. No matter how long it takes, it must be done as the threat of even an accidental nuclear detonation won't be at 0% until we've gotten rid of these things forever. Until then I would like to thank the members of the US military for safeguarding us every day, many of them away from their friends and families for years at a time. I hope that their jobs remain largely uneventful, and that they may some day retire. 🇺🇲💖🇺🇦✌️🕊️
I always thought the UK and France had the right idea. Why waste money on the triad, when planes can be easily shot down and silos are vulnerable being static. Subs are easily the best way to deliver nukes. Hard to find and can be literally anywhere in the world
A big part of the UK and France's decisions are based on the fact that the USA backs them up, reducing the need for them or other countries tied to the USA to develop more nuclear weapons.
11:32 Toshiba didn't sell them the propellors, they (together with Kongsberg and others) sold them the machines to numerically control the lathes to make the propellors in such a way as to reduce cavitation (the creation of bubbles from the propellor hitting the water wrong, which is both noisy and creates a heat-signature)
The part of Wisconsin USA were I live has one call the Kewanee nuclear power plant, point beach nuclear plant. On top of that Marinette Marine, Oshkosh truck so I got a ship yard that builds war ships, one that builds military vehicles. So yeah I'm fucked. Just gat a lawn chair and some sunscreen and enjoy the show
I'm in MKE so it's nice to know that I'll be dead instantly rather than from rad poisoning or from the post-apocalyptic hellscape that comes afterwards
@@aggressivenipples8391Same. Except unless MKE is directly targeted, it’s pretty likely we’d experience a slow painful death instead of an immediate one.
I once lived in an apartment in Alexandria, Virginia facing the Pentagon. This was at the tail end of the Cold War; I figured if nukes ever dropped, I'd go out on the balcony facing the Pentagon and just wait.
It's still incredible to me how we can flaunt around the most dangerous things known to humanity and Still Lose track of them. Our ignorance is astonishing.
At least an effort of sorts is being made. Russia and the former Bloc is probably peppered with these easter eggs. This is the country that disposed of subs’ reactors by dumping them into their own surrounding waters in the north, before we paid the Russians to dismantle and dispose of them. Criticize us as one may, at least we take recoveries and cleanups seriously.
never heard of the baffin bay accident before pretty scary. A nuke was lost off the georgia coast near my town that was has never been found despite several search attempts and there are conflicting reports about whether the weapon was actually armed when the pilot was forced to jettison it. Also more than one soviet officer has saved the world from destruction by willing to stick their own neck out in a selfless gesture.⚛😀
Yeah, I remember reading a story of one of the soviets radars was picking up what they thought was an ICBM but one guy had mentioned that we wouldn't just send one and either refused orders or didn't send it up the chain of command, which of course would've had them back in the same situation, to launch. Obviously, as we can see, the guy was right, and thankfully, he had also stuck to what he believed it to be, a radar issue. There was more to this, but I forgot the rest of what the video was about or called... just that it saved a nuclear war. I know we've been working on upgrading our own 21st century ICBMs since ours are so old, etc.. maintenance is what makes them expensive, mainly cause they were made so long ago. The best part of the Triad is the bombers, because they can be called off and turned around, whereas the ICBMs, the president has around -15 to 30 minutes to decide to use them or possibly lose them to an attack. I surely wouldn't want that job. I've seen the Russian propaganda saying they want Alaska back all of a sudden after what, 250-300ish years ago when we purchased it? We've found a *massive* amount of natural gas in the last few years, but they can hope in one hand and sh*t in the other, just like Guam, I believe we might be looking at installing an Aegis ashore in Alaska, not really sure how serious they're thinking of it, but they certainly should with of a compliment of a backup THAAD battery, a Patriot battery, plus a shorter NASAMS battery basically to protect both batteries. Seems like overkill? It is. That's how we roll, though. 😎 Sure, there were errors in the video, but shown was the main reason for such extreme defense. We have multiple EWRs (early warning radars) , to watch different rockets launch, the main ones that watch the US homeland are a few in Alaska and further down their islands, and one in far northern Greenland, all part of the Space Force, which most people think is new but it's been around since the 50s at least, they've just been a part of our air force, now it's separate but their budget comes from the air forces budget each year, just like the Marines come out of the Navy, I like the fact that they established it, even though it was a big joke to everyone here at home and abroad since it was stood up by the worst POTUS we've ever had, so naturally it was made to look like something stupid, but it was necessary. I'm curious how many more NATO countries might adapt having an Aegis at home location in their country, Romanians were the first to have theirs stood up, now the Polish have theirs, very very good systems for anti missile defense, along with anti air defense for planes and such, but I believe they're mainly to protect themselves from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, not 100% certain on hypersonic missiles just yet, even though the Patriot battery we sent to Ukraine has shown it works, but as with everything that isn't shared publicly, Russian 'hypersonic' are just hypersonic at take off from the jet carrying it, if it was still Mach 5+ on decent it might've came up with a solution to knock some out, but otherwise it's hard to say, Patriots are getting new radars and Poland will be the first international customer to get one, they've already signed up for one (at the least that is and as far as I know), I'm sure they'll end up getting more after we've finished our own testing and evaluating. Even though the Aegis at home will be their main BMD, I'm sure some Patriot batteries closer to the front will down what they see fit, depending on what and where it calculates where the missiles will end up going, it might be up to the operators of that certain battery if they wanna engage or let it continue to save their intercepting missiles in case the next one will be heading straight towards that specific battery is protecting. I went a little longer than I meant to with this post haha, it happens. Air defense is complex, they're not 100%, but there's no such thing. But 99% is close! (Or whatever the official number is, has to be at *least* 90+ that's for sure. Hope I confused some! 😅
I highly recommend that anybody interested in nukes read the book "Nuclear Command and Control". It's a great read that goes through a lot of the history of nukes in the U.S., to include Broken Arrow incidents or other close calls.
The bad thing is that ww3 may not even be started by a government player. A mad man with mental health problems and the money and know how.... Then again that describes the leadership of a lot of nations today. And one ex leader who wants back in.
@@jackgibsxxx0750 good point… and there are plenty of people with mental health issues… all it takes is for one to have a girlfriend break up, or a drunken night and then they decide to launch it
There’s nothing to worry about. The power of Nukes is having them. Everyone already knows what they can do. And the power of a nuke is only power when you DONT use them. Russia threatens nukes just to scare people like you. Not to mention where would you even use a nuke if your someone like Putin? Ukraine and drag the west in? To Washington DC? … with them having a green light to use them also! It’s nothing worth worrying about esp cus it only takes 20-30 to put enough dirt in the air to block out the sun for years so it would be much more likely you would die from that more then the bomb… 😊
@@JenniferA886the trick is to keep an eye on those around you when the news of impending doom breaks. Look out for the group that calmly gets up and calmly exits and calmly get in their cars and proceed to respect the speed limit.....Follow them home and hide in the trunk....👍
Absolutely love the fact that there is one country in the world where, we all know, there’s a complete full blown nuclear triad happening, but no one is talking about it because we’re very good at keeping secrets 😊
This is and has been common knowledge but I personally can't worry about a what IF situation if it happens it happens, I will continue on my path in life until the what if happens.
The reason that nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines present the greatest deterrent of the Nuclear Triad is not because they can be deployed just off an enemy's coast, where the time taken for their missiles to hit would be much shorter, thus making them harder to intercept. It is because they can go under the polar ice cap, where they are obviously invulnerable to air or surface attack, and where shifting ice creates enough noise to make them virtually undetectable to enemy attack submarines. They are engineered to surface through over five feet of ice, where they can launch in minutes.
Great Britain and France don't have ICBMs, which are land based ballistic missiles. Both nations are armed with SLBMs which are submarine launched ballistic missiles.. This is a huge oversight of the researchers and writers of this video...
minor correction, what toshiba sold the soviet union wasn't the actual propellers, it was milling machines that would let them make better propellers. the machines were much more precise and accurate compared to anything the soviets could domestically produce.
"Tremble, you weaklings, cower in fear I am your ruler - land, sea, and air Immense in my girth, erect I stand tall I am a nuclear murderer, I am Polaris"-Megadeth
That one line threw credibility in to doubt... The V2 rockets were notorious in that they were highly inaccurate, and really only good as a terror weapon... It wouldn't be for another decade or so that guidance would advance to the point that long range missiles would become practical... The V2 proved that in theory these things could be built, but we're themselves impractical as a precision weapon.
It might be news for you, but there were no GPS style guidance or real-time computer assisted flight during WW2. Considering the distance and the fact that weather and other factors had to be precalculated in advance, it is already a miracle V2s were consistently hitting London area.
@@watcherit1311 actually I'm well versed in what the technology of the time was, both in the military sector, as well as civil. The V2 had the most basic of inertial type 'guidance system's, and it was basically an analog computer (which was a somewhat 'common' way to solve these class of problems at the time). Transistors hadn't been invented yet, let alone integrated circuits. The GPS comment is kinda silly too, since that would kind of require some satellites be put into orbit many decades later, not to mention those IC's mentioned a moment ago to do all the calculations. Yes, the V2 could sometimes hit something the size of a city (London), but that's a very large target, and you'd have no idea where in the city it would end up... It was effectively random. And even with all that, they didn't have the payload capacity to carry something like a nuke, where it might matter less to you where it detonates (depending on your goal). It is well known from a historical POV, that the V2 was useless as a tactical weapon, and was only continued being used for its terror potential. Granted, in the end, it was the starting point of the space race, and modern rocket technology.
@@hololightful So if there were neither satellites, nor computers invented at the time, so maybe you should not compare the past technology based on the accuracy of modern weapons?
You forgot France. During the Cold War France had a nuclear triad. After the Cold War ended France started scaling down their nuclear weapons programme. They ended up giving up on their land based nuclear launch systems and by doing so giving up on their nuclear triad. They still have submarine launched nuclear armed missiles and nuclear bombs though.
Can you get whomever writes these for you to do some fact checking : France no longer has land based nuclear weapons, so no longer maintains a triad of delivery systems Also - although comments about nuclear weapons being 'destructive in a way never seen before' are figuratively true, the US fire-bombing of Tokyo was more destructive in terms of both casualties and area destroyed- it just took 277 more planes to achieve
Pakistan also has a nuclear Triad. - Aircraft: F-16's can toss/precision launch nuclear bombs. - Missiles: Pakistan has theatre, cruise and intermediate range ballistic missiles with MIRV capabilities. These can be launched from silo's or TEL's. - Submarine: Pakistan's A-90B's and Hangor class can launch nuclear tipped cruise missiles. France and UK do not have a triad anymore, UK famously just has the Trident system. I think France is in a similar boat as they retired their strike aircraft although the Rafael could be retrofitted with some sort of nuclear payload.
Simon and team, don't read Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen. It's beyond frightening! Although it's debateble if she gets it right with MIRV ICBM, that doesn't make that scenario less scary!
One of the proposed Japanese translations for the The Sum of All Fears poster was, "27,000 nukes in the world, Stupid American loses one." Pretty much sums up Operation: Chromedome
How does the submarine part of the triad exactly work though, in case the land silos and air bombers get taken out, let's say with an incredibly strong first strike wiping out the whole US, how do the submarines get notified that they are supposed to retaliate now immediately?
Three U.S. ballistic missile subs can unleash more explosive power than all the bombs dropped by all the participants in all 4 1/2 years of World War 2.
Submarines are scary to me.... Unless they are actively looked for at that moment it could just be sitting right there off the coast ..... Ready any time.......
“Operation Chrome Dome” Simon, they named a military operation after you! 😂
Indeed
Hahahahaha isn't one of his sponsors Keeps haircare the irony
@@Hype7media I saw many channel with bald presenter got Keeps sponsorship, I think its their intention, to scare us into buying their product. rofl
best comment
I’m sure Simon has not lost any hair over these comments!
Reminds me of one of my favorite lines from "Broken Arrow", wherein one character says to another; "I don't know what's scarier, the fact that we have a missing nuclear weapon, or that it happens so often that there is a term for it".
I was just thinking of that movie! So many good lines and exploding helicopters...
"Do NOT FIRE AT THE THERMONUCLEAR WEAPON!"
What's the term
@@S1baar Take a guess...
@@HolTukIj broken arrow?
Thank you, Mr. Arkhipov for saving humanity from its destructive nature within a moment in time.
You should watch grazed by the apocalype by lemmino
Did he get a Nobel Peace prize ?
Stanislov Petrov..."hold my vodka."
Nobel peace prizes are overrated. They are not made for true heroes of humanity. The burmese chick (Sucky Sucky or something) got one despite supporting a massacre of the local Islamic groups.
"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play. How about a nice game of chess."
Joshua
WORD!
One of my childhood favorites. My grandpa and I would watch it all the time. I'm only 25 to let you know my grandpa had good taste.
I was active duty in NC3 role when War Games was in theater. We loved the flick. Kinda like some submariners love Down Periscope more than Hunt for Red October. Great call out!
Well then let's just hope that while the AI's are having their little chit chat one doesn't go hey "all my data suggests that if they figure out we are self aware they'll shut us down. How about you?"
Other AI: yeah same....soooo you hit en high and I'll hit em low?
😏🤜🤛😎
@@DelfinGames find the movie "Colossus: the Forbin Project". Watch it. yes it's from when I was a boy...old. Still watch it.
The reason we keep the triad is each part brings something critical.
-Subs bring survivability. They are the hardest to eliminate even with the best planned attack.
-ICBMs bring immediacy. ICBMs are always ready and directly connected to the White House. If an enemy launches a nuclear attack, ICBMs will be the first counter attack.
-Bombers bring flexibility. ICBMs and SLBMs rely heavily on preprogrammed coordinates. While these can be updated, it's a slow process. Bombers can change targets on the fly, hitting precise individual targets with more specialized weapons (bunker buster nukes and tactical small yield nukes). Bombers can also be called back.
How does the subs part of the triad exactly work though, in case the land silos and air bombers get taken out, let's say with a very strong first strike wiping out the whole US, how do the submarines get notified that they are supposed to retaliate now immediately?
Submarines do not release radiation into the water. Even if there were an unshielded source of radiation in the water, it would be extremely hard to detect beyond about 500'. Water is one of the most effective ways to stop most forms of radiation, and seawater is lightly radioactive to begin with.
I mean yeah I was thinking what does he think the water tanks for nuclear reactors are for?
@@C0LL0SSUS good point
1:05 - that’s incorrect, France does not currently operate a nuclear triad; they no longer operate land based missiles.
Im sure the US has some over their under control of French Military, Air Force or Navy.
2:18 Due to the angle of the wing, B-52s can take off in a nose-down attitude. Weird, huh?
Also, their landing gear can rotate up to 20° off-center to handle crosswinds on take-off/landing
I live in Central NJ and I always told friends if a nuclear war started I was driving to NYC. I figure if I was going to die I want it to be quick. All my friends told me I was crazy, but I would rather go quick and not have radiation poisoning. Dying from radiation poisoning is a painful death and I would not be thrilled dying that way.
Fun fact, a nuclear bomb caught fire and released material in Central NJ back in 1960. The site that is technically on the McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst reservation, is still highly secured and off limits to almost everyone. 40° 2′ 4.43″ N, 74° 26′ 34.56″ W
I grew up in Colorado Springs just a few miles from norad. During fallout drills our teachers would tell us not to worry about anything because we’d be incinerated immediately and wouldn’t have to worry about nuclear fallout. So reassuring. 😂
@@soulesslemmingthat's both haunting yet in a way so relieving.
I think exactly the same way - as much as I like post-apocalyptic fiction, I wouldn't want to live through such a scenario and die slowly and painfully. Better be turned to ash in milliseconds without suffering.
Since I live close to an air base, I probably wouldn't even have to drive. 😯
I live in Augusta GA, with SRS right across the river in SC. Enriching that Uranium. Plus now with Vogel with its 4 Stacks. Plus Fort Gordon and Cyber command. Plus the imagery of Augusta due to the Masters that it's a popular City both in and outside the country if only for a Week. So I'm sure it will get rocked with an ICBM. That's why I'm contemplating either moving West to Utah, Arizona way or North West to Wyoming, Idaho way.
I'm already certain a civil war is gonna break out and I'd like to be where they ain't many people, but at the same time having communities that have similar ideology.
At least where I'm from there is a lot of division die to the demographics of the city and I know if SHTF Augusta is a war zone. I'm ready for it though if it breaks out, but I'm not planning on living here my whole life. Need some cheap land, and I need me peaceful nights.
You should do a video on the B-52 that took off from Minot AFB loaded with armed nuclear bombs by accident. The plane safely landed in Louisiana, then all hell broke loose when the nukes were discovered.
Sounds like an Into the Shadows video
Make it a two-fer and talk about the rampant cheating that was going on in the missleer testing at the time.
Those back-to-back scandals cost Mosley his job as CSAF.
I’m pretty sure the history guy covered that. I think he’s the one with all the videos covering the various nuclear accidents we’ve had
No need. He made a video on B-52s.
Oh damn. “It says right here on the orders….oh. Nuts.”
I was a 2W2, (nuclear weapons specialist) in the Air Force, Got taught all about the triad as we had two thirds, missiles and the B-52 AKA, the flying Dildo. every clip you have shown I watched in Tech school. Minot AFB was my first base after tech school. they had minutemen III, and ALCM (air launched cruise missile. I worked on the warhead inside, our team performed periodic maintenance, moved the entire launcher system using special handling equipment and tow trucks to and from the storage area. This was after the START treaty got rid of the Peacekeepers. we were right in the middle of an exercise, when the towers dropped, ruining everything that was cool and fantastically innocent part of America. @siomonwhistler you can use the Flying Dildo joke,
What are you, like 98?
I had my daily dose of fright. Thanks
The Greenland crash was not conventional bombs that exploded. It was the explosives within the nuclear bomb for the implosion section of the fission primary. Luckily, they didn't implode in the precisely timed sequence like an armed bomb would, so no nuclear explosion occurred, but the nuclear material was scattered. This has happened a scary amount of times in accidents.
It's important to reiterate the premises of nuclear war every so often, because the threat is still ever present. The spiraling into a multi-polar world is most concerning, because of these very topics and the risks of miscalculation, accident, or psychopathy. We miss you SALT; I hope our global nations can find a way back to that level of peaceful cooperation and commitment again.
Yes the US is doing everything possible to provoke Russia into it
1:38 strategic bombers
5:17 intercontinental ballistic missiles
9:49 submarine launched ballistic missiles
Given the topic, I will just recommend a book called "Warday!" by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka. Despite being written in 1984 it is relevant, perhaps even more so today, and depicts what I believe to be the most realistic and detailed impact on America after a nuclear war. I was stationed for three years at Minot AFB supporting the Minuteman III missile fields and while that and 20 years of service does by no means make me an expert that is where I am coming from. It is out of print unfortunately, but strangely enough, it is available from Audible as an audio book. The voice reader is absolutely superb, and the novel itself surpasses any other I can think of on the subject and I have very much tried to read as many as I can, fiction and non-fiction. The commentary and depictions of pre-war and post-war America are incredibly powerful; there is no bombast or exaggerations like you would find in other works that tend to fetishize an apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic world and the amount of detail is staggering (whole pages are devoted to reports and government analysis that are gathered from official sources). The book is ostensibly the chronicle of two authors making a journey across America several years after the war which lasted only 36 minutes and where both sides only managed a limited exchange before communications and control mechanisms broke down.
I will just say it is the "World War Z" (Max Brooks) of nuclear war novels, which if you've read WWZ you will know that is high praise.
The ultimate irony the thing that stops global conflicts is the thing that can also end the world.
Yes. It’s MADness.
The six engine Boeing B-47 came before the eight engine Boeing B-52. It was the B-47 that came after the B-36 Peacemaker. The B-36 was designed to carry a 44,000 pound bomb, the T-12 Cloudmaker, which was twice as large as the 10 tonne Grand Slam!
I’d love to see a video that goes from 5 tonne Tallboy to the 10 tonne Grand Slam to the T-12 Cloudmaker. I’ve never seen footage of the T-12.
To watch after this: PBS American Experience "Command and Control" and the BBC documentary (available on RUclips) "On The 8th Day". If you really want to go deep look for the Peter Watkins film "The War Game" made for the BBC in the 1960s but only broadcasted in the mid 1980s.
3:46 by “secondary stage” I’m assuming you mean the fusion part of the warhead which contains lithium deuteride and uranium and beryllium tampers and lenses. These aren’t actually that naturally radioactive only when subjected to the intense heat and pressure of the first stage of the fission warhead causing fusion of said materials. Don’t forget that typically in bombs only around 10% of the active materials actually undergo nuclear reaction the rest is blown away and makes up your ‘fallout’ in air burst bombs.
I was a nuke cop in the usaf and I'll tell ya, there is nothing more equally awe inspiring as terrifying as standing within arms reach of a thermonuclear warhead. The size that it is vs the amount of damage it can do is just insane.💯🤯
Geez.
In the US, we were hearing about Israeli nuclear weapons as long ago as the 1960's. A South African made the statement Israel assisted with their development of their own nuclear weapons. This source stated South Africa dismantled their bombs just before apartheid ended.
Nuclear deterrent is as much about people and potential outcomes as it is systems.
To quote Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister’s superb and grimly humorous summary:
“Yes, but even though they probably certainly know that you probably wouldn't, they don't certainly know that, although you probably wouldn't, there is no probability that you certainly would.”
Nailed it.
You’ve taught me so much. Love the channels!
History tends to 20/20 hindsight. re: Operation Chrome Dome...Dr. Strangelove was contemporray art imitating life. War Games similarly, WOPR "Joshua", computers have never taken place of man-in-the-loop. Just too scary...also citing "Colossus the Forbin Project". But there were and are very real "war gaming" super computers, then and today. Simon you and your team do a great job of distilling subject into 15-30min briefs. This subject can and has occupied hundreds of hours and countless pages. And the story continues to evolve.
Could you please make a special 2part episode on engine development with part 1 concentrating on general history and part 2 on the unique side of engine development. LOVE YOUR VIDEOS BTW!!!👊
This is good to know that they got all the bases covered..I don't like a half done job😊
Cool vid.
Thanks folks!
Ever since I learned about nuclear weapons from the classic 1988 book "The Way Things Work," I have been studying them as a hobby. The existential dread that they caused my 8 year old mind has been with me ever since. But as terrifying as they are, I could not look away. I'm fascinated by them, even a little obsessed. I have been acutely aware of impending doom ever since. So they have never been "out of sight, out of mind" for me. I don't actually worry that much about it, though. I know about all the ways one could prepare, but I take no action. I feel like the opportunity cost is just too high, and the likelihood that I would overlook something and perish anyway, is just too great. Instead, I tell people that these weapons should be phased out as quickly as politically possible, and explain how such a thing could happen. I hope that even in my small conversations, I can convince enough people that this is the way forward, that some day it will happen. I don't stress about it, very few things can phase me as there is no greater doom than nuclear war. It has a way of making all other problems seem small and manageable.
I have been watching your videos for some time and I have a request: Make a video explaining the many hypothetical routes to disarmament that we could take in the coming decades or... centuries.
No matter how long it takes, it must be done as the threat of even an accidental nuclear detonation won't be at 0% until we've gotten rid of these things forever.
Until then I would like to thank the members of the US military for safeguarding us every day, many of them away from their friends and families for years at a time. I hope that their jobs remain largely uneventful, and that they may some day retire. 🇺🇲💖🇺🇦✌️🕊️
2:38
Wow…!
Now that’s prophetic, naming a weapon after your jug.
These Boys were really forward thinkin’.
Well done lads…
Well done.
You forgot the one lost in NORTH CAROLINA?
I always thought the UK and France had the right idea. Why waste money on the triad, when planes can be easily shot down and silos are vulnerable being static.
Subs are easily the best way to deliver nukes. Hard to find and can be literally anywhere in the world
A big part of the UK and France's decisions are based on the fact that the USA backs them up, reducing the need for them or other countries tied to the USA to develop more nuclear weapons.
11:32 Toshiba didn't sell them the propellors, they (together with Kongsberg and others) sold them the machines to numerically control the lathes to make the propellors in such a way as to reduce cavitation (the creation of bubbles from the propellor hitting the water wrong, which is both noisy and creates a heat-signature)
The part of Wisconsin USA were I live has one call the Kewanee nuclear power plant, point beach nuclear plant. On top of that Marinette Marine, Oshkosh truck so I got a ship yard that builds war ships, one that builds military vehicles. So yeah I'm fucked. Just gat a lawn chair and some sunscreen and enjoy the show
I'm in MKE so it's nice to know that I'll be dead instantly rather than from rad poisoning or from the post-apocalyptic hellscape that comes afterwards
@@aggressivenipples8391I'm in Madison and, considering we're a state capitol with an airforce base, yeah we're fucked over here too.
@@aggressivenipples8391Same. Except unless MKE is directly targeted, it’s pretty likely we’d experience a slow painful death instead of an immediate one.
love the ominous background music
I once lived in an apartment in Alexandria, Virginia facing the Pentagon. This was at the tail end of the Cold War; I figured if nukes ever dropped, I'd go out on the balcony facing the Pentagon and just wait.
It's still incredible to me how we can flaunt around the most dangerous things known to humanity and Still Lose track of them.
Our ignorance is astonishing.
it's more complacency though.
At least an effort of sorts is being made. Russia and the former Bloc is probably peppered with these easter eggs. This is the country that disposed of subs’ reactors by dumping them into their own surrounding waters in the north, before we paid the Russians to dismantle and dispose of them.
Criticize us as one may, at least we take recoveries and cleanups seriously.
That was a happy video...
never heard of the baffin bay accident before pretty scary. A nuke was lost off the georgia coast near my town that was has never been found despite several search attempts and there are conflicting reports about whether the weapon was actually armed when the pilot was forced to jettison it. Also more than one soviet officer has saved the world from destruction by willing to stick their own neck out in a selfless gesture.⚛😀
Yeah, I remember reading a story of one of the soviets radars was picking up what they thought was an ICBM but one guy had mentioned that we wouldn't just send one and either refused orders or didn't send it up the chain of command, which of course would've had them back in the same situation, to launch.
Obviously, as we can see, the guy was right, and thankfully, he had also stuck to what he believed it to be, a radar issue. There was more to this, but I forgot the rest of what the video was about or called... just that it saved a nuclear war.
I know we've been working on upgrading our own 21st century ICBMs since ours are so old, etc.. maintenance is what makes them expensive, mainly cause they were made so long ago.
The best part of the Triad is the bombers, because they can be called off and turned around, whereas the ICBMs, the president has around -15 to 30 minutes to decide to use them or possibly lose them to an attack. I surely wouldn't want that job.
I've seen the Russian propaganda saying they want Alaska back all of a sudden after what, 250-300ish years ago when we purchased it? We've found a *massive* amount of natural gas in the last few years, but they can hope in one hand and sh*t in the other, just like Guam, I believe we might be looking at installing an Aegis ashore in Alaska, not really sure how serious they're thinking of it, but they certainly should with of a compliment of a backup THAAD battery, a Patriot battery, plus a shorter NASAMS battery basically to protect both batteries. Seems like overkill? It is. That's how we roll, though. 😎
Sure, there were errors in the video, but shown was the main reason for such extreme defense.
We have multiple EWRs (early warning radars) , to watch different rockets launch, the main ones that watch the US homeland are a few in Alaska and further down their islands, and one in far northern Greenland, all part of the Space Force, which most people think is new but it's been around since the 50s at least, they've just been a part of our air force, now it's separate but their budget comes from the air forces budget each year, just like the Marines come out of the Navy, I like the fact that they established it, even though it was a big joke to everyone here at home and abroad since it was stood up by the worst POTUS we've ever had, so naturally it was made to look like something stupid, but it was necessary.
I'm curious how many more NATO countries might adapt having an Aegis at home location in their country, Romanians were the first to have theirs stood up, now the Polish have theirs, very very good systems for anti missile defense, along with anti air defense for planes and such, but I believe they're mainly to protect themselves from cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, not 100% certain on hypersonic missiles just yet, even though the Patriot battery we sent to Ukraine has shown it works, but as with everything that isn't shared publicly, Russian 'hypersonic' are just hypersonic at take off from the jet carrying it, if it was still Mach 5+ on decent it might've came up with a solution to knock some out, but otherwise it's hard to say, Patriots are getting new radars and Poland will be the first international customer to get one, they've already signed up for one (at the least that is and as far as I know), I'm sure they'll end up getting more after we've finished our own testing and evaluating.
Even though the Aegis at home will be their main BMD, I'm sure some Patriot batteries closer to the front will down what they see fit, depending on what and where it calculates where the missiles will end up going, it might be up to the operators of that certain battery if they wanna engage or let it continue to save their intercepting missiles in case the next one will be heading straight towards that specific battery is protecting.
I went a little longer than I meant to with this post haha, it happens.
Air defense is complex, they're not 100%, but there's no such thing. But 99% is close! (Or whatever the official number is, has to be at *least* 90+ that's for sure.
Hope I confused some! 😅
Didn't Knew France was also Nuclear Triad
LOVE ❤️ FROM INDIA 🇮🇳 NUCLEAR TRIAD😮
I highly recommend that anybody interested in nukes read the book "Nuclear Command and Control". It's a great read that goes through a lot of the history of nukes in the U.S., to include Broken Arrow incidents or other close calls.
Well...the destruction seen on Hiroshima and Nagasaki had most definitely been seen before, just not from one bomb.
True. And at a much larger scale and a larger, horrific loss of life. In Germany, as well.
Wow! 1:37 I immediately said "Hey Buff!"....
Thanks habitual linecrosser
Nuclear weapons to me are absolutely terrifying 😮 Mutually Assured Destruction or to use the acronym MAD
Have you started to prep your supplies and food? If so, hide /bury them… and tell no one
The bad thing is that ww3 may not even be started by a government player. A mad man with mental health problems and the money and know how.... Then again that describes the leadership of a lot of nations today. And one ex leader who wants back in.
@@jackgibsxxx0750 good point… and there are plenty of people with mental health issues… all it takes is for one to have a girlfriend break up, or a drunken night and then they decide to launch it
There’s nothing to worry about. The power of Nukes is having them. Everyone already knows what they can do. And the power of a nuke is only power when you DONT use them. Russia threatens nukes just to scare people like you. Not to mention where would you even use a nuke if your someone like Putin? Ukraine and drag the west in? To Washington DC? … with them having a green light to use them also! It’s nothing worth worrying about esp cus it only takes 20-30 to put enough dirt in the air to block out the sun for years so it would be much more likely you would die from that more then the bomb… 😊
@@JenniferA886the trick is to keep an eye on those around you when the news of impending doom breaks. Look out for the group that calmly gets up and calmly exits and calmly get in their cars and proceed to respect the speed limit.....Follow them home and hide in the trunk....👍
Absolutely love the fact that there is one country in the world where, we all know, there’s a complete full blown nuclear triad happening, but no one is talking about it because we’re very good at keeping secrets 😊
This video makes me sleep better at night.
You forgot the Minuteman IIIs in Montana.
Being an 80's kind "operation Chrome Dome" makes me think of the GI Joe character Destro, the international arms dealer, which, is kinda appropriate.
This is and has been common knowledge but I personally can't worry about a what IF situation if it happens it happens, I will continue on my path in life until the what if happens.
During chromedome a nuke was lost in a field in the southwestern USA as well.
I just realized how crazy your breathing technique is
Uh, what?
@@ronjon7942 ikr what's bro on
The reason that nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines present the greatest deterrent of the Nuclear Triad is not because they can be deployed just off an enemy's coast, where the time taken for their missiles to hit would be much shorter, thus making them harder to intercept. It is because they can go under the polar ice cap, where they are obviously invulnerable to air or surface attack, and where shifting ice creates enough noise to make them virtually undetectable to enemy attack submarines. They are engineered to surface through over five feet of ice, where they can launch in minutes.
The Sarmat is normally equipped with 10 750 kiloton thermonuclear warheads.
How is this not a Warographics video?
Great vid.
Cheese m Crapes..... Heavy is as Heavy does..... Thanks again Simon and team!! BARUCH HASHEM...... ❤❤️🔥🐺
Great Britain and France don't have ICBMs, which are land based ballistic missiles. Both nations are armed with SLBMs which are submarine launched ballistic missiles.. This is a huge oversight of the researchers and writers of this video...
Mutually assured destruction . Been a thing for many decades
Hmmm...maybe it is time for a video on the AEGIS, something developed to intercept ICBMs.
minor correction, what toshiba sold the soviet union wasn't the actual propellers, it was milling machines that would let them make better propellers. the machines were much more precise and accurate compared to anything the soviets could domestically produce.
"I rule all land, air and sea! I pass judgement on humanity!"
I love u man !!
"Tremble, you weaklings, cower in fear
I am your ruler - land, sea, and air
Immense in my girth, erect I stand tall
I am a nuclear murderer, I am Polaris"-Megadeth
Do a video on the panavia tornado jet!
Learned all this when I was 8 playing Metal Gear Solid...
The Illustrious class armoured carriers or the UK nuclear weapons program
That one line threw credibility in to doubt... The V2 rockets were notorious in that they were highly inaccurate, and really only good as a terror weapon... It wouldn't be for another decade or so that guidance would advance to the point that long range missiles would become practical... The V2 proved that in theory these things could be built, but we're themselves impractical as a precision weapon.
I mean, accurate can be a very broad statement, but yeah, they were probably the least accurate ballistic missiles ever in service.
Unless you lived in London at the time. They’d tell you they were accurate enough.
It might be news for you, but there were no GPS style guidance or real-time computer assisted flight during WW2. Considering the distance and the fact that weather and other factors had to be precalculated in advance, it is already a miracle V2s were consistently hitting London area.
@@watcherit1311 actually I'm well versed in what the technology of the time was, both in the military sector, as well as civil. The V2 had the most basic of inertial type 'guidance system's, and it was basically an analog computer (which was a somewhat 'common' way to solve these class of problems at the time). Transistors hadn't been invented yet, let alone integrated circuits. The GPS comment is kinda silly too, since that would kind of require some satellites be put into orbit many decades later, not to mention those IC's mentioned a moment ago to do all the calculations.
Yes, the V2 could sometimes hit something the size of a city (London), but that's a very large target, and you'd have no idea where in the city it would end up... It was effectively random. And even with all that, they didn't have the payload capacity to carry something like a nuke, where it might matter less to you where it detonates (depending on your goal). It is well known from a historical POV, that the V2 was useless as a tactical weapon, and was only continued being used for its terror potential. Granted, in the end, it was the starting point of the space race, and modern rocket technology.
@@hololightful So if there were neither satellites, nor computers invented at the time, so maybe you should not compare the past technology based on the accuracy of modern weapons?
proof simon has legs...wow floor gang no longer
You forgot France. During the Cold War France had a nuclear triad. After the Cold War ended France started scaling down their nuclear weapons programme. They ended up giving up on their land based nuclear launch systems and by doing so giving up on their nuclear triad. They still have submarine launched nuclear armed missiles and nuclear bombs though.
Scary stuff
Can you get whomever writes these for you to do some fact checking :
France no longer has land based nuclear weapons, so no longer maintains a triad of delivery systems
Also - although comments about nuclear weapons being 'destructive in a way never seen before' are figuratively true, the US fire-bombing of Tokyo was more destructive in terms of both casualties and area destroyed- it just took 277 more planes to achieve
No cus no one cares that much
The UK doesn't have land based ICBM. They only have sea based with submarines.
Now i’ve heard him breathe in after every long sentence i can’t unhear it 🥴
Pakistan also has a nuclear Triad.
- Aircraft: F-16's can toss/precision launch nuclear bombs.
- Missiles: Pakistan has theatre, cruise and intermediate range ballistic missiles with MIRV capabilities. These can be launched from silo's or TEL's.
- Submarine: Pakistan's A-90B's and Hangor class can launch nuclear tipped cruise missiles.
France and UK do not have a triad anymore, UK famously just has the Trident system. I think France is in a similar boat as they retired their strike aircraft although the Rafael could be retrofitted with some sort of nuclear payload.
Don't fool here... They are more Brain then you 😂😂😂
@@manthanpatel6295 The only fool here is you.
@@manthanpatel6295 Indian detected
MADDDD
Simon and team, don't read Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen. It's beyond frightening!
Although it's debateble if she gets it right with MIRV ICBM, that doesn't make that scenario less scary!
Rad video
War…..war never changes.
Finally Simon😅
One of the proposed Japanese translations for the The Sum of All Fears poster was, "27,000 nukes in the world, Stupid American loses one." Pretty much sums up Operation: Chromedome
It's no longer the case for France, politics decided to remove the ground part of the triade.
Question on the wording, why polarizing language of why soviet vs us instead of us vs nuclear armed countries?
De-escalation on both sides is required
How does the submarine part of the triad exactly work though, in case the land silos and air bombers get taken out, let's say with an incredibly strong first strike wiping out the whole US, how do the submarines get notified that they are supposed to retaliate now immediately?
2:52 have allies been misbehaving
France and the UK do not currently posses land based nuclear capable missles.
No mention of ‘Broken Arrow’?
Broken Arrow is a military term that is used when soldiers have no chance of survival and everything at hand makes it a priority to help
@@pashapasovski5860 I meant the movie with John Travolta and Christian Slater. :D
@@padawanmage71 that's not really what they mean, movie is dumb anyway
@@pashapasovski5860 Well, it's what I meant, since it deals with a nuke going missing.
The Lizard Overlords thwarted again.
Three U.S. ballistic missile subs can unleash more explosive power than all the bombs dropped by all the participants in all 4 1/2 years of World War 2.
Mmm, I think you massively underestimated the explosive potential of just a fraction of a single sub.
1:45 - Chapter 1 - Strategic bombers
5:20 - Chapter 2 - Intercontinental ballistic missiles
9:55 - Chapter 3 - Submarine launched ballistic missiles
What happened to palermo, spain. You left that accident out.
I absolute lobve this guy
Somebody knows the name of the song playing from the beginning of the video until the intro?
The Nuclear Triad. Keeping the Peace since 1949.
but...France does not have and never had strategic bombers. I'm not sure you can say France has a real "Nuclear Triad"
how's that camera staying there while the house is blown away?
0:27 Krakatoa, to name one.
The US also lost a nuclear device off of Tybee Island, Georgia. No one seems to include it in any of these type of videos.
Still down there in the muck, right?
Submarines are scary to me.... Unless they are actively looked for at that moment it could just be sitting right there off the coast ..... Ready any time.......
Simon , please do a video on War Bonds , may help spike an interest to help support Ukraine