---
title: "This is what the Air Force thought nuclear war would look like in 1960"
date: "2018-03-31"
modified: "2020-10-21"
authors:
  - name: "Logan Nye"
    job_title: "Senior Contributor, Army Veteran"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/logan-nye.md"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/intel/air-force-thought-nuclear-war-look-like-1960/"
categories:
  - "Air Force"
  - "Cold War"
  - "History"
  - "Tactical"
  - "War History"
  - "Weapons"
---

# This is what the Air Force thought nuclear war would look like in 1960

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17290639/origin.jpg>)

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17290640/origin.jpg>)
*Photo: US Air Force*

---

In the late 1950s the U.S. Air Force created a training video to demonstrate to airmen what the first stages of a nuclear war with Russia would look like.

The simulated war begins in 1960 with an alert that a Russian attack is incoming, and the action quickly picks up as crews around the world scramble to their planes. There are rare shots of rocket-assisted takeoffs by the B-52s carrying a full nuclear payload. The B-58, a Mach-2 bomber still in development and testing when the movie was shot, is also featured. After Germany, France, and Japan are wiped out, America begins releasing its own nuclear weapons. Missiles launch into the sky, bombs drop from bays, and Russia is obliterated.

Check out the initial alert (8:54), the first bombs and missiles impacting (36:40), or the final score of the first day of conflict (39:58). The commanding general declares victory at 53:10, but then drops one more bomb for the hell of it.

**Watch the video:**

\[jwplatform Gs64dwnA\]

### NOW: [The 7 scariest weapons Russia is developing right now](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/russian-weapons.md>)

## Author
Logan was an Army journalist and paratrooper in the 82nd. Now, he's a freelance writer covering military history, culture, and technology. He has two upcoming podcasts and a Twitch channel focused on basic military literacy.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/JustLoganNye>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/ProfHarlequin-111921498198749>)

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