That time the Postal Service sent mail via cruise missile
In 1951, the Navy built the SSM-N-8A Regulus cruise missile in conjunction with the Chance Vought Aircraft Company. Developed from the German V-1 missile, the Regulus was built to maintain…
This flawed government report triggered nuclear panic in Cold War
Anyone who survived the Cold War likely remembers the fear that, with almost no notice, an endless rain of Soviet missiles and bombs could begin that would end the war. Even if your city wasn’t hit, the number of nukes that America and Russia would…
That time a Boy Scout built a nuclear reactor out of common household items
Imagine looking out your window to see an eerie green glow resonating from your neighbor’s shed. Or seeing government trucks being loaded with barrels marked radioactive by men dressed in hazmat suits outside your home.
The residents of …
Why Russia has three nuclear footballs – and who can use them
The United States closest geopolitical rival is Russia, but when it comes to the way their militaries operate, that’s where the two countries’ similarities end. Nowhere is this more apparent…
The US plan to survive a Soviet nuke was absolutely bonkers
A sudden flash. A mushroom cloud. A sudden expanding pressure wave. In the event of a thermonuclear attack, seeing these things means its probably too late to survive. So the U.S. developed warning systems to give Americans a heads up before the bom…
That time Jimmy Carter saved Canada from nuclear destruction
In 1952, an accident at Canada’s Chalk River Laboratories near Deep River, Ontario caused a partial meltdown in an experimental nuclear reactor. Hydrogen explosions followed and hundreds of thousands of gallons of radioactive water flooded the cor…
Russian nuclear warheads provided electricity for the US for 20 years
Even today, people can go on YouTube and watch videos of old military parades from the days of yore, when the Soviet Union was a constant threat to the United…
Check out the Navy’s powerful nuclear security train car
When you think of space-age, game-changing technology that alters battlefield operations, you probably don’t think of new train cars as the tech of the future. You also probably don’t think…
The military thought this paint job could protect from nuclear blasts
In the 1950s, America’s nuclear bomber pilots had a very valid concern about firing their weapons. In many cases, an aircrew that fired a nuclear weapon would be hard…
The time a nuclear aircraft carrier ran aground right before homecoming
Homecoming for a naval vessel is a huge deal. After months at sea, the ship’s crew don their sharpest uniforms and stand on deck to catch a glimpse of their…