The Soviet ‘Hiroshima’ Submarine That Inspired Harrison Ford’s ‘K-19: The Widowmaker’
K-19 was the first submarine of the Soviet Union’s Project 658, the first generation of Soviet nuclear submersibles that carried an armament of nuclear ballistic…
Typhoon-Class: The Last of the Famous Soviet Ballistic Missile Submarines Retired In 2023
The Typhoon-class – also known as Project 941 Akula – were six Soviet nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The largest ever constructed, they served with the…
National Emergency Command Post Afloat: The ‘Floating White Houses’ for Times of Nuclear War
During the 1960s, America’s Continuity of Operations plans included the National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA). It was one of three parts – airborne, ground…
Project Iceworm: The US Military’s Plan to House and Deploy ICBMs from Beneath Greenland’s Ice
Project Iceworm was a top-secret operation planned by the US Army during the Cold War. It intended to build a massive military base, housing several…
Black Sea Bumping Incident: When the Soviet Navy ‘Bumped’ the US Out of Its Territorial Waters
In the 1980s, the Soviet Union took several measures to get American warships out of its territorial waters – this including playing an old-fashioned game…
M28/M29 Davy Crockett Weapon System: The Tripod-Mounted Recoilless Rifle That Fired a Nuclear Warhead
Throughout the Cold War, the United States was concerned about the Soviet nuclear threat. As such, the US military constantly came up with weapons designed…
How Many Times Did the World Nearly End During the Cold War? Answer: A Lot
There were numerous times throughout the Cold War where the world nearly ended. The Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, saw the United States and Soviet…
Two KGB and CIA Operatives Were Tasked With Corrupting Each Other – They Forged a Friendship Instead
The KGB and the CIA were notorious enemies during the Cold War. As national security agencies for two warring nations, their operatives were tasked with…
Viktor Belenko: The Soviet Pilot Whose Defection Gave the West Access to the MiG-25
Viktor Belenko was a Soviet pilot who defected to the United States during the height of the Cold War. A number of things make his…
The Nuclear War Between Russia and China That Almost Happened
In the early stages of the Cold War, Americans saw Soviet Russia and China as working together as one Communist “monster,” threatening to destroy everything…
Mars Bluff Incident: The US Air Force Accidentally Dropped a Nuclear Bomb on South Carolina
Starting in the late 1940s and running through to the end of the Cold War, an arms race occurred between the United States and the…
Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars Program Featured Space Lasers for Nuclear Defense
By the 1980s, the threat of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union was a very real possibility. US President Ronald Reagan…