vegetariantaxidermy wrote: ↑Thu Oct 31, 2019 10:12 pm
The 'cold war' was a figment of the diseased and paranoid yank brain(or what passes as a brain).
Errrm ,Veggie,
Can I give you a little tip?
If you say things on this forum like "the Cold War" wasn't real" - and - that the Americans and West Berlin and the rest of the Western world just imagined it; that the Soviets weren't trying to export communism all around the world from 1945 to 1991 - people will think you are really ignorant . (how embarassing !)
I mean, are you seriously claiming that the Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, was a "figment of the diseased and paranoid" American mind ? I am unable to post links in my posts on this forum ( as my poxie lap-top will not allow me), but if you've got 3 minutes to spare, and you want to learn something about the Cold War, just type in : "John F. Kennedy - Cuban Missile Crisis Speech" into your Youtube search bar and it will bring up a summary of JFK's televised speech to the nation (US) on 22/10/1962.
Five days later on the 27/10/1962, tension between the US and USSR was high after an American U-2 reconnaissance aircraft was shot down over Cuba. But what was even scarier was what was going on underneath the waters of the Caribbean, off Cuba.
The Russians had previously sent 4 Foxtrot- Class submarines to Cuba each one carrying a ten kiloton, RDS-9, nuclear warhead that could be fitted to a torpedo on the subs. A torpedo carrying this nuclear warhead would have the same kind of destructive power as the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Three of the four Soviet submarines were detected by American air surveillance making their way towards and ordered to return to Russia. One sub, "B-59", was detected by US aircraft though dived to hide itself deep under water rather than give up its mission and return home. The Foxtrot class Russian subs were older vessels and had not been designed to operate for long periods of time in warm tropical waters, like the Caribbean Sea.
I think it was ten US Navy vessels (maybe more) that quickly arrived on the scene to box in the B-52 sub around where it had submerged. The Americans did not know that the B-52 was carrying a nuclear warhead. They knew that the "B-52" could not remain submerged indefinitely as it would need to resurface to re-charge its batteries. The longer the "B-52" stayed underwater the more difficult living conditions for the crew would become, and this is precisely what happened. With every day, the temperatures in the sub rose (because the cooling system, even at its best was not designed to cope with warm tropical waters, also without being able to re-surface and fully charge the batteries, the cooling systems were not functioning adequately at all). Temperatures inside the "B-52" rose from 100 to 140 Fahrenheit (up to 60 degrees celcius), the crew were rationed to one glass of water per day, the atmosphere inside the "B-52" became saturated with carbon dioxide gas and starved of oxygen, crew members began to faint from exhaustion and broke out in toxic skin rashes
In order to place more pressure on the sub to re-surface, the Americans began dumping hundreds of miniature , hand- grenade- sized, depth charges down on to the "B-52". These little depth charges were known as "signal charges", the idea was that while they were not large enough to destroy a sub, the loud noise that each exploding signal charge made would indicate to the sub's Captain that its location was known, and that it was being ordered to surface and surrender immediately.
One of the crew members on the "B-52" described the sound of each mini-depth charge going off outside the sub as " like sitting inside a sealed metal drum that was being constantly struck with a giant hammer."
The Captain of the "B-52" interpreted the explosions as evidence of the fact that a war had started. He had no way to contact the political leadership in Moscow to confirm this as the sub's radar communication system had been rendered inoperable (physically damaged) by the exploding miniature depth charges The sub's Captain, like all of its crew, were suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion, and the men who were there that day, recall that he was yelling at everyone, his nerves were shot and he became extremely paranoid - "scared of his own shadow." It was in this state of mind that he ordered the nuclear torpedo to be launched. He had the authority to fire the nuclear torpedo without requiring political permission from Moscow, just as did all of the other 3 Captains of the Foxtrot subs that had been dispatched. He knew that firing the nuclear torpedo would not only destroy the US Navy flotilla on the surface, but also his own sub, the B-52. He chose to die a glorious death for Russia rather than submit to the disgrace of surrender and his crew were of the same mind.
The "B-52"'s Political Officer agreed with the Captain that the nuclear torpedo should be launched, but, by chance, the was an Executive Officer on board named Vasili Arkipov, ordinarily, he would not have been on any of the 4 subs. Arkipov, was a Russian military hero (I wont go into why) and he was well respected by the submariners, he also had a say in the matter of the nuclear torpedo. Arkipov said he did not agree with the decision to fire the nuclear warhead into the US Navy ships above ( I think the USS Randolph was to be the actual target, but it didn't really matter, of course, because the instant the Nuke detonated, it would vapourise every Navy vessel around it straight away). The Captain out-ranked him and so he could have ignored Arkipov's objection. Arkipov, however, argued and debated the issues with the Captain for about an hour, and finally talked the Captain around. The nuclear torpedo would not be fired. Shortly after this, the Captain agreed to take the sub to the surface where the US Navy and Airforce helicopters were waiting to meet her. The Americans ordered the "B-52" back to Russia and she then began to limp back home.
No one doubts that if the B-52 had launched it nuclear torpedo, a global thermonuclear war would have been triggered. Basically one man "saved the world", Vasili Arkipov. And he never really received the credit he deserved, he's just a "footnote" in the historical record; most Westerners have never heard of him. But if he hadn't kept his head and stayed cool on the 27/10/1962, there probably wouldn't be a "Veggie". No "Veggie" on Philosophy Forums saying stupid things like the Cold War wasn't real . (Hey, maybe if Arkipov hadn't saved the day, all of the three piddly, little islands called Noiseyland would have been blown right off the map - I guess that would have been one positive from a nuclear holocaust )
Dachshund )Der Uberweiner) WOOF !! WOOF !! .............................(Beware the dog)