1/1/2023 0 Comments Are we in defcon 2![]() ![]() It contacted the BMEWS stations by radio and could report that no attack had taken place. Radio communication was established with an orbiting B-52 on airborne alert, near Thule. ![]() All SAC bases in the United States were therefore alerted, and B-52 bomber crews started their engines, with instructions not to to take off without further orders. There were two possible explanations facing SAC HQ: either enemy action, or the coincidental failure of all the communication systems, which had redundant and ostensibly independent routes, including commercial telephone circuits. The communication loss cut off SAC HQ from the three Ballistic Missile Early Warning Sites (BMEWS) at Thule (Greenland,) Clear (Alaska,) and Fillingdales (England,). On the night of November 24, 1961, all communication links went dead between SAC HQ and NORAD. (iv) the Soviet fleet was engaged in scheduled routine exercises.Ģ) November 24, 1961: BMEWS Communication Failure (iii) the Canberra bomber was forced down by mechanical problems (ii) a routine air force escort (much smaller than the number reported) for the president of Syria, who was returning from a visit to Moscow The four reports were all shown afterwards to have innocent explanations. General Goodpaster himself was concerned that these events might trigger the NATO operations plan for nuclear strikes against the U.S.S.R. (iv) the Soviet fleet was moving through the Dardanelles. (iii) a British Canberra bomber had been shot down over Syria (ii) 100 Soviet MIG-15's were flying over Syria (i) unidentified aircraft were flying over Turkey and the Turkish air force was on alert That night NORAD HQ received messages that: that they combine forces to stop this by a joint military action, and had warned the British and French governments that (non-nuclear) rocket attacks on London and Paris were being considered. The Soviet Government had suggested to the U.S. There are likely to have been as many on the Soviet Side which are even more difficult to access.ġ) November 5, 1956: Suez Crisis Coincidenceīritish and French Forces were attacking Egypt at the Suez Canal. Many probably remain unreported, or are hidden in records that remain classified. The following selections represent only a fraction of the false alarms that have been reported on the American side. Sagan gives references to original sources in all instances. Details of some of the events differ in different sources: where there have been disagreements, I have chosen to quote those from the carefully researched book, The Limits of Safety by Scott D. If the people involved had exercised less caution, or if some unfortunate coincidental event had occurred, escalation to nuclear war can easily be imagined. ![]() The risks are illustrated by the following selection of mishap. A fire at a broken gas pipeline was believed to be enemy jamming by laser of a satellite's infrared sensor when those sensors were first deployed. The rising moon was misinterpreted as a missile attack during the early days of long-range radar. Working with any new system, false alarms are more likely. No doubt there have been as many mishaps on the Soviet Side. Probably many remain unknown to the public and the research community because of individuals' desire to avoid blame and maintain the good reputation of their unit or command. On the American side many "false alarms" and significant accidents have been listed, ranging from trivial to very serious, during the Cold War. The risk of such a sequence developing would be increased if it happened during a period of increased international tension. A similar sequence could result from an accidental nuclear explosion anywhere. This action would be detected by the other side, and they would take appropriate action detection of the response would tend to confirm the original false alarm and so on to disaster. One way a war could start is a false alarm via one of the warning systems, followed by an increased level of nuclear forces readiness while the validity of the information was being checked. That is the reason I am prepared to spend the rest of my life working for abolition of nuclear weapons. Despite all precautions, the possibility of an inadvertent war due to an unpredicted sequence of events remained as a deadly threat to both countries and to the world. ![]()
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