Well the Cold War was a very dangerous time which has seen some pretty bussy and rather quiet times. The fear of war and total destruction was always around and both sides used propaganda and military power as try for domination. But what happend behind the curtain ? There have been many ... situations in the past which today can only be seen as interesting. Even though some of them might have put an end to humanity as how we know it. So here a few:
20 Mishaps that Might Have Started Accidental Nuclear War
Well that are some accidents. But there have been of course many times enough the actions of individuals which decided the outcome. Silent heros which names have bee forgotten for a very long time either cause the knowledge would have disgraced the nations or it was simply a secret matter. Either way at least 2 are known today for their actions. And can be probably somewhat called "people which saved the world". So it does not only happen in movies!
Vasili Arkhipov
On October 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph trapped a nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot class submarine B-59 near Cuba and started dropping practice depth charges, explosives intended to force the submarine to come to the surface for identification. Allegedly, the captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, believing that a war might already have started, prepared to launch a retaliatory nuclear-tipped torpedo.
Three officers on board the submarine — Savitsky, the Political Officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the Second in command Arkhipov — were authorized to launch the torpedo if they agreed unanimously in favor of doing so. An argument broke out among the three, in which only Arkhipov was against the launch[citation needed], eventually persuading Savitsky to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow. The nuclear warfare which presumably would have ensued was thus averted.
Stanislav Petrov
Shortly after midnight, the bunker's computers reported that an intercontinental ballistic missile was heading toward the Soviet Union from the U.S.[6] Petrov considered the detection a computer error, since a United States first-strike nuclear attack would be likely to involve hundreds of simultaneous missile launches in order to disable any Soviet means for a counterattack. Furthermore, the satellite system's reliability had been questioned in the past.[7] Petrov dismissed the warning as a false alarm, though accounts of the event differ as to whether he notified his superiors[1] or not[6] after he concluded that the computer detections were false and that no missile had been launched. Later, the computers identified four additional missiles in the air, all directed towards the Soviet Union. Petrov again suspected that the computer system was malfunctioning, despite having no other source of information to confirm his suspicions. The Soviet Union's land radar was incapable of detecting missiles beyond the horizon,[7] and waiting for it to positively identify the threat would limit the Soviet Union's response time to minutes.
Quite interesting to think about how many times the fate of so many have been in the hands of so few. Though I could not find examples on the "other" side for the nations which as well had some nuclear arsenal. Like the French, British, US etc. as it is not far to assume that some of them might had similar situations.
20 Mishaps that Might Have Started Accidental Nuclear War
Well that are some accidents. But there have been of course many times enough the actions of individuals which decided the outcome. Silent heros which names have bee forgotten for a very long time either cause the knowledge would have disgraced the nations or it was simply a secret matter. Either way at least 2 are known today for their actions. And can be probably somewhat called "people which saved the world". So it does not only happen in movies!
Vasili Arkhipov
On October 27, 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a group of eleven United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph trapped a nuclear-armed Soviet Foxtrot class submarine B-59 near Cuba and started dropping practice depth charges, explosives intended to force the submarine to come to the surface for identification. Allegedly, the captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, believing that a war might already have started, prepared to launch a retaliatory nuclear-tipped torpedo.
Three officers on board the submarine — Savitsky, the Political Officer Ivan Semonovich Maslennikov, and the Second in command Arkhipov — were authorized to launch the torpedo if they agreed unanimously in favor of doing so. An argument broke out among the three, in which only Arkhipov was against the launch[citation needed], eventually persuading Savitsky to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow. The nuclear warfare which presumably would have ensued was thus averted.
Stanislav Petrov
Shortly after midnight, the bunker's computers reported that an intercontinental ballistic missile was heading toward the Soviet Union from the U.S.[6] Petrov considered the detection a computer error, since a United States first-strike nuclear attack would be likely to involve hundreds of simultaneous missile launches in order to disable any Soviet means for a counterattack. Furthermore, the satellite system's reliability had been questioned in the past.[7] Petrov dismissed the warning as a false alarm, though accounts of the event differ as to whether he notified his superiors[1] or not[6] after he concluded that the computer detections were false and that no missile had been launched. Later, the computers identified four additional missiles in the air, all directed towards the Soviet Union. Petrov again suspected that the computer system was malfunctioning, despite having no other source of information to confirm his suspicions. The Soviet Union's land radar was incapable of detecting missiles beyond the horizon,[7] and waiting for it to positively identify the threat would limit the Soviet Union's response time to minutes.
Quite interesting to think about how many times the fate of so many have been in the hands of so few. Though I could not find examples on the "other" side for the nations which as well had some nuclear arsenal. Like the French, British, US etc. as it is not far to assume that some of them might had similar situations.
