Buzz
For over forty years, the world's two major superpowers—America and the USSR—along with their respective allies, were locked in a high-stakes nuclear standoff, known as the Cold War. Both sides were prepared to unleash catastrophic nuclear strikes at any moment, a move that would have global consequences, governed by the principle of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). A missile launch from either side would have meant certain annihilation due to the inevitable retaliatory strike. With such massive arsenals of weapons and ever-heightening tensions, the risk of a nuclear mishap, or even the outbreak of a global war, was alarmingly high. Even after the Soviet Union's collapse, the danger of nuclear conflict persists, as more nations—such as India, Pakistan, China, and North Korea—develop the technology and means to deploy nuclear weapons. This list examines a few of the many moments when humanity teetered on the brink of either triggering a nuclear war or accidentally detonating a nuclear device.
8. Duluth Air Base Intruder Incident
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, on October 25, 1962, a guard at the Duluth Air Base in Minnesota noticed someone attempting to scale the perimeter fence. He fired shots at the intruder and sounded the alarm, triggering a chain reaction of alerts at nearby bases. However, at Volk Field in Wisconsin, a wiring error caused the alarm to mistakenly signal the readiness of F-106A Delta Dart interceptors, armed with nuclear missiles, rather than alerting to a potential sabotage. Without practice drills during DEFCON 3, the pilots assumed a nuclear war with the Soviet Union had begun. Just as the aircraft were about to take off, a car from the air traffic control tower raced toward them and ordered the planes to stop. The 'intruder' was later identified as a bear.
7. Thule Air Base Crash Incident
On January 21, 1968, a B-52 bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs was flying over Baffin Bay near Greenland as part of a 'Hard Head' mission. These missions involved bombers with nuclear weapons circling near Soviet airspace, prepared to either launch a swift first strike or respond immediately with a retaliatory attack if war broke out. During this particular flight, a fire erupted onboard the aircraft. Six crew members successfully ejected, but the final crew member was killed while attempting to bail out. The plane crashed onto the sea ice, resulting in an explosion of the bombs' high-explosive components, scattering radioactive material over a wide area. Fortunately, the bombs were not armed, so no nuclear detonation occurred. A massive cleanup effort was initiated, with a base camp set up at the crash site. Eventually, 6,700 m³ of contaminated ice and snow were removed and shipped back to the United States. After the BBC obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act, it claimed that one of the nuclear weapons was unaccounted for during the cleanup. However, a study by the Danish Institute for International Studies in 2009 disproved these claims.
6. RAF Lakenheath B-47 Crash
On July 7th, 1956, following a routine training mission, a B-47 Stratojet bomber from the 307th Bombardment Wing attempted to land at the USAF base at RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, England. However, the plane lost control during the landing approach and crashed into a nuclear weapons storage bunker, also known as an igloo. The crash ignited a fire, killing all four crew members and covering the bunker with burning fuel. Inside the igloo were three Mk6 airdropped atomic bombs. As General James Walsh communicated to the Strategic Air Command: 'The B-47 tore apart the igloo and knocked about 3 mark sixes…preliminary exam by bomb disposal officer says a miracle that one mark six with exposed detonators sheared didn’t go…' Had the fire not been extinguished promptly, the bombs’ high-explosive components could have detonated, spreading radioactive material across parts of eastern England. The full communiqué can be accessed here: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/NC/nh4_1.gif
5. Training Tape Mishap
At 8:50 AM on November 9, 1979, a warning flashed across the computers of four key American command centers, including the Pentagon and the Strategic Air Command’s bunker beneath Cheyenne Mountain, indicating that a massive Soviet ICBM strike was heading towards the United States. The Minuteman nuclear missiles were put on high alert for a retaliatory strike, and the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (a modified 747 designed to withstand EMPs and radiation) took off, despite the absence of the president onboard. Senior officers gathered to assess the situation, but after six tense minutes, satellite and radar data confirmed that no Russian missiles had been launched. An investigation revealed that a training tape, depicting a simulated Soviet missile attack, had been mistakenly loaded into the early warning system, causing the false alarm. As a result, a new off-site facility was created to run training simulations.
4. Norwegian Rocket Incident
On January 25, 1995, a team of scientists launched a Black Brandt XII research rocket from Norway. Russian radar stations quickly detected the launch, and it was initially mistaken for a Trident missile fired from a submarine positioned near the North Cape. The missile’s electromagnetic pulse (EMP), which would have been triggered by the detonation of its eight warheads in the atmosphere, was believed to be an attempt to disable Moscow’s command and control systems, a precursor to a full-scale nuclear assault. An urgent alert was sent to Russian high command, prompting a tense video conference between President Yeltsin, the Defense Minister, and the Chief of the Armed Forces. After eight minutes, Russian computer systems determined that the missile’s trajectory would result in it splashing down in the Norwegian Sea, far from Russian territory. With only 10 minutes allowed by Russian nuclear doctrine to make a decision, President Yeltsin was left with a critical choice: launch his own missiles and trigger global war, or risk complete devastation. Fortunately, the threat was resolved peacefully.
3. Cuban Missile Crisis Showdown
On October 14, 1962, an American U-2 reconnaissance plane from the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing flew over Cuba and discovered missile launch sites for SS-4 medium-range missiles, triggering the Cuban Missile Crisis. The United States was alarmed by the Soviet missiles so close to their shores and debated various responses, from inaction to full military invasion. Ultimately, a blockade of Cuba was established to prevent further missile deliveries. This move was seen as an act of aggression by the Soviets, and tensions escalated. For the first and only time in history, the American Strategic Air Command was raised to DEFCON 2—the second-highest alert level. On October 27, during the blockade, an American destroyer located the Soviet submarine B-59. Depth charges were dropped in an attempt to force the submarine to surface. The submarine’s captain prepared to fire nuclear-tipped torpedoes in retaliation. However, the decision required unanimous agreement from the captain, the political officer, and the second in command. While the political officer and captain agreed to launch, the second in command, Vasili Arkhipov, vetoed the strike, persuading the others to surface the submarine and await orders from Moscow, thus preventing a nuclear conflict.
2. The Man Who Prevented Global Disaster
At just past midnight on September 26, 1983, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov was stationed at the Serpukhov 15 bunker in Gantsevichi, Belarus, when an alarming message flashed on the radar. The Oko satellite system had detected the launch of five Minuteman II ICBMs from their silos in the American Midwest. The apparent launch of a nuclear strike seemed to signal the start of a catastrophic war. Yet, Petrov defied Soviet protocols and chose not to escalate the alarm to his superiors. His reasoning was grounded in skepticism about the computer system's reliability, which had been questioned before. Petrov also believed that if America were to launch a nuclear attack, it would involve far more than just five missiles. As he later explained, 'When people start a war, they don’t start it with only five missiles. You can do little damage with five missiles.' It was later revealed that the satellites had mistakenly interpreted sunlight reflecting off clouds as the heat from missile exhausts. In 2006, Petrov was honored in the United States at a United Nations meeting in New York City and awarded by the Association of World Citizens for his heroic decision.
1. U-2 Incident
One of the near-miss incidents during the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred on October 27, 1962, when a U-2 reconnaissance plane, piloted by Captain Charles Maultsby, accidentally entered Soviet airspace. The flight, originating from Alaska and passing over the North Pole, was hindered by the blinding aurora borealis, which made it difficult for Maultsby to take accurate readings with his sextant. As a result, he unknowingly strayed into Russian territory, prompting the Soviet Union to scramble MiG fighter jets to intercept and potentially shoot him down. In response, two F-102 Delta Daggers were launched from Alaska to escort the U-2 and guide it back home. These American jets were equipped with Genie nuclear-tipped air-to-air rockets, each with a 1.5-kiloton yield (the equivalent of 1500 tons of TNT), leaving the pilots to decide whether to use them if necessary. After a tense standoff, the MiGs withdrew, and the U-2 safely returned to base.
