greem

@[email protected] we came so close during Able Archer in 83 (I think!) and were only saved by a very brave Soviet man who refused to believe that the traces he was seeing were real.

I know you know this, but by crikey we were literal seconds from nuclear Armageddon and one man’s intransigence pretty much saved the entire world as we knew it.

Like I said, what a mad time that was!

@[email protected] Yowzer. I’ve read about that before but it’s usually just facts & figures about the distances, blast radius, expected casualties etc. Your piece adds the humanity that was present at the time, and that’s pretty hair raising (not that I have much!).

I lived through the last 20 years of the Cold War. What a mad thing it was - total distrust of the “other side”, it’s a wonder we didn’t end up in a nuclear winter.

(See also BBC’s “Threads”, utterly terrifying yet compelling viewing).

@[email protected] there may be a literal pair of smoking boots as the only remaining evidence.

@[email protected] that is a truly glorious looking building.

If it housed the transmission gear, the walls may have been that thick to prevent explosions getting out rather than in!

@[email protected] have a look for the history of the Capenhurst tower in the UK, if you’re not familiar with that already.

Kinda related, but slightly in reverse.