How Effective Was Duck and Cover During the Cold War?

[BobG]

Given the information and tactics of the time, it *was* weak on defense. You can make speculations that things would have trned out just fine, if the U.S has unilaterally stopped building nukes. I don't agree. Or maybe I would disagree with your definition of "just fine".

I don't think the USSR would have nuked the US if we didn't have nuclear weapons ourselves. I also don't think they would have invaded all of Europe or the lower 48 of the US.

I do think it's possible they would have looked at creating a buffer to the East similar to the one they created in the West. Taking Alaska, and maybe even some of the Yukon Territory would have been a good possibility.

The USSR lost about 10,000 people a day for nearly 6 years during World War II. (Using post-9/11 units, that would be about 26 World Trade Center attacks per week).

For comparison, the losers of that war, Germany, lost about 3500 people a day, while the US lost about 340 people per day (but for a shorter period than the USSR). Over half of the USSR casualties were civilians, while a little over 20% of Germany's casualties were civilian, while about 0.4% of US casualties were civilians. (World War II casualites by country).

I think it's safe to say the USSR was pretty committed to making sure nothing like that ever happened again (which is why it was also a pretty sure bet they wouldn't do something stupid that would bring on a nuclear attack).

 

[Borek]

Someone living very far from a target may have benefited from taking cover under modest physical structures like desks to reduce injuries from flying glass.

Question is, what is better - ignore the threat completely, or teach something that in most places will help avoid injuries?

I am not telling it was OK, I am just trying to put myself in administration's shoes. And the general idea doesn't sound bad.

When I was at school in seventies we were taught what to do in the case of nuclear attack as well, although the danger was much lower at the time, so I remember hearing it just once. Version I remember is "in the case of nuclear attack lie down on the ground, cover yourself with a white sheet, and crawl slowly (to not start the panic) in the direction of the closest graveyard".

 

[mgb_phys]

There is a British cartoon "When the wind blows" ridiculing the "Protect and Survive" home defence leaflets from the 1960/70s. It has some great lines.

wife>do we need to build a brick bomb shelter like in the last war?
husband>no, with modern technology we just need to paint the windows white and hide under a table
They then spend the rest of the day searching for a protractor because they are supposed to lean doors at 60deg to make a shelter.

 

[Borek]

I think it's safe to say the USSR was pretty committed to making sure nothing like that ever happened again

I am not that sure. When you are not electable you don't think in these categories.

 

[asdfggfdsa]

In scouts, we once camped right next to the underground missile silos.

To be frank, if a large nuclear war happened, that's exactly where I'd want to be. Let's get it over with ASAP!

 

[Phrak]

I'm still confused about that. When I was a kid we did a fundraiser to send athletes to the 1980 Moscow olympics. The government wouldn't pay because the Russians had invaded Afghanistan and were oppressing the Taleban.

Looks like I was ahead of my time !

No way, Mgb. The Saudi madras and Omar 'students' wheren't in Afganistan at that time, laying about happily with their little ridding crops. These brainwashed deviants were still youngsters, busily nodding and weaving over their assigned portions of the Qaran.

 

[Phrak]

While the rest of you are debating the wisdom of duck-and-cover, I'll be deomonstrating how to do it.

 

[mgb_phys]

No way, Mgb. The Saudi madras and Omar 'students' wheren't in Afganistan at that time, laying about happily with their little ridding crops. These brainwashed deviants were still youngsters, busily nodding and weaving over their assigned portions of the Qaran.

Oh well never mind - two British athletes won gold in the 800+1600m. Thus destroying the Soviet sense of superiority and eventually bringing down the Berlin wall.
You can all thank me later.