Mike463

There are a few interesting Soviet Afghan videos here- (some surprising comments about the lack of preparation in the Army) http://www.ruswar.com/ Interview with Spetsnaz veteran about his Afghanistan experiences- http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archi...hp/t-13546.html Formerly secret CIA video explaining collapse of USSR- Yours, Mike

Atreides, Yup, discussed "The Beast" a few entries up. Even though it's fiction it's still a great flick. Another favorite is "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich". "Enemy at the Gates" was pretty good (I have a MN-91 w/PO scope, go figure). I'm sure there are a few excellent Soviet and Russian flicks out there, only problem is they don't get translated with English subtitles. Oh yeah, USSR related flick- "Doctor Zhivago" Yours, Mike

lindr, So, Suvorov being a former GRU agent is full of BS? Yeah right. Feel free to dispute the content of his books. Given the fact that I worked in locations in USAFE specifically targeted by Spetsnaz, the VDV, and DDR FJ, Suvorov's information was quite relative and resulted in upgrades to our facilities. Yours, Mike Rheinland Pfalz, '88-'92

lindr, Have you read Suvorov's book? http://militera.lib.ru/research/suvorov10/index.html Yours, Mike

Personally I liked "The Beast" (or "The Beast of War" released in Europe), story of a Soviet tank crew in Afghanistan- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094716/ Recently picked up "Aquarium", a Polish produced movie about GRU spy "Victor Suvorov" (Vladimir Rezun). Those familiar with the book "Inside the Aquarium" will like the flick, it follows the book nicely (wish more of the storyline detailed his experiences with Spetsnaz). Available on e-bay with English subtitles. Otherwise there are a few decent documentaries on YouTube about Soviet weapons and the Soviet-Afghan war. Yours, Mike

A simplified weapons and gun editor, and realistic loadouts. Yours, Mike

Little Boy, or LB as it was called, was a gun type weapon. LB was never pursued after the war for various reasons (the U.S. kept a few shapes on hand and trained Navy crews until 1950). Fat Man (FM) evolved into the Mk3 (improved HE, electronics, etc). 120 produced until 1949, retired in 1950. The B-29's of the 509th were retrofitted to carry FM and LB under the Silverplate program, and bomb assembly teams used C-54's to move disassembled weapons and test and handling equipment to various locations. More info here- http://www.geocities.com/usaf463/earlycare...eldhistory.html and here- http://www.mphpa.org/classic/HICC/HICC_CG.htm Yours, Mike SAC vet, retired 46370, 509th MMS alumni (Pease AFB, NH '81-'83).

Lexx Luthor, Interesting web site and pics, haven't seen many of them before. Knew several folks who were in the atmospheric test program and witnessed tests such as Crossroads, the Mike shot, and Castle Bravo. Yours, Mike

http://www.sr-71.org/blackbird/manual/ Don't forget AFR 35-10 inspections, or whatever it's called today. Yours, Mike

Downloaded WOI and added the Afghanistan terrain, pretty amazing work Gepard! Added Mi-24 to the aircraft folder and flying missions is pretty hairy, especially getting caught in a crossfire from ZU-23. For those interested in creating a historical campaign, the Afghan Air Force during the Soviet era consisted of- MiG-17 MiG-21 IL-28 Mi-4 Mi-8 Mi-24 Soviet Forces- MiG-21 MiG-23 MiG-25 Mi-6 Mi-8 Mi-24 Su-7 Su-17/22 Su-25 Tu-16 (may have left a few out in my old age). Pakistan publicly acknowledged shooting down 10 intruding Afghan and Soviet aircraft during the war. Yours, Mike PS- WOI loaded up in Vista, no problems.

Spectre_USA, We 463's disassembled the AIR-2A in tech school, an easy weapon system to work and maintain. With an explosive yield nearing 2 kilotons (2000 tons of TNT, or 4,000,000 pounds) it could kill a Tu-95 if detonated a mile off from overpressure (if I remember correctly). The delivery crew (such as F-106) could at least expect a 1 rem dose during the escape manouver (!). More info here- http://www.geocities.com/usaf463/Genie.html Yours, Mike

Here's a good page on Soviet medals and decorations- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awards_and_de...he_Soviet_Union Roughly, the order of precedence for Soviets medals is- Gold Star Medal (Hero of the Soviet Union)- recipient also awarded Order of Lenin Order of the Red Banner Order of the Red Star Order of Suvorov (also other Orders such as Order of the October Revolution Order For Service To The Homeland In The Armed Forces Distinguished Military Service (1st Class) For Strengthening Combat Co-Operation Yours, Mike

lindr, Some of the early USAF nukes had drogue chutes, among these were the Mk14, Mk15, Mk16, and Mk17. Weapons such as the Mk6 (and Mk18) were freefall weapons (all had a safe separation timer with baro fuzing and firing). Later mods had parachutes, despite this the B-36 was retired since it suffered too much air blast damage from the large yield TN weapons. Yours, Mike http://www.geocities.com/usaf463/index.html

Note- the Mark 18 was an all fission Oralloy (uranium 235) bomb, yield in declassified records states 550 kilotons. Yours, Mike

Video of Tsar Bomba- Yours, Mike

lindr, Great job on the nukes. Some pictures of early U.S. thermonuclear weapons on YouTube- The part on TN weapons starts at 14:38 minutes. All weapons have fins. The Mark 14 pictured on the Nuclear Weapon Archive site shows a device used in the Castle Union shot (barge shot). Mark 14- overall white (epoxy polymide most likely); only five deployed. Mark 17 and 24- olive drab overall. Mark 21/36- OD Mark 15- OD Mark 16- liquid thermonuclear, deployed in small numbers (about five), olive drab. Mark 18- externally similar to Mk6; olive drab. Yours, Mike

Dave, Will take a look at the pics, I wouldn't expect the museum to correct the paint schemes anytime soon (given their renovation schedule). Spectre_USA, IYAAYAS! You should hear the drone of AC-130's overhead here practicing at night (Hurlburt), along with the buzz of miniguns, 105mm, and fast movers dropping 500 pounders. Yours, Mike

No problem. Those in the Nuclear Weapons Technicians Association are working to improve the appearance of museum displays since the paint schemes and markings are mostly incorrect. The Mark 14 has fins, the picture from Nuclear Weapon Archive shows the device from the Castle Union shot. Every pic I have located, Sandia National Labs website and DOE Historical Films shows it with a white paint scheme; no big deal though. Haven't visited the site in a few months, that's what I get for playing too much "Mount & Blade". Yours, Mike Retired 46370

Nuclear Weapons for the B-36? Am at work so I can't d/l the 36 yet. What about nuclear weapons for the B-36? The B-36's main weapon was the Mark 17 thermonuclear bomb. Pic's of the weapon are readily available on the net (I recommend the Nuclear Weapon Archive). Most of the info is incorrect, however. Declassified documents show early TN weapons were fuzed for airburst or ground burst. In the case of the Mark 6, the nuclear capsule had to be inserted while the aircraft was in flight (by crewmember in bomb bay- safety practice). This could take anywhere from 15-20 minutes (something interesting to mod in). Some background info on SAC operations here- http://www.geocities.com/usaf463/biggs.html The B-36 could carry- 1 Mk17 or 24 (yield about 10 megatons)- colored olive drab (no yellow paint on fins, nose, etc) 1 Mk14 (short version of the 17, yield about 7 Mt, only five deployed) colored white. 1 Mk16 (liquid fueld TN bomb, only five deployed)- color unknown. (all three weapons used the same casing- the 16 and 17 had a sleeve added for length). Yours, Mike 463X0 Homepage

Book details thirty-six U.S. nuclear weapons accidents- "Broken Arrow- The Declassified History of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents" 322 pages, 8.5" x 11", perfect binding, black and white interior ink "Using declassified government material James C. Oskins and Michael H. Maggelet have written the most comprehensive and detailed study of the thirty six known U.S. nuclear weapons accidents, known as "Broken Arrows". The authors have poured through government documents, aircraft accident reports, nuclear weapon incident and accident reports, and first hand accounts to shed light on the Department of Defense's vague summaries of nuclear weapons accidents. Their research dispels myths surrounding the Tybee and Goldsboro accidents, and provides great insight into the human element and the condition of individual weapons and AEC or DOD recovery operations regarding nearly every Broken Arrow. The underlying cause of such accidents, be it human error or equipment malfunction, is clearly shown in formerly secret reports and photographs." http://www.lulu.com/content/1409049 Yours, Mike

The book has 13 pages detailing the loss of the USS Scorpion (accident 31). Yours, Mike

"DOD Narrative Summaries of Nuclear Weapons Accidents" provides short descriptions of the following- 2/13/50 - AF B-36, off British Columbia 4/11/50 - AF B-29, Manzano Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S 7/13/50 - AF B-50, Lebanon, Ohio, U.S. 8/5/50 - AF B-29, Fairfield-Sussun Air Force Base, California, U.S. (now TRAVIS AFB) 11/10/50 - AF B-50, over water outside U.S. 3/10/56 - AF B-47, Mediterranean Sea 7/27/56 - AF B-47, Overseas Base 5/22/57 - AF B-36, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, U.S. 7/28/57 - AF C-124 cargo plane, Off U.S. East Coast 10/11/57 - AF B-47, Homestead AFB, Florida, U.S. 1/31/58 - AF B-47, Overseas Base 2/5/58 - AF B-47, Savannah River, Georgia, U.S. 3/11/58 - AF B-47, Florence, South Carolina, U.S. 11/4/58 - AF B-47, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas, U.S. 11/26/58 - AF B-47, Chennault AFB, Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S. 1/18/59 - AF F-100 fighter, Pacific Base 7/6/59 - AF C-124 cargo plane, Barksdale AFB, Bossier City, Louisiana, U.S. 9/25/59 - USN P-5M, Off Whidbey Island, Washington, U.S. 10/15/59 - AF B-52, Hardinsberg, Kentucky, U.S. 6/7/60 - BOMARC AGM, McGuire AFB, near Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. 1/24/61 - AF B-52, Goldsboro, North Carolina, U.S. 3/14/61 - AF B-52, Yuba City, California, U.S. 11/13/63 - Storage, Medina Base, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. 1/13/64 - AF B-52, Cumberland, Maryland, U.S. 12/5/64 - AF LGM 30B (Minutemand I ICBM), Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City Dakota, U.S. 12/8/64 - AF B-58, Bunker Hill (Now Grissom) AFB, Peru, Indiana, U.S. 10/11/65 - AF C-124 cargo, Wright-Patterson AFB, near Dayton, Ohio, U.S. 12/5/65 - USN A-4, at sea over the Pacific Ocean more than 500 miles from land 1/17/59 - AF B-52, Palomares, Spain 1/21/68 - AF B-52, Thule Air Base, Greenland Spring 1968 - Classified, Atlantic Sea 9/19/80 - AF Titan II ICBM, Damascus, Arkansas, U.S. 33 to 36- Four additional accidents at Johnston Island in 1962. Yours, Mike

Targets of opportunity such as troops formations, wagon trains, etc. A flyable Zeppelin. Ability to use Zepp's and other aircraft in campaigns starting from 1916 onward. Le Prieur rockets! Yours, Mike

Try a web search for "Order of Battle" 1988 for USAFE, Warsaw Pact, etc. Here's an example for USAFE (scroll down on link for more air forces)- http://orbat.com/site/history/historical/nato/oob1989.html US AIR FORCE - EUROPE (USAFE) 1. US 3rd Air Force HQ - Mildenhall, United Kingdom: a. 10th TFW - Alconbury, UK: 2 squadrons of 18 A-10 each b. 20th TFW - Upper Heyford, UK: 3 squadrons of 24 F-111E each c. 48th TFW - Lakenheath, UK: 3 squadrons of 24 F-111F each d. 81st TFW - Bentwaters, UK: 4 squadrons of 18 A-10 each, 1 squadron of 18-F-16C e. 501st Tactical Missile Wing (TMW) - RAF Greenham Common, UK: 64 BGM-109G GLCM f. 503rd Tactical Missile Wing (TMW) - RAF Molesworth, UK: 64 BGM-109G GLCM (withdrawn in 1989) 2. US 17th Air Force HQ - Sembach, FRG: a. 36th TFW - Bitburg AB, FRG: 3 Squadrons of 24 F-15C each b. 50th TFW - Hahn AB, FRG: 3 Squadrons of 24 F-16C each c. 52nd TFW - Spangdahlem AB, FRG: 3 Squadrons of 24 F-16C each, 1 Squadron F-4G WW d. 86th TFW - Ramstein AB, FRG: 3 Squadrons of 24 F-16C each e. 32nd TFS - Soesterberg AB, Holland: 24 F-15C f. 26th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (TRW) - Zweibrucken, FRG: 2 Squadrons of 18 RF-4C each g. 66th Electronic Countermeasures Wing (ECW) - Upper Heyford, UK: 18 EF-111A h. 38th Tactical Missile Wing (TMW) - Wuescheim AB, Germany: 64 BGM-109G GLCM i. 39th Tactical Missile Wing (TMW) - Florennes AB, Belgium: 48 BGM-109G GLCM 3. US 16th Air Force HQ - Torrejon, Spain: a. 401st TFW - Torrejon, Spain: 3 Squadrons of 24 F-16C each b. 487th TMW - Comiso AB, Italy: 64 BGM-109G GLCM Yours, Mike USAFE '88-'92