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Originally Posted by onetrack
The scary parts about the nuclear programs are ...
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"1120 - Nuclear depth charges .. the mind boggles .. they need a Nuke to nail a sub???  ) ..
"1125 - Nuclear demolition charges .. the mind boggles again .. "What are we scorching today, Sarge??" .. "Oh, I think we'll just blow Washington off the face of the map, to deny any usefulness to the enemy" .. (hmm .. maybe not such a bad idea ..  .. )
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RE Nuke Depth charges - they "went away" fairly quickly from what I understand. Remember, Sonar was NOT as good then as it is now, and the idea was that if you had a general idea where an boomer was, you could take it out "pre launch"
As for the Demolition Charges - those are the ones they usually call "Backpack nukes" - you can see them at the National Atomic Museaum in Albuqurque (sp) The exhibit explained that the initial idea was that IF the US was invaded, they wanted to be able to destroy the Hoover Dam and some others to deny the enemy the use of the water/and or electricity.
Just remember, most of the really "odd" nukes have been pulled from service, because the percieved need is gone, either because the threat isn't there anymore (Invasion - yeah, right) OR because we have come up with technology to do the same job with a lot smaller bang
One "interesting" then you can see in looking at "western" militaries, at least since the 1960s. They have been spending a LOT of money to develop SMALLER weapons that have less "collateral" damage. I mean, you've seen pictures of the "MOAB" and the "Bunker Busters" - they replace nukes to do the same job.
Just a point of view of someone who studies military history for fun