Wikipedia - "The M65 atomic cannon, often called Atomic Annie,[6]: 92 was an artillery piece built by the United States and capable of firing a nuclear device. It was developed in the early 1950s, at the beginning of the Cold War; and fielded between April 1955 and December 1962, in West Germany, South Korea, and on Okinawa."
What was the range of this cannon? 20 miles. WHAT! 20 miles? That's it? How about 200 at least!
I had a friend from high school who got drafted out of college. He had pushed his deferments as far as they would go. He was working on his PhD in Nuclear Engineering. So where did the Army put his education to use? He was the string puller on an artillery cannon in Vietnam. Not the one in the picture, but he said they did have smaller nuclear shells that went about 6 miles. 6 freakin' miles! He said that if the Army thought he would fire a nuke that would go off six miles away from where he was, they were totally nuts.
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10 comments:
I looked it up. Robert Oppenheimer was about 20 miles away from the Trinity explosion.
And that is why Military Intelligence is an oxymoron.
Kirk - In a concrete bunker. Not standing out in the open next to your big gun that could have just fired a short round that only went a mile.
John - Yep.
Speaking as a retired military intelligence officer, I resent that. Most of the time, anyhow.
Feynman watched Trinity through a truck windscreen which he knew stops the UV flash. The only man to watch it. The rest were in bunkers or ditches.
WTF were they thinking?
Debra said it better than I could.
Bill - I know, but I couldn't help agreeing with John. 🤣
Stu - From Wikipedia... "Feynman claimed to be the only person to see the explosion without the very dark glasses or welder's lenses provided, reasoning that it was safe to look through a truck windshield, as it would screen out the harmful ultraviolet radiation. The immense brightness of the explosion made him duck to the truck's floor, where he saw a temporary "purple splotch" afterimage."
Deb - They weren't thinking about the personnel shooting the cannon.
Kathy - Oh come on. Give us a WTF! 😂
Oppenheimer was one of the best movies of the past few years. Technology is scary. 6, 20, 2000 miles! My husband graduated at the end of the Warm, so he was safe. He was working on a doctorates in Physical chemistry, I wonder if he would have been one who pulls plugs and shoot guns?
Fascinating and the comments today as well. Thanks everyone!
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