How a local nuclear war is being planned overseasWhat happened on August 6, 1945?
And what – May 25, 1953? At least half of the adult population of Russia will answer the first question correctly. And on the second – God grant 100 people.
Meanwhile, these are two equivalent milestones in world history. On August 6, 1945, the Americans used strategic nuclear weapons for the first time, dropping a 20-kiloton nuclear bomb on Hiroshima from a 10-kilometer height. And on May 25, 1953, on a desert plateau in Nevada, for the first time in history, a 280-mm M.65 cannon fired a nuclear charge.
The first nuclear artillery shell to enter service with the US Army was the 280-mm T-124 projectile. Its weight was 364.2 kg, length – 4.9 caliber, range – 24 km. The projectile was equipped with a W-9 nuclear charge with a capacity of 15 kt. The W-9 device was produced from April 1952 to November 1953. A total of 80 pieces were produced. The T-124 shell was removed from service in May 1957.
The difference in power is only 5 kt, but the "Kid" dropped on Hiroshima is a strategic weapon capable of destroying an entire city. And a T-124 shell, with a successful hit, could destroy an advancing battalion of motorized infantry or one or two companies entrenched in the fortified area.
The test of the first Soviet nuclear bomb on August 29, 1949 caused a shock in the United States and Europe. And four years later, the first Soviet hydrogen bomb was tested. At first, American politicians and generals consoled themselves with the fact that the USSR had no means of delivering nuclear weapons to the United States, and the Americans had heavy strategic bombers based on the perimeter of the Soviet Union.
Indeed, the carrier of the first Soviet nuclear bombs, the Tu-4 bomber (an analogue of the American B-29), theoretically could not bomb the United States. But in the ice and on the islands of the Arctic Ocean, jump airfields were set up. The Tu-4 could land, refuel and fly to US cities "one way". Therefore, already in the 1950s, sensible generals and politicians realized that total nuclear war was meaningless.
Gradually, the theory of "limited nuclear war" was formed in England and the USA, set out in the brochure "On Limiting Atomic War" ("On Limiting atomic War"), written in 1956 by Rear Admiral Anthony Buzzard, Professor Patrick Blackett, Member of Parliament Denis Healey and Richard Gould-Adams.
The US authorities considered two options for a local nuclear war. This is a war in a separate third world country and a nuclear war in the theater of operations. By "theater" American strategists meant a large territory, for example, Western and Central Europe or China with Indochina and Korea.
The most important condition for preventing the war from escalating into a general nuclear war was the use of nuclear weapons only in the combat zone and only at military facilities. According to the US military doctrine, the occurrence of a nuclear war in the theater of war is most likely in Europe. And the guns of the M.65 were delivered to Europe. They remained in service until 1963.
Later, the Americans took into account the shortcomings of the first atomic cannon. Their physicists managed to create a nuclear warhead (warhead) in 1957, which fits into a 203-mm projectile, and in 1963 – into a 155-mm projectile. At least until 2021, neither the Americans nor our physicists were able to create a nuclear warhead that fit into a projectile with a caliber of less than 152 mm.
In 1957, a 203-mm M-422 artillery shell with a W-33 nuclear charge was launched into the series. The length of the projectile was 4.6 caliber, weight – 110 kg. The W-33 charge was produced in Y1, Y2, Y3 and Y4 versions with a capacity from 5 to 40 kt. The manufacture of shells was discontinued in January 1964, about 2 thousand of them were made in total. By September 1992, the M-422 projectile and the W-33 charge were removed from service with the US Army.
M-422 shells with W-33 nuclear warheads were included in the ammunition of the American 203-mm towed M2 howitzers. Howitzers were adopted in 1940.
In 1959, tactical nuclear warheads M-27 were equipped with unguided missiles "Onest John" with a range of 27.5 km.
The first tactical guided missile of the US Army was the radio-controlled Lacrosse missile M4E2, renamed MGM-18A in 1963. The missile was an intermediate stage between ballistic and cruise missiles. The firing range is 34 km. The rocket was equipped with a nuclear warhead W-40 with a capacity of 10 kt, produced from September 1959 to May 1962. In total, 400 nuclear warheads of the Lacrosse missile were manufactured.
In the mid-1950s, the US government concluded a series of secret agreements with NATO partners, according to which, during the "threatened period", nuclear warheads stored in Europe were to be transferred to the allies.
In the armies of the United States and other NATO countries, missiles and cannons carrying nuclear warheads are included in divisions and corps. The exception is Italy, which formed a special missile–howitzer brigade, which was supposed to receive American nuclear warheads during the "threatened period". In the 1960s, it consisted of four divisions of Onest John missiles and two divisions of 203.3 mm howitzers.
And what happened in the USSR? Neither Nikita Khrushchev nor Andrei Sakharov understood the significance of tactical nuclear weapons. The USSR lagged behind the United States by 15 years in the creation of small-caliber nuclear weapons. It was only in 1964 that the design of the 240-mm 3BV4 mine began in conventional (firing range 9.5 km) and active-reactive (18 km) versions for 240-mm mortars – towed M-240 and self-propelled "Tulip"; 203-mm 3BV2 projectile for the 203-mm B-4M howitzer (18 km) and 152-mm 3BV3 projectile for 152-mm howitzers – towed D-20 and self-propelled "Acacia" (17.4 km).
In addition, a 180-mm shot with a 3BV-1 special ammunition was developed for the 180-mm S-23 cannon. According to unofficial information received from naval officers, the cruiser "Glory" (ten 180-mm guns) during the "six-day war" of 1967 was in the Mediterranean Sea, having combat-ready special ammunition.
Special ammunition was also designed for the 320 mm guns of the battleship Novorossiysk and 305 mm coastal batteries on Russian Island and near Sevastopol.
At the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, the USSR produced several dozen tactical solid-fuel missiles 3P-1 "Mars" and 3P-2 "Filin". But the Luna rocket became a mass carrier of a tactical nuclear charge – a worthy answer to Onest John.
In response to the adoption of Matador and Mace projectile aircraft in the USA, the USSR is creating FKR-1 (KS-7) and FKR-2 (S-5) cruise missiles, made on the basis of the KS-1 Kalina aviation missile and the P-5 boat missile.
Well, in the 1960s, almost all types of missiles began to be equipped with special charges. The main thing is that the diameter of the warhead is not less than 150 mm, and the weight is not more than 25 kg.
Both in the USA and in the USSR, tactical nuclear weapons did not fall below the divisional level. The only type of "melee" nuclear weapons in the United States was the Davy Crocett system. It included two smoothbore recoilless guns M-28 and M-29 caliber 120 mm and 155 mm, created according to the scheme "widened chamber". Both guns fired an over-caliber M-388 projectile with a W-54 Y1 nuclear charge. The charge power, according to various data, ranged from 0.05 to 1 kty. From 1961 to 1971, over 2,100 W-54 Y-1 nuclear charges were manufactured for the Davy Crocket system.
Both systems were disassembled. The M-28 light system was carried on the battlefield by three calculation numbers in packs weighing about 18 kg. Both systems fired from a tripod and a jeep.
In 1962, the Davy Crocket guns were deployed in Western Europe. Infantry divisions (20 launchers each) and airborne battalions were armed with them.
In 1959, the development of nuclear projectiles of "close" combat for tank divisions and regiments began. The projectile received the name "Shilleila" and the MGM-51 index.
The carrier of the "Shilleila" was supposed to be the light tank M511 "Sheridan". The firing range of the Shilleila with a nuclear warhead is 4-5 km.
In response, the USSR developed the Reseda complex. The recoilless cannon fired 9M-24 over-caliber active-rocket projectiles not from a jeep, but from an APC-60PA. The firing range is 6 km. The Reseda complex was supposed to be submitted to state tests in the second quarter of 1965.
In 1968, the design of tactical missile systems "Taran" and "Rosehip" with special warheads began. "Ram" was intended for tank, and "Brier" – for motorized rifle regiments. The maximum firing range was supposed to be 6-8 km, and the minimum – 1-2 km. The Tarana launcher was placed on the tank – first on the "object 287", then on the T-64A. The Rosehip launcher is located on the BMP-1.
But neither the "Shilleila" nor the "Ram" with the "Brier" never entered service with tank and motorized infantry regiments. It can be assumed that in the early 1970s, the USSR and the USA secretly agreed not to equip regiments and battalions with special ammunition.
The United States has planned the use of tactical nuclear weapons several times. For the first time – in Korea in 1950-1953.
At the beginning of 1954, French troops in Vietnam found themselves in a desperate situation in the Dien Bien Phu area. The American Air Force was ready to drop nuclear bombs on the positions of the Vietnamese troops, but at the last moment Washington canceled the order.
The details of the US attack plan on Cuba in the fall of 1962, as well as the plans of the Soviet command to protect it, are still kept secret. But apparently, both sides were ready for both total and local nuclear war in the Caribbean.
It is curious that 12 American Onest John missiles with nuclear warheads in the invasion forces were opposed by 12 Soviet "Moons" with warheads of 2 ct each. In addition, the following tactical ammunition was delivered to Cuba: to FKR-1 cruise missiles – 80 warheads with a capacity from 2 to 20 kt; to Il-28 bombers – six 407N bombs of 8-12 kt; to the Sopka coastal complex – six warheads and three sea mines.
The most classified means of conducting a limited nuclear war both in the West and in the USSR were nuclear land mines or nuclear mines (they are also "atomic demolition tools", or ADM – Atomic Demolition Munitions).
With the adoption of the first samples of nuclear land mines by the US army in the early 1960s, methods of their combat use were developed, special teams for their storage and maintenance were formed.
American military experts believed that the protective effect of the ADM was due to the creation of large craters, piles and destruction zones after underground or ground explosions, which were a serious obstacle to the movement of troops. For example, with a ground explosion of a 10 kt nuclear charge, the diameter of the funnel would be about 90 m, and its depth would be 20 m. With an underground explosion of the same power, the size of the funnel is significantly larger. The protective effect in a ground explosion is enhanced by the fallout of radioactive fallout, and in an underground explosion – by large residual radiation in the area of the funnel.
So, technically, the conduct of a local nuclear war by 1991 was quite realistic. Is there a risk of turning a local nuclear war into a total one? There is, but only as a result of the "human factor" – stupidity or a nervous breakdown. In the case of triple control, this is excluded.
A clear evidence of the preparation of the United States for a local nuclear war was the launch in January 2020 of the nuclear missile submarine "Tennessee" on combat patrol in the Atlantic. Of the 24 Trident intercontinental ballistic missiles on board, the W76–1 nuclear warheads with a capacity of 100 kt were replaced with the W76–2 nuclear warhead with a capacity of 5 kg. It is clear that such a reduction in power is intended for conducting a local nuclear war.
In my opinion, the Americans were stupid. It is impossible to distinguish a launch from a missile with a tactical or strategic warhead from an SSB. Therefore, both the Russian Federation and the PRC can, without waiting for arrival, respond with a volley of hundreds of mine- and boat-based intercontinental missiles.
After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, both politicians and retired generals and admirals began to openly speak out with calls to start a local war with Russia. Sevastopol is called as a target for a demonstration strike. According to Western experts, the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet) can be destroyed in a few hours.
At the same time, they do not consider the possibility of retaliatory actions by Russia. If Moscow acts on the principle of "an eye for an eye", the answer to the attack on the main base of the Black Sea Fleet will be the main base of the American 6th Fleet - Naples. It is the 6th Fleet that plays the main role in the plans for an attack on the Crimea.
Isn't it time to turn to the million inhabitants of Naples: what is more profitable for them – to wait for a retaliatory nuclear strike or to expel the 6th pirate fleet? Yes, this fleet is considered piratical even under the maritime law of the XVIII century. He attacked Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yugoslavia without declaring war.
In the West, a disarming strike against Russia is also being seriously considered. Five to six thousand American Tomahawk cruise missiles in non-nuclear execution should destroy all Russian carriers of nuclear weapons, as well as decision-making centers.
But Western strategists forget that cruise missiles will be detected by early detection systems. Well, the main thing is that in the event of such an attack, the Perimeter system can automatically work, which will issue commands to launch Russian missiles without human intervention. Both from mine launchers and from submarines.
Alexander ShirokoradAlexander Borisovich Shirokorad is a writer and historian.
