Nuclear war survival skills

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general_panic
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by general_panic »

yorkshirewolf wrote: Based on what i know of nuclear weapons- todays hydrogen bombs as opposed to the low yield A-bombs, radiation sickness and exposure, the wonderful old Mutually Assured Destruction doctrine- so once one starts using nukes, all the others who have them would follow, and the probability of multiple nuclear strikes on most of the populated countries in the world, i seriously doubt there'd be much left!

Of course prepping for a one-off nuclear event, perhaps a terrorist attack rather than the superpowers going at it, is very sensible and something i prep for. and if people want to prep for a 'world' nuclear war, i say good luck to them.
Yup, that's what I was getting at. A terrorist attack/smaller exchange/accident is totally survivable, just nothing apocalyptic. It would be a real shame for us to all kick it cos we didn't prep for something that was survivable- figure that's the whole point of prepping!

You'll be relieved to hear that MAD is no longer an official doctrine (though probably shouldn't take their word on that lol) and despite the developments made with weapon yields the trend has been more towards efficiency (cost and damage). Most nukes are now cluster types that contain many smaller warheads (MIRVs) directed at specific targets -each around half a megaton. Enough to take out a missile silo or airfield without destroying the entire countries infrastructure (gotta leave something to nick afterwards) :)
jansman
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by jansman »

Of course MAD still exists. That is why we have 4 Nuclear Subs ( is that number right Deeps?) mooching around out there. No nation will nuke us as long as they cannot pinpoint our nukes out under the oceans of the world. And we are damned good at it.

As for living in the aftermath of a nuke attack, even a localised 'dirty bomb' if I was unlucky to be near it, forget it. I saw the effect of controlled radiation treatment on my Dad when he had cancer. That was bad enough. Also,I did my NBC training a lifetime ago in the services. What I learned did not make me look forward to being a 'Wasteland Warrior'. I certainly ain't livin' in a hole in the ground! :D
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

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Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

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general_panic
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by general_panic »

jansman wrote:Of course MAD still exists. That is why we have 4 Nuclear Subs ( is that number right Deeps?) mooching around out there. No nation will nuke us as long as they cannot pinpoint our nukes out under the oceans of the world. And we are damned good at it.

As for living in the aftermath of a nuke attack, even a localised 'dirty bomb' if I was unlucky to be near it, forget it. I saw the effect of controlled radiation treatment on my Dad when he had cancer. That was bad enough. Also,I did my NBC training a lifetime ago in the services. What I learned did not make me look forward to being a 'Wasteland Warrior'. I certainly ain't livin' in a hole in the ground! :D
Hehe, I do see everyone's point, it wouldn't be much of a life... I just figure if you prepare yourself for the worst possible disaster (in this case a nuclear attack) then everything else that could happen will seem like a piece of cake.

And you're right, it's 4 we've got but as for being good at it... remember this little incident?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-h ... s-11605365

Ha, only kidding, that wasn't one of the vanguard class but was still pretty dam funny! Not the first time it's happened either :lol: ;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... algar.html
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kernewek
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by kernewek »

I can see where people are coming from in terms of 'I'd run for the mushroom cloud' in terms of nuclear warfare. I recently saw a medical report and photos of two scientists who died during the Manhattan Project and it ain't pretty.
general_panic
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by general_panic »

Isn't it overeacting to assume the worst? It's like seeing a burns victim and deciding that if your house catches fire you'd rather shoot yourself than risk getting burnt while you escape. So much for survival instinct :roll: Most of the people who have survived extreme situations have said it was willpower and belief that got them out of it- if you give up you're already dead
jansman
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by jansman »

Hmmm. No one knows how they will react until a situation occurs. I suspect, general panic, that you are quite a young person? I am verging ( chronologically at least!) on being an old( ish) man. My survival instinct is quite intact. I was brought up, like many here, in the Cold War era. Add that to military training in that subject, and it colours your thinking.

Look up the film 'Threads'. This was a gritty film from the early 80's, set in Sheffield. I guess you may find it on you tube. That may make you understand the 'lack' of survival instinct where Nukes are concerned.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
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yorkshirewolf
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by yorkshirewolf »

I read a book a few months ago called 'A Slow Death - 83 days of radiation sickness' it followed a very unfortunate chap called Hisashi Ouchi who was exposed to one of the highest known doses of radiation in the Tokaimura nuclear incident, that was way before Fukishima.

The book is absolutely heartbreaking, the medical staff did everything they could but he was known as a walking ghost as they knew he was dead the instant the radiation hit him, it just took 83 days for his body to succumb. the photographs in his last days are horrific (google Hisashi Ouchi) It was so sad as he didn't even realise the severity of what had happened to him, for the first few weeks he was just a little ill with reddening of the skin, then his body kind of fell apart cell-by-cell.

Burns can be treated, they only affect the outer body, radiation passes straight through you at a cellular level decimating whatever it hits, it's one of the most unpleasant deaths you can have, and if you survive the initial radiation you can look forward to various cancers, leukemia, tumours....
Look at the rates of those diseases in areas affected by chernobyl, and that's from fallout from an accidental release.

I'm all for prepping for all eventualities, but there are situations where i'd draw the line and opt for the non-suffering option, IMHO surviving a nuclear war, or indeed a blast would likely be a Pyrrhic victory.

Edit:

Link to a piece about the book. -with a very graphic and upsetting picture. http://www.iflscience.com/physics/effec ... tion-body0
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Deeps
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by Deeps »

jansman wrote:Of course MAD still exists. That is why we have 4 Nuclear Subs ( is that number right Deeps?) mooching around out there. No nation will nuke us as long as they cannot pinpoint our nukes out under the oceans of the world. And we are damned good at it.

As for living in the aftermath of a nuke attack, even a localised 'dirty bomb' if I was unlucky to be near it, forget it. I saw the effect of controlled radiation treatment on my Dad when he had cancer. That was bad enough. Also,I did my NBC training a lifetime ago in the services. What I learned did not make me look forward to being a 'Wasteland Warrior'. I certainly ain't livin' in a hole in the ground! :D
Just catching up and just seen this, yes 4 Trident boats with 1 at sea at all times (CASD - continual at sea deterrent). The concept of MAD has been around since the start of the cold war and its our wee contribution to it. Its definitely getting harder with the boats getting older, the old Polaris boats were absolute sheds when they got replaced by the newer V boats (Trident).
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Deeps
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by Deeps »

general_panic wrote:
jansman wrote:Of course MAD still exists. That is why we have 4 Nuclear Subs ( is that number right Deeps?) mooching around out there. No nation will nuke us as long as they cannot pinpoint our nukes out under the oceans of the world. And we are damned good at it.

As for living in the aftermath of a nuke attack, even a localised 'dirty bomb' if I was unlucky to be near it, forget it. I saw the effect of controlled radiation treatment on my Dad when he had cancer. That was bad enough. Also,I did my NBC training a lifetime ago in the services. What I learned did not make me look forward to being a 'Wasteland Warrior'. I certainly ain't livin' in a hole in the ground! :D
Hehe, I do see everyone's point, it wouldn't be much of a life... I just figure if you prepare yourself for the worst possible disaster (in this case a nuclear attack) then everything else that could happen will seem like a piece of cake.

And you're right, it's 4 we've got but as for being good at it... remember this little incident?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-h ... s-11605365

Ha, only kidding, that wasn't one of the vanguard class but was still pretty dam funny! Not the first time it's happened either :lol: ;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... algar.html

There have been a few too many incidents with boats in the last decade, I've been involved with one myself. Its slightly concerning, especially as we've got fewer platforms but this forum really isn't the place to air my concerns. What I will say is the boats are doing a lot of running trying to carry out all the tasks required of them and shit does happen.
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kernewek
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Re: Nuclear war survival skills

Post by kernewek »

yorkshirewolf wrote:I read a book a few months ago called 'A Slow Death - 83 days of radiation sickness' it followed a very unfortunate chap called Hisashi Ouchi who was exposed to one of the highest known doses of radiation in the Tokaimura nuclear incident, that was way before Fukishima.

The book is absolutely heartbreaking, the medical staff did everything they could but he was known as a walking ghost as they knew he was dead the instant the radiation hit him, it just took 83 days for his body to succumb.
Sounds like Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin who died after criticality accidents using the same plutonium core in 1945 and 1946. They lasted for 24 and 9 days respectively.