"Crankshaft" did not work

40
The Pentagon made plans for the mass destruction of the population of the USSR

Sole possession of nuclear weaponsmultiplied by the power of first-class strategic aviation, became for Washington a kind of dizziness from success.

American journalist Arnold Brophy in his book The Air Force (“Air Force”) emphasized: “Aviation supported every offensive operation by American troops. In the war against Japan, she, using the most powerful modern weapon, managed to put the enemy on her knees, although his army remained efficient, and the country was unoccupied. ”

Nuclear Pincher


Let us leave disputes out of the article, which brought Japan to its knees - the atomic bombardment of its cities or, nevertheless, the defeat of the Kwantung Army by Soviet troops. But the thesis of the use of nuclear weapons by bombers to break the enemy’s ability to resist, after which it remains to accept its surrender, pretty much turned the head of some of the American military.

"Crankshaft" did not workThe Pentagon launched nuclear planning against the USSR very quickly. In the first half of 1946, four versions of the first American plan for an atomic war against the USSR, called Pincher (“Pincher”), fell on the maps and explanatory notes to them. Based on the successful experience of strategic bombing of Germany and Japan, he envisaged the conduct of a total air war against our country. According to the Pincher plan, bombers with atomic and conventional bombs on board were supposed to attack the Soviet Union from advanced air bases in the British Isles, Egypt and India. Industrial areas, centers of the military industry (primarily aviation and tank), large railway junctions, ports.

However, Pincher was not officially approved and proved to be a kind of touchstone in planning a war against the USSR. The next such plan was Boiler (Kipilnik, 1948), which took into account some reduction in the total US military resources and provided for the need for ground defense operations in Europe to deter Soviet forces at the Rhine line.

According to the plan, Boiler was not only allowed, but was also considered as an important factor for achieving the goals of the war, the massive death of the population and the destruction of political and administrative centers. However, in this regard, as early as October 1945, the committee of the chiefs of staff of the US armed forces presented to the government a document that contained ideas on the impact of nuclear weapons on the development of military strategy. In particular, it pointed out the desirability of the use by the United States of nuclear weapons against major industrial centers of a potential adversary in order to break the resilience of its population.

The development of the approaches reflected in the plans of Pincher and Boiler was the Crankshaft (“Crankshaft”), which also focused on the destruction of the population. However, on reflection, the staff officers issued an analytical report in 1949, in which they concluded that by destroying 30 – 40 percent of the Soviet industry in the first “preventive” strike, the US still could not overcome the Soviet people's will to defend. On the contrary, such a blow, despite the horrific consequences, will only rally them.

The successful test of 1949 in the year of the Soviet nuclear weapons pretty much discouraged the American establishment. We did not expect such a quick return from our atomic project.

"Fat Man" hand-built


It must be said that the year of completion of work on one plan or another did not at all signify the start of a war against the USSR Thus, the Dropshot (“Short strike”, 1949) was based on the hypothetical possibility of a military clash with the Soviet Union only in the 1957 year. According to this plan, it was planned for the USSR to drop 30 atomic bombs during the first 300-day phase of the air offensive (the earlier Charioteer, Ariar, which appeared in the middle of 1948, provided for a smaller number for this phase — 133 bombs against 70 cities, from eight of them were intended for Moscow and seven for Leningrad).

In fact, at the time of these plans, America’s nuclear arsenals were limited. Therefore, the plans focused on their growth in the following years, which only from 1948 began to pick up high rates. If in the 1946 year, the US military had nine nuclear bombs with a total power of 180 kilotons, in 1947-m XonMX on 13-kilotons, in 260-megatons, and in 1948-megatons The first mass-produced American atomic bombs Mk-III (the type of Fat Man plutonium Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki) were hand-made items. In Los Alamos, one such bomb was assembled by a team of 50 people for two days, moreover, it could be in combat condition for 1,25 hours, after which it had to be disassembled to replace the batteries, ensuring the operation of the fuses. Yes, and Urchin neutron fuses had to be changed frequently on these bombs because of the short half-life of polonium-1949 used in the fuses. The upgraded model Mk-IV, which the Americans themselves describe as the first truly fully functional, appeared only in the 170 year. By the way, on board the bomber the bomb case was separate from the nuclear charge, which was installed just before the dumping.

It is obvious that all the gossip about the possibility of the United States to unleash large-scale nuclear aggression against the USSR immediately after the end of World War II is groundless, but the growth of the American potential (taking into account qualitative improvement) in the future posed a serious danger. The Soviet Union entered the nuclear race with only five RDS-1 atomic bombs in the Arzamas-16 special storage facility, which was almost 60 times smaller than the Americans, this is the data for the beginning of 1950. After five years, the number of Soviet warheads increased to 200, and the gap with the States was reduced to elevenfold. And by the beginning of 70's, the Soviet Union had the opportunity to launch a preemptive nuclear strike on the US that would destroy about 70 percent of their industrial potential and about 9 / 10 combat strength of the armed forces. Thus, strategic parity was achieved - the “equilibrium of fear”.
Our news channels

Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest news and the most important events of the day.

40 comments
Information
Dear reader, to leave comments on the publication, you must sign in.
  1. -80
    26 September 2015 06: 40
    The United States could not help the USSR in 1941, it could give Hitler the Soviet Union to destroy in 1944, it could take advantage in 50 years ... the first bombs weighed up to 5 tons, and used tens of kg of plutonium or uranium, now 250 grams is enough. With a capacity of 200kt. when in the USSR they created a huge large-caliber mortar, in the USA they made a charge in 155mm caliber. Under a missile defense treaty, the United States put anti-missile defense in the steppes where the Minutemen were stationed. In short, the USSR was fine with everyone, scary, but no competition, just like Korea.
    1. +13
      26 September 2015 06: 53
      Quote: shishkin7676
      The USA could not help the USSR in 1941, in 1944 they could let Hitler destroy the USSR,


      Excuse me, what sources do you judge about this ?!
      1. +12
        26 September 2015 07: 00
        Quote: B.T.W.
        Quote: shishkin7676
        The USA could not help the USSR in 1941, in 1944 they could let Hitler destroy the USSR,


        Excuse me, what sources do you judge about this ?!


        On Do /// de so they said. Where else can there be such "reliable" information.
        1. +19
          26 September 2015 15: 40
          Yes, okay, you have a person - shishkin7676 is clearly a craving for an alternative history and preferably one where the Soviet Union is generally destined not to exist as a state. And yes, America is the navel of the Earth and the arbiter of the world's destinies, in the sense - I want an "evil empire" to exist - and the "uncompetitive" USSR is alive and well, though behind the "Iron Curtain" - well, just big North Korea, I don't want - and everything, no Union. It doesn't matter that the USSR was ruined by a handful of scoundrels who were eager for power in national apartments, completely ignoring the opinion of the majority of the people on this matter.
          And the fact that Hitler, if the United States wanted it in 1944, could destroy the USSR - well, this is a doctor, a psychiatrist, that is. This is from the category - if my grandmother had ... then you yourself know, you can not continue. Germany in 1941 did not win and could not defeat the USSR, even with the development of events most favorable for Hitler. By the way, US assistance to the Soviet Union in 1941 was greatly exaggerated by some citizens who were very superficially familiar with history. More or less significant deliveries under Lend-Lease from the United States went only in 1942. I won’t go further into the topic, so as not to raise another srach on the site.
          I have the honor
          1. 0
            28 September 2015 21: 45
            The familiar "7676", this is already ... The Kwantung Army can be left behind the scenes, but not Detachment 731, which it guarded, and which went to the USSR. This also means that nuclear weapons are not the only type of weapons of mass destruction.
            By the way, if it were not for the Soviet offensive, then in a few weeks the United States would have knelt down, and what the Soviet troops went to Harbin, then ensured the security of the USSR in the first post-war years from American nuclear blackmail / strike.
          2. +1
            30 October 2015 00: 10
            Honor with you! I will add, only: a lot of people view history through their hatred of someone or something. That is why such "facts" appear
      2. +7
        26 September 2015 07: 08
        Yes, this is an eyewitness.
      3. +3
        26 September 2015 14: 11
        they’re analyzing on Twitter, such analytegs))))))
      4. The comment was deleted.
      5. +3
        26 September 2015 15: 05
        You shouldn't react like that to every titty. They are still studying. laughing
      6. +3
        26 September 2015 16: 25
        I read komenty of this type, it seems that he read the rezuna.
    2. +20
      26 September 2015 07: 32
      Yes, in history you are strong Mr. Shishkin7676 excuse me with Russian letters, we are Russian. You really tell me please, dear, How could Hitler destroy the USSR if he kicked him abroad and went to liberate Europe in 1944. You’re a bad historian, would you on rambler would be a huge success in history. All the best to you.
      1. 0
        30 October 2015 00: 12
        Why do ads?
    3. +9
      26 September 2015 07: 41
      And what was the help in 41, then it did not exist at all, and in 44, the USSR personally dealt with fascism and without the help of these foreign citizens, yes, study history
      1. Erg
        +2
        26 September 2015 13: 41
        The lend-lease "allies" supplied the USSR with significant amounts of aid. Very significant. True, this did not stop them from helping Germany ...
        1. +2
          27 September 2015 16: 57
          There were no supplies in the early months of the war, when it was not clear whether the blitzkrieg would succeed.

          Here, even Wikipedia does not lie.
          Allied supplies were very unevenly distributed over the years of the war. In 1941-1942 contingent liabilities are not constantly fulfilled, the situation returned to normal only in the second half of 1943. Of England’s promised 800 aircraft and 1000 tanks, which the USSR was supposed to receive in October-December 1941, 669 aircraft and 487 tanks arrived. From October 1941 to June 30, 1942, the United States sent 545 aircraft, 783 tanks to the USSR, more than 3 times less than promised, as well as 16502 trucks, i.e. 5 times less than planned
    4. +4
      26 September 2015 12: 50
      The USA ... could take advantage in their 50s ..
      The states did not have decisive superiority. Only the presence of the atomic bomb did not allow the Red Army to conquer all of Europe up to Giblartar. The Red Army was the most combat-ready force, and Zhukov suggested that Stalin land in Alaska and move deeper into North America. There were too few bombs in the states to inflict strategic damage on the Union, here we must pay tribute to our air defense forces: few bombers could reach their targets. Stalin decided not to fight with the states. It was a controversial decision that critically influenced the course of history.
    5. +4
      26 September 2015 14: 20
      Bullshit from an alternative story development. Especially touching as possible by Hitler in 1944!
    6. +4
      26 September 2015 22: 38
      Quote: shishkin7676
      now 250 grams is enough. with a power of 200kt

      Excuse me, have you ever heard the concept of "critical mass"? Even for California it is 2 kg. To school, read the textbook!
      1. +3
        27 September 2015 22: 46
        In the recently discovered talker-276, an uncontrolled reaction begins when a critical mass of two hundred grams is reached. :-)
    7. +3
      27 September 2015 13: 27
      Quote: shiskin7676
      when in the USSR they created a huge large-caliber mortar, in the USA they made a charge in 155mm caliber.

      Not 155mm, but 280mm, with a towed gun weighing 70 tons, not self-propelled. There is a difference.


      Quote: shiskin7676
      The United States could not help the USSR in 1941, it could give Hitler the Soviet Union to destroy in 1944, it could take advantage in 50 years ... the first bombs weighed up to 5 tons and used tens of kg of plutonium or uranium, now 250 grams is enough. With a power of 200kt

      In the 50s they could not. There were already Soviet MiG-15 fighter jets, which, incidentally, showed themselves perfectly in the skies of Korea. And in the US, the strategic bomber was the idiotic and slow B-36.
      He had 6 piston and 4 jet engines. Even with all engines running, he developed only 685 km / h. And without reactive - generally 380 km / h.

      The B-36 engine system (6 screw and 4 jet engines) was nicknamed “Six Turn, Four Burn”. Due to frequent fires and general insecurity from the crew, this formula was redone to “Two are spinning, two are burning, two are smoking, two are kidding, and two more are gone somewhere” (eng. Two turning, two burning, two smoking, two joking, and two more unaccounted for)
      1. 0
        27 September 2015 23: 48
        we must honestly say shishkin ye ... en. His opinion is trash. sometimes it’s so pathetic that the Internet does not give the hero’s face a comment.
        1. +1
          28 September 2015 21: 49
          you do not have enough comments?
    8. 0
      25 October 2015 20: 35
      the first deliveries under Lend-Lease began in October 1942, but what about the lag :), it is not yet known who lagged behind whom in armament of the army. The first cruise missiles were created in the USSR in the 60s, 10 years before tomahawks. Learn history, not listen to the "liberals".
  2. +6
    26 September 2015 07: 32
    He is not only an eyewitness, he is the invisible hand of the market, which directs and defines civilization processes.
  3. +4
    26 September 2015 08: 09
    And this state, the USA, is trying to put on "rose-colored glasses" for the whole WORLD, saying that they are white and fluffy, for PEACE and democracy, and Russia is an aggressor ... am angry
    I'm not even talking about the genocide of the native Indians of America, the nuclear bombings in Japan, the Vietnam War, and so on and so forth ..., the "feats" of the "peacekeepers" - a million. am
  4. +3
    26 September 2015 08: 18
    Shtatniki, hike, still itching to try Russia "to the teeth", ignorance of the world history of wars does not save from the consequences
  5. +4
    26 September 2015 09: 36
    shishkin7676 EN
    The USA could not help the USSR in 1941, could in 1944 let Hitler destroy the USSR,

    Yes you are "my friend", delusional! belay
  6. +4
    26 September 2015 09: 51
    Little has changed since then. Our overseas partners understand only the language of force. The idea of ​​destroying Russia still remains relevant to them and has not been removed from the agenda.
  7. +1
    26 September 2015 09: 54
    It looks like the "crankshaft" cranked, again, on a cola bore, start all over again.
  8. +11
    26 September 2015 10: 39
    For nuclear weapons, Uncle Joseph generally needs to cast a monument from platinum to its full height, and next to it is the same, but from gold to Uncle Lavrentiy. If not for these two, the fate of Yugoslavia would have been repeated a long time ago.
  9. +1
    26 September 2015 12: 58
    Quote: bubla5
    And what was the help in 41, then it did not exist at all, and in 44, the USSR personally dealt with fascism and without the help of these foreign citizens, yes, study history


    So there was help. Lend-lease is called. The stew and the aircraft then helped most of all (some pilots did not get down until the end of the war with Cobra). The rest was either obsolete weapons, or very small lots of good.
    1. +1
      26 September 2015 21: 50
      Let's be fair: and gunpowder, gasoline, techmass, leather, communications, fabrics, medicines, cars, tanks, armored personnel carriers, rails, steam locomotives, ships ... We experienced a huge shortage of everything and everything. Although not so, but they helped us and this help was very necessary.
    2. 0
      26 September 2015 22: 00
      Well, no - except for stew (by the way, with a large share of soybeans) and "Aerocobras", good Sherman tanks, excellent "Jeep" and "Studebaker", explosives and strategic raw materials were supplied. in return they received gold and the defeat of the Kwantung army.
      we would have won, of course, without a land lease, but would have paid with the lives of many Soviet citizens. Stalin chose to pay in gold.
  10. Erg
    -4
    26 September 2015 13: 54
    The author does not disclose the topic. The fact is that we got nuclei thanks to the "care" of the same Americans. Only not those fighting hawks who are ready to bury the whole world, but those who have real power (roughly speaking, bankers). An "accidental" leak, and the USSR got nuclear technology. I guess that many will twirl their fingers at their temples, but "up there" has its own logic. A confrontation was needed. The dollar needs a war. Money is power. The USSR was also supposed to serve the "common cause".
  11. +6
    26 September 2015 13: 56
    I read an article on another resource, they wrote there: the Americans had enough charges, but the USSR had powerful air defense, and a preliminary calculation showed that more than 50% of the planes would not reach the target, and about 80% would simply not return from the mission. Here they scratched their turnips and .... here we also tested our IDs.
    The vile nation itself will rot, God forbid, wait for this holiday!
    1. Erg
      +4
      26 September 2015 14: 05
      It's not really a nation there. There are a bunch of freaks from different countries who consider themselves the ruler of the world. I'm afraid they'll be banned for "extremeism", but I think that banal shooting could solve the problem. The demons are responsible for many, many millions of lives. hi
      1. +2
        26 September 2015 15: 55
        There is no such nation as an American!
        All who could not prove themselves in Europe as a person sailed there.
        And you noticed that only we answer the question "who are you", we say RUSSIAN! We all have the ending "..net", but we are like that, Russians.
        Someone jokes, saying "I don't ask who you belong to, I ask who you are" ...
        I would answer: "I am the son of the Russian land!"
        1. 0
          26 September 2015 19: 44
          Not everyone...
          Yakut, Mongol, NganasAN, SaAM .... rusich.
          At only in Russia.
          And all sorts of Bororo, Iroquois and Tuskarora can also be called.
          ...
          But amers have a concept - 100 percent. Sinonin is a self-made man, a self-made man.
          ...
          But the nation, as it was not, never will be. At them. By type - Russian!
  12. +2
    26 September 2015 16: 51
    Quote: CT-55_11-9009
    So there was help. Lend-lease is called. The stew and the aircraft then helped most of all (some pilots did not get down until the end of the war with Cobra). The rest was either obsolete weapons, or very small lots of good.

    You are not entirely correct. The aid was also significant, especially in 1942-1943. In addition to aviation, there was a lot more, and not just stew. And starting from 1943, the amount of aid in comparison with the amount issued in our country was, of course, not so significant. But nonetheless. Almost all of the artillery of the Soviet Army during the war was on the American Studebakers. The supplies of other vehicles were also significant. The naval supplies were very significant. So do not overestimate or underestimate lend-lease deliveries.
    Stew also played a role ...
    1. +2
      26 September 2015 17: 16
      Quote: Old26
      Significant were the deliveries of other vehicles. Naval supplies were very significant. So do not overestimate, and underestimate Lend-Lease deliveries.
      Stew also played a role ...


      Just do not forget that this was not humanitarian aid.
  13. 0
    26 September 2015 21: 34
    Quote: B.T.W.
    Just do not forget that this was not humanitarian aid.

    And no one claims that it was a humanitarian aid. But help in the most difficult period was considerable
  14. +1
    27 September 2015 11: 22
    The combat capability of the US nuclear potential in the initial period is greatly exaggerated in subsequent statements. Really could - probably would have rushed. And so they thought that we would lose Europe for sure, Hokkaido would be "uncoupled" from Japan, ALL Korea would turn out to be communist, and the mattress would have the prospect of sitting behind a puddle and expecting an invasion of Alaska. And they didn't. Moreover, the Korean War showed that the B-29 is no longer a super-fortress, but a target for MiGs. It was then that the "template break" occurred. Nuclear bombs are good when only you have them, and you have the ability to use them without opposition.
    1. 0
      8 October 2015 17: 12
      The Americans were frankly afraid of Stalin.
      When he died and Khrushchev announced a "thaw" during
      internal life and foreign policy of the USSR,
      all plans for an atomic strike on the USSR were laid
      under the cloth. A general decision was made to support
      "moderate communist" Khrushchev in the reforms,
      and not try to destroy the USSR. Ie returned
      American policy 20-30 years in relation
      to the communist USSR.
  15. The comment was deleted.
  16. The comment was deleted.
  17. The comment was deleted.
  18. The comment was deleted.

"Right Sector" (banned in Russia), "Ukrainian Insurgent Army" (UPA) (banned in Russia), ISIS (banned in Russia), "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham" formerly "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia) , Taliban (banned in Russia), Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia), Anti-Corruption Foundation (banned in Russia), Navalny Headquarters (banned in Russia), Facebook (banned in Russia), Instagram (banned in Russia), Meta (banned in Russia), Misanthropic Division (banned in Russia), Azov (banned in Russia), Muslim Brotherhood (banned in Russia), Aum Shinrikyo (banned in Russia), AUE (banned in Russia), UNA-UNSO (banned in Russia), Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People (banned in Russia), Legion “Freedom of Russia” (armed formation, recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and banned)

“Non-profit organizations, unregistered public associations or individuals performing the functions of a foreign agent,” as well as media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent: “Medusa”; "Voice of America"; "Realities"; "Present time"; "Radio Freedom"; Ponomarev; Savitskaya; Markelov; Kamalyagin; Apakhonchich; Makarevich; Dud; Gordon; Zhdanov; Medvedev; Fedorov; "Owl"; "Alliance of Doctors"; "RKK" "Levada Center"; "Memorial"; "Voice"; "Person and law"; "Rain"; "Mediazone"; "Deutsche Welle"; QMS "Caucasian Knot"; "Insider"; "New Newspaper"