Brian Fare presented an hour and a half of intriguing discourse regarding the deployment of Thor missiles at the air base south of Melton. It was, at times, quite sobering. Always interesting.
These deadly missiles were sited throughout the mid-east of England during a large part of the Cold War, and all capable of reaching Moscow. The yield was around 15 megatons of TNT, which is approximately ten times the power of Little Boy that destroyed Hiroshima.
Brian explained that Russian missiles would certainly be targeted at the Melton Mowbray site. Assuming the soviets had the same yield weapon, a successful strike would have obliterated all property within 25 mile radius and caused severe damage to as far as, possibly further, Cotgrave and the south of Nottingham. The same in all directions. There would have been little left of Old Dalby. “Duck and Cover” would not have saved a soul. Well, perhaps for a lingering while.
Brian went on to describe how the Air Force staff dealt with this constant pressure and maintained the deterrent. He showed how these 64”0 long missiles manoeuvred, with difficulty, around our small country roads in broad daylight. Also, how they were adapted to other uses and how the UK deterrent became controlled solely by our navy.
It was not lost on the audience that the premise of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) probably saved the planet from a nuclear winter. It also occurred to the author that presently, we are faced with the horrifying possibility that some of the world’s nuclear-equipped powers are run by people who do not, quite, understand MAD.
Brian is a renowned local historian … visit his website at https://historyfare.co.uk.
Another successful VH event. Many thanks to all involved, committee members and spouses.
We hope we are still here for the next event!
