1960 ... Kh-20 'Kangaroo'


1960 ... Kh-20 'Kangaroo'



The Raduga Kh-20 (NATO codename AS-3 Kangaroo) was an early Soviet 'cruise missile' armed with a 3 megaton thermonuclear warhead. Similar in design and engineering to a Mig-19 jet fighter the Kangaroo was a 'stand-off' weapon that could be launched from a semi-recessed position on the underbelly of a Tu-95 Bear bomber at a distance of 200-300 miles from the target.

So, if you lived in a Midwestern industrial center like Cleveland you could expect your nuclear doomsday to be delivered by one or more of these ugly beasts streaking down from the heavens in a 1400 mph dive!

... these rather wonderful scale models were built by: Piotr Dmitruk



1952 ... wake-up Witchita !!!


... an enthusiastic promo for what must be the big-time Kansas premier of the 1952 Cold -War thriller 'Invasion USA'. Those have got to be the ushers and the candy-counter girls drafter for the cause. This is a terrible movie. Heavily padded with strange and often very erroneous stock footage. But- it is only 1952 and so no one yet knows the correct way to scare the bejezzus out of people! Here's a link to the MST3k version. (it's such a stinker that it really helps to have the companionship making snide remarks).

... and for you purists; a link to the straight version so you can make your own snide remarks! Seriously- it makes 'Red Dawn' look like a masterpiece!

1954 ... Miss Maryland to the Rescue!


... the State of Maryland wants us to know how easily trainsporttable their nifty Civil Defense trailers are! The concept of this being trundled into a melted East Coast landscape is rather under-whelming. Did they have, say- 10,000 of these? 

 'Hurrah! the donuts and coffee are here!'

1986 ... back in the USSR!




... this is the beginning of a series of posts of what appears to be a very comprehensive Soviet Civil Defense publication from 1986. The more I look at, it the more the simple truth of 'hey, they look just like us!' and 'hey, they are doing the same things we were supposed to do!' sinks in.

... if you want to jump ahead and see how it all comes out here is the original website.

1952 ... "it went'a that way!"


all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!

1952 ... Ground Observer Corps!

" There it is!" "Where?" "There!" "There?" "No, over here!" "Here?" "Right here!" "There?"

... big hole in ground!


... another bad day for Manhattan!

all images- Right click- open in New Window= super colossal size!

... stuff goes 'ZOOM' !