Wednesday 11 June 2014

Nuclear obliteration

Soviets targeted Lincolnshire airfields during Cold War

'RAF Waddington, RAF Scampton, RAF Coningsby and RAF Cranwell would have been nuclear strike targets. While Lincoln itself was not one of the targets, the 5-mile thermal radiation radius resulting from bombing nearby bases would cause serious third degree burns among people in the city, while nearby villages would be completely destroyed by the air blast radius.'

http://thelincolnite.co.uk/2014/06/lincoln-wouldve-obliterated-nuclear-war/

How to survive a nuclear attack

http://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Nuclear-Attack

Government Information Film

If you are of an age that remembers the Cold War, you will no doubt remember this short information film 'Protect and Survive'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protect_and_Survive

Thought provoking eh?

It prompted me to think back to my Territorial Army service.

British Army

For some 40 years up to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact the main effort of the British Army was directed towards the North German Plain, where BAOR stood prepared as a vital part of the NATO Alliance to resist a Soviet Russian invasion of Western Europe.

I served with the 4th (Volunteer) Battalion of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment (QLR) during the late 70's, early 80's and our role was that of NATO reinforcement. Units with NATO assigned roles were the best equipped with four rifle and a HQ company consisting of  Recce, Mortar, Anti-Tank and Assault Pioneer platoons. We were part of the NORTHAG structure - 2nd Infantry Division, 49 Infantry Brigade.

My Regiment's contribution to maintenance of peace during the Cold War included both 1st (Regular) and 4th (Volunteer) Battalions. My wife was very much a 'TA widow' (to use the colloquial term) during my army service, as many weekends were spent away from home in my commitment to training. Whilst I have mixed memories of this formative period of my life, both really good and not so good, I fear my wife's experience was much of the latter!

The 1st Battalion QLR served two tours of duty in West Germany in a mechanised infantry role... following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, the Queen’s Lancashires had the honour of being the last British battalion in Berlin (1992-94).

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NORTHAG_wartime_structure_in_1989
http://www.lancashireinfantrymuseum.org.uk/the-regiments/

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