Chrome dome
The surgery Chrome Dome was one of several operations of the Strategic Air Command of the United States Air Force at the time of the Cold War to a presence of US nuclear forces around the clock in the air ( airborne ) ensure. For this purpose, from 1960 onwards, up to twelve B- 52Ds loaded with thermonuclear bombs flew set routes every day . In the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union , they should retaliate . Each crew had fixed targets to attack in the event of war, and at any given time several bombers were usually no more than two hours' flight from Soviet territory.
route
Usually it was the following circuit: Sheppard Air Force Base (Texas) → New England → Atlantic Ocean → Newfoundland → Baffin Bay → Thule Air Base (Greenland) → Queen Elizabeth Islands → Alaska → Sheppard AFB . Two air refueling were planned as standard .
termination
After crashes over Spain ( Palomares , 1966) and Greenland ( Thule Air Base , 1968), in which considerable amounts of radioactive substances were released, operations were suspended in early 1968; In addition, US military doctrine had changed in the meantime and the US armed forces had strategic alternatives in the form of land- and submarine-based ICBMs .
Surname
Chrome Dome can be translated as "shiny dome" - probably alluding to the shiny silver B-52 bombers, which at that time were not yet provided with camouflage paint. Only their undersides were painted with a white "anti-flash" paint, which was supposed to reflect the intensity of the lightning that occurs in a nuclear weapon explosion in order to protect the crew and the machine.
literature
- B-52 Stratofortress Special: Celebrating 60 remarkable years . In: Airforces Monthly . 2012, ISBN 978-0-946219-28-5 .
Web links
- Hans M. Kristensen: The Airborne Alert Program Over Greenland. Nuclear Information Project, 2004, accessed December 17, 2012 .
Footnotes
- ^ Epithet "Stratofortress"; long-range strategic bombers
- ↑ Nautilus.org: Chrome Dome Route Map ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF)
