Tag Archives: War

The Sound of a Nuclear Bomb?

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On March 17, 1953, the U.S. military detonated an experimental nuclear weapons test. This test, part of Operation Upshot-Knothole, was designed to calm public fears about such weapons. The raw footage of this test was recently discovered. What does a nuclear weapons test sound like?

What was the Operation Upshot-Knothole Nuclear Weapons Test?

Operation Upshot Knothole was a series of 11 nuclear weapons tests conducted in Nevada during 1953. The March 17, 1953 test was called Annie. It was an “open shot” test, meaning reporters were allowed to view it. The purpose was to “calm public fears about weapon testing.”A secondary purpose was to study the effect of a nuclear blast on houses, cars, and bomb shelters. Researchers concluded people inside a car with open windows could survive if they were at least ten blocks from ground zero. They also decided a basement could protect people at 3,500 feet while the home itself could remain standing at 7,500 feet (assuming no flames).

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

You’ve probably seen videos of nuclear weapons tests in the past. Most of those are dubbed, probably with stock footage, so the detonation and its resulting noise occur at the same time.However, the speed of light travels at 671 million miles per hour. The speed of sound is much slower, just 768 miles per hour. Thus, we would expect to see the mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion well before we actually hear it.

The video below comes from the National Archives. It’s the raw footage of the 1953 Annie test and was filmed about 7 miles away from the detonation. The explosion takes place at 2:37. You can see the mushroom cloud starting at 2:42. The sound doesn’t appear until 3:09, a full 32 seconds after the initial white light.

“The audio is what makes this great. Put on some headphones and listen to it all the way through — it’s much more intimate than any other test film I’ve seen. You get a much better sense of what these things must have been like, on the ground, as an observer, than from your standard montage of blasts. Murmurs in anticipation; the slow countdown over a megaphone; the reaction at the flash of the bomb; and finally — a sharp bang, followed by a long, thundering growl. That’s the sound of the bomb.” ~ Alex Wellerstein, The Sound of the Bomb (1953)

The Baltic Anomaly: The Nazi Connection?

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The investigation of the Baltic Anomaly is ongoing and many questions remain. But a new theory recently emerged. Was the Baltic Anomaly caused by Nazi troops?

Background on the Baltic Anomaly

On June 19, 2011, the Ocean X Team used side-scan sonar to “photograph” a massive object deep in the Baltic Sea, approximately 260 feet below surface. Peter Lindberg, co-founder of the Ocean X Team, jokingly declared “Hey guys, we have a UFO!” However, after a large publicity campaign and a new expedition, the Ocean X Team discovered the Anomaly primarily consisted of large rocks. The exact nature of those rocks, which we call the Circle, as well as a 985 foot runway leading up to them (the Tracks), remain mysteries.

Is the Baltic Anomaly a Nazi Artifact?

Expressen, one of Sweden’s two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers, conducted the first official interview with the Ocean X Team. Now, Expressen is back with a new theory on the subject…they interviewed a former submarine officer named Anders Autellus on the subject and he speculated the Baltic Anomaly is actually a product of the Nazi war effort.

During the early 1940s, Nazi forces controlled the Baltic Sea. But Soviet submarines were still able to sneak into it via the Gulf of Finland. After destroying just one ship in 1941, the Soviets began to pick up the pace, knocking over more than 20 ships in 1942. In March 1943, the Nazis retaliated by placing a 30 nautical mile long anti-submarine net across the Gulf of Finland. They used two layers of steel mesh. This did the trick, at least for the next eighteen months.

It appears Autellus thinks the Circle might actually be an old anchor for one of these nets. The actual net was either removed or perhaps, rusted away since that time. The strange “egg shaped” hole found on the Circle could be an old attachment for the net. According to Ocean X Team diver Stefan Hogeborn, the theory is plausible since the Circle appears to be “cast in layers.” Also, the net could’ve caused the Tracks. For example, it might’ve dragged along the seabed at one point. Or it might’ve just sank and spread out.

Does the Nazi Theory Hold Water?

It’s a neat, tidy theory. But it’s also got holes. Lots of them. Peter Lindberg himself, in a long interview conducted on the Ocean X Team’s Facebook page last night, claimed he was 99% certain the Circle was a natural formation. Also, the anti-submarine anchor theory doesn’t explain the blackened interior of the Circle. Nor does it explain the lack of silt in the area.

But that’s not the worst criticism. Check out this video to see Nazi soldiers laying a submarine net in the Gulf of Finland. I assume Autellus believes the Circle is one of the circular anchors used in the film (see 0:33). Well, the anchors are circular alright. They’re also tiny. By point of reference, the Ocean X Team’s Circle is 200 feet in diameter.

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

It’s possible Autellus is thinking of some other type of anchor. But to be honest, a 200 foot diameter anchor would be gigantic. An anchor that size doesn’t make sense.For now, we’re sticking with our original theory. We continue to think one or more extinguished hydrothermal vents created the Baltic Anomaly. When hot water was expelled from these black smokers, it caused dissolved minerals to be driven outward. These materials eventually cooled and hardened in the water, forming the strange Circle-shaped object. Eventually, the vents “died.”

“A vent can “die” at any time for several reasons. For example, seismic activity might cause a chimney to collapse. Fluid would then build up in the blocked vent, effectively choking it out. Or the hydrothermal fluid could simply run out, exhausting the vent.” ~ David Meyer, The Baltic Anomaly: The Lost Updates?

Bolstering this theory is the presence of what appears to be an active hydrothermal vent several miles from the Circle.

“Apparently, the Ocean X Team spotted a 50-meter high mountain shaped like a volcanic cone in the vicinity of the Baltic Anomaly. An ‘indefinable cloud’ oozed out of its peak. The Team speculated this cloud was actually boiling water. The whole thing was shrouded in ‘very bright red light’ and fish ‘showed unusual patterns of movement.”‘ Incidentally, this structure may account for the mysterious ‘Rock.‘” ~ David Meyer, The Baltic Anomaly: Is it a Black Smoker?

Here’s how Peter described it during last night’s interview.

“The strange about the cloud is that it looked like a very distinct ‘plume’ of something that catched the echo sounder beams so hard that it looked like a big rock hoovering in midwater, above the “volcano”. I think we might have found something which is active in the way of like a “black smooker” or that maybe heated water is jetting out under high pressure. But this was not in the area of the circle, this volcano was found many miles away. We will certanly go back and try to find out if the “plume” just was a very densed shool of fish or something else.”

The biggest drawback to our hydrothermal vent theory has always been the lack of volcanic activity in the Baltic Sea. However, a hydrothermal vent doesn’t necessarily require a volcanically active location. They generally occur when seawater works its way beneath the Earth’s crust near subduction zones (subduction zones are places where two tectonic plates converge with each other). The seawater is heated by the steaming hot magma and spews back out into the sea through fissures.

Well, that’s it for now. Tomorrow, we’ll take a closer look at Peter’s interview. He provided some new information on the Anomaly and offered some fascinating insights as well. Come back tomorrow to check it out!

 

Guerrilla Explorer’s Coverage of the Baltic Anomaly

The Mysterious Space Plane?

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On March 5, 2011, the U.S. Air Force launched the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle into low Earth orbit. After more than a year in space, it’s finally returning to Earth. But what was it doing up there in the first place?

What is the X-37B Space Plane?

The current X-37B mission is scheduled to end in mid-June. It’s the second of at least three such missions. The first one took flight on April 22, 2010 and landed December 3, 2010. A third mission is expected to launch later this Fall.

We don’t know much about the X-37B. We know it generates power via a solar panel. We also know its payload bay is roughly the size of a pickup truck bed. We know it contains new technologies which are being tested. But its exact purpose and the nature of its payload remain a mystery. In fact, no one outside the Air Force seems to know what it’s doing in space. But hey, at least we know it’s been a success.

“Although I can’t talk about mission specifics, suffice it to say this mission has been a spectacular success.” ~ General William Shelton, Commander of Air Force Space Command

So, there’s that. Anyway, numerous conspiracy theories regarding the X-37B’s true purpose have arisen to fill the void. Here’s just a few of them:

  1. Space Bomber: This would seem like the most logical choice. However, the X-37B is an orbital vehicle, not a suborbital one. And shifting orbital planes apparently requires a great deal of thrust and thus, fuel. Then again, the X-37B has been floating around for over a year so this might not be such a big deal.
  2. Spy Plane: In January, an article in Spaceflight magazine claimed the X-37B was secretly spying on China’s Tiangong 1 space laboratory. However, this has been widely criticized. They only cross orbits in two places. So, if the X-37B is spying on Tiangong, it’s pretty limited. At the same time, some conceptual artwork of the space plane shows a small telescope. And the X-37B’s orbit takes it over numerous countries in the Middle East. So, a spy plane seems like a decent possibility.
  3. Testing Spy Satellites: This is an offshoot of the “Spy Plane” theory. It’s bolstered by the fact that the X-37B passes over the same region every four days, a pattern suggesting “U.S. imaging reconnaissance satellites.”
  4. Anti-Satellite Technology: According to Bill Sweetman, editor-in-chief of Aviation Week’s Defense Technology International, the X-37B might include “more than one way to put an enemy satellite out of orbit.” He specifically mentions the possibility of spraying an enemy satellite with black paint, and thus causing it to overheat.
  5. Space Experiments: Perhaps the X-37B is just an experimental vehicle, testing materials to see how they operate when exposed to space.

Of course, the X-37B could also be something else entirely, something completely outside the realms of our imagination. There’s just no way to be sure. So, for now, all we can do is continue to speculate as to the X-37B’s true purpose…as well as why it requires such intense secrecy.

The Pigeon…that Saved the Lost Battalion?

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On October 2, 1918, 554 U.S. soldiers found themselves trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest. Targeted by the Germans and under friendly fire from unknowing allies, they seemed marked to death. But six days later, salvation came from a most unlikely source…a carrier pigeon named Cher Ami.

The “Lost Battalion”?

The “Lost Battalion” seemed doomed from the start. Due to a lack of communication, the troops advanced beyond the other allied forces and were quickly cut off by the Germans. They lacked ample food and ammunition. To get water, the soldiers were forced to crawl to a nearby stream, dodging fire along the way.

Major Charles Whittlesey dispatched several runners to alert the allies to his predicament. But none of them broke through the line. As a last ditch effort, he sent several carrier pigeons aloft with messages tied to their ankles.

The first carrier pigeon reached its destination. Now on full alert, the allies struck out to rescue the Lost Battalion. But unfortunately, this backfired in horrendous fashion. The carrier pigeon’s message contained the wrong coordinates and the Lost Battalion found itself under artillery attack from its own allies.

Major Whittlesey desperately sought to correct the mistake. He sent two additional carrier pigeons into the air, but they were shot down. Then, on October 4, he sent out his last carrier pigeon. This pigeon, an American Black Check by the name of Cher Ami, contained a note attached to his left leg.

Cher Ami – The Pigeon that Saved the “Lost Battalion”?

The Germans took aim at Cher Ami and shot him down. But Cher Ami proved up to the challenge. Somehow, he managed to regain flight and flew 25 miles back to division headquarters. By the time he arrived, he was severely wounded and blind in one eye. However, Cher Ami still had his message:

“WE ARE ALONG THE ROAD PARALELL 276.4. OUR ARTILLERY IS DROPPING A BARRAGE DIRECTLY ON US. FOR HEAVENS SAKE STOP IT.”

The allies quickly called off the artillery assault and subsequently, rescued the Lost Battalion. The cost was steep. About 200 men were killed in action. Another 150 were taken prisoner or reported lost.

In the aftermath, Cher Ami became a minor celebrity, especially to the 194 soldiers who managed to survive the incident. They nursed him back to health and eventually awarded him with the Croix de Guerre. Cher Ami died in New Jersey on June 13, 1919. He’s a member of the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame and his stuffed body (pictured above) is currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History.

Gladiator Babes!

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Butt-kicking female warriors are hardly a new concept. They’ve been around for centuries. Now, a recently discovered statue indicates women did battle all the way back in the ancient Roman Empire…as female gladiators.

Did Female Gladiators Exist?

Female warriors have long roots in history. Now, it appears we can trace those roots all the way back to female gladiators who lived during the ancient Roman empire. Here’s more on a recently uncovered female gladiator statue from Live Science:

A small bronze statue dating back nearly 2,000 years may be that of a female gladiator, a victorious one at that, suggests a new study.

If confirmed the statue would represent only the second depiction of a woman gladiator known to exist.

The gladiator statue shows a topless woman, wearing only a loincloth and a bandage around her left knee. Her hair is long, although neat, and in the air she raises what the researcher, Alfonso Manas of the University of Granada, believes is a sica, a short curved sword used by gladiators. The gesture she gives is a “salute to the people, to the crowd,” Manas said, an action done by victorious gladiators at the end of a fight…

(See Live Science for more on this new female gladiator statue)

The Lost Spitfire Squadron?

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In August 1945, a dozen Spitfires were shipped from England to Burma. Another eight were mailed in December. However, they were considered excessive and soldiers were ordered to bury the boxes before they’d even been unpacked. What happened to the Lost Spitfire Squadron?

The Lost Spitfire Squadron?

After fifteen years and over $200,000, British farmer David Cundall recently announced the discovery of the forgotten Spitfires. He was inspired to search for them by a comment made by a U.S. veteran to his friend Jim Pearce.

“‘They told Jim: ‘We’ve done some pretty silly things in our time, but the silliest was burying Spitfires.’ And when Jim got back from the US, he told me.” ~ David Cundall

According to Cundall, the Spitfires were buried under forty feet of soil in their original crates. The individual parts were waxed and wrapped in greased paper. The wings were folded back against the bodies. The joints were tarred. These efforts, designed to protect the planes during the shipping process, may have helped to preserve them as well.

Why were the Spitfires Abandoned in Burma?

The Americans expected the British to return to the burial site and dig them up. But this never happened, partly due to the increased production of newer, faster jets.

‘‘In 1945, Spitfires were 10 a penny. Jets were coming into service. Spitfires were struck off charge, unwanted. Lots of Spitfires were just pushed off the back of aircraft carriers into the sea. On land, you couldn’t leave them for the locals – they might have ended up being used against you.” ~ David Cundall

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

Prior to Cundall’s discovery, there were only 35 Spitfires in existence. Strong demand and high prices (a refinished Spitfire sold for ~$3 million in 2009), have led aviation enthusiasts to search the globe for rumored caches of buried planes. So, where are Cundall’s new Spitfires? For the moment, they’re still underground, deep in the jungle.

“We sent a borehole down and used a camera to look at the crates. They seemed to be in good condition.” ~ David Cundall

They are likely to remain that way for at least a little while. International sanctions make it illegal for Burma to ship military materials in or out of the country. However, British Prime Minister David Cameron recently visited Burma, attempting to strike a deal to lift the sanctions as well as permit Cundall to excavate the site. With any luck, these Spitfires may eventually see the light of day and after more than six decades, finally reach the skies.

Telepathic Soldiers?

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Not to be outdone by DARPA’s never-ending list of sci-fi projects, the U.S. Army has decided to step up its game. In the next five years, it plans to spend $4 million in taxpayer funds in order to develop real-life telepathy.

Synthetic Telepathy?

The U.S. Army’s version of telepathy is called Synthetic Telepathy. It bears some resemblance to the style of telepathy seen in the popular Metal Gear Solid 4 video game. But where Metal Gear relied on nanotechnology, this real-world telepathy relies on mind-reading.

Here’s how it works. Soldiers wear helmets containing electrodes. The electrodes read electrical activity in the brain and identify code words. Those code words are then relayed back to a central computer before being dished out to other soldiers in the field. Currently, computers are able to identify 45% of the code words. By 2017, the U.S. Army hopes that number will be closer to 100%.

Guerrilla Explorer’s Analysis

Incidentally, this project first received funding back in 2008. At the time, researchers estimated Synthetic Telepathy would take 15-20 years to develop. It appears they’ve progressed fast enough to shave 6-11 years from that original mark.

At least some soldiers seem pleased by the development. On the other end of the spectrum, civil libertarians are worried about how it could be used by governments against their own citizens. It’s difficult to say exactly how this new telepathy technology will impact our lives. But one thing seems certain. Synthetic Telepathy is coming…and it’s coming quickly.

How Many People Died during the Civil War?

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For over a century, historians have operated under the mistaken impression that exactly 618,222 men died during America’s Civil War. That number was always an estimate, with the Confederate casualties being based largely on meager data and some rather dubious extrapolation. So, what was the Civil War death toll?

Civil War Death Toll: How Many People Died during the Civil War?

New research conducted by demographic historian J. David Hacker has upended traditional Civil War death estimates. It turns out the death toll may have been higher…much higher. In fact, Hacker estimates the Civil War death toll at somewhere between 650,000 and 850,000, using the mid-point of 750,000 as his best guess.

In order to get that number, Hacker massaged various data sets, making numerous assumptions along the way. Breaking it down between Union and Confederacy proved impossible, due to uncertainty surrounding the loyalties of border state soldiers. Overall, this new estimate leaves much to be desired. The size of the confidence interval tells us that much. But unfortunately, it’s the best we’ve got…at least for now. Here’s more on new Civil War death toll estimates from The New York Times:

For 110 years, the numbers stood as gospel: 618,222 men died in the Civil War, 360,222 from the North and 258,000 from the South — by far the greatest toll of any war in American history. But new research shows that the numbers were far too low.

By combing through newly digitized census data from the 19th century, J. David Hacker, a demographic historian from Binghamton University in New York, has recalculated the death toll and increased it by more than 20 percent — to 750,000.

The new figure is already winning acceptance from scholars. Civil War History, the journal that published Dr. Hacker’s paper, called it “among the most consequential pieces ever to appear” in its pages. And a pre-eminent authority on the era, Eric Foner, a historian at Columbia University, said: “It even further elevates the significance of the Civil War and makes a dramatic statement about how the war is a central moment in American history. It helps you understand, particularly in the South with a much smaller population, what a devastating experience this was.”

(See The New York Times for more on the Civil War death toll)

The Mystery of the Flying Car?

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During the 1970s, Williams International built a one-man vertical take-off and landing machine known as “The Flying Pulpit.” This strange flying car stood four feet high and was capable of flying in any direction for as long as 45 minutes. It could speed up, hover in the air, and rotate as well as reach a top speed of 60 mph.

Flying Pulpit – The Mystery of the Flying Car?

The Flying Pulpit bore more than a passing resemblance to the Magnetic Air Car, which was featured in the Dick Tracy comic strip during the 1960s. That should come as no surprise. Dick Tracy’s creator, Chester Gould, was somewhat of a futurist and dotted his famous strip with numerous inventions which have since come to pass, including the 2-way wrist radio and the portable surveillance camera.

So, what happened to these strange flying cars? Well, as best as I can determine, they were constructed for military use. However, the U.S. Army found them wanting in the 1980s. Apparently, the flying cars were consigned to the dustbins of history.

While The Flying Pulpit might’ve made for a poor weapon in the face of other aircraft, I’m a little surprised it was never released for civilian use. Who wouldn’t want a personal flying car? Check out this video to see The Flying Pulpit in action.

Nuclear Warheads…on American Streets?

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Next time you’re on the highway, look out…you just might find yourself driving next to a truck bearing a nuclear warhead.

Nuclear Weapons…on American Streets?

Here’s more on nuclear weapons being carried on American streets from Mother Jones:

“Is that it?” My wife leans forward in the passenger seat of our sensible hatchback and points ahead to an 18-wheeler that’s hauling ass toward us on a low-country stretch of South Carolina’s Highway 125. We’ve been heading west from I-95 toward the Savannah River Site nuclear facility on the Georgia-South Carolina border, in search of nuke truckers. At first the mysterious big rig resembles a commercial gas tanker, but the cab is pristine-looking and there’s a simple blue-on-white license plate: US GOVERNMENT. It blows by too quickly to determine whether it’s part of the little-known US fleet tasked with transporting some of the most sensitive cargo in existence.

As you weave through interstate traffic, you’re unlikely to notice another plain-looking Peterbilt tractor-trailer rolling along in the right-hand lane. The government plates and array of antennas jutting from the cab’s roof would hardly register. You’d have no idea that inside the cab an armed federal agent operates a host of electronic countermeasures to keep outsiders from accessing his heavily armored cargo: a nuclear warhead with enough destructive power to level downtown San Francisco.

(See Mother Jones for more on nuclear weapons being transported over American streets)