# Can I find if my town is targeted by a Nuclear bomb? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2001, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205 "2001-08-07T00:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![renigademaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@renigademaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/renigademaster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/1 "2001-08-07T00:21:06Z")
I was wondering if there was an internet site that lists all the targets that the russians had missles pointed at, I looked and I couldn’t find anything. If someone knows, could you please tell me the link? I live in Appleton Wisconsin in the summer, and Go to Marquette Michigan for school in the fall. ---
**Author:** ![Czaoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Czaoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czaoth)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/2 "2001-08-07T01:10:54Z")
I’m no expert on the subject…but…I would think that the Russians wouldn’t publish the data of where there missles are pointed 😃 Although we are no longer in a Cold War, the missles are still there for use and letting everyone know would be foolish. More than likely if you town isn’t a large one it probably isn’t high on the priority list unless it has strategic targets (military, scientific, or infrastructures vital to the country). But the ammount of missiles still in Russian possesion would make for everyone to have a bad day should there be some sort of mass-launch. _[Ignore the above drivel if I happen to be proven wrong]_ ---
**Author:** ![Jargent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/48db29/32.png) [@Jargent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jargent)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/3 "2001-08-07T01:18:57Z")
Well, renigademaster, your towns aren’t on my personal list, so you’re safe in that respect… 😃 But I gotta concur with Czaoth, no one’s gonna publish a list of who and where they’re gonna hit. Safe to assume, if there’s a military base or set of silos nearby, you’re toast. I wouldn’t be surprised to find silos in Michigan or Wisconsin. So pack light just in case. More to the point though, isn’t the general wisdom now that small scale terrorist attacks are more of the worry now? Stuff like the Space Needle incident on New Years, or being someplace like Manhattan? In that case, you’re pretty safe, unless Appleton has a big Federal building. ---
**Author:** ![Cap\_n\_Crude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Cap\_n\_Crude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cap_n_Crude)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/4 "2001-08-07T02:15:36Z")
I recall hearing this once upon a time: the rule of thumb during the cold war was that, if your city had more than 100,000 people living in it, was near a military base, or produced any useful strategic material or service, there was a warhead in your future. Clearly, that’s a very broad generalization. In addition, it may sound somewhat muffled (since I’m talking out of my @$$ and my pants are rather tight). Today, that’s likely no longer the case. A few years back, Pres. Clinton and Yeltsin made some news by publicly declaring that their nations’ long-range missiles were no longer targeted at each other. This was mostly for PR purposes – the military would have no problem and spend only a minute or so to upload guidance data into any or all of its ICBMs. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/5 "2001-08-07T02:18:47Z")
> [@](#): > > I wouldn’t be surprised to find silos in Michigan or Wisconsin. So pack light just in case. I tend to agree that the Russians probably don’t have a web site anyplace detailing what they do and don’t target. We do know, however, where U.S. strategic forces are located. As far as I can tell, there are none currently in Michigan or Wisconsin. [Minuteman III](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/lgm-30_3.htm) missiles are based at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota; Grand Forks AFB, ND; Malmstrom AFB, MT; and F.E. Warren AFB, WY. [Peacekeeper](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/lgm-118.htm) (MX) missiles are based at Warren AFB, WY. They are schedule to be phased out by 2003 under the terms of the START II Treaty. Rail garrisoned missiles were slated to be deployed to six other bases, including one in Michigan: Barksdale AFB, LA; Little Rock AFB, AR; Grand Forks AFB, ND; Dyess AFB, TX; Wurtsmith AFB, MI; and Fairchild AFB, WA. I don’t believe the rail garrisoned program was ever implemented, and [Wurtsmith AFB](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/facility/wurtsmith.htm) in Michigan has now been closed. Nuclear capable bombers include [B-52’s](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/b-52.htm), stationed at Barksdale AFB, LA and Minot AFB, ND; [B-1B’s](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/b-1b.htm) at Mountain Home AFB, ID; Ellsworth AFB, SD; and Dyess AFB, TX; plus Air National Guard units at McConnell AFB, KS and Robins AFB, GA (Note: the B-1B’s have been re-designated as conventional rather than nuclear bombers; there was a recent proposal to reduce the number of bombers deployed and consolidate them at Dyess and Ellsworth; and the Air National Guard units would not be assigned nuclear weapons in any event); and [B-2’s](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/b-2.htm) stationed at Whiteman AFB, MO. Ballistic missile submarines carrying [Trident I](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/c-4.htm) and [Trident II](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/slbm/d-5.htm) missiles are based in [Bangor, WA](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/facility/bangor.htm) and [Kings Bay, GA](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/facility/kings_bay.htm). In the event of a major nuclear war, residents of these areas should report to their fallout shelters, bend over, and kiss their asses goodbye. ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@Weird\_AL\_Einstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_AL_Einstein)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/6 "2001-08-07T02:19:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Czaoth \* > \*\*I’m no expert on the subject…but…I would think that the Russians wouldn’t publish the data of where there missles are pointed 😃 > > Although we are no longer in a Cold War, the missles are still there for use and letting everyone know would be foolish. > > \*\* Ummmm…why? There’s nothing we could do about it, unless or until we build that missile defense system they’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/7 "2001-08-07T02:53:31Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by MEBuckner \* \*\* > [@](#): > > [Minuteman III](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/icbm/lgm-30_3.htm) missiles are based at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota; Grand Forks AFB, ND; Malmstrom AFB, MT; and F.E. Warren AFB, WY. > > \*\* All the Minutemen have been removed from Grand Forks, and it’s now strictly a KC-135 tanker (AMC) base. My sister squadron just stood down from imploding their silos. I had a link for you, but I can’t quite find it. I’m still looking tho! It wasn’t a Russian generated list, but it was a STRATCOM list of where we expected to get hit. Tripler I’ll get it eventually! ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/8 "2001-08-07T03:03:05Z")
You can add Tinker AFB, OK to **MEBuckner’s** list, since all the depot-level maintainence for the aircraft he listed is done here and a number of them are always there. When I was up there a couple of months ago working on the runway resurfacing project, there were four B-1B and three B-52 aircraft on the ramp and several others in various stages of repair inside hangars. ---
**Author:** ![PlanMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2bfe46/32.png) [@PlanMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanMan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/9 "2001-08-07T03:03:24Z")
[snip] by MEBuckner: “Ballistic missile submarines carrying Trident I and Trident II missiles are based in Bangor, WA and **Kings Bay, GA**.” To add to the everlasting glow of SE Ga. / NE Fla. - just a few miles south of Kings Bay is Mayport Naval Station - 2nd largest on the east coast - home to an aircraft carrier group, and inland a few miles is a NAS that is home to subhunters, AND a Marine Prepositioning detachment is based between them. So, “Alas, Babylon” (a 60’s cold war novel) was right in having a telephone operator tell one of the survivors “I’m sorry sir, Jacksonville doesn’t seem to be there …” Of course, no one is going to throw nukes at us, are they? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/10 "2001-08-07T03:20:47Z")
I should point out that the list of strategic nuclear bases wasn’t so much a list to eliminate places that _wouldn’t_ be hit–“If your hometown’s not mentioned, you’re all clear!”–as it was a list of places that definitely _would_ be hit in a strategic nuclear exchange with another superpower. In Michigan, for example, Detroit has no missile silos or bomber bases, but it might get it anyway just on the grounds that it’s a major industrial center. It would depend on just what sort of attack plan our hypothetical enemy nation is following. For that matter, an attack by a “rogue state” or a terrorist “suitcase bomb” attack would probably bypass blowing great big holes in North Dakota entirely in favor of destroying Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/11 "2001-08-07T03:22:35Z")
If you assume that all of those military bases are targets, which seems reasonable, then you can calculate the fallout drift from the explosions. Since the prevailing wind normally blows from the Rockies eastward, the drift will tend to go east, so some areas will be seriously affected even if no bomb explodes near them. I’ve seen maps of the fallout drift on the Web, but don’t remember where. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/12 "2001-08-07T03:35:27Z")
[Here](http://www.fas.org/nuke/trinity/nukeffct/falout1.gif) is a little animated map of the U.S. showing fallout from a “hypothetical attack pattern”. It includes all sorts of targets, but the scale is too small for me to make out exactly what, except that it does look like the missile bases are included (among other things). Oh, yeah, and if you live in Colorado Springs, CO or Omaha, NE, you’re toast in the event of World War III. Colorado Springs is [NORAD](http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/nuwss.htm) headquarters and Omaha is [STRATCOM](http://www.fas.org/spp/eprint/fontenot.htm) (what they used to call SAC). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/13 "2001-08-07T04:56:53Z")
thanks, **MEBuckner** - that’s what I was thinking of. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/14 "2001-08-07T09:22:36Z")
At the library some years ago I remember seeing an atlas put out by FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) showing potential targets, with some indication of how likely they were to be hit, the radius around each blast likely at which 50% of the population would die immediately, and likely fallout patterns. But this atlas was published at the height of the Cold War so it probably wouldn’t apply any more. I’ll try to find the atlas the next time I’m at that library. I don’t remember much about what the targets were, but I do remember that Duluth MN was considered a potential target, probably because it’s an important transshipment point for iron ore. I don’t remember specifically, but it’s possible Marquette might have been a target for the same reason. Sawyer AFB was also near Marquette during the Cold War, but when I was in Marquette a few years ago, I remember hearing that they were closing it down. I also remember a crapload of targets around Cheyenne, WY (Warren AFT and all its silos). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/15 "2001-08-07T09:36:46Z")
[Civil Defense Now! Potential U.S. Nuclear Targets](http://www.survivalring.org/cd-targets.htm) has a list of primary, secondary, and tertiary targets, and a map. Sawyer AFB is listed as a primary target, and Appleton as a tertiary target. I think the information seems to come from the same book I had in mind: _Risks and hazards : a state by state guide_: Federal Emergency Management Agency [1990]. Sawyer AFB might still be a target even if it has been closed down, but probably not a primary one. Any airport with a runway long enough to handle bombers would be, including the Bangor International Airport in Maine, which was converted from an AFB long before the end of the Cold War. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/16 "2001-08-07T12:30:01Z")
“In the event of a nuclear war, Springfield has been designated an NWB. That’s ‘Nuclear Whipping Boy’. All friendly nations will use Springfield to calibrate their missiles before entering the real war.” - from the Civil Defense movie Bart and Milhouse found in Comic Book Guy’s basement If somebody has the exact wording, please supply. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/17 "2001-08-07T13:20:38Z")
You can [map a nuclear blast](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/bomb/sfeature/mapablast.html) anywhere on the globe. 1 megaton surface blast (pressure damage), 1 megaton surface blast (fallout), or 25 megaton air blast (pressure damage). It’s a great way to relieve stress. Nuking the French seemed so _right_. ---
**Author:** ![flyboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4da419/32.png) [@flyboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flyboy)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/18 "2001-08-07T13:21:19Z")
Some of you may find this interesting. Back in college I had a Soc. class on Nuclear War. One of the best classes I’ve ever taken. For our final project, my group tackled a scenario in the future in which the U.S. had a SDI-type missile defense system. We figured, optimistically, that it’d take out 80% of Russia’s nukes, leaving 20% to beat up the U.S. with. Lemme tell you, 20% (back then, anyway) of their nukes is a lotta nukes. We figured: Missiles carrying a total of 9,000 warheads launched. 20% = 1,800 warheads, averaging about 3,000 megatons. 400 cities targeted and destroyed. About 101 million initially killed. If anyone’s interested in the references we used to come up with all this, email me. We had tons of countervalue (people) targets, simply because that’s what we were left with after we’d targeted all of the counterforce (military) targets, even factoring in multiple warheads for redundancy. It came down to getting out maps and atlases and going through the states, looking for cities of over 50,000 so they could be wiped out. Then, after we’d exhausted those, looking for cities of under 50,000. I can’t speak for actual Russian targeters, but I have to say, there’s lots of bombs to find a home for. Now that I’m in the military, I also know that a seemingly innocent little city like Appleton could have something as simple as a radar relay which is used by the DoD\*. You may not know about it, but I’m betting the Russians do. So, kiss your town goodbye. [sub]\* I’m not saying your town is targeted, but that it could be even though there may be no overt military or strategic value to it. Also, if it’s something that really keeps you up nights, think about investing in a bomb shelter. :D[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/19 "2001-08-07T13:47:46Z")
I thought we and the Russkies did a whole mutual “de-targeting” thing a few years back. Totally symbolic, of course, because feeding the targeting data back in takes about 10 seconds, but technically I don’t think any town is currently targeted. ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205/20 "2001-08-07T17:34:26Z")
Try ‘Paladin Press’. They used to publish a book with target spots seperated by density, military, fallout pattern, etc. I think it’s the one Jim Jones used to his ‘retreat’. They also publish a lot of other…um, interesting stuff. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-find-if-my-town-is-targeted-by-a-nuclear-bomb/75205.md?page=2)