Dr Strangeglove - bombing sequence - realism
Just watched this classic for the first time last night (I have to confess).
What a great film on so many levels.
The procedures used to go to war (opening of safes, handing out of sealed envelopes, arming sequences) seemed very realistic.
I've read that the interior of the B52 was in fact still classified at the time so Kubrick recreated it from one photo they had.
I wondered how accurate the sequences for arming the bomb etc were though?
The various switches etc that were shown in some detail seemed to all be the right sort of thing one would run through, air-burst, altitude etc - and were shown in some chilling detail.
I assume it is all declassified now - was it realistic?
Even more remarkable considering how secret a lot of this stuff must have been at the time.
Edited:
I note this from 1961 ten years later:
First and foremost, B-52G aircraft power must be applied to the weapon via two crew members using the Aircraft Monitoring and Control System and a specific voltage and amperage (and for a specific amount of time) before the Ready/Safe Switch could be rotated to the "Arm" position.
The pilot of the bomber aircraft controlled power via his T-380 Readiness Switch, which was safety wired and sealed near his seat in the aircraft. The Radar Navigator could monitor the bomb's circuits via the DCU-9, but he could not arm it without electrical input via AMAC nor consent from the pilot. The aircrew, in two physically separate positions in the aircraft, had to perform at least 19 steps from their checklist before nuclear weapons could be pre-armed and dropped.