Comments by "Tony Wilson" (@tonywilson4713) on "The Doomsday Machine: A Conversation with Carl Robichaud (Episode #330)" video.

  1. There's actually a "List of nuclear close calls" and despite what happened in 1973 being way too close there's a couple of others that got closer. There's also one close call that's NOT on that list and that's the one where a software engineer loaded up a simulation into the BACK-UP system (I think on Friday) and didn't tell people that it was ready to go. While that software engineer wasn't present the main system faulted and the back-up system kicked in and started running the simulation AND NOBODY KNEW it was a simulation. They apparently got within seconds of pushing the button when someone realised that it was running the simulation that they were planning to run in future.
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  2. Sorry you are wrong and there's actually a huge mistake made by Paul Robichaud at 28 minutes. Before he died Daniel Ellsberg who was their during the Cuban Missile Crisis gave an interview to theAnalysisNews -which is available here on YT. The American's NEVER depth charged the Russians but were actually trying to SIGNAL the Russian submarines by throwing hand grenades into the water. That wasn't working because they'd blow up before they went deep enough. So they started wrapping the hand grenades in toilet paper. They'd throw the hand grenades into the water which would then sink before the toilet paper fell away. What the American's didn't know was that this freaked out the Russian because at depth the hand grenades had a concussive effect that made the Russians feel like they were being attacked. What saved the world was the oddity that Vasily Arkhipov was on the particular submarine that thought it was under attack. Normally it only takes 2 people (the commander & political officer) to use a nuclear weapon. The submarine Arkhipov was on (the B-59) was one of 4 Foxtrot submarines sent to Cuba by the Russians. He was NOT the commander of the B-59 he was the overall Commander of the flotilla of 4 Foxtrots. On the B-59 the actual commander Valentin Savitsky and his political officer DID PREPARE to launch their T-5 nuclear torpedo, BUT because Arkhipov was on that submarine it also required him to agree and he didn't. He worked out the Americans were only trying to signal them. THAT'S HOW CLOSE IT WAS. Had Arkhipov been on one of the other Foxtrot submarines then Savitsky would have launched the B-59s nuclear torpedo which the Americans didn't even know they had. The Americans didn't find out for many years just how close it came. As a side note of trivia the character played by Liam Nesson (Mikhail "Misha" Polenin, E) in the film K19: The Widomaker is based on Arkhipov.
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  3. Yes its a shame Sam never got to interview Daniel Ellsberg as there's a massive mistake in this interview. at 28 minutes The Americans DID NOT depth charged the Russian submarines during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In an interview with theAnalysisNews (which is available here on YT) Daniel Ellsberg who was actually there at the time related what happened. The American's were actually trying to SIGNAL the Russian submarines by throwing hand grenades into the water. That wasn't working because they'd blow up before they went deep enough. So they started wrapping the hand grenades in toilet paper. They'd throw the hand grenades into the water which would then sink before the toilet paper fell away. What the American's didn't know was that this freaked out the Russian because at depth the hand grenades had a concussive effect that made the Russians feel like they were being attacked. What saved the world was the oddity that Vasily Arkhipov was on the particular submarine that thought it was under attack. Normally it only takes 2 people (the commander & political officer) to use a nuclear weapon. The submarine Arkhipov was on (the B-59) was one of 4 Foxtrot submarines sent to Cuba by the Russians. He was NOT the commander of that submarine he was the Commander the flotilla of 4 Foxtrots. On the B-59 the actual commander Valentin Savitsky. Savitsky and his political officer DID PREPARE to launch their T-5 nuclear torpedo, BUT because Arkhipov was on that submarine it also required him to agree and he didn't. He worked out the Americans were only trying to signal them. THAT'S HOW CLOSE IT WAS. Had Arkhipov been on one of the other Foxtrot submarines then Savitsky would have launched the B-59s nuclear torpedo which the Americans didn't even know they had. The Americans didn't find out for many years just how close it came. As a side note of trivia the character played by Liam Nesson (Mikhail "Misha" Polenin, E) in the film K19: The Widomaker is based on Arkhipov.
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  4. ATTENTION ALL: There is a huge mistake at 28 minutes. The Americans DID NOT depth charged the Russian submarines during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In an interview with theAnalysisNews (which is available here on YT) Daniel Ellsberg who was actually there at the time related what happened. The American's were actually trying to SIGNAL the Russian submarines by throwing hand grenades into the water. That wasn't working because they'd blow up before they went deep enough. So they started wrapping the hand grenades in toilet paper. They'd throw the hand grenades into the water which would then sink before the toilet paper fell away. What the American's didn't know was that this freaked out the Russian because at depth the hand grenades had a concussive effect that made the Russians feel like they were being attacked. What saved the world was the oddity that Vasily Arkhipov was on the particular submarine that thought it was under attack. Normally it only takes 2 people (the commander & political officer) to use a nuclear weapon. The submarine Arkhipov was on (the B-59) was one of 4 Foxtrot submarines sent to Cuba by the Russians. He was NOT the commander of that submarine he was the Commander the flotilla of 4 Foxtrots. On the B-59 the actual commander Valentin Savitsky. Savitsky and his political officer DID PREPARE to launch their T-5 nuclear torpedo, BUT because Arkhipov was on that submarine it also required him to agree and he didn't. He worked out the Americans were only trying to signal them. THAT'S HOW CLOSE IT WAS. Had Arkhipov been on one of the other Foxtrot submarines then Savitsky would have launched the B-59s nuclear torpedo which the Americans didn't even know they had. The Americans didn't find out for many years just how close it came. As a side note of trivia the character played by Liam Nesson (Mikhail "Misha" Polenin, E) in the film K19: The Widomaker is based on Arkhipov.
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