Quote:
Originally Posted by Legbreaker
The time from launch to impact of a strategic missile is what, 30-60 minutes give or take? At the shorter end that doesn't leave a lot of reaction time to get the Pope the hell out of the Vatican. Estimate 5-10 minutes from receiving the warning to having him on a helicopter bound for the airport. Add in a few more minutes if alls going well for flight time, then say five more minutes to swap over to a fixed wing and be in the air - and that's JUST in the air, not actually having cleared the area as yet. So, 20 minutes has passed already (on a good day).
Now, how many missiles are going to be detected at the moment of launch? Shall we add in a bit more time to consider confirmation of the launch? Time is getting a bit tight now...
That 30-60 minutes mentioned above is ICBM flight time. A launch from say Czechoslovakia against Rome (if it's the Soviets setting up NATO for the fall (or a quick jaunt across the Alps from southern Germany is going to be a LOT faster.
Bearing that in mind, once nukes start being used away from the front lines, the Pope would be MAD to stay put.
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Very true.. It would be better for the Pope to be evacuated from the Vatican via helicopter instead of jet. They'd be able to fly the helio OUT of the blast area in time. Thus the relocation of the Pope to somewhere in the Italian Republic or the Swiss Confederation works good.
Though I have a feeling that the Vatican had a retreat/BOL (Bug-Out Location) that they'd get the Pope and Cardinals too at the first sign of something going down. I read somewhere that the Vatican has a subterranean rail system they use for mail... perhaps they used the construction of that to cover the construction of a high-speed means of getting the Pope and others out of the Vatican ASAP.
Thanks to the link we were given earlier, we know that in 1982 a bomb shelter was built in the Vatican... And considering the priceless nature of the things being stored and protected there, we can surmise that it would take a direct hit to destroy it.
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