Quote:
Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b
Don't forget, both sides had nuclear mines in their inventory. You could run into one of those floating around...
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Paul,
I've seen references they were developed some time in the fifties but never put into production. (I could see nuclear naval mines being a part of the early Cold War rush to develop nukes of all types but regarded as a little too uncontrollable and unnecessary like the plethora of nukes from the Mk45 torpedo to the Davey Crockett to nuclear-tipped SAMs and air-to-air rockets, all of which are now out of service.)
The drawback of a nuclear mine is there is no way to exercise positive control of the weapon. That is, a vessel would arm and deploy it, then leave and hope someone sets it off, but doesn't know when or perhaps even if. Plus, the target is likely random unless (say) there is advance notice a high value target will pass by, yet nothing else will set the mine off in the mean time. The delay is something of an advantage for submarines, who would at least have the opportunity to relocate to a safe distance, which was a serious problem with the Mk 45 torpedo.
Still, such mines could have finally been manufactured in the run up to the war and after the start.
Tony