Norfolk Status: Going Home Time Frame

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by RN7

It clearly states a 1 Mt warhead was used on Norfolk/Portsmouth.

No. It doesn't. As indicated by the quotes I made from the books in my earlier posts.
It only says a total of 1MT which it specifically states in the notes "not necessarily as a single weapon". Notice I've once again quoted the books here.

Originally Posted by RN7

The individual yield of Soviet nuclear warheads deployed on their missiles during the Cold War is even today a matter of contention. Many Soviet missiles were MIRV capable, but I only know of one missile which specifically carried a 1.0 Mt warhead, and that was the SS-N-6 with a single warhead.

The R-36 is capable of carrying up to 10 warheads with 40 penetration aids (aka decoys). The warheads could be anywhere between 0.5MT and 25MT.
Note that two 0.5MT warheads adds up to the total 1MT dropped on Norfolk.
Also note that all other targets within the likely area of one of these missiles also received 0.5MT or a multiple of it. This fact reinforces the possibility of several warheads being dropped on Norfolk.
This is just one of several possible missiles which could have been used. There is nothing to say a ground based ICBM was in fact targeted to this area - could have been a boomer with a different set of warheads and payloads.

Originally Posted by RN7

They do but submarines, ships and aircraft...

Originally Posted by RN7

As for an air attack...

I only mentioned them as possibilities.

The whole point of my last few posts is that it's possible within a strict interpretation of the information we have that more than one warhead was used to attack Norfolk. Given a little research I believe that it is likely the missile used was probably an R-36M carrying eight (8) 0.5MT warheads. This missile also delivered warheads as far north as Washington DC. Likely targets in this particular scenario included:
Andrews AFB, MD: Presidential Emergency Facility (.5 Mt, ground burst).
Fort Meade, MD: Presidential Emergency Facility (.5 Mt, ground burst).
Camp David, MD: Presidential Emergency Facility (.5 Mt, ground burst).
Arlington, VA: The Pentagon (.5 Mt, ground burst).
Quantico, VA: Presidential Emergency Facility (.5 Mt, ground burst).
Fort A.P. Hill, VA: Presidential Emergency Facility (.5 Mt, ground burst).
Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA: Atlantic Command Headquarters, port and facilities (1 Mt).

You'll note this adds up to exactly 8 of those 0.5MT warheads the R-36M carries and all those targets are within the likely throw range for the warheads from one missile.

Is this exactly how it happened? Who knows, but it's certainly plausible, and that is the entire point.