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Originally Posted by 87maniac
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Oh - this excites me! I think it was for the W54 SADM. I even have one of these bags in the basement holding a tent and a sleeping bag.
Combat engineers would strap one of these, with the atomic demolition munition, to their belt and parachute to wherever they needed to be. They'd emplace the munition and set the timer. Veterans that had this role joked that they were somehow less than infantry - but they commented that "what infantry EVER strapped a nuke between their legs and jumped of a plane?"
Rumors are that some missions would require that they guard it until detonation but I can't get anyone to conform that.
Evidently there are still bridges in Europe with specific, engineered, emplacements for these. I haven't seen one but would be eager to see some (morbid) history.
I'm amazed that we survived 1950-1980. From my professional life "inside" it's even crazier than what we (the public) were ever taught...