There Is No Depression: Protect and Survive New Zealand
- Thread starter Tsar of New Zealand
- Start date
^ Hey, I remember that comic series (although I'm not sure I have seen that issue with the mushroom cloud)!
Cam Ranh was both a Soviet naval and air base from 1979 onwards, and I'm sure with WWIII going on, it's pretty likely that the Soviets would've getting things ready with its SSBNs and Tu-95s to attack East Asia, esp. the Philippines and South China. They could've maybe sent a few nukes towards Australia/NZ from there. I think Soviet cruise missiles could reach targets in Australia from the South China Sea - if the bombers don't get shot down first. But as for targeting NZ, I think they'd have been better off sending a few SLBMs in the South China Sea out of Cam Ranh and a UR-100 ICBM out of the Russian Far East or two. I think the Soviet ALCMs had a range of about 3000 km at most, with earlier models having had far worse range (<1000 km), so the bombers would have to get over eastern Australia and the Coral Sea in order to target even Auckland and North Island - putting them at risk of getting intercepted by RAAF aircraft and other allies.
Oh, and Cam Ranh can expect instant sunshine in the form of warheads atop Poseidon and Trident SLBMs, as well as Chinese warheads. Not sure if Minuteman ICBMs could reach Cam Ranh, unless maybe launched out of the ICBM silo fields in Montana and North Dakota.
I don't think it'd be worth it for either side to throw nukes at bases in Antarctica, seeing it that they'd have no real strategic importance anyways. That's my understanding anyways, even though the US military has been involved in things like transporting cargo and personnel and research.
I think it's a fair bet that all Antarctic bases would have been evaced perhaps before the nuclear war began or even shortly after, if the icebreakers manage to escape destruction, so personnel don't get end up getting marooned big time after a nuclear war.
Cam Ranh was both a Soviet naval and air base from 1979 onwards, and I'm sure with WWIII going on, it's pretty likely that the Soviets would've getting things ready with its SSBNs and Tu-95s to attack East Asia, esp. the Philippines and South China. They could've maybe sent a few nukes towards Australia/NZ from there. I think Soviet cruise missiles could reach targets in Australia from the South China Sea - if the bombers don't get shot down first. But as for targeting NZ, I think they'd have been better off sending a few SLBMs in the South China Sea out of Cam Ranh and a UR-100 ICBM out of the Russian Far East or two. I think the Soviet ALCMs had a range of about 3000 km at most, with earlier models having had far worse range (<1000 km), so the bombers would have to get over eastern Australia and the Coral Sea in order to target even Auckland and North Island - putting them at risk of getting intercepted by RAAF aircraft and other allies.
Oh, and Cam Ranh can expect instant sunshine in the form of warheads atop Poseidon and Trident SLBMs, as well as Chinese warheads. Not sure if Minuteman ICBMs could reach Cam Ranh, unless maybe launched out of the ICBM silo fields in Montana and North Dakota.
Maeglin said:
I don't think it'd be worth it for either side to throw nukes at bases in Antarctica, seeing it that they'd have no real strategic importance anyways. That's my understanding anyways, even though the US military has been involved in things like transporting cargo and personnel and research.
I think it's a fair bet that all Antarctic bases would have been evaced perhaps before the nuclear war began or even shortly after, if the icebreakers manage to escape destruction, so personnel don't get end up getting marooned big time after a nuclear war.
Poor old Wal, never catching a break
.Good call on the Footrot Flats, so reminscent of a certain time in NZ.
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"pestilence" as it turns out (rats).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/RareBookCellar/29/48760.jpg
I've been thinking about this and I'm not certain they would even during a transition to war, as it would be tantamount to abandoning the territories and they are mostly civilian staffed anyway. If it's just people being evacuated they would be more likely to be flown out.
Immediately pre war and post war finding the resources for evacuation might be tricky too.
Sideways
Donor
It depends, were ice breakers mostly military? I can imagine some civilian crews would be quite happy to be out at sea in a neutral, conflict free region for the war itself. If it's the military, resources may be conserved. But then, New Zealand seems like it's falling apart, so maybe not.
IIRC Christchurch has long been a base of the US Antarctic mission, so people on the Ice Continent will be well aware of NZ and in any event, I think our base and the US base are close by.
I'm sure that they'd all appreciate that shipping off to Invercargill would likely be a safe option.
No one, except Mick Jagger, would ever consider nuking Bluff or Invercargill.
This isn't dead everyone; had a lot of RL stuff dropped on me in the last couple weeks so writing has rather been on the backburner. Expect an update in the next couple days
Probably the other two targets may be among the largest of NZ's military bases, such as:
Devonport Naval Base (right across the water from Auckland CBD)
Papakura Military Camp (about 26 km SE of Auckland - home of the NZSAS, or the NZ Special Air Service)
Burnham Military Camp (NZ Army's largest base - 28 km S of Christchurch)
RNZAF Whenuapai (about 13 km NW of Auckland CBD)
RNZAF Ohakea (about 130 km N of Wellington)
I don't know how much the NZ military's changed since the end of the Cold War, or if it was a bit larger or not during the 1980s compared to today.
At least a couple of bases appear to be located in largely rural areas (e.g. Burnham Military Camp, RNZAF Ohakea), well enough away from any of NZ's three largest cities, so this may cut down on the number of casaualties. But still, there are some small towns that may be at risk of destruction and severe blast/burn injuries.
Other bases listed above are close enough to a major urban area and suburbs - really just one - Auckland, that there will be risk of large numbers of casualties that could easily the country's medical services. Same goes for the civilian airports in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. And that's even if only 100-kt warheads are used by the Soviets, as these are probably the smallest used on Soviet SLBMs in the 1980s.
Fallout is not a really big concern, unless groundbursts were involved. Still, there will be casualties suffering from radiation poisoning.
So I'm simply just sayin'. I look forward to whatever updates come of this story.
Parts of the NZDF are larger and better equipped now than then, others are not. The RNZAF in particular was a lot bigger in the 1980's, including Wigram airbase (pilot training and helicopters in the suburbs of Christchurch) which was closed in 1993. The current RNZAF is also sans any kind of fast jet combat aircraft.
A 100Kt warhead or larger anywhere near an NZ urban area or even within damage/heat range of a rural town would likely produce enough casualties to swamp the nation's intensive care facilities. Even in a rural area people would be triaged or otherwise not be treated for injuries due to distances involved.
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This isn't dead everyone; had a lot of RL stuff dropped on me in the last couple weeks so writing has rather been on the backburner. Expect an update in the next couple days
Excellent