How much of the US/USSR's nuclear weapons would actually be used in a nuclear exchange?

In the 1980s at their peak the US had over 20,000 nuclear weapons and the USSR had over 35,000.
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If a full out nuclear exchange took place in the 1980s how many of those weapons (ICBMs, SLBMs, torpedoes, bombs, artillery, cruise missiles etc) would actually be delivered to their targets?

How many nuclear weapons on each side would go unused due to the lack of sufficient means to deploy them successfully?
 
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This is a difficult question and hard to answer without knowing the context that led to the exchange.
If this was a conventional war that turned nuclear, then expect alot of weapons to be deployed. On the other hand if this is a first strike scenario where one side unleashes its arsenal without alot of escalation or conventional warfare before, then less weapons are going to be used since lots of assets are going to be hit in the first wave.
 
I don't know about unused because of a lack of delivery, but certainly both sides would retain a reserve of weapons possibly even 10% of long range types. But it would be impossible to plan in advance because of the courses that a nuclear war could take are infinite and that would dictate what was retained.
 
Got to agree with Wtw, once nukes start flying it becomes a case of use 'em or loose 'em. The problem with nukes in a WW3 scenario is that once they start being used then basically there's no going back and it will rapidly escalate. So basically the Soviets would use every one they were able to of that max of 40,000. Whilst the US would try doing the same as would what was left of the UK and France.

And once that happens well..its basically this

 

Magical123

Banned
Wouldn't be wise to at least five to say fifteen in reserve so that when the dust settles and whichever power comes up still breathing they'd have nukes to enforce their sole hegemony?
 
Wouldn't be wise to at least five to say fifteen in reserve so that when the dust settles and whichever power comes up still breathing they'd have nukes to enforce their sole hegemony?
They build bunkers and stored large quantities of food and water because they thought there was an "afterwards" after ww3, of course it makes sense to also keep around some bombs.
 

James G

Gone Fishin'
The question is impossible to answer. It has been speculated upon in many, many similar threats along with 'which targets' but nobody knows. People have ideas on what might happen, but there is no answer to this often-asked question.
 
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