WI: Nuclear Exchange over U2

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What if the backlash over the downing of the U2 spyplane escalated to the point where the USSR declares war?

Via cold-war military doctrine, it's safe to assume missiles would be launched by one of the war parties prompting a swift response by the other.

Considering the world wouldn't have ended via nuclear apocalypse, (since the size of the combined stockpiles in 1960 couldn't achieve that) once the stocks are depleted what would be the shape of the world in the aftermath?

Does the US and the USSR survive?
 
The US would come out for the better. They had more bombs and better delivery systems. Soviets could not reach US continent yet, which spawned the placement of missiles in Cuba. Europe on the other hand will be destroyed die Soviet desire to destroy 40% of the US Army and Air Force
 
b364b1f121bb3f2d60bba5f4205dd2d7.jpg


What if the backlash over the downing of the U2 spyplane escalated to the point where the USSR declares war?

Via cold-war military doctrine, it's safe to assume missiles would be launched by one of the war parties prompting a swift response by the other.

Considering the world wouldn't have ended via nuclear apocalypse, (since the size of the combined stockpiles in 1960 couldn't achieve that) once the stocks are depleted what would be the shape of the world in the aftermath?

Does the US and the USSR survive?

The US will survive. The USSR and most of Europe will not.
 
The Soviets would be utterly insane to launch a war they had no hope whatsoever of winning.

And why would they bother? Downing the U-2 was a "victory" in and of itself.

By the way, I've read that the farmers and Soviet military personnel who were first on the scene when Gary Powers parachuted to Earth practically had drinks with him. His arrest was extremely friendly at that time
 

jahenders

Banned
The only way this could have led to shooting (and that limited) would be if the Russians concluded that Powers was in a manned bomber, sent to destroy some of their nuclear sites. Even then, there'd be little action other than shooting him down and, perhaps, attacking his home base in Pakistan.

At this point in time, the Russians would have fared horribly in a nuclear exchange -- the US outnumbered and outranged them.

b364b1f121bb3f2d60bba5f4205dd2d7.jpg


What if the backlash over the downing of the U2 spyplane escalated to the point where the USSR declares war?

Via cold-war military doctrine, it's safe to assume missiles would be launched by one of the war parties prompting a swift response by the other.

Considering the world wouldn't have ended via nuclear apocalypse, (since the size of the combined stockpiles in 1960 couldn't achieve that) once the stocks are depleted what would be the shape of the world in the aftermath?

Does the US and the USSR survive?
 
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