Top 5 Nuclear Weapons documentaries uncover hidden and long-forgotten secrets

The threat of nuclear annihilation has been with us for 75 years. From the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan at the end of World War II to the present day, the world has had to come terms with the death and devastation a nuclear war would bring. In a series of nuclear weapons documentaries, RTD looks at the history and the consequences of a world with enough nuclear weapons to kill everyone on the plant. Check out the top 5 nuclear weapons documentaries everyone should watch:

1. Atomic Message 

Only two atom bombs have been detonated in anger, dropped by the US on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. Their use is still highly controversial. Some historians suggest they weren’t dropped to force Japanese surrender, but as a show of strength by the US towards then-ally the Soviet Union. Atomic Message examines the conflicting ideologies and looks at how the dropping of the bombs affected Japanese society.

2. Standoff

Standoff looks at the race by the Soviet Union to reach nuclear parity with Cold-War adversary the United States. The news of America successfully exploding a nuclear warhead was no surprise to Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. The USSR had been given details of the Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb by sympathetic scientists concerned there should be parity among the allies. The documentary looks at the research and espionage that allowed the Soviet Union to catch up and test its first nuclear weapon four short years after the United States did.

3. Cuban Missile Crisis: Games and Reality

The doomsday clock was never closer to midnight than during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1963. A world on the brink of nuclear war is examined in the documentary Cuban Missile Crisis: Games and Reality. It looks at how the Soviet Union and the United States edged closer to conflict over the placing of missiles on the island of Cuba. The documentary examines how cool heads prevailed, and the two sides reached a compromise where both could come out winners.

4. Code Name Sickle

For decades, a nuclear deterrent has been part of the Russian arsenal. In Code Name Sickle, viewers go behind the scenes at a unit operating the latest Topol-M nuclear missile. The crews of these missile launchers are training to be on a constant state of readiness. The film also looks at the development of the Russian ballistic missile force and gets exclusive access to once-secret rocket technology.

5. Listva: The Nuclear Missile Bodyguard 

Russia takes no chances with its nuclear weapons and has developed defence techniques against a range of foes, including terrorists. A new part of that defence is the Listva armoured vehicle. In Listva: The Nuclear Missile Bodyguard, we get a detailed look at the vehicle, and how it used advanced countermeasures to safeguard nuclear weapons. The unique vehicle uses ultrasound and radar to counter mines and improvised booby traps.

There are plenty more nuclear weapons documentaries to watch on the RTD website.