Cold War | War History

TRIGON: The CIA Spy Who Funneled Soviet Secrets to the United States

Rosemary Giles
Portrait of Aleksandr Ogorodnik, better known by the spy name "TRIGON" + Krasnoluzhsky Bridge running over the Moskva River

Aleksandr Ogorodnik’s death was like something out of a spy film – that is, of course, because he was a secret agent. Operating under the…

The Soviets Tried to Starve Berlin Into Submission, But Were Humiliated By the Unprecedented Airlift

Damian Lucjan
Crowd watching an aircraft fly over West Berlin

Berlin, 1948; a city torn in two – and the Soviet Union wanted it all. The plan? Choke West Berlin by blocking all supply routes,…

The Most Damaging Spy In US History Was An Unassuming Accountant – Elusive For 22 Years!

Damian Lucjan
Robert Hanssen's mugshots

In the annals of American history, there existed a man whose treacherous actions shook the very foundations of national security. Robert Hanssen, an unassuming accountant…

Frogmen Were Deployed to Search for a Nuclear Device in Palomares Following a Broken Arrow Incident

US Navy frogmen standing next to a boat and inflatable raft on the beach

In the annals of aviation history, few broken arrow incidents have had the potential for catastrophic consequences quite like the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash. This…

Building the Berlin Wall – And How It Fell Several Decades Later

Members of the Combat Groups of the Working Class standing in front of the beginnings of the Berlin Wall

The construction of the Berlin Wall is a tangible symbol of the Cold War, dividing a city and its people for nearly three decades. The…

The US Navy Considered Arming Frigates with Mk 48 Torpedoes During the Cold War

Two technicians standing around a Mk 48 torpedo + USS Bradley (FF-1041) underway at sea

On January 17, 1955, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) radioed the historic message, “Underway on nuclear power.” This was the foundation of a new era that…

Veterans Responsible for Cleanup of 1966 Nuclear Incident Dealt Blow By US Supreme Court

Ship crewmen standing around a hydrogen bomb

A blow has been dealt against the group of veterans behind a class-action suit aimed at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The group, led by…

The Soviet ‘Hiroshima’ Submarine That Inspired Harrison Ford’s ‘K-19: The Widowmaker’

Harrison Ford as Capt. Alexei Vostrikov in 'K-19: The Widowmaker'

K-19 was the first submarine of the Soviet Union’s Project 658, the first generation of Soviet nuclear submersibles that carried an armament of nuclear ballistic…

Typhoon-Class: The Last of the Famous Soviet Ballistic Missile Submarines Retired In 2023

Illustration of a Typhoon-class submarine next to a ship

The Typhoon-class – also known as Project 941 Akula – were six Soviet nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The largest ever constructed, they served with the…

National Emergency Command Post Afloat: The ‘Floating White Houses’ for Times of Nuclear War

USS Wright (CC-2) at sea + Mushroom cloud rising into the sky

During the 1960s, America’s Continuity of Operations plans included the National Emergency Command Post Afloat (NECPA). It was one of three parts – airborne, ground…

Project Iceworm: The US Military’s Plan to House and Deploy ICBMs from Beneath Greenland’s Ice

US Army Polar Research and Development Center personnel installing ceiling support beams + Missile being launched

Project Iceworm was a top-secret operation planned by the US Army during the Cold War. It intended to build a massive military base, housing several…

Black Sea Bumping Incident: When the Soviet Navy ‘Bumped’ the US Out of Its Territorial Waters

USS Yorktown (CG-48) being bumped by Bezzavetnyy

In the 1980s, the Soviet Union took several measures to get American warships out of its territorial waters – this including playing an old-fashioned game…