When a Balloon Caused the Biggest Panic in U.S. History

Описание: In the winter of 1955, a strange radar echo over Alaska triggered one of the most terrifying alerts in American history. Within minutes, U.S. airbases scrambled nuclear bombers, command centers went to high alert, and generals prepared for a Soviet attack that never came. The truth, discovered hours later, was almost unbelievable the “enemy fleet” invading American airspace was nothing more than a cluster of drifting weather balloons. This documentary uncovers how a simple atmospheric anomaly nearly pushed the world to the brink of nuclear war, revealing the fragile line between vigilance and paranoia during the early years of the Cold War. From frozen radar outposts to the birth of America’s missile warning systems, this is the forgotten story of how fear, technology, and human error almost changed history forever.

Sources
– U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency, “Early Cold War Air Defense and the DEW Line” (1955–1960)
– North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) declassified reports, “False Alarm Incidents and Radar Anomalies” (1955–1979)
– Smithsonian Air and Space Archives, “Weather Balloons and the Cold War Sky”
– National Security Archive, George Washington University “False Alerts and Accidental Nuclear Signals: The Human Factor in Cold War Defense”
– National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Cold War Files, Series: Strategic Air Command Operations, 1950–1965