Objective acheived, then what?

[wikxie]

Saw 'Dr Strangelove' recently and it got me thinking...  In the deep dark days of the cold war, if things had gone really, really, wrong what was the official doctrine concerning what to after completing a strategic bombing mission? What was on the page after "bomb target"?  Was it return to base? (and hope it was still there!) Was it expected to be a one way mission? Was it left up to the crew (Find a wife in Mongolia)?

[NARSES2]

In a UK TV documentary on Britains Nuclear Deterrent one ex Vulcan pilot recalled being advised by his CO "that after dropping my bomb, I should continue east until I ran out of fuel, then find a nice Mongolian women and settle down"

Seriously it must of been horrendous for those crews leaving their families behind, knowing they were targets. This aspect was also covered in the series.

The series is quite often repeated on Channel 4 over here in the UK, well worth the watch

[RussC]

Recently, I visited the Titan museum, in Sonoita Az. The museum is a preserved silo complete with Titan II, sans warhead and the nasty propellant(s) which were equally feared. You can sit in the big chair, turn the key while the guide walks you through the checklist and the last item on it is reached , the "missile away" light goes on, accompanied by a surprisingly pleasant sounding bell. Its all literally bells and whistles. In every tour group someone always says "then what?". The guide, in my case a nice old gal in her 60's who used to be a commander at one of the sites said in reply to that, that she would go topside and sit on the lid of the silo to watch the show's second act -and probably be sure there was no third act. The checklist has 3 blank pages marked "notes" after the "missile away" item.
 The inside of the silo is covered in heat/fire resistant panels and blankets and equipped with a set of mechanicals to ensure that it could swiftly be reloaded and readied again. Wishful thinking?

  A relative who was in B-52's said the plan was to hit both primary and secondary targets, bringing no ordnance back, and then find an airfield in Northern Africa and await orders by radio while attempting to get fuel using the escape kit money/gold if needed.
 
  In the film "Dawn's early light" it was setting course for Bora Bora.

  In "On the Beach" it was going Aussie.
 
  In "The day after" it was about starting over, from scratch.