Chasing Bears – RAF intercepts of Cold War Soviet aircraft – Part 1

Nick Anderson is a former RAF Phantom jet fighter pilot. We discuss flying in the Cold War and in detail how the RAF would have responded to a nuclear attack. We also talk about how QRA (Quick Reaction Alert)  worked and hear details of a number of missions Nick flew intercepting the Soviet  Tupolev Tu-95 codenamed … Read more

Cold War East German Army Officer Training

  Today we speak with Torsten Belger who trained as an Artillery Officer in the East German Army. Torsten also runs Germandotmilitaria which is a web site selling various items of East German militaria and civilian items too. It’s well worth a visit Adam Spink – you know who you are. Adam Spink is our … Read more

Training to be a Cold War US Army Tank Commander

  Today we’re talking to Neil Gussman who trained on the M60A1 tank in the 1970s. This was the standard main battle tank of the US Army from the 1960s through to the 1980s. If you are enjoying the podcasts you can get exclusive extras including previews of future episodes, as well as content that … Read more

Defending the Cold War Fulda Gap

  Today we talk again with Neil Gussman who was an M60A1 tank commander in West Germany tasked with defending the Fulda Gap which was a key likely Warsaw Pact attack route. We talk about his rushed initial deployment where he faced Warsaw Pact tanks across the border, details of various exercises he was in … Read more

The man who owns a Cold War Soviet Submarine

    Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron!   Welcome to Episode 35 of Cold War Conversations. Thanks to Wayne Sherwood who left another 5 star review on Itunes. Your reviews on itunes, or alternative podcast platforms as well as your posts on social media helps raise the profile and … Read more

The Cold War Korean War in Britain

  Welcome to Episode 31 of Cold War Conversations. We speak with Doctor Grace Huxford, author of the Korean War in Britain – Citizenship, Selfhood and Forgetting. The Korean War was known as the “forgotten war”, but it is key in understanding the early Cold War tensions and later repercussions that continue through to today. … Read more

Flying the Cold War SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane

  Welcome to Episode 27 of Cold war conversations. Today we are talking about the SR71 Blackbird spy plane of which only 32 were ever made. The great defensive ability of the plane was its high speed and altitude. Standard evasive action was just to accelerate, which made it almost invulnerable to the attack technologies … Read more

Gary Powers & the 1960 U2 Incident

    Welcome to episode 23 of Cold War Conversations. Today’s episode is the first in a new partnership we have formed with the Cold War Museum. We speak with Gary Powers Junior. His father piloted the U2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union. Powers’ U-2 was shot down on May 1, 1960, … Read more