Nuclear Fireworks - Happy New Year 2014!

I have the coolest wife in the world!
We had planned to go somewhere dark for New Year's Eve to take some photos and possibly do some lightpainting, but when I came home from work, she had already decided that we would go to the abandoned nuclear weapons depot!
So, we quickly packed our equipment, also some salmon sandwiches and champagne (Hey, it was New Year's Eve!) and drove off to the Special Ammunition Site.
There is no possibility to drive the car directly into the depot, so there is alway a half-hour walk, and it was a little creepy, because there is no light at all, and every once in a while you can see the eyes of an animal in the beam of your flashlight...
Anyway, when we got there, we settled into one of the large bunkers, had some hot apple juice with cinnamon against the cold and started taking photos.

The theme is obvious: Happy New Year 2014!!!

Remnants of the Cold War - Nuclear Weapons Depot (Part 2)

Since the visit to the Special Ammunitions Site (SAS) was not planned at all, the drive there was a little adventure.
I knew where the site was, but I had no idea how to get there and what condition the roads - if any - were in. The last nuclear weapons depot was also situated in a very rural area and the anti-tank barriers were still there and we had to walk pretty far, so I reckoned it would be the same here. But there were no tank traps, just a couple of very muddy off-limits farm roads.
As it turned out, there would have been a road directly to the main gate, as the facility is partly used by civilian institutions such as the local forestry office - but with the chance of getting caught...

Anyway, here's the rest of the pictures.

Part 1 | Part 2

Remnants of the Cold War - Nuclear Weapons Depot

It was a rainy Saturday and the shopping trip with my wife and my mother-in-law was surprisingly short, so the three of us went for a spontaneous tour to a former U.S. Special Ammunitions Site (SAS).
I knew about this location but I didn't think that we would find the time. But we did!
In these depots, of which there are a lot in Germany, maintained and guarded by the U.S. Army, nuclear warheads were stored for use with German carrier systems within the scope of the so-called "nuclear sharing" in case of a nuclear war.
The layout of these depots was always the same (check out my visit to a different depot here): There was an inner ring, guarded by soldiers from the U.S. Army unit responsible for the depot, and an outer ring that was guarded by soldiers from the host nation - in this case Germany.
In this particular depot, the nucelar ammunition for the 2nd Panzergrenadierdivision (Armored Infantry Division) was stored, more specific warheads for the tactical short-range missile "Honest John", artillery grenades 203mm (8 inches) for the M110 howitzer and artillery grenades 155mm for the M109 howitzer.
The depot was active from 1962 until 1992.

Part 1 | Part 2

Abandoned Nuclear Weapons Depot (Part 2)

Did I mention that I went to explore an old US Nuclear Weapons depot in northern Germany last weekend?
I do think so.
Nonetheless, I also made some HDR photos that would like to share with you.
Since it was my first visit there, the focus was on documenting the site, so I only managed three pictures in HDR.
Here they are:

Part 1 | Part 2

Abandoned Nuclear Weapons Depot

Embedded right into the landscape somewhere in northern Germany lies this object almost entirely forgotten by history.
It used to be an American SAS (Special Ammunition Site).
These facilities were used to store, guard and service different types of nuclear weapons. In this facility, among others, W-52-warheads for MGM-29 Seargant short-range ballistic missiles were stored.

The site was built in 1960 and was guarded in two "rings", of which the outer ring alone was guarded by a batallion of soldiers.

When the American troops left in late 1991, they didn't leave much, obviusly. The buildings have been left, but with no interior left whatsoever.
But the area combined with its history sure makes for a very interesting trip and a great photo location!

Part 1 | Part 2