ενημέρωση 1:28, 16 May, 2026

εγκαταλελειμμένα κτιρία του Ψυχρού Πολέμου

Μετά την ήττα της Ναζιστικής Γερμανίας το 1945, αναπτύχθηκε μια ανησυχητική αντίθεση μεταξύ των συμμάχων του ΝΑΤΟ υπό την ηγεσία των ΗΠΑ και του ανατολικού μπλοκ που κυριαρχείται από την ΕΣΣΔ.

Για τις επόμενες τέσσερις δεκαετίες οι δύο πλευρές προετοίμασαν μια σύγκρουση που ευτυχώς δεν συνέβη ποτέ. Αυτός ο «Ψυχρός Πόλεμος» τελείωσε μετά την κατάρρευση της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης το 1991, αλλά δεκαετίες αργότερα τα ίχνη αυτών των ισχυρών πολεμικών μηχανών παραμένουν σε όλο τον κόσμο.

Το συναρπαστικό νέο βιβλίο εγκαταλείφθηκε από τον Robert Grenville, εξερευνά πολλά από αυτά τα λείψανα με περισσότερες από 170 εντυπωσιακές φωτογραφίες, από  ένα τεράστιο νεκροταφείο αεροσκάφους που στεγάζει περισσότερα από 4.000 αεροσκάφη των ΗΠΑF στην έρημο της Αριζόνα στα υποθαλάσσια ναυάγια στο Βλαδιβοστόκ.

Ο Ρόμπερτ γράφει: «Μέχρι τη στιγμή που ο Ουίνστον Τσόρτσιλ μίλησε το 1946 για ένα σιδερένιο παραπέτασμα που έρχεται σε όλη την Ευρώπη, οι γραμμές μάχης για αυτόν τον« πόλεμο που δεν ήταν »σχεδιάστηκαν. 

«Όταν το τείχος του Βερολίνου κατέπεσε το 1989 και η Σοβιετική Ένωση κατέρρευσε δύο χρόνια αργότερα, ο ψυχρός πόλεμος τελείωσε, αλλά άφησε το σημάδι του σε όλο τον πλανήτη».

Μετακινηθείτε προς τα κάτω για να δείτε μερικές από τις συναρπαστικές εικόνες που εμφανίζονται στο βιβλίο, με υπότιτλους από τον συγγραφέα ... 

Υποθαλάσσια ναυάγια, Βλαδιβοστόκ, Ρωσία 

Τα απογυμνωμένα κάτω από το ναυάγιο υποβρύχια της κατηγορίας Foxtrot βρίσκονται παγιδευμένα στον πάγο έξω από τη ναυτική βάση στο Βλαδιβοστόκ.  Η κατηγορία Foxtrot ήταν πετρελαιοκίνητα υποβρύχια που προορίζονταν για να κυνηγούν σκάφη του ΝΑΤΟ.  Το πρώτο υποβρύχιο κατηγορίας Foxtrot τέθηκε σε λειτουργία το 1958 και θα μπορούσε να παραμείνει βυθισμένο για έως και πέντε ημέρες με πλήρωμα 78
 
Ο πύραυλος Bloodhound επιφανείας-αέρος τέθηκε σε λειτουργία το 1958 και αναπτύχθηκε για να προστατεύσει τους βρετανικούς θορύβους Thor και τις β-βομβαρδιστικές βάσεις από οποιοδήποτε σοβιετικό βομβαρδισμό που είχε ξεφύγει από την παρακολούθηση από τους μαχητές της RAF.  Το αναβαθμισμένο Mk.  ΙΙ παρέμεινε σε υπηρεσία μέχρι το 1991
 
Approximately 4,000 aircraft are stored at Davis-Monthan. Most are eventually scrapped or raided for spares, but two B-52s have been restored to active service to replace those lost in accidents. The latest took four months to become airworthy after being in storage for over ten years
 

Former submarine pen, Vis, Croatia 

Ένα μικρό νησί στην Αδριατική Θάλασσα, το Vis ήταν για λίγους μήνες κατά τη διάρκεια του Β 'Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου, την έδρα του Τίτο, πρώην κομμουνιστικού προέδρου της Γιουγκοσλαβίας και των Παρτιζάνων του.  Μετά τον πόλεμο, το νησί αναπτύχθηκε σε μια σημαντική οχυρωμένη στρατιωτική βάση, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των υποβρυχίων στυπειών και των πυρηνικών δεξαμενών για τον Τίτο και το γενικό του προσωπικό.  Ο Γιουγκοσλαβικός Στρατός αποσύρθηκε το 1992 και είναι πλέον τουριστικός χώρος
 
Μαγκαντάν, Περιφέρεια Κολμάμα, Σιβηρία 
Their engines removed, the airframes of two Sukhoi Su-15 Flagon interceptors await scrapping. Magadan was in the front line of the Cold War, close to the Pacific Ocean. The Su-15 was developed as a counter to the US B-52 strategic bomber, and could travel over twice the speed of sound. It was a Soviet Su-15 aircraft that shot down Korean Air Flight 007 in 1983 after it flew into restricted airspace, killing all on board
Bechevinka, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia 
An aerial view of the housing built for the staff of this former base, known as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-54. Established in 1960, it was an important naval base for much of the Cold War, but was closed in 1996 and is now a remote tourist destination on Russia's Pacific coast
Former R-12U Missile Silo, Tirza, Latvia 
Now overrun by nature, underneath the concrete dome once lurked an R-12U nuclear missile capable of reaching targets throughout Europe. The R-12 was the missile that provoked the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. In the event of a nuclear launch being authorized, the dome would have opened to allow the missile to launch
Radar, RAF Neatishead, Norfolk, England 
Part of the original ROTOR network, RAF Neatishead was a key component of the UK air defence network during the Cold War. In February 1966 one of the staff deliberately started a fire in the bunker that burned for nine days before it could be extinguished and cost the lives of three civilian firemen. He was sentenced to seven years¿ imprisonment
Former bunker, Valbona, Albania 
In the shadow of Albania¿s Accursed Mountains lie these concrete Cold War bunkers near Valbona. After Enver Hoxha, the Communist leader of Albania, broke from the Soviet sphere of influence in 1968, many bunkers were built throughout the country against the threat of invasion until his death in 1985
T-62 tank wreck, Bulgaria 
Bulgaria¿s armed forces, like those of the other Warsaw Pact nations, operated Soviet-designed equipment, though usually a generation or two behind the types used by the Soviet forces themselves. Some weapons were licence-built in Warsaw Pact factories. Perhaps used for target practice, or as a result of mechanical failure, this T-62 tank has been long abandoned
Former US Army Black Hills Ordnance Depot, South Dakota
Opened in 1942, the depot was used for the storage and maintenance of various types of ordnance. Chemical weapons such as mustard gas and sarin were tested on-site. The depot was closed in 1967. In 2016, it was bought by a developer who has converted some of the 575 bunkers into shelters that allow up to 24 people to survive for one year
Alternate command post, Long-Range Aviation, Moscow 
Long-Range Aviation was the arm of the Soviet Air Force responsible for long-range nuclear bomber strikes, equivalent to the USAF's Strategic Air Command. As Soviet military command structures were likely to be targeted by a Nato nuclear strike, alternative locations like the one shown were constructed to ensure that military operations such as a Soviet counterstrike could continue unhindered
Former Soviet submarine repair facility, Balaklava, Crimea 
This former Soviet submarine repair base in the Crimea would have been a likely target for a Nato nuclear missile, or certainly been affected by any fallout from an attack on the major Soviet naval base at Sevastapol nearby. Workers at the base would have been required to wear full protective equipment against nuclear or chemical attack, such as the suits shown, which would have seriously inhibited their ability to work
Former listening station, Teufelsberg, Germany 
The Cold War was a bitter struggle between West and East for information on what the other side was planning. With such a small window of warning for any nuclear strike, both Nato and the Warsaw Pact spent much time and effort on advanced technology that might give them an advantage should war break out
Redstone Rocket Test Site, Huntsville, Alabama 
In 1950 the former V-2 rocket scientists and engineers led by Wernher von Braun were established at what later became the Marshall Space Flight Center. They developed the Redstone, a short-range ballistic missile that was the first US missile to carry and detonate a live nuclear warhead. In the foreground are the bunkers used to store the warheads before launch
Mil Mi-2 helicopters, former airfield, Russia 
Over 5,000 Mi-2 helicopters were built in Poland after 1961. These belonged to a Soviet paramilitary sports society that helped prepare reserves for active service
Abandoned Buran transport, Baikonur, Kazakhstan 
In response to the US Space Shuttle programme, the Soviet Union developed the Buran reusable spacecraft. This giant transporter carried the Buran and its Energia launch rocket to the launchpad. Only one unmanned orbital flight took place in 1988 before the programme was cancelled in 1993
Former warhead storage room, Podborsko, Poland 
The slots in the floor of this bunker room show where the racking stood for storing the nuclear warheads. There were four such rooms in the Podborsko bunker, and another two similar sites in Poland. Exactly what was stored in the bunkers has not been discovered, as the records were removed before the end of the Cold War
Telecommunications unit, ARK D-0 Bunker, Konjic, Bosnia
Tito ordered the secret construction of the ARK in what is now Bosnia in 1953. Dug out of a mountain, construction continued until 1979. The entrance was concealed behind what appeared to be an ordinary house. The occupants had supplies to last up to six months, with communications enabling contact with the outside world
Alert level notice, Kelvedon Hatch Bunker, Essex, England 
The Bikini State system was introduced in 1970 to give an easily-understandable level of alert, similar to the US Defcon system, except the Bikini States were for individual units or establishments rather than applied on a national level. The system has now been replaced
All images taken from the book Abandoned Cold War Places by Robert Grenville (ISBN 978-1-78274-917-2) published by Amber Books Ltd  and available from bookshops and online booksellers (RRP £19.99). Pictured is a former Soviet nuclear submarine base in Balaklava Bay, near Sevastopol, Russia
 
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