U.S. Nuclear Target List From The 1950s Reveals That Population Centres In The Soviet Union Were Prime Targets

SSBN-726 Ohio-Class FBM Submarines. FAS.org

New York Times: 1950s U.S. Nuclear Target List Offers Chilling Insight

WASHINGTON — Target category No. 275 from the nuclear target list for 1959 may be the most chilling. It is called simply “Population.”

For the first time, the National Archives and Records Administration has released a detailed list of the United States’ potential targets for atomic bombers in the event of war with the Soviet Union, showing the number and the variety of targets on its territory, as well as in Eastern Europe and China.

It lists many targets for “systematic destruction” in major cities, including 179 in Moscow (like “Agricultural Equipment” and “Transformers, Heavy”), 145 in Leningrad and 91 in East Berlin. The targets are referred to as DGZs or “designated ground zeros.” While many are industrial facilities, government buildings and the like, one for each city is simply designated “Population.”

Update: US aimed to nuke civilian populations in enemy cities during Cold War – declassified document (RT).

WNU Editor: The Soviet Union had a similar list when it came to targeting U.S. sites .... population centres were prime targets. But the question that needs to be asked is .... in terms of targeting what has changed since the 1950s .... are population centres still prime targets? My money is on a "yes" answer.