Startup code - 00000000

At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the US have amassed a huge arsenal of intercontinental nuclear missiles aimed at each other. Countries were ready to strike back at any time if the enemy decides to attack. One of the main problems was the maximum speed of retaliation. This should have been done before the enemy's missiles will fly to the target and destroy the missile silos. As it is now revealed to accelerate the retaliatory US military established a very simple code confirm the start: "00000000". This code worked for two decades.

Probably, the army would have preferred to launch rockets without any code, but in 1962, President Kennedy signed a memorandum National Security Action Memorandum 160, according to which every nuclear missile in the US need to be equipped with a special device control Permissive Action Link (PAL), which blocked the system startup before entering the correct code.

Protection system ensured that no person having authority to gain access to the US nuclear arsenal can not put it into action. It was not only protection from foreign enemies who could seize weapons, but also by their own commanders - to one of them as a result of mental breakdown has not started an accidental nuclear war.

System Permissive Action Link (PAL) was considered absolutely reliable. The eight code assumes hundred million combinations. But the US Army, apparently, was not too happy with the order of President Kennedy, and actually sabotaged the order. It turns out that even after 20 years, half of US nuclear missiles in Europe was not equipped with devices for PAL and run simple mechanical switch. On most of the missiles, which have established PAL, the device was activated only after 1977. Installing devices on US missiles began only under the personal supervision of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who acted on the direct orders of President Kennedy. But there has not been without pads. Thus, in one of the main bunkers US Strategic Air Command provided the activation of devices in the presence of McNamara, but as soon as he was gone - all set to launch rockets code "00000000" and issued a code listing of every soldier on duty (firing crew).

This information has become known from the memoirs officer Bruce Blair (Bruce G. Blair), who served on the launch of intercontinental ballistic missiles LGM-30 "Minuteman". He said that senior officers blocked all the numbers on the launchpad, except zero, to ensure that soldiers can not accidentally enter the wrong numbers.

The army could not be assumed that in the event of a nuclear attack enemy own arsenal would be inoperative due to the fact that someone can not enter the code.

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