In the mid-1950s, as the Cold War intensified, the Soviet Union tested its first true hydrogen bomb, raising the terrifying prospect of a nuclear attack on American soil. The United States had a dangerous weakness: its nuclear bombers sat on predictable airfields, vulnerable to a surprise Soviet strike. If many of America’s bombers were destroyed before they could take off, America could lose its ability to strike back. With its deterrent at risk, the Cold War had entered a dangerous new phase. The Navy had an audacious solution: a jet-powered flying boat that could deliver a nuclear strike without ever needing a runway. The Martin P6M SeaMaster would be the centerpiece of what the Navy called the Seaplane Striking Force, a fleet of bombers that would lie in wait, take off from the ocean at a moment’s notice, fly low to evade enemy radar, and strike Soviet targets from the sea. When the order came, these bombers could strike before the Soviets knew it was coming. But there was a problem. The Navy wasn’t supposed to have its own nuclear bomber fleet. Strategic bombing belonged to the Air Force. Instead, the Navy officially presented the SeaMaster as a high-speed minelayer. Behind the cover story, engineers were working tirelessly to turn an enormous seaplane into a near-supersonic strike aircraft that would rival the Air Force’s B-52. It meant battling punishing ocean conditions, violent vibrations, and a series of dangerous setbacks. By 1959, the redesigned SeaMaster was closer than ever to becoming operational. But a new threat emerged, and it didn’t come from the Soviet Union.
Source: Built For World War III
