In 1983, Soviet sensors detected incoming American nuclear missiles. Fortunately, Stanislav Petrov was the man in charge of the Oko nuclear early-warning system. Trusting his gut feeling, he disobeyed orders and waited to launch a counterattack. That intuition saved nuclear annihilation as the signals were all false alarms.

In 1962, the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba as a response to the United States placing nuclear missiles in Turkey. It is considered the sketchiest period in the war.

During the height of Cuban Missile Crisis tensions, U-2 pilot Charles Maultsby got thrown off course by the Northern Lights and accidentally encroached Soviet airspace. Russian MiGs and American F-102’s squared off as Maultsby turned around, guiding his U-2 out of enemy territory on an empty fuel tank.

During the American blockade of Cuba as part of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States destroyer USS Beale dropped warning charges near the Soviet Submarine B-59. Mistaking these for live fire, the submarine’s captain believed World War III had begun and ordered a nuclear counter attack. Fortunately, Vasili Arkhipov, the sub’s second in command prevented this decision from taking place.

In 1992, two nuclear submarines collided 12 miles off the Russian coast in waters America declared international and Russia declared Russian. The USS Baton Rouge was recovering spy equipment from the sea floor when it collided with B-276 Kostroma. Many believe the submarines never saw each other before the collision.

One of the tensest Cold War moments came after its technical conclusion in 1993, when two nuclear submarines collided for the second time in two years. The American USS Grayling lost track of Russian K-407 Novomoskovsk while trailer her. Once Grayling reestablished connection, the submarines were too close to avoid each other and collided. Both limped away with minor damage.

Looking for ways to undermine support for new Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the US Department of Defense came up with some truly wild plans in 1959. One of those involved a “false flag” scheme in which the United States would conduct acts of terrorism against itself and blame Cuba, hoping to justify an invasion. Fortunately President Kennedy put a decisive end to the plan.

Photo shows chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, who signed the plan.

In the face of total annihilation, the Soviet Union decided they needed a way to launch their nuclear arsenal even if they’d already been wiped out themselves. To further ensure mutually ensured destruction, they created the “Dead Hand,” a system that could detect nuclear activity and launch missiles without any human action. The system still exists today.

In 1966, two American planes collided off the coast of Spain, dropping their nuclear armaments in the process. Despite significant efforts, the United States couldn’t find one of the nuclear weapons and it presumably remains under the water off the coast of Palomares.

When Soviet Submarine K-129 sank in the Pacific Ocean in 1968, allegedly containing nuclear materials, the United States launched a daring mission to retrieve it. Outfitting a deep sea drill ship with a deep sea crane, the United States successfully recovered part of the submarine. The findings remain classified.

In 1958, a B-47 bomber flying over South Carolina accidentally dropped a nuclear weapon. The bomb’s conventional explosives detonated, damaging multiple homes, but the nuclear core hadn’t yet been placed inside the bomb when it was dropped.