Fifty years of heritage (edition 6) Published March 4, 2011 910 AW/PA YOUNGSTOWN AIR RESERVE STATION, Ohio -- Each Thursday in 2011, the 910th AW/PA office will republish a historic article or highlight from the archive along with a brief commentary. In the case of articles, we will publish exact copies of the originals, so any grammatical or typographical errors are intentional reproductions. Each week will feature a different year in Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) history, beginning with 1957 and ending with 2007. Editor's note: The next several heritage pieces will feature Cold War related articles from our 1961 collection. We are missing but searching for base magazines dated 1962-1966. The following article from the October 1961 Blue Tiger Rag is a continuation of heritage piece 5 and will be published in three installments. The article discusses Cold War civil defense strategies of the Soviet Union. WHAT IS RUSSIA DOING ABOUT CIVIL DEFENSE (Editor's Note: This is the second last installment of the article written by Leon Goure', Soviet Area Specialist Department of Social Science, RAND Corp.) Shelters, Other Protection: There is little information available on actual construction of shelters by the Russians, although general information on Soviet Shelters exists in abundance. While the Soviet population made use of a variety of shelters during the second World War, few of these would be suitable for present conditions. According to Soviet civil defense literature, the requirements of a modern Soviet shelter are: That it have a fire resistantproof and be capable of withstanding the thermal radiation of a nuclear explosion. That the roof be below the surface of the earth and provide a sufficient attenuation factor for fallout radiation. Soviet standards on permissible radiation levels are on the whole, similar to those of the West. Fifty roentgens is considered to be the limit of permissible immediate doses; 100 roentgens is an outside permissible cumulative dose over a relatively short period of time. That the roof be capable of withstanding the collapse of the building above, the attenuated blast wave of a nuclear explosion, and direct hits by small or medium caliber high explosive and incendiary bombs. That it have at least one emergency exit with a tunnel, located so as no to be buried under debris. That permanent shelters in likely target areas be capable of hermetical sealing against seepage of chemical-viological-radiation weapon agents and of blast wave, and be equipped to relatively long-term occupancy. Soviet manuals describe a wide variety of shelters: heavy detached shelters, detached shelters, subways, basement shelters, field and emergency shelters. Only deep underground shelters, according to Soviet sources, can survive near the ground zero of a nuclear blast. Such heavy, detached shelters are built as tunnels with reinforced concrete walls and have space for upwards of 150 persons, filter-ventilators, steel airtight double doors, food and water storage, toilet facilities, communication equipment and possibly chemical air purifiers and bottled oxygen. Another heavy detached type is similar to a World War II bunker with very thick reinforced concrete walls and roof, designed to withstand probably 200 to 300 pounds of pressure per square inch. Such shelters may be two stories high and have equipment similar to that in the deep shelters. A detached shelter frequently described in Soviet literature is the so-called "layer" or "pit" type. This shelter has a roof of one or more thick slabs of reinforced concrete covered with a layer of earth, which may be several feet thick. It is supported by concrete or brick pillars or internal walls which divide the shelter into compartments. Such shelters are partially or completely underground and will probably withstand in excess of 100 pounds of pressure per square inch. They will also be equipped with double doors, filter, ventilation units, toilets, water, and other such necessities. These shelters may have space for from 150 to several thousand persons.