This week we continue our focus on the Cold War nuclear enterprise with the 1979 documentary “First Strike.”

Courtesy of Lion Heart Film Works, this film was created in partnership with the United States Department of Defense and the RAND Corporation to examine the United States Armed Forces strategy for dealing with nuclear warfare. The film that starts with showing a hypothetical Soviet nuclear first strike scenario leading to a U.S. surrender, followed by a United States Air Force “sales pitch” for more defense spending. The film became far better known when various clips were edited into the 1983 TV-movie “The Day After,” and the 1983 movie “War Games”.
The film used actual Air Force personnel for actors, filming on location at various United States Air Force installations. Specifically, the film used cameras on-board Strategic Air Command command planes out of Offutt Air Force Base, and also shot footage inside the SAC Headquarters where scenes were used to depict the NORAD Cheyenne Mountain Command Post. The nuclear missile launch sequence seen in the film (and later in “The Day After”) was performed by actual Air Force officers stationed with the 742d Missile Squadron at Minot Air Force Base.