HAVE you ever wondered what would happen if a nuclear bomb detonated in Somerset?

The concept of a warhead being aimed directly at the south west may sound far-fetched, but Government officials believed it could have been a possibility amid the Cold War tensions of the early 1970s.

In May 1972, the Government circulated a top-secret list of 106 “probable nuclear targets” in the United Kingdom to key military personnel, which was released by the National Archives in 2014.

The list included major towns and cities (including nearby Bristol), centres of government, communications facilities, and military sites – including RNAS Yeovilton, which remains one of country’s busiest airbases.

A tool developed by Outrider allows people to see what would happen if a nuclear explosion occurred in their village, town, or city.

The map, ‘What Happens in a Bomb Blast’, is based on NUKEMAP, a tool created by Alex Wallerstein, a historian of nuclear weapons and an assistant professor of science and technology studies at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Describing the tool, Outrider said: “Nuclear weapons are the most destructive weapons on the planet. You may not even realize how powerful they really are.

“Use this tool to better understand the effects of a nuclear detonation.

“Learn more about how the fireball, shock wave, radiation, and heat would separately impact a targeted city.”

So, what would happen if a 300-kiloton nuclear weapon detonated at Somerset’s former “probable nuclear target”?

Somerset County Gazette: DEVASTATION: The tool was designed to help people "better understand the effects of a nuclear detonation" (Image: outrider.org)DEVASTATION: The tool was designed to help people "better understand the effects of a nuclear detonation" (Image: outrider.org)

The explosion would create an enormous fireball, which the tool estimates would vaporise anyone or anything within a 0.73 square mile radius of ground zero.

Outrider’s map shows this fireball would be large enough to destroy most of the Yeovilton base entirely, while the nearby village of Podimore would also be reduced to dust.

The radiation zone would spread for 5.56 miles, within which people who survive the heat and shockwave would absorb around 800 times more radiation than the average American would be exposed to in a year.

This would cause up to 90 per cent of heat and shockwave survivors to “die a painful death from radiation poisoning within a few hours to a few weeks”.

Symptoms of acute radiation poisoning would include nausea, fatigue, and hair loss.

Somerset County Gazette: EXPLOSION: The searing heat would spread for 49 square miles (Image: outrider.org)EXPLOSION: The searing heat would spread for 49 square miles (Image: outrider.org)

The explosion’s shock wave would spread for just over 11 square miles and would be powerful enough to destroy most buildings in West Camel, Chilton Cantelo, and Limington.

The shockwave would be accompanied by hurricane-force winds, which would cause structures to collapse and debris to fly, making the chances of survival slim.

Within around 49 square miles of ground zero, the heat of the explosion would be severe enough to cause “severe or fatal third-degree burns”.

According to Outrider: “Within the radius shown here, wood, clothing, paper, and plastics would catch fire.

“Even outside this boundary, the heat would still be intense enough to cause first- and second-degree burns.”

This radius would include Ilchester, Marston Magna, Queen Camel and Kingsdon.

In total, an estimated 4,037 people would be killed by the attack, while a further 13,100 people would be injured.