British Nukes Armed with a Bicycle Lock Key
Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:43 pm
http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/11/b ... kes-a.html
Well into the late 1990's, arming one of Britain's nuclear weapons required no special knowledge, and no special hardware. All that was needed was a single key, like the kind you use to open a bicycle lock.
There are no codes," former nuclear engineer Brian Burnell explains to a BBC reporter, as they stand around a "training version" of a WE.177 nuclear bomb. "You need access to the arming panel, and for that, just a strong fingernail or screwdriver would do.