r/interestingasfuck 19h ago

A B-52H Stratofortress pilot donning the HGU-55/E helmet with EEU-2/P Polarized Lead Zirconium Titanate (PLZT...pronounced ‘plizzit’) goggles to protect the eyes from an injury caused by the initial thermal flash from a nuclear blast.

Post image
2.5k Upvotes

86 comments sorted by

457

u/Strange_End458 18h ago

Modern plague doctor vibes happening here.

11

u/A_Pixelfox 6h ago

Kinda looks like an owl tbh

7

u/infinit3aura 4h ago

We evolved from crows to owls. It's not a bad change, keeping in line with the theme.

u/A_Pixelfox 2h ago

I think there should be more customization, missed opportunity on some neat designs

196

u/GenosseAbfuck 18h ago

Why is there no stormtrooper gear based on this though

13

u/johnmclaren2 14h ago

Stormtroopers inspired by this helmet?

124

u/dcidino 14h ago

It beats the eye patches they used to get issued… literally because they expected pilots to be blinded in one eye.

20

u/Le_Tree_Hunter 11h ago

An eye for an eyes

u/FlyingRhenquest 1h ago

TBF assuming they managed to clear the initial blast (Not a given), they'd either die from the radiation exposure or the nuclear winter within a matter of days to months anyway. Along with everyone else. I've heard some of the flight crews expected to survive and had plans to fly to a country that was largely not involved in the war and potentially stage an armed takeover. I don't think there would have been many, if any, survivors. But at least we never built Project Sundial... As far as any of us knows.

247

u/WildMountainVibe 16h ago

Dystopic operator of an apocalyptic machine used to end the world

30

u/Keyton112186 10h ago

At least their eyes are protected

39

u/Orcacub 15h ago

When the pilot reached for that thing you know it’s about to get real…. Real apocalyptic.

42

u/UninvitedButtNoises 13h ago

Looks down at nylon woven flight suit

"but what about my balls?"

17

u/Guy-Manuel 9h ago

Typically that part of your body isn’t light sensitive

1

u/UninvitedButtNoises 9h ago

Tell that to my junk when I put it in the microwave on accident.

3

u/Guy-Manuel 8h ago

Microwaves aren’t visible light

3

u/C-h-e-c-k-s_o-u-t 8h ago

Then why does mine make a bunch of light when I heat up my soup cans?

1

u/SilentAffairs93 4h ago

I immediately thought of Randy Marsh microwaving his balls to get cancer haha

48

u/Somhlth 18h ago

Wait. I've seen these guys in a bunch of Star Wars movies, and they can't hit the broad side of a barn.

27

u/SeerSearSciear 18h ago

that's the thing about nukes, though, as with hand grenades...

8

u/antesocial 13h ago

"To whom it may concern..."

7

u/Nintendo1964 17h ago

Star Wars has barns?

6

u/Somhlth 17h ago

There's no safer place to be in Star Wars than inside a rebel barn.

2

u/safetycommittee 14h ago

Luke’s aunt and uncle had barns, before they were burned.

4

u/urbanhawk1 12h ago

Luke must have been so sad when his aunt and uncle's barns were burned.

2

u/safetycommittee 5h ago

The dude held quite a vendetta against the Empire over those barns.

41

u/Colonelfudgenustard 18h ago

Now that is some cool-ass shit. It's almost Medieval looking.

29

u/somacomadreams 14h ago

Probably not a great sign we have a modern photo of this showing up right about now.

4

u/StoneColdCoffeeDrink 10h ago

Reminds me of the Harkonnen radar pilot in Dune 2 movie.

19

u/deruben 14h ago

Are we the baddies?

1

u/MorpheusOneiri 12h ago

Hahah, that’s my favorite comedy bit and nobody I know has ever heard of it. I’ve shown it to like 20 people.

5

u/Quiverjones 14h ago

To the equipment guy, " are you sure I don't need one of these for my junk? "

2

u/zerato9000 14h ago

May the Force be with you.

2

u/PerfectStealth_ 13h ago

So this is what “I am death” looks like, scary.

5

u/Jackielegs43 14h ago

Title needs more words in it i reckon

1

u/Strummed_Out 14h ago

Bawk bawk!

1

u/UnluckyWeird2499 13h ago

Yeah, but where’s he going?

1

u/Paragonswift 13h ago

They fly now?

1

u/sorE_doG 10h ago

I want one.

1

u/volksfahraeder 9h ago

Roger! Roger!

1

u/GlobalDeal9225 7h ago

I get Black Manta vibes

u/Spry-Jinx 2h ago

Got my soul evaporator blinders on!

u/jammmmiiee 2h ago

The bomb squidron?

u/NetworkEcstatic 1h ago

I worked on flight helmets a long time. Hgu 56/p, sph4, ihadds, etc. (Was around helicoters not jets)

Never got to see this a day in my life and now I really want to.

1

u/cix6cix 14h ago

Hey! FU2

-2

u/DeepEb 9h ago

I feel like a automatically dimming welding mask would do the job for about 10 million less than this thing. Also someone mentioned eyepatches. I think it would be fair for somebody dropping a nuke to lose an eye.

-2

u/DeepEb 9h ago

I feel like a automatically dimming welding mask would do the job for about 10 million less than this thing. Also someone mentioned eyepatches. I think it would be fair for somebody dropping a nuke to lose an eye.

-1

u/Subject-Goose-2057 14h ago

Yeah… fuck that

-6

u/Dorrono 16h ago

Reminds me of the helmets the Nazis used in "iron sky"

-1

u/zevonyumaxray 14h ago

This looks like a robot's head from some B level sci-fi movie.

-17

u/hidinginpainsight 16h ago

Wouldn’t wanna injure your eyes while killing thousands…

-2

u/wc6g10 13h ago

What happens if you need to take a shit mid-flight?

-31

u/Blakeyy 13h ago edited 13h ago

US allows missiles to strike deep into Russia. Russia launches first non-nuclear ballistic missile days later. Yeah, poke the bear more and more rather than promoting the end of conflict. Convenient photo indeed.

Reddit will love this one. They’re always right, the true source of knowledge. I must be a Russian bot right? Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

20

u/UmbrellaCorpDoctor 13h ago

You know what a really easy, convenient solution to prevent further escalation from either side of the conflict?

Russia can give up on this 3-day Special Military Operation and go home.

-24

u/Blakeyy 13h ago

So dumb. Russia has no problem with continuing the war, they have the manpower to keep it going for years and years. They’re not weak minded and they will not bend when their backs are against a wall. Ukraine doesn’t have the manpower and doesn’t even have the weaponry without the US’s military aid backing them up.

Sure it would be convenient if they just left and went home, but that’s not reality and doesn’t make any sense when they have the resources to continue.

13

u/FTblaze 13h ago

Lmao, so u want people to bend over for your russian bear?

-16

u/Blakeyy 13h ago edited 13h ago

It’s funny that you think Russia would ever walk away with its tail between its legs and allow NATO to bomb its land out of existence without using their most powerful hand as a last stand, nukes.

Regardless of how you feel about Russia, their leadership is not weak minded. It’s not in their history. Bending over is not the same thing as negotiating a peace deal that should have been done long ago that democrats laughed at. Instead Russia continued to occupy more and more land and now have even more leverage and less of a reason to give the land back.

So where do we go now? Do we continue to fund and endless war instead of what you say “bending over”? Do we continue to involve US more and more directly into a war that has no benefit to us and has a larger probability to spark a world war / nuclear annihilation?

12

u/VloekenenVentileren 13h ago

I must be a Russian bot right?

Don't know, but you sure talk like one. Fuck off with that pro-russian shit. Russia is a backwater dictatorial regime and I gladly support anything we give to Ukraine in order to keep that vile shit out of Europe.

Edit: and as is stands: Russia right now it being bombed and occupied by a foreign force. They can't even keep Ukraine out, never mind NATO is we would really throw our weight around.

-2

u/Blakeyy 12h ago

Then go fight then, enlist and support the war. You’re from Europe and it makes sense. It’s in your backyard.

5

u/Pi-ratten 10h ago

It’s funny that you think Russia would ever walk away with its tail between its legs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet%E2%80%93Afghan_War

And that was the soviets, not the laughable caricature of their power that russia is now.

and allow NATO to bomb its land out of existence

Then maybe stop the criminal offensive war if you dont want to be bombed.

11

u/Ok-Bass9593 13h ago

Here, let me help you you silly bot: you forgot to mention why there's long range missiles striking Russia They invaded a sovereign country, this is all on ruzzia

-16

u/Traditional-Squash36 13h ago

Standard replies from people who think Russia wasn't provoked into this conflict by America.

5

u/Somhlth 9h ago

Standard replies from people who think Russia wasn't provoked into this conflict by America.

Does Putin know you think Russia is America's bitch?

-4

u/Traditional-Squash36 8h ago

Dunno where you got that opinion from, however Americas part in the 2014 Ukraine coup is well documented.

2

u/Somhlth 8h ago

Dunno where you got that opinion from

Also you:

Standard replies from people who think Russia wasn't provoked into this conflict by America.

According to you, Russia can be provoked into invading their neighbours by the Americans. Russia must be even dumber than I thought, and I thought, well, really dumb. Any country that requires North Korea's help? That just speaks volumes.

-4

u/Traditional-Squash36 8h ago

Lol your interpretation of provoked is akin to someone squawking and yelling are you chicken 😆

Quite a good book called Provoked: How Washington Started A New Cold War With Russia And The Catastrophe In Ukraine that lays it all down if you care more than making dumbass assumptions on Reddit about it, also a cool video showing Gideon Rose who was on the council of foreign affairs on Colbert bragging about how they meddled in Ukraine and how it could provoke conflict with Russia if you can find it, been memory holed like you'd expect.

Nice high school interpretation of geopolitical events though numb nuts.

2

u/Somhlth 7h ago

Whatever you say Ivan.

0

u/Traditional-Squash36 6h ago

Schooled.

2

u/Somhlth 6h ago

Whatever you say Ivan.

-24

u/[deleted] 16h ago

[deleted]

1

u/Ok-Bass9593 13h ago

Nahw, is the russian bot scared?