Ah the fifties! Hot rods, milkshakes, prosperity, and exciting new Giant Implements of Death. This is one of America’s, the Martin Mace cruise missile and MM-1 Teracruzer translauncher, designed to transport a nuclear warhead to a location from which it could blow up a Russian city. Yay!

With a range of only 1,000 to 2,000km, the TM-76A / MGM-13A Mace cruise missile needed to be fairly close to Russia to pose a viable threat. Thus the U.S deployed it in West Germany, which they were able to do following Germany’s defeat in World War 2, thereby bringing the Cold War to the heart of Europe. Thanks America.

It also explains why The Soviet Union felt the need to send their nuclear missiles to Cuba, in doing so sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis, to ensure their Giant Implements of Death could reach America in return.

Thankfully both countries have moved on from such pointless willy-wavi… oh, they haven’t? Sigh.

This superb recreation of a horrible device comes from Ralph Savelsberg, and there’s loads more to see at his ‘Teracruzer TEL and Mace cruise Missile’ album on Flickr. Alternatively, here’s a mini-figure riding a giant tortoise, which looks altogether more peaceful.