The Polish nuclear weapons depot is located in Podbolsk, West Coast Province
The Polish Chinese Forum - Chińczycy w Polsce - is in the middle of the forest, far from any building, but at the same time close to the railway line. Poland's last well-preserved nuclear weapons depot was in the village of Podborsko in The Western Coast Province. Soviet soldiers were stationed here until the 90s. What the Polish army did here since 2005 is also a mystery.
The village of Podbok is a small village located several kilometers from Białogard county , about 150 km from the capital Szczecin. According to the latest official figures, only a few dozen people live there. It is located in the middle of a dense forest, away from residential areas. However, just behind a gate weighing several tons in the same forest, deadly Soviet weapons were stored in strict secrecy.
Cold War Museum Pod Borsco 3001
There are many indications that nuclear warheads were stored in this place until 1988, although this date is not entirely certain. It must be remembered that the entire facility is kept strictly confidential. This makes it very difficult to confirm certain information. In fact, we can only rely on what has been preserved in this facility, the testimony of witnesses and documents preserved in the archives of the National Institute of Memorials — said Pave Urbaiak, an expert at the Kołobrzeg Military Museum in Poland. The expert was the head of the "3001 Project".
At that time, according to the Warsaw Pact, the main enemy was the West, and it was against them, especially the countries that belonged to NATO. Moscow-controlled communist Poland wanted to "defend itself." Preparations for the outbreak of World War III are underway. Only a dozen people in Poland know the purpose of the "Project 3001" construction.
The facility was built by Polish soldiers. The building is funded by the Polish government. All this was within the framework of an agreement with the USSR. Poland had announced the construction of such a facility, for which she paid the price, and in December 1969, when the construction of the "Project 3001" was completed, she handed it over to Soviet soldiers. Since then, Poles have no right to enter. Urbayak said that meant Polish facilities were handed over to the Soviet government.
Group photo of the defenders of the "3001 Project"
In total, three such buildings were constructed. Both are in western Poland. Only the facilities in Podbolsk remained in such good condition. It is estimated that the nuclear warhead depot in Podbolsk has been preserved for more than 90 years. The building was shrouded in strict secrecy from the beginning. Only 12 people know the details of the building, the purpose of the facilities and what exactly is stored here. They were all senior officers of the Polish command.
The soldiers who built the facility had a strong level of knowledge. We've spoken to a few of them. However, their knowledge is limited to purely technical issues. After construction was completed, they also had to leave here. It should also be remembered that the Polish side is only responsible for the construction of building shells. The problems with internal equipment, electricity, and systems were in the hands of the Soviet soldiers. It was not until the moment when the Soviet Union left Polish territory that the Poles saw the complete bunker structure.
As a result, the Polish soldiers who built Project 3001 knew very little. They are construction technology, i.e. backup command centers or communication centers. We spoke with the people who built this facility. They claim that after some time they speculated that the construction project was not genuine - Urbaiak explained. - The specifications of these objects do not match. They suspect it's a warehouse. We can say that although the entire project is confidential, they have no idea how "special" it is.
Only 12 people knew the details of the construction, the purpose of the facility and what was stored in the shelter
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was aware of the intent of Project 3001 (to build a nuclear weapons storage facility in Poland). The CIA estimates that Poland had about 200 nuclear warheads in stockpiles at the time. The exact number in each bunker was not specified, but the 200 warheads were all deployed in three facilities. This means that there are dozens of them stored in each facility. Based on this information, we can estimate that there are about 60 nuclear warheads in Podbolsk. It is estimated that the power of each warhead found here can reach 500kt. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 had a power of only 15 kt," Urbaiak said.
Podbolsk was the ideal location for the construction of the "3001 Project". It is located in a dense forest, just 3 km from the railway line. An important condition was also proximity to the Soviet military unit in Biavogad, a few kilometers from Podborg. About six thousand people were stationed there. Soviet soldiers kept the facility safe when necessary. The third condition is proximity to military training grounds. Just behind the railway line.
No buildings have ever been built in this area. In the 1960s, in the dense forest, trees were cut down for the construction of the "3001 Project". Soldier barracks and three nuclear warhead warehouses were built: two almost identical, used as storage for nuclear warheads, and a third, of the granite type, whose exact use remains a mystery.
Only 12 people knew the details of the construction, the purpose of the facility and what was stored in the shelter
Each warehouse has a loading and unloading hall connected to four nuclear ammunition depots. Each room can accommodate 20 nuclear warheads. This means that, if necessary, the Project 3001 facility can store up to 160 nuclear warheads simultaneously.
Both main warehouses are underground halls with very large spaces, each with an area of more than a thousand square meters. The whole thing is covered with a layer of earthen embankments, hiding two entrances. - Both entrances have two secure armored doors. We estimate the weight of each door to be between five and seven tons. They were built to withstand shock waves in the event of a nuclear explosion near the warehouse.
Poland will strike Denmark first
One of the biggest secrets of Project 3001 is how to get dozens of nuclear warheads into it. And how they were taken away later. - We can assume that the transport of the warheads was carried out in secret military columns - Urbaniac said. Although these are speculations based on a small number of available documents, conversations with the parties and their own analysis. - In the case of road transport, it is likely that ZiŁ 131 trucks were used. Each such truck can carry one or two heads, depending on their size. It is a very valuable cargo, and if it is transported by road, the safety of this transport can be imagined. The second option is rail transport. There are documents showing the exact calculation of how many trucks can be handled by the ramp of Podbolsk railway station. They are ready for such a transport — he added.
Soldiers guarding nuclear missile depots
A total of 11 such warehouses were built in the Soviet Union, three of which were in Poland. Two were in East Germany, three were in what was then Czechoslovakia, and the other was in Hungary or Bulgaria. They were placed along the entire Western Front. We assume that if the transition from the Cold War to open armed conflict, the Polish army will receive nuclear weapons from three warehouses in the country. This one is for the fight against Denmark. - On the first day, we should have about 38 nuclear bombs. Only after this airdrop can Polish infantry and heavy equipment enter - Urbaniak reminds.
The last nuclear warheads were probably withdrawn from Podbolsk in 1988, when Soviet soldiers finally left the area in the fall of 1992, with their comrades serving in Biavogad a few kilometers away.
The Poles also don't want to reveal what they did in Podbolsk
Of Poland's three nuclear weapons storage facilities, only Podbolsk survived. After the Polish army abandoned the takeover and handed it over to the national treasury, the rest became victims of looters and saboteurs. The situation was different in Podbolsk, where the facility was managed by the Polish army until 2005. - The Polish army kept its movements in the area secret. The documents are secret, and no one knows what happened there over the past 10 to 20 years, until 2005. — Urbaniac emphasized.
Even the soldiers who were on duty and guarding Podbolsk at the time did not know what had happened at the former nuclear weapons depot. Even if they guarded the facilities themselves, no one ever went in. The plans of the Polish army in Podbolsk remain a mystery to this day.
It was not until after 2005 that the building gradually began to change its use. When the Polish soldiers left Podbolsko, the original barracks were converted into prisons and the entire facility was taken over by koszalin's detention center. In 2013, it was taken over by the Historical Watchtower Foundation, and then by the West Coast Secret Historical Society. In September 2016, it became the Cold War Museum Pod Borsco 3001.
The facility is only open to visitors on certain days. You can see not only the construction of the entire warehouse, but also the warehouse where the nuclear warheads were stored 20 years ago. Inside, you can see a complete set of devices, rooms that ensure the safety of personnel, storage rooms, and loading and unloading halls for nuclear warheads, which can still be operated.