In 1972, hostilities were conducted between the United States and Vietnam. North Vietnam launched an offensive south. The US military was in despair and wanted to get even the slightest advantage. Therefore, we decided to put all the forces on the cover of the port of Haiphong, setting underwater mines.
Since May of that year, the operation “Pocket money” has shown that thousands of mines were dropped into the water outside the port of Haiphong. They were supposed to stay there for about a year, but on August 4 dozens exploded prematurely. But they did not react to the passing ships, and, it seems, they were detonated ... by the Sun!
Then they decided to postpone the study of this issue, but later civilian experts reviewed this event and are convinced that the solar influence was the cause of the explosions. The secret is exactly how mines are activated for an explosion. Each has a magnetic sensor that captures subtle changes in magnetic fields. If the ship sails too close to the mine with its metal hull, then the altered magnetic field activates the detonator. Unfortunately, the ship's hull is not the only way to change the magnetic field. One of the most significant sources of magnetic fields is the sun. Sometimes, strong outbursts of star flares are capable of sending huge jets of magnetic matter to the Earth.
When solar flares reach our planet, they can cause all kinds of magnetic disturbances. At the weakest they create auroras. But in the worst case, they can disrupt the operation of GPS systems, interfere with communications, or ... start a nuclear war! In the specific case of an extremely strong solar flare, it would be enough to touch sensitive sensors on Navy mines in the harbor of Haiphong.
Studies show that the outbreak of 1972 was one of the most powerful in history. She not only could detonate mines, but also disrupted telephone lines and led to power outages.
