Kubrick's CRM 114= Nuke Hoax: Fear Porn, Emasculation and Desensitization

WTF is a CRM 114? Kubrick's CRM 114= Nuke Hoax/Fear Porn/Emasculation/Desensitization The CRM 114 Discriminator is a fictional piece of critical radio equipment in Stanley Kubrick's film Dr. Strangelove (1964), the destruction of which prevents the crew of a B-52 from hearing the recall code that would stop them from dropping their atomic bombs on the Soviet Union.

In Peter George's novel, Red Alert (1958), which was the basis for Kubrick's film, the CRM 114 ensures the enemy cannot plant false transmissions and fake orders, once the attack orders have been passed and acknowledged. The three code letters of the period are to be set on the alphabet dials of the CRM 114, which will then block any transmissions other than those preceded by the set letter.

Peter George was well-informed: Under the U.S. military Joint Electronics Type Designation System (The "AN" System), CRM is the designator for an air-transportable cargo (C) radio (R) maintenance or test assembly (M), and 114 is a feasible series number. If the CRM 114 were an actual U.S. military item, its official number would be designated as AN/CRM-114.

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