Striking photographs show abandoned Cold War sites across the world

Francesca Street, CNN
5 minute read
Published 5:18 AM EST, Wed November 6, 2019
<strong>B-52 Storage Area, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, USA:</strong> The Cold War spanned four decades and several continents, so it's unsurprising that relics from this era remain dotted around the world. In Tuscon, Arizona, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is home to some 4,000 dormant aircraft.
B-52 Storage Area, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, USA: The Cold War spanned four decades and several continents, so it's unsurprising that relics from this era remain dotted around the world. In Tuscon, Arizona, the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is home to some 4,000 dormant aircraft.
Courtesy Richard Baker USA/Alamy
<strong>S-2 Tracker Storage Area, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, USA:</strong> Tuscon has a dry climate and alkali soil, which makes for the perfect conditions for storing aircraft.
S-2 Tracker Storage Area, Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona, USA: Tuscon has a dry climate and alkali soil, which makes for the perfect conditions for storing aircraft.
Courtesy crackerclips/Dreamstime
<strong>Former Submarine Pen, Vis, Croatia:</strong> Now a vacation hot-spot where "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" was filmed, during the Cold War era, the island was a major fortified military base.
Former Submarine Pen, Vis, Croatia: Now a vacation hot-spot where "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" was filmed, during the Cold War era, the island was a major fortified military base.
Courtesy Andrew Lloyd/Alamy
<strong>Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, North Dakota, USA</strong>: This military site near North Dakota opened in 1975 and was the first anti-ballistic site in the US. It closed in 1976.
Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex, Nekoma, North Dakota, USA: This military site near North Dakota opened in 1975 and was the first anti-ballistic site in the US. It closed in 1976.
Courtesy Andrey Nyrkov/Dreamstime
<strong>Alternate Command Post, Long-Range Aviation, Moscow, Russia</strong>: This nuclear bunker was part of the Soviet Air Force's long-range nuclear bomber strikes division.
Alternate Command Post, Long-Range Aviation, Moscow, Russia: This nuclear bunker was part of the Soviet Air Force's long-range nuclear bomber strikes division.
Courtesy Olgavolodina/Dreamstime
<strong>Former US Army Black Hills Ordnance Depot, South Dakota, USA</strong>: In this unassuming spot, chemical weapons such as mustard gas were tested. More recently, a Californian developer has turned some of the bunkers into "doomsday shelters."
Former US Army Black Hills Ordnance Depot, South Dakota, USA: In this unassuming spot, chemical weapons such as mustard gas were tested. More recently, a Californian developer has turned some of the bunkers into "doomsday shelters."
Courtesy Jim Lo ScalzoRex by Shutterstock
<strong>Former Tropospheric Scatter Dishes, RAF Stenigot, Lincolnshire, England, UK:</strong> A radar site during the Second World War, during the Cold War, RAF Stenigot became a communications delay site until the late 1980s.
Former Tropospheric Scatter Dishes, RAF Stenigot, Lincolnshire, England, UK: A radar site during the Second World War, during the Cold War, RAF Stenigot became a communications delay site until the late 1980s.
Courtesy Mark Lees/Alamy
<strong>Border Defences, Bucina, Czech Republic: </strong>A one-time border between Germany and the former Czechoslovakia features the remains of barbed wire, electrified fences and covered mines.
Border Defences, Bucina, Czech Republic: A one-time border between Germany and the former Czechoslovakia features the remains of barbed wire, electrified fences and covered mines.
Courtesy Petr Bonek/Alamy
<strong>T-34/85 Medium Tank, Socotra Island, Yemen: </strong>Socotra Island is situated between Africa and the Arabian peninsula, a strategic location for the Soviet navy, who used it as a base in the 1970s until the mid '80s.
T-34/85 Medium Tank, Socotra Island, Yemen: Socotra Island is situated between Africa and the Arabian peninsula, a strategic location for the Soviet navy, who used it as a base in the 1970s until the mid '80s.
Courtesy Ganna Stryzhekin/Dreamstime
<strong>Wrecked Submarines, Vladivostok, Russia</strong>: Trapped in the ice outside Vladivostok are what appears to be Foxtrot-class submarines -- a type of vessel first commissioned in 1958 to hunt NATO vessels.
Wrecked Submarines, Vladivostok, Russia: Trapped in the ice outside Vladivostok are what appears to be Foxtrot-class submarines -- a type of vessel first commissioned in 1958 to hunt NATO vessels.
Courtesy Scott Peterson/GETTY
<strong>Former Listening Station, Teufelsberg, Germany:</strong> Both the East and the West wanted maximum information on what the other side was doing. This listening station is one of many.
Former Listening Station, Teufelsberg, Germany: Both the East and the West wanted maximum information on what the other side was doing. This listening station is one of many.
Courtesy Stefan90/Dreamstime
<strong>Bechevinka, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia: </strong>This photo depicts housing built for those working on the naval base called Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-54. Today it's a tourist destination.
Bechevinka, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia: This photo depicts housing built for those working on the naval base called Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-54. Today it's a tourist destination.
Courtesy Yuri Smityuk/Alamy
<strong>Available November 1:</strong> All images taken from the book Abandoned Cold War Places by Robert Grenville (ISBN 978-1-78274-917-2) published by Amber Books Ltd (www.amberbooks.co.uk)
Available November 1: All images taken from the book Abandoned Cold War Places by Robert Grenville (ISBN 978-1-78274-917-2) published by Amber Books Ltd (www.amberbooks.co.uk)
Courtesy Amber Books
Photos of abandoned Cold War sites across the world
CNN  — 

Deep in the Arizonan desert are rows and rows of disused 1960s aircraft. Left there because the dry climate and alkaline soil keeps them intact, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers lie dormant.

These airplanes – hauntingly ubiquitous during the Vietnam War – are just some of the striking relics of the Cold War dotted across the world.

This 20th century hostility spanned four decades and several continents, so perhaps it’s no wonder that so many physical artifacts survive from the era.

Robert Grenville’s new book “Abandoned Cold War Places,” published by Amber Books, is a photographic odyssey through the disused sites that once played an integral role in the standoff between the Soviet Union and US-led NATO allies.

From this eerie US aircraft boneyard to a onetime USSR naval base that’s now a tourist hotspot, Grenville’s book is a haunting evocation of the impact of this era, published to coincide with the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.

“It seemed the right time to look at the physical legacy of the stand-off between these two power blocs,” Grenville tells CNN Travel.

Physical legacy