The Cold War Legend of Romania’s Tank-Melting Laser Weapon

In the shadow of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, a powerful story took root.

A Romanian physicist operates a laser system during testing at the Institute of Atomic Physics in Bucharest in 1968. (Romanian government photo/Laser Wars archive)

Every conflict gets the legend it deserves. French-born pirate Jean Lafitte became a “battlefield hero” while fighting for the United States during the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812…