Ripper (Sterling Hayden)’s Timeline and Summary

The General calls Group Captain Mandrake and orders that he issue Plan R—letting the nukes fly—and cut off all communications throughout the base.
He locks Mandrake in his office when the Group Captain confronts him.
Ripper refuses to tell Mandrake the recall code that could stop Plan R.
Mandrake listens nervously as the General lays out his paranoid theories about the Communists contaminating "our precious bodily fluids."
Ripper engages in the battle for the base by shooting a machine gun through the window.
After the base is taken, the General shoots himself to avoid being tortured for the recall code.