14. The Arms Race

Question 1

How long was the arms race?

Answer 1

From 1949-1955

Question 2

What were the reasons for the development of the arms race and creating nuclear weapons?

Answer 2

• with nukes, each side had the power to attack
• the arms race tested a countries strength and capabilities and both the us and su wanted to look better than the other
• nukes were cheaper than convectional weapons and so it was more cost effective than to pay for large standing armies

Question 3

What happened in 1945 August?

Answer 3

The USA tested and dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Question 4

What began the arms race?

Answer 4

After the dropping of the atomic bomb over japan

Question 5

What happened on 29th August 1949?

Answer 5

The soviets successfully tested their own atomic bomb

Question 6

What happened in 1951?

Answer 6

The us strategic air command (SAC) developed a policy of constant readiness identifying 6000 targets in the SU to be hit in case of war

Question 7

What happened in November 1952?

Answer 7

The USA built the first H bomb, 1000x more powerful than the atomic bomb and by 1953, the soviets had done the same

Question 8

What did the American army do in 1953?

Answer 8

Received their first nuclear weapons designed for use on the battlefield in West Germany

Question 9

What did the USA do in March 1954?

Answer 9

Developed a h bomb small enough to be dropped from a bomber

Question 10

What did the su do in September 1954?

Answer 10

Dropped its own smaller test H bomb from a bomber and developed the bison jet bomber and longer range TU-95 bomber which could hit us cities with nuclear weapons bomber gap

Question 11

How did the USA close the bomber gap?

Answer 11

President Eisenhower ordered new B-52 bombers to close the gap with the SU

Question 12

What happened to the Americans in 1955?

Answer 12

They had 2000 nuclear warheads and had the means to carry and fire them

Question 13

How many B-29 bombers did the us have?

Answer 13

they had 50 B-29 bombers in 1949 and more than 1000 a year later

Question 14

What misunderstanding did US politicians create?

Answer 14

They claimed the us had fewer nukes than the su when really the su only had around 50 atom bombs in 1953 and didn’t catch up with the USA until 1978 however the su did have a huge convectional army of soldiers, tanks and artillery

Question 15

Who was winning the arms race between 1945 and 1955?

Answer 15

America

Question 16

What was Polaris?

Answer 16

A missile developed by the USA by 1960 and could be launched from submarine

Question 17

What was brinkmanship?

Answer 17

Where each side would push the other to the brink of using weapons knowing they would eventually back down

Question 18

What were the impacts of the arms race?

Answer 18

• The ‘ban the bomb’ movement
• preparation for nuclear attack
• brinkmanship
• MAD
• pop culture

Question 19

Give examples of the way the arms race affected popular culture

Answer 19

Inspired many works of literature, film and tv for example the film ‘Dr.strange love’ which points out the danger and absurdity of the situation

Question 20

Give examples on how the arms race influenced preparation for nuclear attack

Answer 20

• in the 1970s, the British government issued a booklet on how to survive to all homes
• there were drills in schools to practise
• USA campaign in 1950 told people to duck and cover
• huge secret underground shelters were built so the government could continue during an attack
• mainly attempts to reassure people and prevent panic as they wouldn’t have saved many lives

Question 21

Give examples of the way the arms race affected brinkmanship

Answer 21

• any tensions in the 1950s brought fear of nuclear war

- in the Berlin blockade, leaders decisions were informed by knowing of nuclear weapons

Question 22

Give examples of the way the arms race affected MAD

Answer 22

• On 30 Oct 1961, the su detonated 50 tonnes of dynamite and neither side used weapons for fear of retaliation
• it was the main reason there wasn’t a hot war

Question 23

How did the ICBM’s show the su and USA’s rivalry?

Answer 23

In 1959, the USA developed their own ICBM systems as Atlas and Minuteman that could reach the SU who had ICBM’s that could reach the USA

Question 24

What did the world’s first ICBM begin testing?

Answer 24

In May 15 1957