14. The Arms Race Flashcards
What did nuclear weapons act as?
A deterrent as once both sides had nuclear weapons, each now had the power to retaliate an attack and each side feared retaliation for striking first known as mutually assured destruction (MAD)
What was behind the idea of a country having nuclear weapons?
The country had to have as many nuclear weapons as possible so that they couldn’t all be destroyed if the other side was to attack first
How long was the arms race?
From 1949-1955
What were the reasons for the development of the arms race and creating nuclear weapons?
- 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
What was the most important reason for the arms race to have occurred?
The fact that nuclear weapons acted as a deterrent because this later created MAD and so made the possibility of a hot war much less likely
What happened in 1945 August?
The USA tested and dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki
What began the arms race?
After the dropping of the atomic bomb over japan
What effect did the atomic bomb over japan have over the SU
Made atomic research his top priority pouring massive money into developing them. Towns like Arzamas 16 were created to hous the scientists and engineers
What happened on 29th August 1949?
The soviets successfully tested their own atomic bomb
What happened in 1951?
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
What happened in November 1952?
The USA built the first H bomb, 1000x more powerful than the atomic bomb and by 1953, the soviets had done the same
What did the American army do in 1953?
Received their first nuclear weapons designed for use on the battlefield in West Germany
What did the USA do in March 1954?
Developed a h bomb small enough to be dropped from a bomber
What did the su do in September 1954?
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
How did the USA close the bomber gap?
President Eisenhower ordered new B-52 bombers to close the gap with the SU
What happened to the Americans in 1955?
They had 2000 nuclear warheads and had the means to carry and fire them
How many B-29 bombers did the us have?
they had 50 B-29 bombers in 1949 and more than 1000 a year later
What misunderstanding did US politicians create?
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
Who was winning the arms race between 1945 and 1955?
America
What was Polaris?
A missile developed by the USA by 1960 and could be launched from submarine
What was brinkmanship?
Where each side would push the other to the brink of using weapons knowing they would eventually back down
In what occasion were nuclear weapons likely to be used?
During the Berlin blockade and Korean War but the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 almost sent the world into destruction
What was a great social significance of the Cold War?
The bomb in popular culture as it made people see the situation as entertainment
What were the impacts of the arms race?
- The ‘ban the bomb’ movement
- preparation for nuclear attack
- the bomb in popular culture
- brinkmanship
- MAD
Give examples of the way the arms race affected popular culture
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
Give examples of the way the arms race impacted movements
- The campaign for nuclear disarmament (CND) led to many questioning the the morality of nukes with speeches In 1958 London condemning the bomb
- CNDs organised marches caused ‘ban the bomb’ to spread to the western world
- called for Britain to unilaterally disarm
Give examples on how the arms race influenced preparation for nuclear attack
- 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
Give examples of the way the arms race affected brinkmanship
- any tensions in the 1950s brought fear of nuclear war
- in the Berlin blockade, leaders decisions were informed by knowing of nuclear weapons
Give examples of the way the arms race affected MAD
- 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
How did the ICBM’s show the su and USA’s rivalry?
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
What did the world’s first ICBM begin testing?
In May 15 1957
