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Arms Race Flashcards

1
Q

What was the Manhattan project?

A

Secret military policy by the USA to create Nuclear Weapons completed by a group of scientists

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2
Q

How long did the USA have a nuclear monopoly for?

A

4 years

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3
Q

When did the USSR develop their first atomic bomb?

A

29th August 1949 at Semipalatinsk

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4
Q

What happened in Hiroshima August 1945?

A

The USA dropped an atomic bomb known as Little Boy in Japan

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5
Q

What was the Baruch Plan?

A

A plan which stated that the USA must share its nuclear knowledge but no other nation would be allowed to develop atomic weapons

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6
Q

When did the USA develop their hydrogen bomb

A

1950

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7
Q

When did the U.S. test their first hydrogen bomb?

A

Eniwetok 1 November 1952

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8
Q

What was the result of the hydrogen bomb tested by the USA?

A

It created in the seabed 60m deep a cloud of radioactive dust that measured 100 miles in diameter

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9
Q

When did the USSR develop their hydrogen bomb?

A

1951

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10
Q

What did the USSR develop 9months after the U.S. H bomb was tested?

A

A lithium bomb which could be deployed easier

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11
Q

What did the U.S. test in March 1954?

A

A lithium bomb

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12
Q

What is the B52 Stratofortress?

A

1955 - USA develop the first bomber with intercontinental range (delivery system)

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13
Q

What did the USSR respond with in 1956?

A

TU20 Bear - a delivery system that could deploy bombs with intercontinental range

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14
Q

What was the largest nuclear bomb ever tested?

A

1961 - TSAR BOMBA 50Megatons

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15
Q

What was the V2 Rocket (Nazi)?

A

Many Nazi scientists were captured & forced to work for SU.
They launched their first rocket in Kazakhstan 1957.

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16
Q

Why was the V2 Rocket so significant?

A

It was the first ICBM capable to carrying a thermo-nuclear bomb

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17
Q

What was Sputnik?

A

1st artificial satellite launched by SU

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18
Q

When was Sputnik I launched?

A

1957 - created great fear amongst USA

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19
Q

When was Sputnik II launched & who did it carry?

A

November - carrying Laika the dog into space

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20
Q

Why was America’s satellite nicknamed Kaputnik?

A

It launched rising half a metre then exploded

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21
Q

What were the Soviet Union the first to do in 1961?

A

Put a man in Space

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22
Q

What did Yuri Gagarin do?

A

He was the first to orbit space in the Vostok I

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23
Q

What did historian Gaddis term Khrushchev’s approach as?

A

Potemkinism - the process of building just enough capability to provide the illusion that there is more behind it

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24
Q

What happened during the Moscow Air Show in 1955?

A

Numbers of the planes were painted out so that there was an illusion of more flying past

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25
What did the Gaither Report do?
In November 1957 the report from the CIA warned Eisenhower of the missile gap.
26
Why wasn't Eisenhower bothered by the Gaither Report?
He placed his confidence in the supremacy of the U.S. Strategic Air Command which coordinated the deployment of B52 bombers
27
What did information from the U2 Spy plane in 1958 provide?
Information that the USSR were not as far ahead as they claimed
28
In July 1960 what did the USA develop?
Polaris - worlds first submarine launched ballistic missile
29
What did Kennedy order (increasing capability)?
The construction of 41 nuclear submarines & expanded the number of Minuteman ICBMs to 1054
30
What did Kennedy commit the USA to do within 10years?
Landing on the moon
31
How many warheads did the USA have compared to the USSR in 1962?
USA - 4000 | USSR - 220
32
When was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
1962
33
When did US begin to influence Cuba?
Since 1898 after Spanish Rule - became the U.S. playground
34
How was this relationship threatened?
The brutal regime of Batista was overthrown by Fidel Castro in 1959
35
What did Castro want?
To make Cuba independent of American control
36
What had happened by 1961?
Many American economic interests in Cuba had been seized & Castro announced his conversion to communism
37
What was the Bay of Pigs?
Invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro supporters including 1500 cuban exiles supported by the CIA
38
When was the Bay of Pigs?
1961
39
What did the USA hope would happen as a result of the Bay of Pigs?
It would lead to an uprising against Castro
40
What was the result of Bay of Pigs?
The invasion was a disaster & relations deteriorate
41
What did the USA decide to do to Cuba?
Cut off its sugar trade which would destabilise the Cuban economy
42
How did Castro react to USA's sugar trade halt?
He asked SU if they wanted to buy Cuban sugar & appealed for arms
43
What was Operation Mongoose?
A series of plots devised by the CIA designed to eliminate Castro & his regime
44
When was the Cuban Missile Crisis?
October 1962
45
What did the USA discover in 1962?
American spy plane brought back pictures of missile bases under construction in Cuba
46
How many exiles & Americans were sent to Cuba to blow up lines, destroy crops shops & factories?
10,000 exiles 400 Americans
47
Why did the USSR send arms to Cuba & build their missile base there?
USA had missiles in Turkey which was on USSR's land border
48
What two options was Kennedy faced with?
1. Hawks - surgical air strike - Rusk | 2. Doves - blockade of soviet ships to Cuba - Bobby Kennedy
49
What did Kennedy announce Oct 22nd?
A naval blockade & quarantine line 800miles from Cuba
50
What would happen if Soviet troops passed the quarantine line?
Action would be taken! | U.S. We're on high alert with 54 bombers 150 intercontinental missiles aimed Polaris submarines 4 nuclear war heads
51
What did Khrushchev do?
He sent a letter to Kennedy stating that he would remove the missiles from Cuba if the USA removed their missiles from Turkey
52
What happened the 28th Oct 1962?
Khrushchev publicly announced the removal of missiles from Cuba Whilst the USA secretly removed missiles from Turkey
53
How did the CMC affect Khrushchev?
He was left humiliated & the soviet armed forces never forgave him leading to his dismissal in 1964.
54
When was the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
1963
55
What was the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
A step towards controlling nuclear arsenals it banned 1. Tests in atmosphere 2. Tests in space 3. Tests under water However it still permitted testing underground
56
What was the Hotline & when was it created?
1963 - a line between the US&USSR intended to umpiring communication between the superpowers to prevent conflict
57
What was the Explorer 1?
1958- US first satellite
58
How many strategic bombers did the USA have compared to the USSR in 1956?
USA-560 | USSR-60
59
How many strategic bombers did the USA have compared to the USSR in 1965?
USA-630 | USSR - 200
60
How long did the USA posses nuclear monopoly?
5 years until 1949 when USSR developed ABOMB
61
What does MAD mean?
Mutually Assured Destruction Both sides possessing so many nuclear arms & delivery systems that conflict would result in both sides being destroyed
62
What was Kennedy's strategy of dealing with communism?
Flexible Response?
63
What was Eisenhower's strategy to dealing with communism?
Brinkmanship & New look
64
What strategy did Kennedy use during CMC?
Brinkmanship
65
When & where was the first Nuclear bomb tested?
U.S. Tested the first atomic bomb in Alamogordo 16th July 1945
66
What three impacts did the arms race have on the Cold War?
1. Military strategy - both sides restrained & prevented armed confrontation 2. Conventional arms - reduce nuclear arms to prevent devastation of war 3. Civilian consequences - prompted technological innovation

History - COLD WAR (7 decks)

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