Arms Race Flashcards
Why was an arms race needed?
Boast to public
Apply possibilities of science.
Countries felt vulnerable.
Assurance the enemy would not fight back.
What did Carl von Clausewitz, military strategist in Prussia, argue in the 19th century?
War is a continuation of activity by other means.
Why was the hydrogen bomb developed by the US in the 1950s?
Berlin 1948-49, China 1949 takeover, and Korea 1950 war impact. Soviets built a bomb in response.
Why did the US have a nuclear monopoly and how did it end?
On 16 Jul, 1945, at Alamogordo, New Mexico, the US tested atom bomb under Manhattan Project, with Baruch Plan to share nuclear knowledge while limiting production to the US.
USSR at Semipalatinsk tested the atom bomb helped by spies such as Klaus Fuchs and Ted Hall, project was headed by brilliant scientist Igor Kurchatov.
How did the thermo-nuclear age develop?
1 Nov 1952 - Hydrogen bomb 1000* stronger than atom bomb tested in Eniwetok, Pacific, creating one mile wide crater.
USSR tested a lithium super bomb which didn’t need refrigerating at Semipalatinsk, May 1950, delaying conventional bombs.
By 1 March 1954 US caught up.
What domestic factors encouraged arms race?
Armaments orders gave groups influence, in USSR the armed forces had government power and Khrushchev’s attempts to cut spending in 1964 rejected, while US military-industrial complex developed, funding 30 million scientists and manufacturers, which Eisenhower couldn’t control. Firms such as Lockheed had a firm grip on Congress, while the Ministry of Defence had control in USSR.
What were national considerations?
Khrushchev made the UK prime minister feel fearful when his visit in London 1946 led to him telling his wife that missiles could easily reach Britain.
In the 1950s Third World Countries were intended to impress.
In 1961, Kennedy, feeling vulnerable, increased expenditure to 1962 by $50 billion despite U2 planes showing USSR didn’t have lead.
When did the US develop the Stratofortress, and what were weaknesses of conventional aircraft to deploy bombs?
B52 Stratofortress, 1955 - intercontinental bomber, which was slow and vulnerable to anti-aircraft systems.
How did the USSR build up its arsenal of weapons, and when was the first thermo-nuclear ICBM weapon launched in Kazakhstan?
Lsiolkovsky before WWI pioneered Soviet research. Nazi scientists used rockets for delivery such as the V2 rocket.
In 1957 the first weapon was launched.
What showed the USSR’s boasts with Khrushchev to be bluff?
John Lewis Gaddis considered the USSR to be using potemkinism, as shown in 1955 Moscow air show where planes were painted to do several flypasts.
In 1960 they only had 4 reliable ICBMs.
CIA gather report of 7 Nov 1957 showed a missile gap so Eisenhower deployed US Strategic Air Command to use B52 bomber airstrike. U2 planes showed that there was no such gap, but Eisenhower was enthusiastic to increase education spending.
When did the US introduce Polaris?
July 1960, a submarine launched ballistic missile, with Kennedy ordering 41 nuclear submarines. Minuteman ICBMs also reached 1054 and by 1962 the US had 4000 missile warheads compared to USSR’s 220.
What was the arms race impact?
Reduced conventional arms, but Kennedy considered they had flexible response, as shown at Vietnam.
Eisenhower and Dulles issued massive retaliation and brinkmanship.
Counterforce was developed - smaller targeted missiles to use as limited action.
After Cuba a Hotline was set up and there was the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.
Mutually Assured Destruction.
