Background to Cuban Missile Crisis Flashcards
Which country became communist in 1949?
China
Which area was mostly under communist influence by 1948?
Eastern Europe
What did the USSR acquire in 1949?
The atom bomb
What policy did the USA pursue towards communism?
Containment
Who tested the first ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile)?
The USSR
What was an ICBM?
An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
What did having an ICBM allow the USSR to do?
Fire a missile into space and then bring it down on a specific target in the USA
Who was a big supporter of the space and missile programme?
Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the USSR
What idea was widely (and inaccurately) reported in the US media?
The idea of a ‘Missile Gap’ between the USA and USSR
When did the USA develop its own ICBMs?
In 1959
What were the names of the US missiles?
Atlas and Minutemen missiles
What was a Polaris missile?
A missile that could be fired from a submarine and that was virtually undetectable
Where did the USA have medium-ranged missiles?
Turkey
How long would it take the USA’s medium-ranged missiles in Europe and Turkey to reach the USSR?
A few minutes
Why was it important that the USA had its own ICBMs?
It meant the USA could hit the USSR as quickly and as accurately as the USSR could hit the USA
