Development:Military Rivalries-Arms Race Flashcards
when did Soviets successfully test an atom bomb?
1949
who had the first atom bomb and when was it used?
USA,1945
when did America and the USSR test H-bombs?
1952 and 1953 respectively
what could a H-bomb do?
destroy cities
how did the creation of Sputnik change the nuclear arms race?
these sorts of rockets could be fitted with nuclear warheads and launched at targets thousands of km away
when was Sputnik 1 launched?
1957
what did the USA create in retaliation to Sputnik 1?
developed their own rockets
how did Americas creation of a Polaris missile change the arms race?
made it possible to fire missile with a range over 1,600 from anywhere under the sea
why did the USA base their ICBMs in Turkey?
it bordered the USSR
when was a test ban treaty signed?
1963
what is a nuclear deterrent?
policy by Eisenhower that USA should have so many missiles that the Soviets wouldn’t attack the USA for the fear of retaliation
what is the bomber gap?
the belief that there is a gap between the amount of bombers between the USA and the USSR
why did Eisenhower think there was a bomber gap?
the soviet air force put on an air show in 1955 during which they created the illusion that they had more bombers than they did.
when was the first ICBM tested and by who?
1957,Soviets
was there a missile gap?
no
why did JFK continue creating more missiles even though he knew there wasn’t a missile gap?
he said he would close the missile gap if he became president so he couldn’t go back on his election promise
how’s many ICBMS did each country have by 1963?
USA=550
USSR=less than 100
what was JFKs MAD policy?
to have roughly the same amount of missiles as the USSR so that neither side could be destroyed without itself being destroyed
what are ABMs?
rockets designed to intercept ICBMS before they reached their targets
how did the creation of ABMs undermine undermine the MADs policy?
if ABMs could protect a country,they might be tempted to attack the other country
what are MIRVS?
highly accurate missiles that can carry more than one warhead
why was MAD overtaken by NUTs?
the creation of the ABMs and MIRVs meant that both sides could hit small targets like missile launch sites instead of entire cities so it would be possible to win the war without destroying yourself(no more Mutually Assured Destruction)
why did Soviets restart nuclear testing in 1961 after stopping in 1958?
the Berlin crisis
‘Duck and Cover’
cartoon for children on what to do if a nuclear attack occurred
how did the arms race impact the cold war?
1.increased fear of war
2.new policies
3.higher stakes(more to lose and more ways to lose them(weapons))
