The Arms Race Flashcards
What did both the Soviet Union and the USA have ?
What did each side aim to do ?
Atomic weaponry
They now poured money into making bigger bombs and news delivery systems
Aim: make a first strike which would prevent the other side firing back meaning a large enough arsenal to wipe out the other entirely
When did the Soviet Union get the Atomic bomb ?
1949 after the soviet atomic research program was set up a few years prior
The news of the Soviets first attainment of nuclear power,1949, shocked many western nations and their public
In response to the Soviets attainment of nuclear power, what did Truman do and when ?
He ordered for a more powerful weapon to be built- the H bomb and defence spending was massively increased
Mid 1949
How did the Soviet Union react to news of the US building the H bomb ?
They Soviet Union increased its nation arms spending and this marks the point in which the arms race truly began
When did the Americans first test the Hydrogen bomb ?
1953, although they had been researching the technology since 1949 in retaliation to news of soviet attaining nuclear bombs
When did the Soviets get the H bomb ?
1953, they first tested their version of the H bomb just months after the USA
So by 1953 they both had the Hydrogen bomb
They continued to develop more powerful nuclear weapons
When did the USA shows its biggest H bomb ?
1 March 1954, the US tested the biggest ever H bomb
It’s explosive power was equivalent to 15 million tones of TNT
What else where the superpower developing ?
Give examples
Building bigger and more powerful bombs. A single H bomb could destroy a whole city
American B52 Bombers based in Europe with nuclear capabilities could attack Moscow
Who was leading the arms race by 1953? Gave statistics staring at 1950 and also a brief statement on wether this changed
1950: USA spending 14.5Bn Soviet Union spending 15.5bn
1951: USA 33bn and Soviet Union 20bn
1952: USA 48bn and Soviet Union 21.9 Bn
By 1953 the USA was spending almost double the amount of money in the arms race
This did not change
What were some consequences of the Arms race ?
Creation of new weapons of mass destruction: H bomb, conventional forces (non nuclear) decreased due to both superpowers expecting the next war to be nuclear
Increased rivalry and tension between superpowers: each side felt threatened and therefore made more alliances and built more weapons
When and what squashed any hopes of the slowing of the development of arms ?
When: 1957
What: soviet rocked launched Sputnik, a satellite that could orbit earth in 1 and a half hours
What was the cosequence of Sputnik ?
USA see this as a sign of aggression by the Soviets and see it as a military threat which further worsen relations and heightens the arms race even more
What do the US do in the years 1957-59 as a response to Sputnik and soviet aggression ?
- USA increased spending on missiles by 20%
- The then President Eisenhowever founded NASA
- US airforce increased numbers of B 52 bombers
- US navy equips submarines with nuclear weapons
- US place more missiles in west Germany and other European countries
