The Arms Race, 1949-63
- Created by: Megan
- Created on: 04-06-15 15:30
View mindmap
- US Atomic Bomb
- Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 1945
- Manhattan project during second world war
- The Arms Race 1949-63
- Hydrogen Bomb
- Truman commissioned development
- US Mike Test's November 1952 resulted in a megaton explosion, 1000 times more powerful than atomic bomb.
- Produced a fireball 5.23 kilometres wide and a mushroom cloud that rose to 41,000 metres in three minutes
- Based on nuclear fission and therefore known as a thermo-nuclear device
- Soviet Union produced own H-bomb within a year
- Testing took place in Kazakhstan on 12 August 1953
- Exploded 400-kiloton device known as Joe 4
- Test of Andrei Sakharov's Third Idea in 1955 demonstrated the USSR had developed a bomb as powerful as the US H-bomb
- Truman commissioned development
- 1950-60 US
- Saw development of firepower as vital to security
- Warheads increased from 1000 to 18000
- First battlefield tactical nuclear weapons stationed in West Germany 1953
- Eisenhower developed 'massive retaliation'; he believed a huge nuclear arsenal would deter nuclear attack
- The Soviet Union
- 1961 in an aggressive speech designed to pressure Kennedy, Khrushchev announced successful testing of a 50-megaton bomb. Referred to as Tsar Bomba
- The device was 58-megatons
- USSR had created a lithium bomb more powerful than US
- US CIA report confirmed power of weapon but emphasised it wasn't practical as it couldn't be loaded onto an Intercontinental Ballistic missile (ICBM) so could only be used in test conditions
- Impact of weapons development
- Nuclear weapons became central to military strategy
- Increased tension
- Balance of terror now existed- deterring direct military conflict
- Forced respect of spheres of influence
- Vast cost of developing weapons put strain on economies
- Delivery systems
- Soviet developments
- Deployed TU20 Bear, long range bomber which could reach US territory but was slow and could be intercepted
- First successful Soviet ICBM test occurred in May 1957
- 1957 Sputnik was launched demonstrated soviet missiles were more powerful and caused shock and panic in the US
- BUT ICBMs were expensive to produce and Khrushchev attempted to find cheaper alternatives
- US developments
- Focussed on deploying Intermediate range missiles which had a smaller range than ICBMs but could target Soviet territory if stationed in Europe and Middle East.
- By 1960s the US had created more superior ICBMs and had a decisive lead in the arms race
- Created the B52 Stratofortress in 1955 which was a long-range bomber
- Lauched Explorer 1 in 1958. First satellite
- Deployed Polaris Submarines in 1960. Could fire missiles from ocean
- Minutemen ICBM in 1961. Could strike Soviets from US
- Soviet developments
- The Cuban Missile Crisis
- Causes
- Soviet leaders were aware of US superiority
- The Cuban Revolution in 1959 gave Khrushchev the opportunity to achieve nuclear parity.
- By stationing missiles on Cuba, the USSR could target the US cheaply.
- Khrushchev planned to send 40 tactical nuclear missiles and 50,000 soldiers to Cuba
- Khrushchev was determined to sustain the communist regime in Cuba.
- The CIA backed the invasion of the Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose
- Thought sending nuclear weapons would deter US interference
- Confrontation
- 1.1962 nuclear warheads began to arrive on Cuba, followed by missiles and bombers in September. Spotted by US spy planes in October
- 2.Kennedy responded with a TV address and made it clear that 'a full retaliatory response' would follow if the Soviets continued their military presence
- 3.Kennedy established a naval blockade aware that soviet ships was on their way.
- 4.24th October soviet ships reached the quarantine line and changed direction
- 5.Dean Rusk remarked 'we are eyeball to eyeball and I think the other fellow just blinked'
- Resolution
- 1.26th October White House received telegram from Khrushchev which proposed a way out the crisis
- 2.But a second message broadcast on Moscow radio set a very different tone
- 3.Kennedy ignored the second message and regarded the first as a hope to resolve the crisis peacefully
- Diplomacy
- Kennedy negotiated through back channel meetings his brother (Robert Kennedy) and the Soviet Ambassador attended
- US agreed to withdraw missiles from Turkey if Soviets withdrew missiles from Cuba. US also agreed to respect Cuban independence
- 28th October Soviets announced their withdrawal from Cuba
- Causes
- Hydrogen Bomb
- USSR Atomic Bomb
- Created atomic bomb in 1949
- Ended US nuclear monopoly
Comments
No comments have yet been made