Stalin had tested their first atomic bomb in 1949 and ended US monopoly
Truman then commissioned the developement of the Hydrogen bomb and thermo-nuclear bombs
USA's Mike Tests in November 1952 resulted in a megaton explosion, bombs were 1000x more powerful than the ones in China, mushroom cloud of 41,000 metres
Soviets produced their own H-bomb within a year and tested it in August 1953- Joe 4, the 'Third Idea' bomb in November 1955 showed Soviets had caught up with the USA
Both sides saw their weapons as vital for security
1950-60 number of US warheads went from 1000-18,000
Battlefeild tactical nucelar weapons stationed in West Germany in 2953
1961 speech by Khrushchev announced the successful testing of a 50-megaton bomb, but the CIA proved this was an impossibility as it could not be loaded onto an ICBM
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Impact of Weapons Development
MAD: mutually assured destruction- if one side uses nuclear weapons then the other will too
Prolferation: fear of nuclear knowledge being spread
Counterforce: Kennedy's policy to have a limited nuclear war, only targeting miltary targets
Military industrial complex: booming trade from the manufacture of weapons
Balance of terror existed between the two which detered direct miltary conflict which could esculate into nuclear war
The superpowers had to respect each other's spheres of influence
Development of new weapons but a massive strain of the economies of both
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Delivery Systems
During 1950s-60s superpowers developed four delivery systems: strategic bombers, ICBMs, short-range missiles and ballstic missles fired from submarines
1956 Soviets deployed the TU20 Bear- long range bomber which could reach US territory, but bombers were slow and therefore could be intercepted
Successful Soviet ICBM test May 1957 and launch of Sputnik later, showed the Soviet technology was more powerful and caused panic in the USA
USA focused on deploying IRBMs in the 1950s which had a smaller range than ICBMs but could target the Soviets when placed in Europe/ Middle East
By early 1960s USA had developed ICBMs that were superior to the Soviets'
USA developments
Long-range bomber B52 Stratofortress in 1955- could reach Soviets from US bases
Explorer 1 launch in 1958, first US space satellite
Polaris sumbmarines in 1960- could fire missiles from the ocean
Successful test of Minuteman ICBM in 1961- capable of striking Soviet territory from the USA
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Revolution of 1959 led to a communist regime under Castro
Khrushchev formed trade links to buy sugar after the USA broke off, and was allowed to station missiles on Cuba 160 km away from USA
Khrushchev planned to send 40 missiles and 50,000 soliders to Cuba as well as sustaining a communist regime
USA tried to overthrow Castro with Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and through Operation Mongoose
Khrushchev though pressure from Cuba would make the USA surrender West Berlin and withdraw Jupiter missiles from Turkey
Missles were deployed August 1962 and were spotted by US spy planes in October
Kennedy established a naval blockade, which worked when Soviet ships reached the line
25th October UN Security Council set up, attempts to turn international opinion against USSR
26th October Kennedy recieved a telegram from Khrushchev proposing if Kennedy removed his missiles then Khrushchev would remove his, this was then repelled in a second telegram
Spy plane was shot down over Cuba, by Kennedy did not start war but negotiated with the Soviets to agree to the first terms, and to allow Cuban independance
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Consequences of Cuba
No public statement of withdrawal of Turkey missles but Cuban withdrawal announced 28th October- made Khruschev seem weak in Moscow, one of the reasons he was ousted in 1964
Kennedy was praised for his peacefull resolution without backing down
Both sides realised the seriousness of nuclear war and how close it had come
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963
Banned the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, space and under water
No reduction of armaments- couldn't prevent defence of security
Stockpiling of warheads and future production still allowed
Superpower hot line set up to improve communication
USSR miltary policy change- Brezhnev stepped up production of warheads to aim to achieve nuclear parity with the USA
Nuclear disparity caused instability:
US generals advised aggressive policies because they assumed USA would be victorious in war
Khrushchev's aggressive policies were a bluff to make the West believe the USSR was stonger
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