The Arms Race

The race begins….• Both countries began developing their weapons so as to be able to ‘outgun’ their opponents. This meant:

• developing more powerful weapons

•Having more of one weapon than the other side

• WHY NUCLEAR WEAPONS?WHY NUCLEAR WEAPONS?

• Cheaper than having a large armyCheaper than having a large army

• They were a They were a deterrent. deterrent. The idea was to have so many missiles that The idea was to have so many missiles that they could not all be destroyed. If one side attacked then it knew they could not all be destroyed. If one side attacked then it knew that the other could retaliate. This was known as MAD – that the other could retaliate. This was known as MAD – MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION.MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION.

•For some the Arms Race was a test of the strengths of Capitalism For some the Arms Race was a test of the strengths of Capitalism v communismv communism

What the US had

76 IBMs

700 Medium range bombers

1,600 bombers

38,000 Tanks

12 Nuclear submarines

495 Conventional submarines

0 Battleships and cruisers

450 ICBMs (intermediate-range ballistic missile)

250 Medium range missiles

2,260 Bombers16,000Tanks32 Nuclear submarines260 Conventional

submarines76 Battleships and carriers

What the Soviets had

Dates of the nuclear arms race, 1945 - 1960

1945 – USA tests and drops the first atomic (A) bombs

1949 – USSR tests A bomb

1952 – USA tests its first hydrogen (H) bomb (hydrogen is 2,500 times more powerful then the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.)

1953 – USSR tests its first H bomb

1957 – USSR

1. tests ICBM capable of carrying an H bomb from USSR to USA

2. puts the space satellite ‘Sputnik’ into orbit.

1958 – USA

1. Places IRBMs targeted on USSR in NATO countries. Both sides could now launch direct attacks on each others’ cities

2. Launches its own satellite

1960 – USA launches first nuclear powered submarine capable of firing a Polaris missile with an atomic warhead from underwater

The Arms Race:The Arms Race:A “Missile Gap?”A “Missile Gap?”

} The Soviet Union The Soviet Union exploded its first A-bomb exploded its first A-bomb in 1949.in 1949.

} Now there were two Now there were two nuclear superpowers!nuclear superpowers!

• Statement by President Truman, September 23, 1949 “I believe the American people to the fullest extent consistent with the national security are entitled to be informed of all developments in the field of atomic energy. That is my reason for making public the following information.We have evidence that within recent weeks an atomic explosion occurred in the U. S. S. R.Ever since atomic energy was first released by man, the eventual development of this new force by other nations was to be expected.This probability has always been taken into account by us.”

· In 1949, the U.S. learned that the Soviet Union also possessed atomic weapons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz3t4LcXwtE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixy5FBLnh7o

Barry McGuire

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWDVl-QgM7M

The Space Race Competition

• Khrushchev keen to compete• Show Communist technology to be superior• Increase Soviet prestige• Sputnik launched in 1957• USA failed to launch their satellite until 1958• Race would continue until 1980’s

1957 Sputnik – first satellite

Score 1 for Soviets!

The serious side was….• That a rocket that could launch a satellite could also

launch a nuclear warhead at a target.• So space developments led to rapid advances in

nuclear weapons.• By 1960 each side had the nuclear capability to

destroy the earth• In 1961 Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut was the

first man to orbit the earth – the Soviets had the lead. For Khrushchev it was a triumph for communism

First man in space

• Score: USA – 0• Soviets - 2

Apollo program

• USA spent the 60s trying to catch up to the Soviets.

Armstrong lands on moon!