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Nuclear arms race: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Origins And Early Competition —
Nuclear arms race.
~8 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In early 1940, a French Deuxième Bureau agent arranged for the purchase of the entire Norwegian stock of heavy water, 187 liters. This shipment moved to the Collège de France nuclear laboratory in Paris before being transferred to England during the German invasion. The material eventually reached the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, where refugee physicists Hans von Halban and Lew Kowarski continued their work on atomic pile experiments.
The Vemork hydroelectric station of Norsk Hydro Rjukan had entered operation in 1934 as the world's only industrial-scale production site for heavy water. In February 1943, a Special Operations Executive-trained team of Norwegian commandos detonated explosive charges on the heavy-water electrolysis chambers at that plant during Operation Gunnerside. Allied actions successfully crippled heavy water moderator production for the German nuclear program.
During World War II, four nuclear weapons research programs existed simultaneously. The industrial Manhattan Project developed the first nuclear weapons under US military direction with UK and Canadian coordination. More limited scientific research occurred within the Soviet atomic bomb project, the German nuclear program, and the Japanese nuclear program.
In March 1945, Manhattan Project leader Leslie Groves ordered the Auergesellschaft plant in Oranienburg bombed to deny Soviets access to refined natural uranium. Nonetheless, 100 tons were ultimately recovered and used for early Soviet reactors. Western Allies captured the Haigerloch nuclear pile in April, revealing the comparative limited nature of the German program.
Stalin received official notification about the Manhattan Project from President Harry S. Truman at the Potsdam Conference on the 24th of July 1945. This briefing came eight days after the first successful test of a nuclear weapon. Despite wartime alliance, the United States and Britain had not trusted the Soviets enough to keep knowledge safe from German spies.
Warhead Development And Testing
Just six months after the UN General Assembly, the United States conducted its first post-war nuclear tests , Operation Crossroads. These tests performed at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific involved 95 ships, including German and Japanese vessels captured during World War II. One plutonium implosion-type bomb detonated over the fleet while another exploded underwater.
The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb on the 29th of August 1949. The West named this device First Lightning, which was more or less a copy of Fat Man, one of the bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. American experts had predicted the Soviet Union would not have nuclear weapons until the mid-1950s.
On the 1st of November 1952, the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb on Enewetak, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Code-named Ivy Mike, the project led by Hungarian-American nuclear physicist Edward Teller created a cloud wide and high, killing all life on surrounding islands.
Scientists significantly underestimated the size of the Castle Bravo test conducted on the 1st of March 1954, at Bikini Atoll. They thought it would yield 5 megatons but instead produced 14.8 megatons, the highest yield ever achieved by an American nuclear device. Nuclear fallout exposed residents up to away to significant amounts of radiation.
One person died when a crew member on a Japanese fishing boat located from the bomb test site experienced radiation poisoning after exposure. Most people eventually evacuated but suffered radiation sickness. The Soviets detonated their first true hydrogen bomb on the 22nd of November 1955 with a yield of 1.6 megatons.
Delivery Systems And The Triad
Strategic bombers served as the primary delivery method at the beginning of the Cold War. Missiles had long been regarded the ideal platform for nuclear weapons and were potentially more effective than bombers. Starting in the 1950s, medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles developed for tactical nuclear weapon delivery evolved into intercontinental ballistic missiles.
On the 4th of October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around Earth. This demonstrated that Soviet ICBMs could reach any point on the planet. The United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, on the 31st of January 1958.
By the mid-1960s, the triad of nuclear weapon delivery was established with each side deploying bombers, ICBMs, and SLBMs. This ensured that even if defense existed against one delivery method, other methods remained available. Some critics charged that it was not known how warheads would react to gravity forces and temperature differences encountered in upper atmosphere and outer space.
The closest event to an actual test was Operation Frigate Bird in 1962 when a submarine launched a Polaris A2 missile over to the nuclear test site at Christmas Island. Curtis LeMay put missile accuracy into doubt to encourage development of new bombers. Critics noted this single test might be an anomaly or subject to different conditions than an ICBM.
Crisis Points And Brinkmanship
On the 1st of January 1959, the Cuban government fell to communist revolutionaries, propelling Fidel Castro into power. The communist Soviet Union supported and praised Castro's resistance, recognizing the revolutionary government on January 10. When the United States began boycotting Cuban sugar, the Soviet Union started purchasing large quantities to support the Cuban economy.
An American spy plane discovered nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba on the 14th of October 1962. These missiles could reach the United States very quickly. President Kennedy immediately called meetings for senior officials to debate the crisis. The group split between militaristic and diplomatic solutions.
President Kennedy ordered U.S. military forces to DEFCON 3 then later to DEFCON 2 as tensions increased. This represents the closest the world has been to nuclear war. While public perception viewed the Cuban Missile Crisis as near mass destruction, leaders worked confidentially toward peaceful conclusion.
Soviet First Secretary Khrushchev wrote to President Kennedy in a telegram on the 26th of October 1962 stating that if there was no intention to tighten the knot and doom the world to thermonuclear catastrophe, they should untie that knot. On October 28, Khrushchev announced withdrawal of all Soviet missiles from Cuba.
Proliferation Beyond Superpowers
In 1952, the United Kingdom became third nation to test nuclear weapon when it detonated atomic bomb in Operation Hurricane on the 3rd of October 1952 with yield of 25 kilotons. Despite major contributions to Manhattan Project by Canadian and British governments, US Congress passed Atomic Energy Act of 1946 prohibiting multinational cooperation on nuclear projects.
Britain decided to develop hydrogen bomb under Churchill leadership after successful atomic test. First successful hydrogen bomb test occurred the 8th of November 1957 with yield of 1.8 megatons. An amendment to Atomic Energy Act in 1958 allowed nuclear cooperation once again between Britain and US programs.
France became fourth nation to possess nuclear weapons on the 13th of February 1960 when atomic bomb Gerboise Bleue detonated in Algeria then still French colony. France began making plans for nuclear-weapons program shortly after Second World War but program did not begin until late 1950s.
Eight years later France conducted first thermonuclear test above Fangatuafa Atoll with yield of 2.6 megatons. This bomb significantly contaminated atoll with radiation for six years making it off-limits to humans. The People's Republic of China became fifth nuclear power on the 16th of October 1964 when it detonated 25 kiloton uranium-235 bomb codenamed 596 at Lop Nur.
Treaties And Deterrence Strategies
On the 10th of October 1963, Limited Test Ban Treaty signed by U.S., Soviet Union, and U.K. This agreement significantly restricted nuclear testing. All atmospheric, underwater, and outer space nuclear testing agreed to be halted though underground testing remained allowed. Additional 113 countries have signed treaty since 1963.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks began November 1969 primarily due to economic impact that nuclear testing and production had on both US and Soviet economies. SALT I Treaty signed May 1972 produced Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and Interim Agreement limiting strategic offensive arms.
SALT II treaty signed the 18th of June 1979 in Vienna limited both sides' nuclear arsenals and technology. However United States Senate never ratified treaty following Soviet invasion of Afghanistan December 1979 ending negotiations and détente era.
In 1991 START negotiated between US and Soviet Union to reduce number and limit capabilities of strategic offensive arms. This eventually succeeded by START II, START III, and New START treaties. Ronald Reagan proposed Strategic Defense Initiative space-based anti-ballistic missile system derided as Star Wars by critics.
Post-Cold War Dynamics
With end of Cold War, United States and Russia cut down on nuclear weapons spending. Fewer new systems developed and both arsenals reduced though countries maintain significant stocks of nuclear missiles. In United States stockpile stewardship programs took over role maintaining aging arsenal.
After Cold War ended large inventories of nuclear weapons and facilities remained. Some being recycled dismantled or recovered as valuable substances. Large amounts money resources instead used for repairing environmental damage produced by nuclear arms race. Almost all former production sites now major cleanup sites including plutonium production facility at Hanford Washington and plutonium pit fabrication facility at Rocky Flats Colorado.
On the 8th of April 2010 U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed New START Treaty calling for fifty percent reduction of strategic nuclear missile launchers and curtailment deployed nuclear warheads. U.S. Senate ratified treaty December 2010 by three-quarter majority.
In July 2024 Biden administration announced intention to deploy long-range missiles in Germany starting 2026 that could hit Russian territory within 10 minutes. Response from Russian President Putin warned of Cold War-style missile crisis threatening deployment long-range missiles within striking distance West.
When did the Soviet Union detonate its first atomic bomb?
The Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb on the 29th of August 1949. The West named this device First Lightning, which was more or less a copy of Fat Man, one of the bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.
What happened during Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll?
Operation Crossroads involved 95 ships including German and Japanese vessels captured during World War II. One plutonium implosion-type bomb detonated over the fleet while another exploded underwater.
Who led the Ivy Mike hydrogen bomb project on Enewetak Atoll?
Hungarian-American nuclear physicist Edward Teller led the Ivy Mike project that detonated the first hydrogen bomb on the 1st of November 1952. This explosion created a cloud wide and high enough to kill all life on surrounding islands.
Which nations became the third and fourth to possess nuclear weapons?
The United Kingdom became the third nation to test a nuclear weapon when it detonated an atomic bomb in Operation Hurricane on the 3rd of October 1952. France became the fourth nation to possess nuclear weapons on the 13th of February 1960 when its atomic bomb Gerboise Bleue detonated in Algeria.
When did the Cuban Missile Crisis occur and what was the highest DEFCON level reached?
An American spy plane discovered nuclear missile sites under construction in Cuba on the 14th of October 1962. President Kennedy ordered U.S. military forces to DEFCON 3 then later to DEFCON 2 as tensions increased during this crisis.