Nuclear warfare
A mushroom cloud rose over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on the 6th of August 1945. This event marked the first and only wartime use of nuclear weapons in human history. The uranium-type weapon codenamed Little Boy destroyed nearly 50,000 buildings and killed approximately 70,000 people. Three days later, a plutonium-type device called Fat Man struck Nagasaki with an explosion equivalent to about 21 kilotons. That attack killed roughly 35,000 people and left 68 to 80 percent of non-dock industrial production destroyed. These two bombings resulted in total deaths between 150,000 and 246,000 people by early 1946. President Harry S. Truman authorized these strikes after Japan rejected the Potsdam Declaration issued on the 26th of July 1945. The United States had prepared only three atomic bombs for combat at that time. A third bomb would not be available until September. The U.S. military estimated that an invasion of the Japanese home islands could cost between 50,000 and 500,000 American troop lives. Over 400,000 American combatants had already died fighting in both European and Pacific theaters before August 1945.
On the 29th of August 1949, the Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan. Scientists from the Manhattan Project had warned that the Soviets would eventually develop their own capabilities. The first Soviet bomb was a deliberate copy of the Fat Man plutonium device. This test broke the American monopoly over nuclear technology and accelerated worldwide proliferation. The United Kingdom followed with its first independent atomic bomb test in 1952. France developed its first atomic bomb in 1960 while China did so in 1964. By 1980, there were about 40,000 nuclear warheads in existence globally. These weapons had a potential combined explosive yield of approximately 13,000 megatons. The largest volcanic eruption in recorded history occurred when Mount Tambora erupted in 1815. That explosion released roughly 33 billion tons of TNT equivalent energy. Nuclear arsenals now represent a fraction of natural geological forces but remain capable of catastrophic destruction. The U.S. Strategic Air Command produced an 800-page document titled Atomic Weapons Requirements Study for 1956. This list designated ground zeros across the Soviet Union and remained top secret until December 2015.
A complex situation developed in 1962 during what is called the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union placed medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba as a direct response to American Jupiter missiles in Turkey. After intense negotiations, the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba. The United States secretly dismantled its launch sites in Turkey over two decades later. First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev never revealed this part of the agreement to his political opponents. Communication delays led to the establishment of the Moscow-Washington hotline. On the 26th of September 1983, Stanislav Petrov received convincing indications of an American first strike launch against the Soviet Union. He positively identified the warning as a false alarm and did not report it to his superiors. His actions may have prevented World War III since Soviet policy required immediate nuclear response upon discovering inbound ballistic missiles. Similar incidents happened many times due to failed computer chips or misidentifications of large flights of geese. In November 1983, the Soviet Union thought that the NATO military exercise Able Archer 83 was a ruse to begin a nuclear first strike. They raised readiness and prepared their arsenal for immediate use before fears ceased once the exercise concluded.
Israel responded to the Arab Yom Kippur War attack on the 6th of October 1973 by assembling 13 nuclear weapons in a tunnel under the Negev desert. Prime Minister Golda Meir authorized Defense Minister Moshe Dayan to activate these warheads if Israel began to be overrun. Intelligence reports indicated that the USSR would retaliate if Israel used nuclear weapons on Egypt or Syria. North Korea conducted its first underground nuclear test on the 9th of October 2006. The U.S. Geological Survey measured a 4.2 magnitude earthquake where the test occurred. A further test was announced by the North Korean government on the 25th of May 2009. Pakistan's nuclear program culminated in tests at Chagai after India refused to join the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The 1999 war between Pakistan and India remains the only conflict between two declared nuclear powers. During the Kargil War, Pakistan came close to using its nuclear weapons if conventional military situations deteriorated. Foreign minister warnings about using any weapon in their arsenal were condemned internationally. In August 2017, North Korea warned it might launch mid-range ballistic missiles into waters within 100 miles of Guam. Escalating tensions prompted heightened readiness in Hawaii. On the 13th of January 2018, a false missile alarm broadcast all over Hawaii caused panic.
The United States developed its first Single Integrated Operational Plan in 1960 with variants in use from 1961 to 2003. That year also saw the start of the Missile Defense Alarm System. This American system used 12 early-warning satellites that provided limited notice of Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile launches until 1966. Ballistic Missile Early Warning System was completed in 1964. Submarine-launched nuclear-armed ballistic missiles gave nations a second strike capability after absorbing a first strike. Before SLBMs, thinkers feared a nation might initiate a first strike if confident it would incapacitate enemy arsenals. With SLBMs, no nation could be certain a first strike would disable an entire nuclear arsenal. It had to fear a near-certain retaliatory second strike from submarines. The greatest cost came in developing sea and land-based anti-submarine defenses. One fully equipped nuclear-powered submarine could cost more than the entire GNP of a developing country. The U.S. adopted a policy in 1996 allowing targeting of non-state actors armed with weapons of mass destruction. Commodore Tim Hare described sub-strategic use as offering governments an extra option before all-out strategic strikes.
A study presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December 2006 asserted that small-scale regional nuclear war could produce fatalities equal to World War II. Researchers predicted cooling of several degrees over large areas of North America and Eurasia for years. As much as five million tons of soot could be released during such conflicts. A regional scenario involving two opposing nations using 50 Hiroshima-sized weapons on major population centers predicted fatalities ranging from 2.6 million to 16.7 million per country. Either limited or full-scale exchanges could lead to human extinction according to some predictions. Such catastrophic events would cause permanent damage to most complex life on Earth. Ecosystems and global climate would suffer irreversible harm. Some 1980s governmental predictions like FEMA's CRP-2B claimed 80 percent of Americans would survive a nuclear exchange. These figures neglected impacts on healthcare infrastructure, food supply, and ecosystems. They assumed all major cities could evacuate within three to five days. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute suggests modernization creates cultures where weapon use becomes more acceptable. This trend increases risk since smaller warheads lack psychological deterrent value compared to multi-megaton Cold War era devices.
The British government developed a public alert system expecting four-minute warning before detonation. The United States expected warnings from half an hour down to less than three minutes for submarine-based weapons. Many countries maintain continuity of government plans following attacks. These range from designated survivors to the Soviet Dead Hand system allowing retaliation even if leadership is destroyed. Nuclear submarines carry letters of last resort detailing actions after enemy strikes destroy governments. Metro stations in Pyongyang were constructed below ground with thick steel blast doors designed as shelters. Switzerland has overcapacity of underground shelters accommodating slightly more than its population size. Prussian blue or Radiogardase is stockpiled in the U.S. along with potassium iodide and DPTA. These pharmaceuticals treat internal exposure to harmful radioisotopes in fallout. Schools taught children to duck and cover via early Cold War films. Respirators protect against inhalation of radioactive material while dermal equipment shields skin and hair. The 1950s saw civil defense programs institute basements stocked with non-perishable food supplies. CONELRAD radio systems broadcast on frequencies 640 and 1240 kHz during emergencies. A few backyard shelters were built by private individuals including Ark Two Shelter in Ontario, Canada.
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Common questions
When did nuclear warfare first occur in human history?
Nuclear warfare first occurred on the 6th of August 1945 when a uranium-type weapon codenamed Little Boy destroyed nearly 50,000 buildings and killed approximately 70,000 people in Hiroshima. This event marked the only wartime use of nuclear weapons until three days later when Fat Man struck Nagasaki.
Which countries developed their own nuclear capabilities after the United States?
The Soviet Union tested its first nuclear weapon at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan on the 29th of August 1949. The United Kingdom followed with its first independent atomic bomb test in 1952 while France developed its first atomic bomb in 1960 and China did so in 1964.
What happened during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962?
During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 the Soviet Union placed medium-range ballistic missiles in Cuba as a direct response to American Jupiter missiles in Turkey. After intense negotiations the Soviets removed their missiles from Cuba and the United States secretly dismantled its launch sites in Turkey over two decades later.
How many nuclear warheads existed globally by 1980?
By 1980 there were about 40,000 nuclear warheads in existence globally with a potential combined explosive yield of approximately 13,000 megatons. These weapons had a potential combined explosive yield that represented a fraction of natural geological forces but remained capable of catastrophic destruction.
Who prevented World War III on the 26th of September 1983?
Stanislav Petrov prevented World War III on the 26th of September 1983 when he positively identified an incoming American first strike warning as a false alarm and did not report it to his superiors. His actions may have prevented World War III since Soviet policy required immediate nuclear response upon discovering inbound ballistic missiles.