The Arms

Race in the
1950's
The Atomic Bomb
Having this technology meant that the US
felt secure when faced with the Soviets’
conventional superiority. The bombs
dropped on Japan were a warning to
Stalin and they made Truman less willing
to compromise with the USSR than
Roosevelt had been.

The Hydrogen Bomb

USA developed the Hydrogen Bomb
in 1952. It was 1000 times more
powerful than the atomic bomb
that was dropped on Hiroshima.
One year later, the Soviet Union
also had a hydrogen bomb

The B52
To start with, the atomic bomb had to be
dropped from a bomber. The Japan
bombs were dropped from the B29. In
1955, the far larger B52 was created. It
had a range of 6000 miles. The Russians
developed their own long range bomber,
the Tupolev 95 in 1956.

The ICBM
USA developed the Inter-continental
ballistic Missile (ICBM) in 1957. It
could fire a nuclear weapon at a
target 5000 km away. A few months
later, the Soviet Union was testing its
first ICBMs.

The Space Race

The Soviets were racing the US into
space. The USSR was the first country
to put an object in orbit (The Sputnik,
1957) and the first human (Yuri Gagarin,
1961). At that point, the US became
determined to win the race to the moon
and began a hugely expensive project
to put the first humans on the Moon by
1969.
 M.A.D
By 1961, there were enough warheads available to destroy the world
completely. It was considered unthinkable that a nuclear war would ever
be started deliberately as the result would be the annihilation of
everyone. The existence of vast nuclear arsenals was seen as having a
deterrent effect: they would prevent a war because the other side would
retaliate and catastrophe would result. The deterrent effect of nuclear
weapons was often described as M.A.D. or “Mutually Assured
Destruction.” Many continued to worry that an accident or mistaken
launch would destroy the world inadvertently.

Peaceful Co-Existence
Nikita Khrushchev became ruler and publicly criticized Stalin’s policies.
He suggested there should be peaceful Co-Existence with the West.
However, he was still a Communist and expected that the Soviet system
would triumph over capitalism. His reforms made many in Eastern Europe
hopeful that more freedom from Soviet control was likely. Khrushchev felt
that the communist and capitalist worlds were now clearly established
and that there was no point in needless confrontation between the two
that could end in disaster. He suggested a policy of “coexistence”.

The Warsaw Pact

In May 1955, West Germany joined NATO, which
increased Stalin’s fears because this meant that the
USA and its allies would support West Germany in
any conflict with the Soviets. Having American
forces so close to the Soviet zone prompted
Khrushchev to create his own defensive alliance, the
Warsaw Pact. The military forces of the East
European communist regimes were now part of the
USSR’s military.