The old proverb,” The enemy of my enemy is my friend” represents the relationship between the Soviet government and the United States during World War II. Stalin was a mistrusted “ally” of the United States. At that time, the Germans and the U.S. were furiously pursuing the use of nuclear fission as a weapon. Stalin did not have the resources to pursue nuclear technology and fight the war, too, so he used covert methods to garner the necessary information to join the nuclear arms race. He had a ring of spies operating within the Manhattan Project, which included Klaus Fuchs and Theodore Hall, to keep him well informed on the progress of the research that the Americans were secretly pursuing. This explains Stalin’s nonchalant reaction to the news, from U.S. President Harry Truman, when he was informed of the Manhattan project researching nuclear weapons.
After the war, relations between the Communists in the Soviet Union and the United States deteriorated rapidly. Once a source of Uranium was secured by the Soviets, with the information stolen from the Manhattan Project, Stalin pursued nuclear weapons for the USSR. The Soviet Union was not anticipated to have a functioning nuclear weapon until the mid-1950s, however they surprised the US by detonating a functional nuclear weapon in 1949. This event was code named “First Lightning” by the United States.
The first nuclear bombs were called “Atomic” or “A” bombs. This technology split the atoms of Uranium or Plutonium 235, through a process of fission to create a huge explosion, equivalent to 20,000 pounds of TNT. They are not as efficient as the later Hydrogen or “H” bombs. These use the process of fission using Hydrogen atoms within the bomb casing, making the process more efficient and therefore more explosive. The Hydrogen bombs are smaller warheads, and are therefore easier and more compact to mount on missiles. On November 1, 1952, the United States detonated the world’s first hydrogen bomb.
The Soviets were not far behind. In 1953, they deployed a thermonuclear device, which was not quite as strong as a hydrogen bomb, but was small and able to be dropped from the plane so it was a functional deadly weapon, and a real threat.
On March 1, 1954, the US tested a hydrogen bomb in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean, on Bikini Atoll. This explosion was the largest nuclear test by the U.S, code named Castle Bravo. The blast delivered 14.8 megatons of force and was more than 1000 times larger than atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ending World War II. They were expecting an explosion the size of 5 Megatons and were woefully unprepared for the explosion that resulted. The explosion resulted in the immediate death of a civilian on a fishing boat and exposed the surrounding populated islands within a 300-mile radius to nuclear fallout and the resultant sickness of radiation poisoning. In addition, the military personnel were exposed to nuclear fallout, resulting, in the coming years, to the premature death of many service members, including my grandfather and namesake, William Buche, a U.S. Navy Ensign. On November 22, 1955, the Soviet Union countered in the arms race by detonating its first hydrogen bomb, yielding an explosion 1.5 megatons.
On October 30, 1961, the Soviets tested a hydrogen bomb, named “Tsar Bomba” with the yield of approximately 58 megatons of TNT. This was the largest nuclear explosion the world had ever seen. The pilots who conducted the test were given a 50% chance of survival. The mushroom cloud was 35 miles high. It could be seen from 100 miles away. This explosion was detonated on the Kola Peninsula, in the Arctic ocean. Nearby villages were completely leveled by the explosion and windows were shattered all the way in Norway by the blast.
If either the United States or the Soviet Union launched a first-strike of nuclear weapons, their opponent would still have sufficient resources and time to destroy the other, this phenomenon is abbreviated ironically to “MAD” or Mutually Assured Destruction.
With rocket technology from the space race, more and more advances in weaponry were developed. There were Medium Range, Intermediate Range, Submarine Launched, and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, or “ICBMs”, which were the most well known and most feared. With the touch of a proverbial button, Russia could detonate a bomb anywhere in the United States and the United States could do the same in reverse. Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) were what truly ensured “MAD”. Even after a first strike by either country, the nuclear submarines could send at least 24 missiles per submarine into the enemy country, obliterating all life as we know it.
After years of cold war fear and escalation of the nuclear arms race, there were efforts to de-escalate in the 1980s. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev proposed a 50% reduction of the nuclear arsenal, in 1986, but it was refused over President Ronald Reagan’s hawkish Strategic Defense Initiative or “SDI”. In December 1987, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed by the powers, eliminating an entire class of “nukes”. By 1991, the Soviet Union was disintegrating and this marked the end of the Cold War Nuclear Arms race.
Sources:
http://home.bt.com/news/on-this-day/march-1-1954-massive-nuclear-test-triggers-fallout-fears-across-the-pacific-11363964894001
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_arms_race
https://youtu.be/Ie3UKM8y4lo
https://youtu.be/Aza-2wopCFY
https://youtu.be/fk-S981jK1c
https://youtu.be/Zp15GJS5re0
After the war, relations between the Communists in the Soviet Union and the United States deteriorated rapidly. Once a source of Uranium was secured by the Soviets, with the information stolen from the Manhattan Project, Stalin pursued nuclear weapons for the USSR. The Soviet Union was not anticipated to have a functioning nuclear weapon until the mid-1950s, however they surprised the US by detonating a functional nuclear weapon in 1949. This event was code named “First Lightning” by the United States.
The first nuclear bombs were called “Atomic” or “A” bombs. This technology split the atoms of Uranium or Plutonium 235, through a process of fission to create a huge explosion, equivalent to 20,000 pounds of TNT. They are not as efficient as the later Hydrogen or “H” bombs. These use the process of fission using Hydrogen atoms within the bomb casing, making the process more efficient and therefore more explosive. The Hydrogen bombs are smaller warheads, and are therefore easier and more compact to mount on missiles. On November 1, 1952, the United States detonated the world’s first hydrogen bomb.
The Soviets were not far behind. In 1953, they deployed a thermonuclear device, which was not quite as strong as a hydrogen bomb, but was small and able to be dropped from the plane so it was a functional deadly weapon, and a real threat.
On March 1, 1954, the US tested a hydrogen bomb in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean, on Bikini Atoll. This explosion was the largest nuclear test by the U.S, code named Castle Bravo. The blast delivered 14.8 megatons of force and was more than 1000 times larger than atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ending World War II. They were expecting an explosion the size of 5 Megatons and were woefully unprepared for the explosion that resulted. The explosion resulted in the immediate death of a civilian on a fishing boat and exposed the surrounding populated islands within a 300-mile radius to nuclear fallout and the resultant sickness of radiation poisoning. In addition, the military personnel were exposed to nuclear fallout, resulting, in the coming years, to the premature death of many service members, including my grandfather and namesake, William Buche, a U.S. Navy Ensign. On November 22, 1955, the Soviet Union countered in the arms race by detonating its first hydrogen bomb, yielding an explosion 1.5 megatons.
On October 30, 1961, the Soviets tested a hydrogen bomb, named “Tsar Bomba” with the yield of approximately 58 megatons of TNT. This was the largest nuclear explosion the world had ever seen. The pilots who conducted the test were given a 50% chance of survival. The mushroom cloud was 35 miles high. It could be seen from 100 miles away. This explosion was detonated on the Kola Peninsula, in the Arctic ocean. Nearby villages were completely leveled by the explosion and windows were shattered all the way in Norway by the blast.
If either the United States or the Soviet Union launched a first-strike of nuclear weapons, their opponent would still have sufficient resources and time to destroy the other, this phenomenon is abbreviated ironically to “MAD” or Mutually Assured Destruction.
With rocket technology from the space race, more and more advances in weaponry were developed. There were Medium Range, Intermediate Range, Submarine Launched, and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, or “ICBMs”, which were the most well known and most feared. With the touch of a proverbial button, Russia could detonate a bomb anywhere in the United States and the United States could do the same in reverse. Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) were what truly ensured “MAD”. Even after a first strike by either country, the nuclear submarines could send at least 24 missiles per submarine into the enemy country, obliterating all life as we know it.
After years of cold war fear and escalation of the nuclear arms race, there were efforts to de-escalate in the 1980s. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev proposed a 50% reduction of the nuclear arsenal, in 1986, but it was refused over President Ronald Reagan’s hawkish Strategic Defense Initiative or “SDI”. In December 1987, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed by the powers, eliminating an entire class of “nukes”. By 1991, the Soviet Union was disintegrating and this marked the end of the Cold War Nuclear Arms race.
Sources:
http://home.bt.com/news/on-this-day/march-1-1954-massive-nuclear-test-triggers-fallout-fears-across-the-pacific-11363964894001
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_arms_race
https://youtu.be/Ie3UKM8y4lo
https://youtu.be/Aza-2wopCFY
https://youtu.be/fk-S981jK1c
https://youtu.be/Zp15GJS5re0