The United States was the first to use nuclear weapons when it bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. During the Cold War, both the US and Soviet Union engaged in an arms race to develop more advanced nuclear weapons and delivery systems. The US focused on developing intercontinental ballistic missiles like the Atlas and Minuteman that could strike the Soviet Union from great distances with accuracy. The US also deployed nuclear missiles on submarines like the Polaris, making retaliation more assured. The Soviet Union worked to catch up but struggled with inaccurate missiles until later improving their capabilities, increasing tensions during this nuclear standoff between the two superpowers.
2. Who was the 1st country to use nuclear
weapons?
The United States became the first
country in the world to use nuclear V2-ROCKET
weapons. They 1st bombed Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in 1945. These bombs
had been dropped by planes but later
they realized that Rockets were
cheaper, faster and more difficult to
destroy in the air so they used rockets
as a means of delivering the weapon to
its target. During world war II US set
out producing nuclear missiles. V-2
rockets were used against Britain at the
end of the war but most of the rockets
did not hit it’s accurate target so the
main problem was developing a missile
that was accurate. The more the V-2
rocket had to travel, the more
inaccurate it became.
3. The US development
The US main enemy was the
Soviet Union so they need
H-BOMB/hydrogen bomb
missiles that could travel long
distances.
The US spended most of their
time developing intercontinental
ballistic missiles that could be
more accurate after the war.
Finally in 1952 the US made their
first H-bomb that provided large
explosion with smaller, lighter
warheads. These bombs much
more accurate than the V2-
rocket.
4. Weight had always been a problem so the US developed the Atlas missile by
1957 that could travel 6,000miles and land within a mile of its target.
Truck transporting Atlas missile to a specific location
5. The final missile
The problem with the Atlas
missile was that it took over an
hour to prepare for firing.
By the end of the 1950s the A Minuteman missile
United States overcame this
problem by developing the
Minuteman missile. This
missile stored its fuel in its own
engines.
It was now possible to fire a
missile in thirty seconds. These
missiles were also fairly small
(54 feet long and 10 feet in
diameter) and could be stored
in silos under the ground,
protected from an enemy
attack.
6. Development of Polaris submarine
and it’s advantage.
United States developed Polaris submarines
Polaris submarine launches a missile
which could carry nuclear missiles. Protected
by the sea, these submarines could move close
to the Soviet Union and therefore increase the
missiles' accuracy which was a great advantage.
A Polaris submarine
7. The Soviet union
The Soviet union was very
worried by the developments
of the US.
They were the 1st to explode the
atomic weapon in 1949 but still
they were far behind in nuclear
technology.
They made large missiles that
could travel long distance but
these missiles were inaccurate
and their size made them
difficult to conceal so it was
useless.
An Atom bomb
8. Soviet union gets more
worried
The Soviet union became more worried
when President John F. Kennedy announced
a program to build nuclear shelters.
The Soviet union was more worried when
Kennedy told a journalist that in some
circumstances the US might start a nuclear
war.
Soviet Union needed to find a way to make
the United States vulnerable to a nuclear
attack.
A underground Nuclear shelter>>>>>
9. Situation between the two
countries
In the 1950s the Soviet Union had been
producing medium-range ballistic missiles
and intermediate-range ballistic missiles to
support troops if a war broke out in Europe.
The Soviet union needed a nuclear base and
also they did not have an ally.
The US radar network could detect anything
or any missile passing the border.
If the US attack’s the Soviet with nuclear
weapon than the Soviets will also attack back
which will cause both countries to suffer, so
the US decides not to attack the Soviet first.
