7.5 The Arms Race
What was the codename given to the US research and development project that produced the first nuclear weapons?
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Lesson description
This explosive lesson looks at another vital angle of the Cold War: the Arms Race. From the end of World War Two, the US and the USSR were wrapped in a decades-long competition to be the leaders in developing nuclear weaponry, but it all came to a head in 1962 Cuba.
This lesson contains:
- The chronology of the Arms Race and the development of rising tensions and rivalry between the US and USSR from the end of World War Two to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- The vocabulary and terminology required to study and discuss the Arms Race – and the Cold War – with confidence.
- Exploration of the increasingly-destructive nuclear weaponry created by the US and the USSR, laying the foundation for studying the Cuban Missile Crisis in more detail.
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Fact Sheet
What is the Arms Race?
The Arms Race was a period of intense competition between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War to build up their military forces, especially nuclear weapons. It escalated tensions because both superpowers sought to outdo each other in terms of military strength, leading to a constant state of alert and the fear of a potential conflict.
What is the concept of MAD?
“Mutually assured destruction” (MAD) was a strategy in which both superpowers believed that if they launched a nuclear attack on the other, they would face an equally devastating retaliation. This deterrence theory was a core element of the arms race, as it discouraged either side from initiating a nuclear conflict for fear of their own destruction.
What nuclear weapons were tested during the Arms Race?
During the Cold War arms race, both the United States and the Soviet Union conducted numerous nuclear weapons tests, including the testing of various types of nuclear devices. The most significant tests included Operation Ivy and Castle Bravo detonated by the US, and Tsar Bomba detonated by the USSR, the largest detonation in history.
Who was Klaus Fuchs?
Klaus Fuchs was a German-born physicist who played a significant role in the development of atomic weapons during and after World War II. He played a significant role in the development of the Arms Race, passing sensitive atomic bomb-related information to the Soviet Union, making him one of the most prominent atomic spies of the Cold War era.
Video Transcript
| Agent | Started kicking off towards the end of the Second World War. The United States top secret Manhattan Project developed atomic bombs, Dropped ‘em on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And set in motion a chain of dangerous nuclear proliferation, That brought the world to the brink of extinction. Like, what were they thinking? |
| All | POW! |
| American 1 | Now boys we gotta keep a’hold of these plans, Don’t want them getting into Soviet hands! |
| American 1 & 2 | No! Klaus! |
| Russian 1 & 2 | Haha! Full house! |
| Agent | See the Soviets had spies like Klaus Fuchs in the Manhattan Project. Sure enough it wasn’t long before the Russians joined the nuclear party. |
| Russian 1 | Kaboom! Oh look, we built a rocket, see? Kiss goodbye to your nuclear monopoly, Don’t act bad, don’t make us MAD! |
| Agent | M.A.D. - Mutually Assured Destruction. From 1949 both sides had the means to destroy each other, meaning, theoretically, any leader would be outta’ his god’dam mind to hit the red button. Nevertheless, the Superpowers were testing ever more gargantuan warheads, and atomic bombs were about to make way for a new terrifying destructive power. Here we go again! |
| American 1 | Prepare the hydrogen. |
| American 2 | Operation Ivy detonated, 10.4 Megatons. |
| American 1 | Pretty good, but we can do more, Time to settle this score. |
| American 3 | Castle Bravo detonated, 14.8 Megatons. |
| Russian 1 | Hey take cover it’s Kuzma’s Mother! |
| Russian 2 | Tsar Bomba released...50 Megatons! |
| American 3 | Holy! |
| Agent | So by 1961, both sides had demonstrated their nuclear might, the Tsar Bomba was the largest detonation in human history. In 1962 tensions came to a head on the island of Cuba... |
| American 3 | You gotta see this, Mr President, Our planes have obtained some hard evidence. The Russians are rushing across the Atlantic With missiles for Cuba. |
| American 1 / JFK | For Cuba? |
| American 3 | It’s frantic! |
| American 2 | The antics of the USSR Have gone too gad’dam far. The response, must be critical, Real action not political. |
| American 1 / JFK | Hey, don’t be a fool, gotta keep it politi-cool. |
| American 2 | Don’t you wanna’ teach them a lesson? |
| American 1 | Yes, but not with open aggression. With a naval blockade off the Cuban shore. |
| American 2 | A naval blockade is an act of war! |
| American 1 | Okay, keep it clean. Call it a “quarantine”. |
| Russian 1 / Khrushchev | What’s this? Are you serious? JFK must be delirious! |
| American 1 / JFK | Nikita Khrushchev, read my lips: Turn around your missile ships. |
| Russian 1 / Khrushchev | We won’t be intimidated. |
| Russian 2 | This has quickly escalated! |
| Russian 3 | The eyes of the world are fixated on this. |
| Russian 2 | And we’re staring into an atomic abyss. |
| American 2 | This beautiful patch of Caribbean shore Could mark the beginning of nuclear war |
| American 3 | Our leaders have taken us to the brink. Now will humanity swim or sink? |
| American 1 / JFK & Russian 1 / Khrushchev | Okay, we agree. |
| American 1 / JFK | The Russians go back across the sea, A great day for the US of A And a moral victory! |
| All Americans | Hooray! |
| Russian 1 | You think this deal looks murky? Well, the US had missiles in Turkey. In exchange they took them away, We’ll fight another day. |
| Agent | The missile crisis brought the world to the brink. In the ‘60s the focus switched to the space race and the 70s saw a period of nuclear de-escalation known as... |
| American 2 & American 3 | Be cool... |
| American 1 | Détente? |
| Russian 2 & Russian 3 | Be cool. |
| Russian 1 | Détente. |
| Agent | Truth be told, the threat of nuclear warfare has never gone away, so what do you make of all this? |