Nuclear Arms Race & Deterrence- Set 2

Set 2 Key terms

Castle Bravo

1954- a US hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll. Largest nuclear test (15 megatons)

Gerboise Bleue

1960- France’s first successful nuclear test (Algerian Sahara). Made France the 4th nuclear power.

Hydrogen Bomb

Fusion based- stronger than fission bombs.

1952 Ivt Mike = first successful US test

USSR’s came a year later.

ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles)

long range missiles. USSR developed the first operational one in 1957 (ICBM R-7 Semyorka)

“Launch on Warning”

policy of launching a retaliatory nuclear strike before confirming impact on an ‘incoming’ one. Dangerous especially during false alarms.

MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)

Doctrine: If both sides have second-strike capabilities, neither will strike first.

MIRVs (Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicles)

One missile can carry several warheads, hitting different targets.

First deployed by US in 1950

Operation Chrome Dome

1960-68- US kept nuclear-armed bombers airborne 24/7.

Ended after Palomares and Thule accidents.

Nedelin Catastrophe

1960- Failed Soviet ICBM test exploded on the pad.

Killed 100 people, including Marshal Nedelin. Covered up by the USSR.

Project Nutmeg

1950s- Code name for US planning of nuclear war policy. Preceded NSC- 68 and emphasized nuclear primacy. Later declassified.

Operation Rolling Thunder

1965-68- US bombing campaign in Vietnam.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

1983- Reagan’s “Star Wars” plan to shoot down Soviet missiles from space.

Able Archer 83

NATO war game that USSR mistook for a real nuclear launch. Nearly triggered WW3- demonstrated major miscommunication issues.

Nuclear Test ban Treaty

1963- Banned above ground nuclear test

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Goal: stop spread of nukes

SALT I

1972- Froze the number of strategic launched

SALT II

1979- Set limits on warheads (never ratified)

INF Treaty

1987- Reagan-Gorbachev treaty to remove intermediate range missiles from Europe. First to eliminate an entire category of nukes.

Tsar Bomba

Largest Soviet nuclear bomb ever detonated (50 megatons)

Operation Crossroads

1946: US nuclear test at Bikini Atoll- early attempts to study effects of atomic bombs on ships.

Radar Fence

Early warning radar systems used by the US and Canada (eg. DEW line) to detect Soviet bombers.

The Day After

1983: TV film about nuclear war’s aftermath; heightened public fear.

Palomares Incident

1966: US B-52 Bomber crashed off Spain with 4 hydrogen bombs; partial recovery.

U-2 Incident

1960: US spy plane shot down over USSR, killing pilot Rudolf Anderson; worsened tensions and collapsed a planned summit between Eisenhower and Khrushchev.