Arms Race
Facts
for kids
The following fact
sheet contains interesting information, history and
facts on Cold War Arms Race for kids.
Arms Race
Facts for kids
Arms Race
Facts - 1: During the Potsdam
Conference Stalin was informed that the US had tested
the
Atomic
Bomb but not that they intended to use it. This
built a high level of distrust between the two nations.
Arms Race
Facts -
2: The United States
wanted to show that it was stronger, more able and more
intelligent than the USSR, and vice-versa.
Arms Race
Facts - 3: The competitive nature of the
two nations led to the Cold War Arms Race in which both sides
competed to develop more powerful weapons, new delivery systems and
obtain more nuclear weapons.
Arms Race
Facts - 4: Various top secret projects
and operations were introduced by both sides to monitor nuclear
tests. 'Project Mogul' was one such operation which involved the use
of microphones flown on high-altitude balloons for the long-distance
detection of sound waves, designed to monitor soviet nuclear tests
and later replaced by seismic detectors in Project Skyhook.
Arms Race
Facts - 5: By 1953, America was spending
$50 billion on the Cold War Arms Race, whilst the USSR was spending
$25 billion. The first atomic bombs were delivered by bomber
aircraft.
Arms Race
Facts - 6: Both the Americans and the
Soviets began to develop missile technology that could put rockets
in space with new possibilities for the delivery of nuclear weapons.
Arms Race
Facts - 7: An intercontinental ballistic missile
is a long-range missile capable of sub-orbital flight.
Arms Race
Facts - 8: During the Cold
War Arms Race, these missiles could be fired from the US
to hit targets in Europe and Soviet Russia, and vice
versa.
Arms Race
Facts - 9: The launch of an
orbital satellite was an inevitable stage in the Cold
War Arms Race with the development of rocket technology.
Arms Race
Facts -
10: The Soviet Union launched
the first artificial Earth satellite -
Sputnik-1. The Soviet launch
of Sputnik triggered the Space Race.
Arms Race
Facts for kids
The Arms
Race Facts
for kids: The Missile Gap
(1957)
Summary and Definition: The Cold War Arms Race was
heightened in the late 1950's by the American perception that the
Soviets had more powerful weapons and a larger stockpile of
missiles. The perception of the Missile Gap was as a result of two
developments in 1957. The first was the Soviet's first successful
test of the intercontinental ballistic missile in August 1957
quickly followed on 4 October 1957 by the Soviet’s launch of the
world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, by the same rocket
type. These new developments represented Soviet technological
achievements which had not been matched at the time by the United States.
The Arms
Race Facts
for kids: MAD
(Mutually Assured Destruction)
Summary and Definition: Mutually Assured Destruction
(MAD) was a doctrine of military strategy that started during the
Cold War Arms Race. MAD was based on the assumption that both the USSR and the
US would refrain from launching nuclear weapons, as both nations
knew that the other would retaliate and cause the complete nuclear
annihilation of both the attacker and the defender. The credibility
of the MAD scenario, based on the theory of Nuclear Deterrence, was
dependent on each side investing substantial capital in their
nuclear arsenals, even if they were not intended for use.
The Cold
War Facts
for kids: Cold War Arms
Race Timeline
The competitive nature of the Cold
War Arms Race can be seen in the following Timeline.
Cold War Arms Race
Timeline 1942:
The
Manhattan Project
was established in the US and its scientists led by
Robert Oppenheimer developed the
Atomic Bomb.
1945:
The first
atomic bomb was detonated in a test at Alamagordo, New
Mexico, on July 16, 1945
1945:
The second atomic
bomb was dropped over
Hiroshima
on August 6, 1945
1945:
The third bomb was
dropped over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945
1946:
Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll
in the Marshall Islands. The "Able" test detonation was
on July 1, 1946 and the "Baker" test was detonated on
July 25, 1946
1949:
USSR tests its first
atomic bomb
1952:
USA tests its first
hydrogen bomb - the Mike Shot thermonuclear device
1953:
USSR tests its first
hydrogen bomb - known as the Joe-4 thermonuclear device
1957:
USSR tests its first
intercontinental ballistic missile capable of
sub-orbital flight
1957:
USA tests its first
intercontinental ballistic missile
1957:
USSR launch
Sputnik,
the first orbital satellite
1960:
1 May 1960:
U-2 Incident - USAF spy aircraft shot down over USSR
1961:
USSR test 'Tsar Bomba'
meaning ‘King Bomb’ a 50-megaton nuclear weapon
1962:
Cuban Missile Crisis
(October 16 1962 - October 28 1962) Soviet missiles
placed in Cuba, and US missiles in Turkey
1968:
USA develop MIRV
systems that put several warheads on a single launcher to
strike widely dispersed targets
1968:
The Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty was signed on July 1, 1968 when
powers with nuclear weapons agreed not to give any other
countries nuclear technology.
1972:
SALT Treaty:
Adhering to the policy of
Detente,
the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty (ABM), and the Interim
Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms set limits
on the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles
each side could develop.
1975:
USSR develop MIRV
systems
1975:
Brezhnev
and Carter sign the SALT II treaty.
1982:
Strategic Arms
Reduction Talks (START) began, aimed at strategic
nuclear disarmament, and were conducted from June
29, 1982 – June 1991
1983:
USA propose
Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) requiring space
and earth based laser battle stations. The Soviets bring
the ailing nation to the point of bankruptcy in their
attempts to match the SDI.
1991:
Fall of the USSR
and end of the Cold War Arms Race
Cold War Arms Race
Timeline
The Cold War
Timeline
Cold War Arms Race - President Harry Truman Video
The article on the
Cold War Arms Race provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Harry Truman video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 33rd American President whose presidency spanned from April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953.
Cold War Arms Race
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Interesting Facts about Cold War Arms Race for kids and schools
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Summary and Definition of the Cold War Arms Race in US history
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Arms Race Facts with important dates and key
events
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Arms Race Facts with important dates and key
events
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Fast, fun, interesting
facts about Cold War Arms Race
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Foreign & Domestic
policy of US Presidents
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