Advancements+in+Weapons

Advancements in Weapons  By:Jennifer Riendeau **The Nuclear Arms Race: ** The Nuclear arms race was essential to the Cold War. People feared that the believe behind the Cold War was that the more nuclear weapons you had, the stronger you were. America and Russia were two countries who created a stockpile of nuclear weapons. Hydrogen Bomb: One of the most known and important weapons during the cold war was the H-Bomb. The Soviet’s had atomic bomb success, so the hydrogen bomb seemed like a great idea in the United States. In the hydrogen bomb, deuterium and tritium are fused into helium, later releasing energy. Some people thought the hydrogen bomb would be a bad idea, while others thought it would be successful. One person who thought it would be successful was Edward Teller. Teller was familiar with bombs after exploring the idea of a ‘super’ during the time of the Manhattan Project. In 1950, President Harry S. Truman decided and announced that work on the hydrogen bomb was to be continued. On November 1, 1952, the U.S. started a test called “mike.” This was the first successful accomplishment of Edward Teller’s want to create a “super.” They detonated a 10.4-megaton hydrogen device in the Pacific on the Enewetak Atoll, which is in the Marshall Islands. People who witnessed this were amazed by the blast and couldn’t believe it; when it reached its fullest extent it was about 100 miles wide and 25 miles high.
 * //Mike: //**

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On March 1, 1954 another test was created called “the bravo test.” This time it was on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. This test used a hydrogen bomb made up of solid lithium deuteride. Scientists had no idea that the size of the explosion would have been a lot bigger then “mike.”
 * //Bravo: //**

The world began to change when the U.S. exploded the H-Bomb in 1952. This was the most powerful bomb, although it was the smallest. The B52: The B52 was produced by the U.S. It was a bomber that could fly about 6,000 miles and then deliver a nuclear load. This was a very expensive procedure, which the Russia couldn’t afford; therefore they concentrated on producing larger bombs. America on the other hand could afford this, and it proved to be a more cost effective procedure.



Missiles: In 1957, Sputnik was launched and this brought fear of missile attacks. This led to ICBM’s. ICBM’s stands for inter-continentwal ballistic missiles. As a result of this, America built the DEW, Defence and Early Warning system, around the Artic. During the 1960’s, American focused on building fewer missiles of better quality, unlike Russia. One missile named the “Atlas” could go 5,000 miles at a speed of 16,000 miles per hour. The bad side about the missiles however, were that they were unreliable to hit there target. Many people focused greatly on the new weapon system; numerous mobile missile launchers were built. In 1960, the first Polaris submarine was launched carrying 16 nuclear missiles. On March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed a plan to stop the ICBM’s if they were on their way to the U.S. however. His plan used high-powered lasers to shoot down any missiles that were coming towards the U.S. This plan was later names Star Wars because of the fact it was a space anti-missile system.



Timeline: <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">By 1961, there were enough bombs to destroy the world. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">By 1981, USA had 8,000 ICBM’s and USSR 7,000 ICBM’s <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">By 1981, USA had 4,000 planes capable of delivering a nuclear bomb. Russia had 5000. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">By 1986, it is estimated that throughout the world there were 40,000 nuclear warheads - the equivalent of one million Hiroshima bombs

<span style="font-family: 'times new roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">During the cold war, advancement in combat weapons mainly focused on machine guns. Machine guns used to be heavy and two or more people had to use them at one time, but machine guns changed so that just one person used each one. In 1946, the Soviets developed the AK-47. This seemed like a good new development, but there was one main problem with it; the Soviet Government didn’t posses the right technology to produce a machined receiver. In 1949, the Soviets officially adopted the AK. This was a light gun; gas operated, and could fire at a rate of 775 rounds per minute. Due to the fact that its ammunition was shorter and lighter, soldiers were able to carry more; it was easy to maintain and simple to operate. The only down side of this rifle was that it was not the most accurate. In 1963, the U.S. finally introduced a new weapon called the M-16. This rifle had a rate of 700 rounds per minute and was also easy to maintain. This soon became the most important thing for a man to have on a battle field.
 * <span style="color: #0ad6d6; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 24px;">Combat Weapons: **



Jet: The jet aircraft became a focus in the 1950’s and 1960’s. They were used to carry nuclear weapons and were fast big interceptors to counter them. Interceptors soon became heavier, faster, and larger. An example of this was the Russian MiG-25 Foxbat. Another bomber was called the Tu 142 ‘Bear.’ Korean War air battles in the 1950’s were fought using jet fighters. Close air support aircraft developed during the Cold War as the West needed a way to counter the massive Soviet tank advantage. The U.S. created the A-10 Warthog, which was a tank buster carrying a rotary cannon. Helicopter: Korean and Vietnam wars brought the helicopter into play. Korea was able to show the importance of the helicopter as transport, and medi-vac platform. Vietnam was often called a “helicopter war” as the U.S. helicopters were so important and common during conflict. Helicopters proved to be the ideal anti submarine warfare platforms. This meant that as the Soviets produced a huge submarine fleet, the West produced counter measures. The Soviets developed a many military helicopters, like the Mi-24 Hind; this was an enormous transport helicopter. The first helicopters used were mostly unarmed and used to scout; they were also small only held a few people at a time. As time passed, helicopters began to carry weapons. Helicopters also began to get larger and hold more people. media type="youtube" key="Os89yLareAM" height="258" width="524" align="center"
 * <span style="color: #00ddff; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 24px;">Advancement of Aircraft: **

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">The advancements of weapons was significant to the cold war because it made fighting easier and more accurate. These new weapons helped the soldiers defeat their enemies. Although they could defeat their enemies, the new weapons were more dangerous and often killed the people who were working them. The most dramatic change was in combat weapons, such as the machine gun. Fighting was easier, faster, and more was able to be accomplished with this new technology. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 14px;">The impact of the advancement of weapons was that new weapons are constantly being made and developed. Also, if it wasn't for the helicopters and jets then aircraft today may be a little different today. Guns and rifles may also be different and no as complex. This advancement during the cold war set the base for even more technological advances today.
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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 20px;">Works Cited: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">. "The Nuclear Arms Race." //History Learning Site//. HistoryLearningSite, 2012. Web. 1 May 2012. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/nuclear_arms_race.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Harper, Frank. "Manion's Collector's Guide." //The AK-47//. N.p., 2012. Web. 1 May 2012. <http://www.manions.com/archive/articles/the_ak_47.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Ramsey, Kirk. "M-16 Rifle." . Tales of a War Far Away, 2012. Web. 1 May 2012. <http://www.i-kirk.info/tales/vnr08.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Dugdale-Pointon, T., (30 March 2007), //A Brief History of Air Warfare, 27 April 1296////,// [].