Abstract
From the moment the first atomic weapon was used in 1945, an arms race between east and west began. Both Britain and the Soviet Union immediately concluded that they too must possess this new, devastating weapon. France and the PRC later reached the same conclusion. As will be seen (Map 39), others would eventually decide the same. Initially it was only possible to deliver these weapons as gravity bombs. But Nazi Germany had already pointed the way forward with its V2 rockets, against which there was no defence. Both the USA and USSR rushed to develop nuclear weapons technology. The first Soviet nuclear test in 1949 came far earlier than expected. The USA responded by developing the far more powerful fusion or Hydrogen bomb by 1952. The USSR caught up within months.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2003 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Swift, J. (2003). The Arms Race. In: The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of the Cold War. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230001183_37
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230001183_37
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-99404-7
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-00118-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)