Research On U.S. Strategic Nuclear Missiles And The Cold War (1945-1968)

In the different period of Cold War, the development of US strategic missiles presents the entirely different historical pictures.The first stage that from the end of World War II to the beginning of Cold War is a slow development period of U.S. nuclear missile programs. Not unitil later at World War II did U.S. government really has the interest in rocket impels ballistic missile. By the time 1946 when Cold War started, the ballistic missile technology had already developed in the military for 14 years, however it developed very slow in U.S. The initial Success on missiles by German as well as the atomic bomb arrival provided the possibility for development of the intercontinental ballistic missile armed with atomic warhead. United States and Soviet Union competed very scorching in high military technology area for capturing the superiority status in strategy while Cold War started. Soviet obtained the distinct superiority very soon, because Soviet made the decisions to begin of the development and expansion German's missile technology very early. Under the captured German scientists and engineers' help Soviet successfully copied the V-2 missile in 1947, and soon it independently designed the P-1 rocket in 1948 which fired distance amounted to 300 kilometers. Then in 1950, Soviet developed the P-2 rocket successfully fired distance 500 kilometers. Moreover, in 1948 Soviet first proposed the conception that equipe the ballistic missile in navy and the submarine should be first equiped with the ballistic missile. But during Truman administration, the U.S. Army started the short-range ballistic missile -Redstone research in 1949 with the help of von Braun, a rocket expert which took charge of German's missile programs. Although the outbreak of Korean in June1950 brought a reinstatement of some terminated weapons projects, U.S. still did not place major emphasis on the development of guided missiles, espeicially in the development of intercontinental ballistic missile, e.g. the ATLAS (original MX-774) project of air force maintained the low supported level of development. However the interest in research and development of long-range guided missile actually brought huge profit to U.S.Air Force in late many years.The second stage in Cold War is the period by year 1955-1968 of which U.S. strategic nuclear missiles developed very quickly. Especially, two different types of strategic missiles and the quantity of each missile had all formed in this stage, and the fixed scale continued to be used by the American government afterwards.With President Dwight D. Eisenhower's decision to assign the highest national priority to long-range ballistic missile programs in fall 1955, the "Missile Age" truly took shape. It was during the 1955-1968 period in the Cold War that the United States undertook its heaviest and most sustained nuclear strategic missile force buildup and developed the "overkill" capability that, with its Soviet counterpart, would alarm the world peace for decades to come.This article mainly introduces the development of U.S. strategic nuclear missiles (intercontinental ballistic missile and the submarine launched missile) in the very crucial phase of Cold War from 50's to the 60's when the nuclear balance occurred. In this phase, strategic missiles of U.S. and Soviet mainly determined the change of the world strategic nuclear posture as well as the international security environment. And the relationship between the nuclear strategic missiles and the cold war is especially focused. The dissertation falls into six parts:IntroductionIt summarizes the significance, value, and approach of the selected theme, and introduces the research both at home and abroad at present.Chapter I discusses the background of the American long-range nuclear-armed missiles' development. Although Soviet Union and the Unite States both have the outstanding rocket scientist in front of World War II, but these two countries have the big difference in astronautics culture tradition and the technology base aspect. In the World War II initial period, the military exploration is slowly advancing US's ballistic missile knowledge. But the impel, the guidance, the heating and the weight questions look exceptionally difficult, while the plans to solve these questions appear very expensive. Therefore, US endeavor in this area is very little and very fragmentary until the end of World War II German ballistic missile operation shocked the world. Although U.S. and Soviet had all realized missile's important value to the future war, the fund which US invested is still insufficient, nor did U.S. took the ballistic missile project as a key program. While Soviet Union took the development of long-range ballistic missile as its country's priority goal. Thus, after World War II, Soviet Union's research on long-range ballistic missile progressed by leaps and bounds which step on the right direction to strive for hegemony in the future with America.Chapter II discusses the long-range ballistic missile programs during Eisenhower administration. The Korean War ended soon after Eisenhower bacame president, but U.S. and Soviet were increasingly fierce in the nuclear weapon domain competitions. Soviet detonation hydrogen bomb was successful in August, 1953. Then Eisenhower has authorized the NSC 162/2 national security basic policy documents. It was the mark that the new administration in the military took "the nuclear deterrent" as the rationale, and took the nuclear weapon as the main method as "the massive retaliation" strategic appearing. From then on, the resistance between U.S. and Soviet would have promoted as the danger of Thermonuclear War. But from FY1953, the U.S.'s long-range ballistic missile project expense also started to have million US dollars to be greait each year, it was also authorized by Eisenhower to have the highest priority in 1955. Hereafter the speed which the US's long-range ballistic missile progressed in 3 years quickly made one be startled. Although the past progress were very slower than Soviet, but finally successed not so late to Soviet. In April, 1958 the air force's ATLAS intercontinental ballistic missile developed successfully and by end of 1959, navy's first nuclear-powered submarine (SSBN)—George·Washington which might launch the POLARIS ballistic missile had safely guarded American national security. But on the other hand, in the strategic nuclear weapon constitution, compares with the formidable bomber aircraft strength, the missile quantity was very little. Therefore it was also weak on implement of massive retaliation strategy and the abilities of undertaking first nuclear strike.Chapter III discusses the developments of U.S. strategic nucleara missiles and the detente between U.S. and Soviet after Cuban missile crisis in Kennedy administration. The new technology of long-range launch vehicle and appearance of nuclear warhead which more powerful and lighter led nuclear missile into a new age. But at the Eisenhower's second term, Soviet deployed the land-based ICBM first and made a challenge to U.S. national security. So the debates on "missile gap" and basic national security policy in and out the government lasted for years. The nuclear strategy also arrived a turning point that the new stragegic target needs a larger scale and higher level nuclear counter-strike force which has the stronger survivability. After Kennedy was in power, Department of Defense assessed the long-range nuclear delivery system again, and adjusted the weapon development key point according to the strategic nuclear strike force's vulnerability. This caused the strategic nuclear missile as soon as to leap into the quickest developing weapon, and thus improved U.S's missile status, then domestically relaxed the worrying mood created by "missile gap". Actually, U.S. not only had the ability which carried on large-scale second strike, but also continuously was maintaining to Soviet's strategic advantage for three years.Chapter IV discusses the effort of arms control made by Johnson Administration and the"Mutual Assured Destruction" which described the nuclear balance between U.S. and Soviet Union in the late 60's. By 1968, thirteen years after Eisenhower's initiatives, the United States had deployed more than 1,000 ICBMs in concrete silos in the Great Plains and over 640 POLARIS missiles in 41 submarines patrolling Atlantic and Pacific waters. The U.S. Air Force was successfully testing Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles [MIRVs] that would significantly augment the destructive capability of ICBMs and SLBMs. The Soviet Union, however, deployed formidable tactical nuclear forces in Eastern Europe and by 1968 has already rised its strategic nuclear missile quantity very near to what U.S occupied, which was eroding American early lead in strategic missiles. Soviet progress in the strategic area and possible successes in missile defense motivated President Lyndon Johnson and his advisers to press for U.S.-Soviet arms control negotiations, auguring a new phase in the superpower relationship.ConclusionThe conclusion is a brief summary of the relation between the development of U.S. Strategic nuclear missile and the changing of the Cold War Process. At the same time it analyzed the key factors for the decision-making in the U.S. government especially for the adjustments of US's nuclear security policy, and the significance of the Strategic Balance between U.S. and the USSR in shaping American arms control and foreign policy in the cold war period and influenced the war and peace in the nuclear age.