by P P

Created on: August 07, 2009   Last Updated: August 12, 2009

The dropping of the bomb had many effects however the most important was that it caused the nuclear arms race, and proved that the bomb really worked. Other country's now felt belittled and had to compete to regain the "title" as a world power.

The Nuclear arms race was central to the cold war. Both America and The Soviets thought the more weapons you have the more powerful you are. So they both built up their nuclear arsenals. The world greatly changed when in 1952 America exploded its first Hydrogen Bomb which was 2500 times as strong and small than the atomic bomb. After that in 1953 the Soviets exploded their first Hydrogen bomb. It is thought that the fear of the power of these weapons would stop a war immediately, each country would know that if they used their bomb, destruction would rein. The U-S developed a bomber the B52 that could fly 6,000 and deliver a nuclear pay load. This would cost great amount of financial backing by the government, which America could afford and the Soviets could not. Russia focused on created bigger bombs a much more cost effective procedure. In October 1957 the world feared a missile would be launched, when Sputnik, the first launch was done. This was to lead to the creation of the ICBM's, inter continental ballistic missiles. America, as a result build the DEW line around the Arctic (Defence and Early Warning system). Americans estimated that as a result to a nuclear missile launch in 1950 2 million Americans would be killed and 22 million would be injured. During the 1960's Russia focused on a quantity of missiles while America focused on the quality of the missiles. The Atlas missile could go 5,000 miles at 16K miles per hour. By 1961 there were enough missiles to destroy the world. Missiles were built underground in Silo's. In 1960 the first nuclear submarine was created, it carried 16 missiles. Each missiles carried 4 war heads that could be aimed at different city, therefore it really carried 64 nuclear warheads. In 1967 Communist China exploded its first Hydrogen bomb, now NATO felt outnumbered and focused (depended) on nuclear missiles.

Troops : NATO 2.6 million. Warsaw Pact 4 million

Tanks : NATO 13,000. Warsaw Pact 42,500

Artillery : NATO 10,750. Warsaw Pact 31,5000

The theory of MAD- mutually assured destruction, if Russia attacked the west they would retaliate and there would be no winner. Also they each new if it spireled out of control it would be destruction for both.

By 1981, USA had 8,000 ICBM?s and USSR 7,000 ICBM?s

By 1981, USA had 4,000 planes capable of delivering a nuclear bomb. Russia had 5000.

USA defence spending for 1981 = 178 billion dollars. By 1986, it was 367 billion dollars.

By 1986, it is estimated that throughout the world there were 40,000 nuclear warheads - the equivalent of one million Hiroshima bombs.

One medium sized Hydrogen bomb dropped on London would destroy anything within a 30 mile radios. Due to these statistics leaders had to trust each other more. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's the dtente had been used to ease bad relations. This would end up with the Reykjavik meeting between Roosevelt and Gorbachev that started the process in the end of nuclear weaponry.

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