A Brief History
February 9, 1959 opened a new and scary chapter in the atomic age when the U.S.S.R. fielded the first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) armed with a nuclear warhead, the R-7 Semyorka.
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find the United States (and allies) and the U.S.S.R. (and its allies) engaged in a scary Cold War from the end of World War II until 1991 when the U.S.S.R. finally disintegrated.
The reason for the scariness can be summed up in one word: Nukes! The prospect of total nuclear war was sobering, since mutual nuclear destruction could actually have ended modern civilization as we knew it and perhaps have killed billions of people. Even those who would not have died as a direct result of the nuclear blasts might later have starved in the “nuclear winter” caused by millions of tons of ash in the air blocking the sun. Survivors would have been left with a world where much of the prime real estate would be irradiated for hundreds or thousands of years.
Prior to the advent of the ICBM, one way nuclear warheads could be delivered was by artillery guns, good only for local battlefield use and a danger to the troops that shot them! Nuclear warheads could also be delivered by bomber aircraft such as the American B-52 Stratofortress or the Soviet Tu-20 Bear (later called the Tu-95). Although these aircraft could, with aerial refueling, conceivably hit any target on the earth, prior history showed that bombers did not always get through. Anti-aircraft missiles had been invented, jet fighter airplanes were on the ready to shoot bombers down, and intricate radar systems were employed to give hours of warning to either side should the other side decide to attack.
Suddenly, the situation changed! With a surprise ICBM attack, either side would only have 20 minutes or so warning time before impact, and there was no known way to stop the incoming missiles. The world became a much more dangerous place as the United States quickly fielded its own ICBMs and then took things a step further by successfully deploying submarine-launched missiles and loaded multiple nuclear warheads on their land and sea missiles. Not surprisingly, the Soviets quickly matched that capability, and Mutually Assured Destruction (known appropriately as MAD) became the theory that would supposedly protect everyone by making nuclear war un-winnable.
Thousands of warheads were fielded by both sides until the break-up of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately, many countries now have nuclear weapons and several more are intent on obtaining nukes or making their own. One cannot help but wonder how many houses, farms, water purification plants and schools could have been built with the time and resources the world has put into nuclear weapons systems!
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Burns, Richard Dean and Joseph M. Siracusa. A Global History of the Nuclear Arms Race: Weapons, Strategy, and Politics: A Global History of the Nuclear Arms Race [2 volumes]: Weapons, Strategy, and Politics (Praeger Security International). Praeger, 2013.
The featured image in this article, a diagram by Nasa / Peter Gorin / Emmanuel Dissais showing the evolution of Soviet space launch vehicles in the early years, is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that “NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted“. (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1175 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1175">117 Comments
This is why we should hope WWIII never occurs! — DAVID WARDLE
In the event of a nuclear war, it will most probably be the last war fought on this planet
If a nuclear war breaks out, it will most like be the end
Things like this are so depressing. I hope that no one dares to use another nuclear bomb ever again on another nation. I don’t think that there is any reason good enough in this world that means we must resolve to nuclear war.
If this world ever went to a nuclear war, all of humanity would be lost
“One cannot help but wonder how many houses, farms, water purification plants and schools could have been built with the time and resources the world has put into nuclear weapons systems!”
I’m glad to see someone echo Bastiat’s That which is unseen.
It’s amazing that humans have such knowledge and power to be able to do this. Nuclear and biological warfare both are scary ideas.
I think the article makes a sobering statement in the last paragraph. The author writes, “One cannot help but wonder how many houses, farms, water purification plants and schools could have been built with the time and resources the world has put into nuclear weapons systems!”. It is sad to think about how much money was and is poured into the construction of deadly weapons and what that money could potentially do if put to a different use. Nevertheless, if the U.S. had not created a ICBM like the U.S.S.R. the war could have had a very different outcome.
I agree that this statement caught my attention. This is definitely a powerful way to end the article as it makes a lasting effect on the reader.
I agree, that passage is a really powerful way to end the article and a huge take away for the reader. Nuclear warfare is such a scary concept
It’s hard to think that even though ICBM missiles were still a missile that no one would be able to intercept it like a bomber plane. Granted, the missile did contain a nuclear weapon, but even still they in theory would have been shot high enough off the ground to where if they exploded it would cause little to no harm. At least that’s what I think.
What’s scary too is that after the fall of the Soviet Union, many of the ICBM’s that they built were “lost” and to this day we don’t know where they are…
This situation is not a pleasant one to think about. It must have been quite nerve-wracking to be alive during this period and not know if the world they knew would be over the next day. I truly hope there will never be a time where nuclear warfare will actually take place. We’ve all seen movies where an evil genius hacks into countries nuclear bases and sets off bombs and destroys Earth and I hope these ideas stay in Hollywood!
Extremely frightening thought, I could not imagine living in a time where there was a real threat of nuclear fall out.
I had no idea that nuclear warheads could be attached to artillery and fired across enemy lines.. That is a very scary thought when you think about the blast range associated with a nuke. It is crazy to think about how close the world came to a nuclear war.. it is quite scary to think that things like this exist.
The nuclear warheads that could be attached to artillery were a last resort because the blast range of the warhead was greater than the range the weapon could be fired. I would not want to have been stationed on one of those pieces of artillery!
It is scary to see what the military is actually capable of. The blast range of a nuke is amazing. So much damage can be done with such a piece of technology. Hopefully we never reach a point in time where these weapons are needed.
A big thing I got from this article is how fast the world could change and how drastically from one country starting a nuclear war. Its crazy to think of the capabilities that these weapons have. The biggest thing from this article though was the last sentence that really put our world in prospective for me. All these countries have spent so much time building these weapons to put fear into and possible destroy each other while we could have used this time and incredible knowledge to do great things in the world.
The cold war was basically two superpowers fighting a verbal war and building technology to be superior to the other country. It’s kind of silly to think that two global powers basically arguing who was better and trying to prove it because they felt their government was better than the other countries.
Its a weird thought knowing earth can be altered at the push of a button. I almost wonder if they ever intended on using it in the first place because id imagine setting off a nuke would have effected their country as well but i could be wrong.
the deadliest thing ever created.
I find the Cold War as one of the most interesting wars because of what “could” have happened! This was a good interesting read!
It’s astonishing how dangerous these weapons were. Twenty minute warning, no known way to stop the missile. Wow.
So much more could have been built for our country instead of using all the resources to make the nuclear weapons.
Sadly it seems like if we had spent the time and money on other resources we would of been bombed. It’s unlikely we will every experience total world peace anytime soon either though.
I used to think that it was bad that the Soviet Union also developed nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Now I’m not so sure because at least now the US won’t be so bomb-happy. In other words, they won’t just resort to dropping a nuclear bomb on a country that won’t do what they want because they could have the threat of being nuked themselves.
I didn’t realize that atomic bombs could cause fatal nuclear winters.
That would be a scary moment in history. You never know who will launch first and the people never know when they could die. That missile looks like one scary unit. When someone gets involved in nuclear power it is just a scary thought.
That is scary to learn about but also interesting to hear about the fatal winters.
I could only imagine what kind of destruction that bad boy could do.
If anyone survives that kind of destruction, I don’t think they would be able to live very long with how damaged their surroundings are.
Nuclear warfare always scares me. Not only does the bomb itself destroy so much, but the aftermath is horrific.
I really liked the closing sentence of this article “One cannot help but wonder how many houses, farms, water purification plants and schools could have been built with the time and resources the world has put into nuclear weapons systems!”
I knew what kind of destruction that would happen with nuclear warfare. But I didn’t know it could cause fatal nuclear winters.
It was interesting to read this article and learn the amount of destruction nukes could cause.
Nuclear weapons are terrifying to me. It’s crazy to think if a nuclear war broke out during the cold war, that could’ve been the end of civilization.
Reading things like this makes me wonder if I’d even been apart of this world if this would have escalated.
Pretty scary how nuclear weapons advanced that quick since WWII. Good thing the Cold War never escalated.
The whole nuclear situation is frightening. It is tough to imagine some country won’t behave like the Nazi’s and start a nuclear war. Imagine if Hitler had had access to these weapons.
i could never imagine a nuclear war happening and hope it never does
It would be the end of the human race if this war ever broke out today
i think nuclear war today is more of a scare tactic to not get into war. i do not believe we would be dumb enough to bomb somebody without knowing the consequences.
Nuclear warfare is just bluff after the bombing japan. No will ever use it because they know it will destroy them as well from the retaliation. Fingers crossed that North Korea learns this before its too late,
Nuclear weapons is just to keep America from using them , i think. Just to scare each other into not using them.
To be honest mutually assured destruction had done more to prevent wars than even the UN in my opinion
The ICBMs were what really got the nuclear race going since at that point, the US and USSR were able to finally reach each other with conventional missiles. A very scary time indeed!
I could never imagine living during a time of nuclear warfare. I hope I never have to either.
This nuclear warfare was extremely dangerous. It’s amazing how much it effected the atmosphere by having ash cover the air and calling it a “nuclear winter”.
I think that nuclear weapons should not even be created in today’s worlds. Trump however may not be smart enough to not use them sadly.
The thought of nuclear warfare is extremely terrifying. If for some reason the world went into a nuclear war, I believe that each country would wipe each other out.
I am all for using our resources to build up countries instead of destroying them. I prefer avoidance when it comes to the topic of nuclear weapons.
Very scary when we talk nuclear weapons, but if you do not develop them and stay a super power, you take the risk of being attacked. The Iran nuke deal should have never happened. Hopefully that deal gets thrown out when Obama leaves office.
The idea of nuclear warfare certainly made the world a smaller place. It is an amazing scary concept to think a weapon can be launched and hit a target on the other side of the world within minutes.
I hope there is never another reason for any country to use nuclear weapons. They are more destructive than necessary and cost too many lives. The effects are long lasting, not just from the initial blast. A nuclear war could end all of humanity.
The idea of a nuclear war is terrifying. I hope we never have to suffer from this. It is scary that nuclear weapons can be sent so far with the hit of a button. The thought of the damage it could do is terrifying.
The result of killing billions of people will be like the armageddon and cold sick and suffering after everything goes down, but i could see why it could be so damn scary!!!
The thought of having a nuclear war is beyond scary. I hope that there is never any reason for any country to use these nuclear weapons.
I really like the point at the end of the article that asks the question on how many farms, houses, and schools could be put in in replace of Nukes being put in. This really shows where the country’s values have been at certain times during history.
The cold war revolved around making weapons to revolve around the nuclear warhead. These missiles were also a scare tactic to the Russians.
Nukes are bad enough but add in ICBM’s and you’ve got a bad time.
This is another case where people need to stop thinking can we? and start thinking should we?
These military leaders must just go sit down and think how do we kill more people easier and faster.
The thought of nuclear war has always been a scary thought. This is evident in regards to the reading.
It is so crazy that the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union lasted for so long. The thought of nuclear warfare happening with our country is frightening.
Nukes are just scary. I personally wish everyone around the would would get rid of them otherwise one of these days it will bring us to the end of time I’m afraid.
After reading this article I was stunned to see that whoever is getting attacked by a Nuke gets a 20 minutes notice before but there is nothing that they can do.
Thank God for our armed forces and those that protect this country. I couldn’t imagine the world ending from nuclear bombs. It’s scary to think that they even exist in this world.
Nukes are absolutely terrifying and I hope that we never have to experience an attack from them because of the tragedy that it would bring. It’s scary to think about what types of nuclear weapons and bombs other countries may possibly have.
So 1959 was the beginning of real nukes and real intercontinental scares.
Thinking of nuclear warfare has always been scary to think about. The amount of destruction and devastation that occurs is unfathomable to comprehend. I was surprised to see that whoever is going to get nuked gets a warning prior to the attack, but sadly there is nothing that they can do.
Nukes as a mass destruction weapon can destroy the world. I hope we will never use it. Such as North Korea, I do not think that it is good to make nuclear weapon.
Nukes is so horrible since it can destroy all the things, hope it never be used
I have never heard of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) before reading this article. It is scary to think about the damage that can be done by such weapons.
A lot of war weapons surprise with all the destruction they can cause.
this is just terrifying to think about actually existing.
This is really scary to think that something like this exists in the world, and how much destruction it could accomlish
Nukes are very scary to think about. I hope no one uses anything like this in any wars to come.
This article reminds me of all of the different occasions where there were communication errors and because of this, countless occasions where a world might not exist.
Nukes are incredibly scary to imagine, especially being used.
I don’t want to live to see a nuclear bomb, the most tragic event to witness. There is no reason in the world that can stand for the why a nuclear bomb was dropped on a country!
I can’t think of any reason why it would be okay to drop one of these and I hope I never experience it in my lifetime.
Nuclear fallout seems to be a very possible future. I hope that this never happens.
Again the thought of bombs like this are very scary and I hope none of the wars ever lead to the use of these bombs
Mutual Assured Destruction definitely sums up why we are not at nuclear war. We would rather focus our efforts on mind control or other tactics.
I too hope this never happens…
Nuclear weapons are so unnecessary
The fact the nuclear wars can’t be “won” is the only thing saving billions of lives.
I don’t think MAD assures us any kind of peace of mind! It only takes one mentally unbalanced person to authorize their use!
I’m glad i am not sitting here and thinking more about what could happen if these nukes were launched, otherwise I would live with preoccupied fear.
Its hard to imagine what could of been if these weapons were used. I just don’t understand how someone would knowingly want to kill that many people.
I agree with you I was thinking the same thing. I just don’t understand why people have the desire to kill other people.
The world would be destroyed if everyone used all of these weapons.
The effects of a nuclear war would be catostrophic. Even if food could be grown, the amount of chemicals in the land alone would poison generations beyond today.
The use of a nuke in modern times will be catastrophic. I do not think you can compare what could have been done with the amount of resources and time that went into nuclear proliferation. It had to be done and you cannot put a price on national security.
That is the times we lived in then and now. Its all a game of chess and what are your second and third moves. You have to think ahead. Scary thought that all it would take is a crazy leader with these bombs to end the world.
Yes we could have built more if our recourses had been put towards our infrastructure instead of our weapons programs. On the other hand the fact that numerous countries have built up their nuclear weapons have prevented anyone of them from launching the weapons.
It is sad to say, but balance or not use of nuclear weapons is base on both sides having them. All countries that have nuclear weapons know that if they use it, their enemy will use it on them. The fear should not be countries that have him, but the terrors groups that are trying to get them.
The world is becoming a much more dangerous place as the United States quickly fielded its own ICBMs.
Parents during the 1950’s would think Elvis Presley as an angel compared to the musicians of today. Elvis hip-shaking has nothing on the Red Hot Chili Peppers sock over the private region.
I still think we all need to get rid of nukes and just worry about things to help our country .
NuclNuclear weapons are a horrible thing (In my opinion). These weapons give country’s the ability to totally eliminate enemy’s and kill millions of innocent civilians in the process. We need to get rid of all of these nuclear weapons.
I had no idea that this issue was going on up until 1991! The thought that all of modern civilization can be blown off this earth within minutes just blows my mind.
The thought of nuclear weapons destroying everyone and everything in minutes is gut-wrenching.
These sort of bombs seem just as scary as the atomic bombs that were talked about earlier. The damage that can be done is unwelcoming.
The last paragraph does make a good point that I have never thought about. What other ways could we have used all the money that we put into nuclear weapons? Possibly into education or medical advancedments.
Another nuclear article that makes me sick to my stomach.
I’m just glad that neither side attacked first or launched a nuke at one another. The world would’ve ended for sure.
I read about this type of bomb and think about the devastation this could cause. I hope that I never see this type of devastation in my lifetime and I hope my children and grandchildren never have to encounter them either.
Thinking of the mass destruction that could happen due to this nuclear weapon is devastating. I pray to god that no country will feel a threat so severe that they think this bomb is the only option.
When thinking about time and resources wasted it is easy to think of many other useful things could have been made or put into practice or even having the national debt paid down.
I can’t imagine why anyone would find this as a necessary bomb to have especially when others have one as well. What is there to prove by having it?
Nuclear destruction is still of grave concern today, especially with tensions escalating between our country and North Korea. No one wins in a nuclear war. Moreover, I totally agree with the author’s premise that money spent on nuclear weapons systems could be better spent on more important issues, such as education and healthcare.
The threat of nuclear war is upon us greatly these days, issues have heating up with Russia, Syria, and North Korea. It is too bad we can’t find a way to fund a program to denuclearize the world. It is only a matter of time before one country or another pops one off. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the United States, the way we have been reacting to issues that we have no business policing.
Nukes are dangerous and needs to get rid of them as if ever used these could cause some serious devastation.
I truly hope that we never have to face a nuclear war. That is a war no one will win.
That’s what concerns me the most if we ever have to go to battle with another country that something like this would happen.
I really hope we don’t ever have to experience a nuclear war… but the US seems to bully other countries and we don’t know how to mind our business in my opinion.