A Brief History
On January 7, 1960, the United States first successfully test launched the Polaris Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) from their launching facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Polaris would be the first missile deployed in the world that could be launched from a submerged submarine and carry a nuclear warhead, changing the game of nuclear brinkmanship forever.
Digging Deeper
In July of 1960 the first successful launch of a Polaris missile from a submerged USS Washington missile submarine led to the arming of 41 US submarines with 16 Polaris missiles each, with each missile carrying a single nuclear warhead and a range of 1000 nautical miles. The first operational patrol by the USS Washington took place from November 1960 to January 1961. Later developments led to a maximum range of 2500 nautical miles and 3 nuclear warheads per missile. The Polaris missile equipped submarines were in service until 1996 when the Poseidon (14 warheads) and Trident (8 warheads) multi-warhead missiles finally completed replacement of the last of the Polaris missiles. Polaris missiles with nuclear warheads were also fielded by the British Royal Navy.
In the late 1950’s, the Soviet Union and the Western Allies led by the United States both had a nuclear weapon capability via dropping bombs and cruise missiles from bomber aircraft. Land based nuclear armed ballistic missiles were being developed as were cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched from ships and surfaced submarines. In fact, Germany had been developing missile launching technology from surfaced subs during World War II. The ability to launch nuclear missiles from submerged submarines provided the opportunity to launch a surprise attack that left virtually no realistic warning time. Additionally, it was virtually impossible to track and target an entire fleet of nuclear missile submarines, especially those powered by nuclear reactors, meaning any attack could be expected to be replied in kind from surviving missile subs. Within a year of the US deploying Polaris equipped subs, the Soviets had their own version of nuclear missile submarines.
Currently, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China operate nuclear missile submarines, and India is developing the capability. North Korea may also be working on such a plan. Despite the threat of delivering a devastating and unstoppable surprise first strike, the guaranty of successful retaliation has kept all nations from using their nuclear sub launched ballistic missiles so far. Question for students (and subscribers): Does that mean the SLBM is a good thing, or a bad thing? Feel free to give your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Spinardi, Graham. From Polaris to Trident: The Development of US Fleet Ballistic Missile Technology (Cambridge Studies in International Relations). Cambridge University Press, 1994.
The featured image in this article, the launch of a U.S. Navy Polaris ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral, circa 1958, from U.S. Navy All Hands magazine January 1959, p. 11, is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.
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