Reasons for the emergence of the Cold WarEvents during the arms race
The USA and the Soviet Union’s opposing political and economic beliefs caused the Cold War. NATO and the Warsaw Pact were established. Both competed in the arms and the space race.
Both sides competed with each other to obtain more nuclear weapons than the other. They also tried to develop more powerful weapons.
The USA believed there was a ‘Missile Gap’ in the 1950s and massively increased spending to try to catch up.
The table below shows the timescale of weapon development during the arms race.
Year
Weapon development
1949
USSR tests its first atomic bomb
1952
USA tests its first hydrogen bomb
1953
USSR tests its first hydrogen bomb
1957
USSR tests its first intercontinental ballistic missile
1957
USA tests its first intercontinental ballistic missile
Year
1949
Weapon development
USSR tests its first atomic bomb
Year
1952
Weapon development
USA tests its first hydrogen bomb
Year
1953
Weapon development
USSR tests its first hydrogen bomb
Year
1957
Weapon development
USSR tests its first intercontinental ballistic missile
Year
1957
Weapon development
USA tests its first intercontinental ballistic missile
Delivery systems
The first atomic bombs were delivered by bombers, but these could be slow and there would have to be airbases positioned around the world.
Both the USSR and USA began to develop missile technology that could put rockets in space. This opened up new possibilities for the delivery of nuclear weapons.
