Evidential
Banned
The USSR did a test firing of the bomb on Bikini Island in 1946. Japan would have known about this weapon's existence, but was never told about its explosive power. In 1947, American soldiers working on a B-29 test pilot base in the Marshall Islands, not knowing what was happening on the ground, discovered a Soviet test-bomb in the jungle and brought it back to America.
Since they didn't know about the destructive power of the Soviet bomb, they were taken aback. In 1949, President Truman signed the UN into existence. But the Soviet Union refused to sign the international agreement. The United States was on its own. Allied intelligence agencies knew something was up when their agents in the Soviet Union were caught in the act of sabotaging atomic weapons.
On August 3, 1949, they arrested Russian scientists and their families. In the USSR, the "spy affair" was called "The Kuznetsov affair." The United States government had created a stir in Soviet public opinion. The Soviets responded by launching a "spy campaign" in the West. In 1950, President Truman told Congress that there was no atomic bomb. He said it was only possible to make a uranium gun-type fission weapon in Russia, because they did not have enriched uranium. "We can beat them to the bomb," he told Congress, "but we cannot be ready to use it before they are."
In early 1953, Truman authorized further atom tests in Nevada. In an effort to slow the progress of the USSR's atomic weapons program, he said that he wanted to be able to test a new generation of hydrogen bombs. He said he would hold up the program as long as necessary, until they were ready. In 1953, the CIA decided to secretly build a small atomic bomb in New Mexico. In December 1953, a Soviet scientist announced the discovery of the H-bomb. American officials said they had no intention of using the weapon. "We're in no position to even think about a strike on the USSR."
As for getting permission to build the bomb, they said the Soviets could always ask for it, or they could stop asking. The "New Look" had an impact on American and Soviet weaponry. America's navy needed new, much smaller submarines. By the end of 1954, the Soviets had tested both a long-range (1,000-1,300 mile) and a medium-range (300-700 mile) hydrogen bomb. A secret plan to shoot down an American satellite was announced in February 1954. It was cancelled a month later. A new, more powerful weapon was tested on March 23, 1955.
It was the first large-scale, multi-stage weapon test to include a large rocket, such as a Polaris submarine missile. It was said to be "capable of destroying an entire city, including suburbs, with a single, small explosion." There was also a new plan to secretly fly a small American-built nuclear bomb to the edge of the Soviet Union in the Ural Mountains. "In 1955, this project was being carried out.
It's being called Operation REDSTONE (REDstone for short). The CIA wanted the Russians to catch us. But the Air Force nixed the idea. There was no way of sneaking a one-ton device through the Soviet air defense system. Even if they didn't discover the device, the chances were good they would mistake it for a Russian missile," one former senior official told the Times.
Since they didn't know about the destructive power of the Soviet bomb, they were taken aback. In 1949, President Truman signed the UN into existence. But the Soviet Union refused to sign the international agreement. The United States was on its own. Allied intelligence agencies knew something was up when their agents in the Soviet Union were caught in the act of sabotaging atomic weapons.
On August 3, 1949, they arrested Russian scientists and their families. In the USSR, the "spy affair" was called "The Kuznetsov affair." The United States government had created a stir in Soviet public opinion. The Soviets responded by launching a "spy campaign" in the West. In 1950, President Truman told Congress that there was no atomic bomb. He said it was only possible to make a uranium gun-type fission weapon in Russia, because they did not have enriched uranium. "We can beat them to the bomb," he told Congress, "but we cannot be ready to use it before they are."
In early 1953, Truman authorized further atom tests in Nevada. In an effort to slow the progress of the USSR's atomic weapons program, he said that he wanted to be able to test a new generation of hydrogen bombs. He said he would hold up the program as long as necessary, until they were ready. In 1953, the CIA decided to secretly build a small atomic bomb in New Mexico. In December 1953, a Soviet scientist announced the discovery of the H-bomb. American officials said they had no intention of using the weapon. "We're in no position to even think about a strike on the USSR."
As for getting permission to build the bomb, they said the Soviets could always ask for it, or they could stop asking. The "New Look" had an impact on American and Soviet weaponry. America's navy needed new, much smaller submarines. By the end of 1954, the Soviets had tested both a long-range (1,000-1,300 mile) and a medium-range (300-700 mile) hydrogen bomb. A secret plan to shoot down an American satellite was announced in February 1954. It was cancelled a month later. A new, more powerful weapon was tested on March 23, 1955.
It was the first large-scale, multi-stage weapon test to include a large rocket, such as a Polaris submarine missile. It was said to be "capable of destroying an entire city, including suburbs, with a single, small explosion." There was also a new plan to secretly fly a small American-built nuclear bomb to the edge of the Soviet Union in the Ural Mountains. "In 1955, this project was being carried out.
It's being called Operation REDSTONE (REDstone for short). The CIA wanted the Russians to catch us. But the Air Force nixed the idea. There was no way of sneaking a one-ton device through the Soviet air defense system. Even if they didn't discover the device, the chances were good they would mistake it for a Russian missile," one former senior official told the Times.