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The Manhattan Project 1945
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. The Soviets were offended that the US kept their project a secret from them. -
The Start-1949
On August 29, 1949 the Soviet Union successfully tested its first atomic bomb. The world was shocked. They did not think the Soviet Union was this far along in their nuclear development. The Arms Race had begun. -
The Bombs 1952
In 1952 the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb. This was an even more powerful version of the nuclear bomb. The Soviets followed up by exploding their first hydrogen bomb in 1953. America was spending $50 billion on the Cold War Arms Race, whilst the USSR was spending $25 billion. The first atomic bombs were delivered by bomber aircraft. -
Sputnik 1-1957
Both the Americans and the Soviets began to develop missile technology that could put rockets in space with new possibilities for the delivery of nuclear weapons. The launch of an orbital satellite was an inevitable stage in the Cold War Arms Race with the development of rocket technology.These objects are called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth's Moon. On 4 October 1957 the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. -
U-2 1960
The U-2 Incident. Shot down by a Soviet surface to air missile on the morning of May 1, 1960, CIA pilot Francis Gary Powers had been on a top secret mission: to over fly and photograph denied territory from his U2 spy plane deep inside Russia. USAF spy aircraft shot down over USSR -
Detente 1970
In the early 1970s both sides realized that something had to give. The war was becoming very costly for both countries to continue fighting. The two sides began to talk and take a softer line towards each other. This easing of relations was called détente. -
Salt ll Treaty 1979
SALT II, was signed by the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1972 and 1979, and were intended to restrain the arms race in strategic (long-range or intercontinental) ballistic missiles armed with nuclear weapons. -
Fall of the USSR and end of the Cold War Arms Race 1991
The United States' use of nuclear weapons to end World War II led to a determined effort by the Soviet Union to acquire those weapons, leading to a long-running nuclear arms race between the two superpowers. The end of the Cold War by the early 1990s effectively ended that arms race.
