He was the first to invent the nuclear bomb. Who invented the atomic bomb

The history of human development has always been accompanied by wars as a way to resolve conflicts through violence. Civilization has suffered more than fifteen thousand small and large armed conflicts, the loss of human lives is estimated in the millions. In the nineties of the last century alone, more than a hundred military clashes occurred, involving ninety countries of the world.

At the same time, scientific discoveries and technological progress have made it possible to create weapons of destruction of ever greater power and sophistication of use. In the twentieth century Nuclear weapons became the peak of mass destructive impact and a political instrument.

Atomic bomb device

Modern nuclear bombs as means of destroying the enemy are created on the basis of advanced technical solutions, the essence of which is not widely publicized. But the main elements inherent in this type of weapon can be examined using the example of the design of a nuclear bomb code-named “Fat Man,” dropped in 1945 on one of the cities of Japan.

The power of the explosion was 22.0 kt in TNT equivalent.

It had the following design features:

the length of the product was 3250.0 mm, with a diameter of the volumetric part - 1520.0 mm. Total weight more than 4.5 tons;
the body is elliptical in shape. To avoid premature destruction due to anti-aircraft ammunition and other unwanted impacts, 9.5 mm armored steel was used for its manufacture;
the body is divided into four internal parts: the nose, two halves of the ellipsoid (the main one is a compartment for the nuclear filling), and the tail.
the bow compartment is equipped with batteries;
the main compartment, like the nasal one, is vacuumized to prevent the entry of harmful environments, moisture, and to create comfortable conditions for the bearded man to work;
the ellipsoid housed a plutonium core surrounded by a uranium tamper (shell). It played the role of an inertial limiter for the course of the nuclear reaction, ensuring maximum activity of weapons-grade plutonium by reflecting neutrons to the side of the active zone of the charge.

A primary source of neutrons, called an initiator or “hedgehog,” was placed inside the nucleus. Represented by beryllium spherical in diameter 20.0 mm with polonium-based outer coating - 210.

It should be noted that the expert community has determined that this design of nuclear weapons is ineffective and unreliable in use. Neutron initiation of the uncontrolled type was not used further .

Operating principle

The process of fission of the nuclei of uranium 235 (233) and plutonium 239 (this is what a nuclear bomb is made of) with a huge release of energy while limiting the volume is called a nuclear explosion. The atomic structure of radioactive metals has an unstable form - they are constantly divided into other elements.

The process is accompanied by the detachment of neurons, some of which fall on neighboring atoms and initiate a further reaction, accompanied by the release of energy.

The principle is as follows: shortening the decay time leads to greater intensity of the process, and the concentration of neurons on bombarding the nuclei leads to a chain reaction. When two elements are combined to a critical mass, a supercritical mass is created, leading to an explosion.

In everyday conditions, it is impossible to provoke an active reaction - high speeds of approach of the elements are needed - at least 2.5 km/s. Achieving this speed in a bomb is possible by using combining types of explosives (fast and slow), balancing the density of the supercritical mass producing an atomic explosion.

Nuclear explosions are attributed to the results of human activity on the planet or its orbit. Natural processes of this kind are possible only on some stars in outer space.

Atomic bombs are rightfully considered the most powerful and destructive weapons of mass destruction. Tactical use solves the problem of destroying strategic, military targets on the ground, as well as deep-based ones, defeating a significant accumulation of enemy equipment and manpower.

It can be applied globally only with the goal of complete destruction of the population and infrastructure in large areas.

To achieve certain goals and perform tactical and strategic tasks, explosions of atomic weapons can be carried out by:

at critical and low altitudes (above and below 30.0 km);
in direct contact with the earth's crust (water);
underground (or underwater explosion).

A nuclear explosion is characterized by the instantaneous release of enormous energy.

Leading to damage to objects and people as follows:

Shock wave. In case of an explosion above or at earth's crust(water) is called an air wave, underground (water) - a seismic blast wave. An air wave is formed after critical compression of air masses and propagates in a circle until attenuation at a speed exceeding sound. Leads to both direct damage to manpower and indirect damage (interaction with fragments of destroyed objects). The action of excess pressure makes the equipment non-functional by moving and hitting the ground;
Light radiation. The source is the light part formed by the evaporation of the product with air masses; for ground use, it is soil vapor. The effect occurs in the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum. Its absorption by objects and people provokes charring, melting and burning. The degree of damage depends on the distance of the epicenter;
Penetrating radiation- these are neutrons and gamma rays moving from the place of rupture. Exposure to biological tissue leads to ionization of cell molecules, leading to radiation sickness in the body. Damage to property is associated with fission reactions of molecules in the damaging elements of ammunition.
Radioactive contamination. During a ground explosion, soil vapors, dust, and other things rise. A cloud appears, moving in the direction of the movement of air masses. Sources of damage are represented by fission products of the active part of a nuclear weapon, isotopes, and undestroyed parts of the charge. When a radioactive cloud moves, continuous radiation contamination of the area occurs;
Electromagnetic pulse. The explosion is accompanied by the appearance of electromagnetic fields (from 1.0 to 1000 m) in the form of a pulse. They lead to failure electrical appliances, control and communication equipment.

The combination of factors of a nuclear explosion causes varying levels of damage to enemy personnel, equipment and infrastructure, and the fatality of the consequences is associated only with the distance from its epicenter.

History of the creation of nuclear weapons

The creation of weapons using nuclear reactions was accompanied by a number of scientific discoveries, theoretical and practical research, including:

1905— the theory of relativity was created, which states that a small amount of matter corresponds to a significant release of energy according to the formula E = mc2, where “c” represents the speed of light (author A. Einstein);
1938— German scientists conducted an experiment on dividing an atom into parts by attacking uranium with neutrons, which ended successfully (O. Hann and F. Strassmann), and a physicist from Great Britain explained the fact of the release of energy (R. Frisch);
1939- scientists from France that when carrying out a chain of reactions of uranium molecules, energy will be released that can produce an explosion of enormous force (Joliot-Curie).

The latter became the starting point for the invention of atomic weapons. Parallel development was carried out by Germany, Great Britain, the USA, and Japan. The main problem was the extraction of uranium in the required volumes for conducting experiments in this area.

The problem was solved faster in the USA by purchasing raw materials from Belgium in 1940.

As part of the project, called Manhattan, from 1939 to 1945, a uranium purification plant was built, a center for the study of nuclear processes was created, and the best specialists - physicists from all over Western Europe - were recruited to work there.

Great Britain, which carried out its own developments, was forced, after the German bombing, to voluntarily transfer the developments on its project to the US military.

It is believed that the Americans were the first to invent the atomic bomb. Tests of the first nuclear charge were carried out in the state of New Mexico in July 1945. The flash from the explosion darkened the sky and the sandy landscape turned to glass. After a short period of time, nuclear charges called “Baby” and “Fat Man” were created.

Nuclear weapons in the USSR - dates and events

The emergence of the USSR as a nuclear power was preceded by long work individual scientists and government institutions. Key periods and significant dates events are presented as follows:

1920 considered the beginning of the work of Soviet scientists on atomic fission;
Since the thirties the direction of nuclear physics becomes a priority;
October 1940— an initiative group of physicists came up with a proposal to use atomic developments for military purposes;
Summer 1941 in connection with the war institutions nuclear energy transferred to the rear;
Autumn 1941 year Soviet intelligence informed the country's leadership about the start of nuclear programs in Britain and America;
September 1942— atomic research began to be carried out in full, work on uranium continued;
February 1943— a special research laboratory was created under the leadership of I. Kurchatov, and general management was entrusted to V. Molotov;

The project was led by V. Molotov.

August 1945- in connection with the conduct of nuclear bombing in Japan, the high importance of developments for the USSR, a Special Committee was created under the leadership of L. Beria;
April 1946- KB-11 was created, which began to develop samples of Soviet nuclear weapons in two versions (using plutonium and uranium);
Mid 1948— work on uranium was stopped due to low efficiency and high costs;
August 1949- when the atomic bomb was invented in the USSR, the first Soviet nuclear bomb was tested.

The reduction in product development time was facilitated by the high-quality work of intelligence agencies, who were able to obtain information on American nuclear developments. Among those who first created the atomic bomb in the USSR was a team of scientists led by Academician A. Sakharov. They have developed more promising technical solutions than those used by the Americans.

Atomic bomb "RDS-1"

In 2015 - 2017, Russia made a breakthrough in improving nuclear weapons and their delivery systems, thereby declaring a state capable of repelling any aggression.

First atomic bomb tests

After testing an experimental nuclear bomb in New Mexico in the summer of 1945, the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed on August 6 and 9, respectively.

The development of the atomic bomb was completed this year

In 1949, under conditions of increased secrecy, Soviet designers of KB-11 and scientists completed the development of an atomic bomb called RDS-1 (jet engine “C”). On August 29, the first Soviet nuclear device was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site. The Russian atomic bomb - RDS-1 was a “drop-shaped” product, weighing 4.6 tons, with a volumetric diameter of 1.5 m, and a length of 3.7 meters.

The active part included a plutonium block, which made it possible to achieve an explosion power of 20.0 kilotons, commensurate with TNT. The testing site covered a radius of twenty kilometers. The specifics of the test detonation conditions have not been made public to date.

On September 3 of the same year, American aviation intelligence established the presence in the air masses of Kamchatka of traces of isotopes indicating the testing of a nuclear charge. On the twenty-third, the top US official publicly announced that the USSR had succeeded in testing an atomic bomb.

The Soviet Union refuted the American statements with a TASS report, which spoke of large-scale construction on the territory of the USSR and large volumes of construction, including blasting, work, which caused the attention of foreigners. The official statement that the USSR had atomic weapons was made only in 1950. Therefore, there is still ongoing debate in the world about who was the first to invent the atomic bomb.

Federal Agency for Education

TOMSK STATE UNIVERSITY OF CONTROL SYSTEMS AND RADIO ELECTRONICS (TUSUR)

Department of Radioelectronic Technologies and Environmental Monitoring (RETEM)

Coursework

In the discipline "TG and V"

Nuclear weapons: history of creation, design and damaging factors

Student gr.227

Tolmachev M.I.

Supervisor

Lecturer at the Department of Electronic Technologies and Electronics,

Khorev I.E.

Tomsk 2010

Coursework ___ pages, 11 pictures, 6 sources.

This course project examines key moments in the history of the creation of nuclear weapons. The main types and characteristics of atomic projectiles are shown.

A classification of nuclear explosions is given. Considered various shapes energy release during explosion; types of its distribution and effects on humans.

The reactions occurring in the inner shells of nuclear projectiles have been studied. The damaging factors of nuclear explosions are described in detail.

Course work is completed in text Microsoft editor Word 2003

2.4 Damaging factors of a nuclear explosion

2.4.4 Radioactive contamination

3.1 Basic elements of nuclear weapons

3.3 Thermonuclear bomb design

Introduction

Structure electron shell was sufficiently studied by the end of the 19th century, but knowledge about the structure atomic nucleus there were very few, and besides, they were contradictory.

In 1896, a phenomenon called radioactivity (from the Latin word “radius” - ray) was discovered. This discovery played an important role in the further elucidation of the structure of atomic nuclei. Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre

The Curies found that, in addition to uranium, there was also thorium, polonium and chemical compounds uranium with thorium has the same radiation as uranium.

Continuing their research, in 1898 they isolated from uranium ore a substance several million times more active than uranium, and called it radium, which means radiant. Substances that emit radiation like uranium or radium are called radioactive, and the phenomenon itself is called radioactivity.

In the 20th century, science took radical steps in the study of radioactivity and the application of the radioactive properties of materials.

Currently, 5 countries have nuclear weapons in their arsenal: the USA, Russia, Great Britain, France, China, and this list will be replenished in the coming years.

It is now difficult to assess the role of nuclear weapons. On the one hand, this is a powerful means of deterrence, on the other hand, it is the most effective tool for strengthening peace and preventing military conflicts between powers.

The tasks facing modern humanity are to prevent a nuclear arms race, because scientific knowledge can also serve humane, noble purposes.

1. History of the creation and development of nuclear weapons

In 1905, Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity. According to this theory, the relationship between mass and energy is expressed by the equation E = mc 2, which means that a given mass (m) is associated with an amount of energy (E) equal to that mass times the square of the speed of light (c). A very small amount of matter is equivalent to a large amount of energy. For example, 1 kg of matter converted into energy would be equivalent to the energy released in the explosion of 22 megatons of TNT.

In 1938, as a result of experiments by German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, they managed to split the uranium atom into two approximately equal parts by bombarding uranium with neutrons. British physicist Robert Frisch explained how energy is released when the nucleus of an atom splits.

At the beginning of 1939, the French physicist Joliot-Curie concluded that a chain reaction was possible that would lead to an explosion of monstrous destructive force and that uranium could become a source of energy, like an ordinary explosive.

This conclusion became the impetus for developments in the creation of nuclear weapons. Europe was on the eve of World War II, and the potential possession of such a powerful weapon pushed for its rapid creation, but the problem of having a large amount of uranium ore for large-scale research became a brake.

Physicists from Germany, England, the USA, and Japan worked on the creation of atomic weapons, realizing that without a sufficient amount of uranium ore it was impossible to carry out work. In September 1940, the United States purchased a large amount of the required ore using false documents from Belgium, which allowed them to carry out work on the creation of nuclear weapons in full swing.

nuclear weapon explosion shell

Before the outbreak of World War II, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to US President Franklin Roosevelt. It allegedly talked about Nazi Germany's attempts to purify Uranium-235, which could lead them to create an atomic bomb. It has now become known that German scientists were very far from carrying out a chain reaction. Their plans included making a “dirty”, highly radioactive bomb.

Be that as it may, the government of the United States made a decision to create an atomic bomb as soon as possible. This project went down in history as the "Manhattan Project". Over the next six years, from 1939 to 1945, more than two billion dollars were spent on the Manhattan Project. A huge uranium purification plant was built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. A purification method was proposed in which a gas centrifuge separated light Uranium-235 from heavier Uranium-238.

On the territory of the United States, in the desert expanses of New Mexico, an American nuclear center was created in 1942. Many scientists worked on the project, but the main one was Robert Oppenheimer. Under his leadership, the best minds of that time were gathered not only in the USA and England, but in almost all of Western Europe. A huge team worked on the creation of nuclear weapons, including 12 Nobel Prize laureates. Work in the laboratory did not stop for a minute.

In Europe, meanwhile, the Second world war, and Germany carried out massive bombings of English cities, which endangered the English atomic project “Tub Alloys”, and England voluntarily transferred its developments and leading scientists of the project to the United States, which allowed the United States to take a leading position in the development of nuclear physics (the creation of nuclear weapons).

On July 16, 1945, a bright flash lit up the sky over the plateau in the Jemez Mountains north of New Mexico. A distinctive mushroom-shaped cloud of radioactive dust rose 30,000 feet. All that remained at the explosion site were fragments of green radioactive glass, into which the sand had turned. This was the beginning of the atomic era.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the Baby bomb was dropped over Hiroshima. On August 9, another bomb was dropped over the city of Nagasaki. The total loss of life and the scale of destruction from these bombings are characterized by the following figures: 300 thousand people died instantly from thermal radiation (temperature about 5000 degrees C) and the shock wave, another 200 thousand were injured, burned, or exposed to radiation. All buildings on an area of 12 sq. km were completely destroyed. These bombings shocked the whole world.

These 2 events are believed to have started the nuclear arms race.

But already in 1946, large deposits of higher quality uranium were discovered in the USSR and immediately began to be developed. A test site was built in the area of Semipalatinsk. And on August 29, 1949, the first Soviet nuclear device, codenamed RDS-1, was blown up at this test site. The event that took place at the Semipalatinsk test site informed the world about the creation of nuclear weapons in the USSR, which put an end to the American monopoly on the possession of weapons new to humanity.

2. Atomic weapons are weapons of mass destruction

2.1 Nuclear weapons

Nuclear or atomic weapons- explosive weapons based on the use of nuclear energy released during a nuclear fission chain reaction heavy nuclei or thermonuclear reaction of fusion of light nuclei. Refers to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) along with biological and chemical ones.

A nuclear explosion is a process of instantaneous release of a large amount of intranuclear energy in a limited volume.

The center of a nuclear explosion is the point at which the flash occurs or the center is located fireball, and the epicenter is the projection of the center of the explosion onto the earth or water surface.

Nuclear weapons are the most powerful and dangerous type of weapon of mass destruction, threatening all of humanity with unprecedented destruction and the extermination of millions of people.

If an explosion occurs on the ground or quite close to its surface, then part of the explosion energy is transferred to the Earth's surface in the form of seismic vibrations. A phenomenon occurs that resembles an earthquake in its characteristics. As a result of such an explosion, seismic waves are formed, which propagate through the thickness of the earth over very long distances. The destructive effect of the wave is limited to a radius of several hundred meters.

As a result of the extremely high temperature of the explosion, a bright flash of light occurs, the intensity of which is hundreds of times greater than the intensity of sun rays, falling to the Earth. When flashed, it stands out huge amount warmth and light. Light radiation causes spontaneous combustion of flammable materials and skin burns in people within a radius of many kilometers.

One day - one truth" url="https://diletant.media/one-day/26522782/">

7 countries with nuclear weapons form the nuclear club. Each of these states spent millions to create their own atomic bomb. Development has been going on for years. But without the gifted physicists who were tasked with conducting research in this area, nothing would have happened. About these people in today's Diletant selection. media.

Robert Oppenheimer

The parents of the man under whose leadership the world's first atomic bomb was created had nothing to do with science. Oppenheimer's father was engaged in the textile trade, his mother was an artist. Robert graduated from Harvard early, took a course in thermodynamics and became interested in experimental physics.

After several years of work in Europe, Oppenheimer moved to California, where he lectured for two decades. When the Germans discovered uranium fission in the late 1930s, the scientist began to think about the problem of nuclear weapons. Since 1939, he actively participated in the creation of the atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project and directed the laboratory at Los Alamos.

There, on July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer’s “brainchild” was tested for the first time. “I have become death, the destroyer of worlds,” said the physicist after the tests.

A few months later, atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Oppenheimer has since insisted on the use of atomic energy exclusively for peaceful purposes. Having become a defendant in a criminal case due to his unreliability, the scientist was removed from secret developments. He died in 1967 from laryngeal cancer.

Igor Kurchatov

The USSR acquired its own atomic bomb four years later than the Americans. It could not have happened without the help of intelligence officers, but the merits of the scientists who worked in Moscow should not be underestimated. Atomic research was led by Igor Kurchatov. His childhood and youth were spent in Crimea, where he first learned to be a mechanic. Then he graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Taurida University and continued to study in Petrograd. There he entered the laboratory of the famous Abram Ioffe.

Kurchatov headed the Soviet atomic project when he was only 40 years old. Years of painstaking work involving leading specialists have brought long-awaited results. Our country's first nuclear weapon, called RDS-1, was tested at the Semipalatinsk test site on August 29, 1949.

The experience accumulated by Kurchatov and his team allowed the Soviet Union to subsequently launch the world's first industrial nuclear power plant, as well as a nuclear reactor for a submarine and an icebreaker, which no one had achieved before.

Andrey Sakharov

The hydrogen bomb appeared first in the United States. But the American model was the size of a three-story house and weighed more than 50 tons. Meanwhile, the RDS-6s product, created by Andrei Sakharov, weighed only 7 tons and could fit on a bomber.

During the war, Sakharov, while evacuated, graduated with honors from Moscow State University. He worked as an engineer-inventor at a military plant, then entered graduate school at the Lebedev Physical Institute. Under the leadership of Igor Tamm, he worked in a research group for the development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov came up with the basic principle of Soviet hydrogen bomb- puff pastry

The first Soviet hydrogen bomb was tested in 1953

The first Soviet hydrogen bomb was tested near Semipalatinsk in 1953. To evaluate its destructive capabilities, a city of industrial and administrative buildings was built at the test site.

Since the late 1950s, Sakharov devoted a lot of time to human rights activities. He condemned the arms race, criticized the communist government, spoke out for the abolition of the death penalty and against forced psychiatric treatment of dissidents. He opposed the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and in 1980 he was exiled to Gorky for his beliefs, where he repeatedly went on hunger strikes and from where he was able to return to Moscow only in 1986.

Bertrand Goldschmidt

The ideologist of the French nuclear program was Charles de Gaulle, and the creator of the first bomb was Bertrand Goldschmidt. Before the start of the war, the future specialist studied chemistry and physics and joined Marie Curie. The German occupation and the Vichy government's attitude towards Jews forced Goldschmidt to stop his studies and emigrate to the United States, where he collaborated first with American and then with Canadian colleagues.

In 1945, Goldschmidt became one of the founders of the French Atomic Energy Commission. The first test of the bomb created under his leadership occurred only 15 years later - in the southwest of Algeria.

Qian Sanqiang

The PRC joined the club of nuclear powers only in October 1964. Then the Chinese tested their own atomic bomb with a yield of more than 20 kilotons. Mao Zedong decided to develop this industry after his first trip to the Soviet Union. In 1949, Stalin showed the great helmsman the capabilities of nuclear weapons.

The Chinese nuclear project was led by Qian Sanqiang. A graduate of the physics department of Tsinghua University, he went to study in France at public expense. He worked at the Radium Institute of the University of Paris. Qian communicated a lot with foreign scientists and carried out quite serious research, but he became homesick and returned to China, taking several grams of radium as a gift from Irene Curie.

Changes in US military doctrine between 1945 and 1996 and basic concepts

On the territory of the United States, in Los Alamos, in the desert expanses of New Mexico, an American nuclear center was created in 1942. At its base, work began on the creation of a nuclear bomb. The overall management of the project was entrusted to the talented nuclear physicist R. Oppenheimer. Under his leadership, the best minds of that time were gathered not only in the USA and England, but in almost all of Western Europe. A huge team worked on the creation of nuclear weapons, including 12 Nobel Prize laureates. There was no shortage of financial resources.

By the summer of 1945, the Americans managed to assemble two atomic bombs, called “Baby” and “Fat Man”. The first bomb weighed 2,722 kg and was filled with enriched Uranium-235. “Fat Man” with a charge of Plutonium-239 with a power of more than 20 kt had a mass of 3175 kg. On June 16, the first test site of a nuclear device took place, timed to coincide with a meeting of the leaders of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France.

By this time, relations between former comrades had changed. It should be noted that the United States, as soon as it had the atomic bomb, sought a monopoly on its possession in order to deprive other countries of the opportunity to use atomic energy at their discretion.

US President G. Truman became the first political leader to decide to use nuclear bombs. From a military point of view, there was no need for such bombing of densely populated Japanese cities. But political motives during this period prevailed over military ones. The leadership of the United States sought dominance throughout the post-war world, and nuclear bombing, in their opinion, should have been a significant reinforcement of these aspirations. To this end, they began to push for the adoption of the American “Baruch Plan,” which would have secured for the United States a monopoly on atomic weapons, in other words, “absolute military superiority.”

The fatal hour has arrived. On August 6 and 9, the crews of the B-29 "Enola Gay" and "Bocks car" aircraft dropped their deadly payload on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The total loss of life and the scale of destruction from these bombings are characterized by the following figures: 300 thousand people died instantly from thermal radiation (temperature about 5000 degrees C) and the shock wave, another 200 thousand were injured, burned, or exposed to radiation. On an area of 12 sq. km, all buildings were completely destroyed. In Hiroshima alone, out of 90 thousand buildings, 62 thousand were destroyed. These bombings shocked the whole world. It is believed that this event marked the beginning of the nuclear arms race and the confrontation between the two political systems of that time at a new qualitative level.

The development of American strategic offensive weapons after the Second World War was carried out depending on the provisions of military doctrine. Her political side determined main goal US leadership - achieving world domination. The main obstacle to these aspirations was considered to be the Soviet Union, which in their opinion should have been eliminated. Depending on the balance of power in the world, the achievements of science and technology, its basic provisions changed, which was correspondingly reflected in the adoption of certain strategic strategies(concepts). Each subsequent strategy did not completely replace the one that preceded it, but only modernized it mainly in matters of determining the ways of building the Armed Forces and methods of waging war.

From mid-1945 to 1953, the American military-political leadership in matters of building strategic nuclear forces (SNF) proceeded from the fact that the United States had a monopoly on nuclear weapons and could achieve world domination by eliminating the USSR during a nuclear war. Preparations for such a war began almost immediately after the defeat Hitler's Germany. This is evidenced by the directive of the Joint Military Planning Committee No. 432/d dated December 14, 1945, which set the task of preparing atomic bombing 20 Soviet cities - the main political and industrial centers of the Soviet Union. At the same time, it was planned to use the entire stock of atomic bombs available at that time (196 pieces), the carriers of which were modernized B-29 bombers. The method of their use was also determined - a sudden atomic “first strike”, which should confront the Soviet leadership with the fact that further resistance was futile.

The political justification for such actions is the thesis of the “Soviet threat,” one of the main authors of which can be considered the US Charge d’Affaires in the USSR, J. Kennan. It was he who sent a “long telegram” to Washington on February 22, 1946, where in eight thousand words he outlined the “vital threat” that allegedly loomed over the United States and proposed a strategy for confrontation with Soviet Union.

President G. Truman gave instructions to develop a doctrine (later called the “Truman Doctrine”) of pursuing a policy from a position of strength in relation to the USSR. To centralize planning and increase the effectiveness of the use of strategic aviation, in the spring of 1947, the Strategic Aviation Command (SAC) was created. At the same time, the task of improving strategic aviation technology is being implemented at an accelerated pace.

By mid-1948, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff had drawn up a plan for a nuclear war with the USSR, codenamed “Chariotir”. It stipulated that the war should begin "with concentrated attacks using atomic bombs against government, political and administrative centers, industrial cities and selected oil refineries from bases in the Western Hemisphere and England." In the first 30 days alone, it was planned to drop 133 nuclear bombs on 70 Soviet cities.

However, as American military analysts calculated, this was not enough to achieve a quick victory. They believed that during this time Soviet Army will be able to capture key areas of Europe and Asia. In early 1949, a special committee of senior Army, Air Force, and Navy officials was created under the leadership of Lieutenant General H. Harmon, which was tasked with trying to assess the political and military consequences of the planned atomic attack on the Soviet Union from the air. The committee's conclusions and calculations clearly indicated that the United States was not yet ready for a nuclear war.

The committee's conclusions stated that it was necessary to increase the quantitative composition of the SAC, increase its combat capabilities, and replenish nuclear arsenals. To ensure the delivery of a massive nuclear strike by air, the United States needs to create a network of bases along the borders of the USSR, from which bombers carrying nuclear weapons could carry out combat missions along the shortest routes to planned targets on Soviet territory. It is necessary to launch serial production of heavy strategic intercontinental bombers B-36, capable of operating from bases on American territory.

The message that the Soviet Union had mastered the secret of nuclear weapons caused ruling circles The US desire to start a preventive war as quickly as possible. The Troyan plan was developed, which envisaged starting fighting January 1, 1950. At that time, SAC had 840 strategic bombers in combat units, 1,350 in reserve, and over 300 atomic bombs.

To assess its viability, the Committee of Chiefs of Staff ordered Lieutenant General D. Hull's group to test the chances of disabling the nine most important strategic areas on the territory of the Soviet Union in staff games. Having lost the air offensive against the USSR, Hull analysts summed it up: the probability of achieving these goals is 70%, which would entail the loss of 55% of the available bomber force. It turned out that US strategic aviation in this case would very quickly lose its combat effectiveness. Therefore, the question of preventive war was dropped in 1950. Soon the American leadership was able to verify in practice the correctness of such assessments. During the Korean War that began in 1950, B-29 bombers suffered heavy losses from fighter jet attacks.

But the situation in the world was changing rapidly, which was reflected in the American strategy of “massive retaliation” adopted in 1953. It was based on the superiority of the United States over the USSR in the number of nuclear weapons and the means of their delivery. It was envisaged to wage a general nuclear war against the countries of the socialist camp. Strategic aviation was considered the main means of achieving victory, for the development of which up to 50% of the financial resources allocated to the Ministry of Defense for the purchase of weapons were allocated.

In 1955, SAC had 1,565 bombers, 70% of which were B-47 jets, and 4,750 nuclear bombs with yields ranging from 50 kt to 20 mt. In the same year, the B-52 heavy strategic bomber was put into service, which gradually became the main intercontinental carrier of nuclear weapons.

At the same time, the military-political leadership of the United States is beginning to realize that in the context of the rapid increase in the capabilities of Soviet air defense systems, heavy bombers will not be able to solve the problem of achieving victory in a nuclear war alone. In 1958, medium-range ballistic missiles "Thor" and "Jupiter" entered service and were deployed in Europe. A year later, the first Atlas-D intercontinental missiles were put on combat duty, and the nuclear submarine J. Washington" with Polaris-A1 missiles.

With the advent of ballistic missiles in the strategic nuclear forces, the United States' ability to launch a nuclear strike increases significantly. However, in the USSR, by the end of the 50s, intercontinental carriers of nuclear weapons were being created, capable of delivering a retaliatory strike on the territory of the United States. The Pentagon was particularly concerned about Soviet ICBMs. Under these conditions, the leaders of the United States considered that the strategy of “massive retaliation” did not fully correspond to modern realities and should be adjusted.

By the beginning of 1960, nuclear planning in the United States was becoming centralized. Before this, each branch of the Armed Forces planned the use of nuclear weapons independently. But the increase in the number of strategic delivery vehicles required the creation of a single body for planning nuclear operations. It became the Joint Strategic Objectives Planning Staff, subordinate to the commander of the SAC and the Committee of the Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces. In December 1960, the first unified plan for waging a nuclear war was drawn up, called the “Unified Comprehensive Operational Plan” - SIOP. It envisaged, in accordance with the requirements of the “massive retaliation” strategy, waging only a general nuclear war against the USSR and China with the unlimited use of nuclear weapons (3.5 thousand nuclear warheads).

In 1961, a “flexible response” strategy was adopted, reflecting changes in official views on the possible nature of the war with the USSR. In addition to all-out nuclear war, American strategists began to accept the possibility of limited use of nuclear weapons and waging war with conventional weapons for a short period of time (no more than two weeks). The choice of methods and means of warfare had to be made taking into account the current geostrategic situation, the balance of forces and the availability of resources.

The new installations had a very significant impact on the development of American strategic weapons. Rapid quantitative growth of ICBMs and SLBMs begins. The latter is being improved special attention, since they could be used as “forward-based” assets in Europe. At the same time, the American government no longer needed to look for possible deployment areas for them and persuade the Europeans to give their consent to the use of their territory, as was the case during the deployment of medium-range missiles.

The US military-political leadership believed that it was necessary to have such a quantitative composition of strategic nuclear forces, the use of which would ensure the “guaranteed destruction” of the Soviet Union as a viable state.

In the early years of this decade, a significant force of ICBMs was deployed. So, if at the beginning of 1960 the SAC had 20 missiles of only one type - Atlas-D, then by the end of 1962 there were already 294. By this time, Atlas intercontinental ballistic missiles of the "E" modifications were put into service. and "F", "Titan-1" and "Minuteman-1A". The latest ICBMs were several orders of magnitude higher in sophistication than their predecessors. In the same year, the tenth American SSBN went on combat patrol. The total number of Polaris-A1 and Polaris-A2 SLBMs has reached 160 units. The last of the ordered B-52H heavy bombers and B-58 medium bombers entered service. The total number of bombers in the Strategic Air Command was 1,819. Thus, the American nuclear triad of strategic offensive forces (units and formations of ICBMs, nuclear missiles) submarines and strategic bombers), each component of which harmoniously complemented each other. It was equipped with over 6,000 nuclear warheads.

In mid-1961, the SIOP-2 plan was approved, reflecting the “flexible response” strategy. It provided for five interrelated operations to destroy the Soviet nuclear arsenal, suppress the air defense system, destroy military and government agencies and points, large groupings of troops, as well as strikes on cities. The total number of targets in the plan was 6 thousand. In addition, the plan’s developers also took into account the possibility of the Soviet Union inflicting a retaliatory nuclear strike on US territory.

At the beginning of 1961, a commission was formed whose duties were to develop promising ways for the development of American strategic nuclear forces. Subsequently, such commissions were created regularly.

In the fall of 1962, the world again found itself on the brink of nuclear war. The outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis forced politicians around the world to look at nuclear weapons from a new angle. For the first time, it clearly played the role of a deterrent. The sudden appearance of Soviet medium-range missiles in Cuba for the United States and their lack of overwhelming superiority in the number of ICBMs and SLBMs over the Soviet Union made a military solution to the conflict impossible.

The American military leadership immediately announced the need for additional armament, effectively setting a course for unleashing a strategic offensive arms race (START). The wishes of the military found due support in the US Senate. Huge amounts of money were allocated for the development of strategic offensive weapons, which made it possible to qualitatively and quantitatively improve strategic nuclear forces. In 1965, the Thor and Jupiter missiles, Atlas of all modifications and Titan-1 were completely withdrawn from service. They were replaced by the Minuteman-1B and Minuteman-2 intercontinental missiles, as well as the Titan-2 heavy ICBM.

The marine component of the SNA has grown significantly quantitatively and qualitatively. Taking into account such factors as the almost undivided dominance of the US Navy and the combined NATO fleet in the vast oceans in the early 60s, the high survivability, stealth and mobility of SSBNs, the American leadership decided to significantly increase the number of deployed missile submarines that could successfully replace medium-sized missiles. range. Their main targets were to be large industrial and administrative centers of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries.

In 1967, the strategic nuclear forces had 41 SSBNs with 656 missiles, of which more than 80% were Polaris-A3 SLBMs, 1054 ICBMs and over 800 heavy bombers. After the obsolete B-47 aircraft were removed from service, the nuclear bombs intended for them were eliminated. In connection with a change in strategic aviation tactics, the B-52 was equipped with AGM-28 Hound Dog cruise missiles with a nuclear warhead.

The rapid growth in the second half of the 60s in the number of Soviet OS-type ICBMs with improved characteristics and the creation of a missile defense system made the likelihood of America achieving a quick victory in a possible nuclear war scanty.

The strategic nuclear arms race posed more and more new challenges for the US military-industrial complex. It was necessary to find a new way to quickly increase nuclear power. The high scientific and production level of leading American rocket manufacturing companies made it possible to solve this problem. The designers have found a way to significantly increase the number of nuclear charges raised without increasing the number of their carriers. Multiple warheads (MIRVs) were developed and introduced, first with dispersible warheads and then with individual guidance.

The US leadership decided that it was time to somewhat adjust the military-technical side of its military doctrine. Using the tried-and-tested thesis of the “Soviet missile threat” and “US backwardness,” it easily secured the allocation of funds for new strategic weapons. Since 1970, the deployment of the Minuteman-3 ICBM and the Poseidon-S3 SLBM with MIRV-type MIRVs began. At the same time, the obsolete Minuteman-1B and Polaris were removed from combat duty.

In 1971, the strategy of “realistic deterrence” was officially adopted. It was based on the idea of nuclear superiority over the USSR. The authors of the strategy took into account the emerging equality in the number of strategic carriers between the USA and the USSR. By that time, without taking into account the nuclear forces of England and France, the following balance of strategic weapons had developed. In terms of ground-based ICBMs, the United States has 1,054 versus 1,300 in the Soviet Union, in terms of the number of SLBMs, 656 versus 300, and in terms of strategic bombers, 550 versus 145, respectively. The new strategy for the development of strategic offensive arms provided for a sharp increase in the number of nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles while simultaneously improving their tactical and technical characteristics, which was supposed to ensure qualitative superiority over the strategic nuclear forces of the Soviet Union.

The improvement of strategic offensive forces was reflected in the next plan - SIOP-4, adopted in 1971. It was developed taking into account the interaction of all components of the nuclear triad and provided for the destruction of 16 thousand targets.

But under pressure from the world community, the US leadership was forced to negotiate on nuclear disarmament. The methods of conducting such negotiations were regulated by the concept of “negotiating from a position of strength” - an integral part of the strategy of “realistic intimidation”. In 1972, the Treaty between the USA and the USSR on the Limitation of Missile Defense Systems and the Interim Agreement on Certain Measures in the Field of Limiting Strategic Offensive Arms (SALT-1) were concluded. However, the build-up of the strategic nuclear potential of opposing political systems continued.

By the mid-70s, the deployment of the Minuteman 3 and Poseidon missile systems was completed. All Lafayette-class SSBNs equipped with new missiles have been modernized. Heavy bombers were armed with SRAM nuclear guided missiles. All this led to a sharp increase in the nuclear arsenal assigned to strategic delivery vehicles. So, in five years from 1970 to 1975, the number of warheads increased from 5102 to 8500 units. Full speed ahead The combat control system for strategic weapons was improved, which made it possible to implement the principle of quickly re-aiming warheads at new targets. To completely recalculate and replace the flight mission for one missile now required only a few tens of minutes, and the entire group of SNS ICBMs could be retargeted in 10 hours. By the end of 1979, this system was implemented at all intercontinental missile launchers and launch control posts. At the same time, the security of silo launchers of Minuteman ICBMs was increased.

The qualitative improvement of the US strategic offensive arms made it possible to move from the concept of “assured destruction” to the concept of “target selection”, which provided for multi-variant actions - from a limited nuclear strike with a few missiles to a massive strike against the entire complex of targeted targets. The SIOP-5 plan was drawn up and approved in 1975, which included striking military, administrative and economic targets of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries total number up to 25 thousand.

The main form of use of American strategic offensive weapons was considered to be a sudden massive nuclear strike by all combat-ready ICBMs and SLBMs, as well as a certain number of heavy bombers. By this time, SLBMs had become the leading ones in the US nuclear triad. If before 1970 most of the nuclear warheads were assigned to strategic aviation, then in 1975 4,536 warheads were installed on 656 sea-based missiles (2,154 warheads on 1,054 ICBMs, and 1,800 on heavy bombers). Views on their use have also changed. In addition to striking cities, given the short flight time (12 - 18 minutes), submarine missiles could be used to destroy launching Soviet ICBMs on the active part of the trajectory or directly in launchers, preventing their launch before the approach of American ICBMs. The latter were entrusted with the task of destroying highly protected targets and, above all, silos and command posts of missile units of the Strategic Missile Forces. In this way, a Soviet retaliatory nuclear strike on US territory could have been thwarted or significantly weakened. Heavy bombers were planned to be used to destroy surviving or newly identified targets.

Since the second half of the 70s, a transformation of the views of the American political leadership on the prospects of nuclear war began. Considering the opinion of the majority of scientists that even a retaliatory Soviet nuclear strike would be disastrous for the United States, it decided to accept the theory of limited nuclear war for one theater of operations, specifically the European one. To implement it, new nuclear weapons were needed.

The administration of President J. Carter allocated funds for the development and production of the highly effective strategic sea-based Trident system. The implementation of this project was planned to be carried out in two stages. At the first it was planned to re-equip 12 SSBNs of the J. type. Madison" with Trident-C4 missiles, as well as to build and commission 8 new-generation Ohio-class SSBNs with 24 of the same missiles. At the second stage, it was planned to build 14 more SSBNs and arm all boats of this project with the new Trident-D5 SLBM with higher tactical and technical characteristics.

In 1979, President J. Carter decides on the full-scale production of the Peacekeeper (MX) intercontinental ballistic missile, which in its characteristics was supposed to surpass all existing Soviet ICBMs. Its development has been carried out since the mid-70s, along with the Pershing-2 MRBM and a new type of strategic weapons - long-range ground- and air-launched cruise missiles.

With the coming to power of the administration of President R. Reagan, the “doctrine of neo-globalism” was born, reflecting the new views of the US military-political leadership on the path to achieving world domination. It provided for a wide range of measures (political, economic, ideological, military) to “throw back communism”, the direct use military force against those countries where the United States perceives a threat to its “vital interests.” Naturally, the military-technical side of the doctrine was also adjusted. Its basis for the 80s was the strategy of “direct confrontation” with the USSR on a global and regional scale, aimed at achieving “complete and undeniable military superiority of the United States.”

Soon, the Pentagon developed “Guidelines for the construction of the US armed forces” for the coming years. They, in particular, determined that in a nuclear war “the United States must prevail and be able to force the USSR to quickly cease hostilities on US terms.” Military plans provided for the conduct of both general and limited nuclear war within the framework of one theater of operations. In addition, the task was to be ready to wage an effective war from space.

Based on these provisions, concepts for the development of the SNA were developed. The concept of “strategic sufficiency” required having such a combat composition of strategic delivery vehicles and nuclear warheads for them in order to ensure the “deterrence” of the Soviet Union.” The concept of “active counteraction” provided for ways to ensure flexibility in the use of strategic offensive forces in any situation - from a single use of nuclear weapons to the use of the entire nuclear arsenal.

In March 1980, the president approved the SIOP-5D plan. The plan provided for three options for nuclear strikes: preventive, retaliatory, and retaliatory. The number of targets was 40 thousand, which included 900 cities with a population of over 250 thousand each, 15 thousand industrial and economic facilities, 3,500 military targets on the territory of the USSR, Warsaw Pact countries, China, Vietnam and Cuba.

In early October 1981, President Reagan announced his “strategic program” for the 1980s, which contained guidelines for further building up strategic nuclear capabilities. The last hearings on this program took place at six meetings of the US Congress Committee on Military Affairs. Representatives of the President, the Ministry of Defense, and leading scientists in the field of weapons were invited to them. As a result of comprehensive discussions of all structural elements, the program for building up strategic weapons was approved. In accordance with it, starting in 1983, 108 Pershing-2 MRBM launchers and 464 BGM-109G ground-based cruise missiles were deployed in Europe as forward-based nuclear weapons.

In the second half of the 80s, another concept was developed - “substantial equivalence”. It determined how, in the context of the reduction and elimination of some types of strategic offensive arms, by improving the combat characteristics of others, to ensure qualitative superiority over the strategic nuclear forces of the USSR.

Since 1985, the deployment of 50 silo-based MX ICBMs began (another 50 missiles of this type in a mobile version were planned to be put on combat duty in the early 90s) and 100 B-1B heavy bombers. Production of the BGM-86 air-launched cruise missiles to equip 180 B-52 bombers was in full swing. A new MIRV with more powerful warheads was installed on the 350 Minuteman-3 ICBMs, while the control system was modernized.

An interesting situation arose after the deployment of Pershing-2 missiles on the territory of West Germany. Formally, this group was not part of the US National Security Council and was the nuclear weapon of the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in Europe (this position has always been occupied by US representatives). The official version for the world community was that its deployment in Europe was a reaction to the appearance of RSD-10 (SS-20) missiles in the Soviet Union and the need to rearm NATO in the face of a missile threat from the East. In fact, the reason was, of course, different, which was confirmed by the Supreme Commander of NATO Allied Armed Forces in Europe, General B. Rogers. He said in one of his speeches in 1983: “Most people believe that we are modernizing our weapons because of the SS-20 missiles. We would have carried out modernization even if there were no SS-20 missiles.”

The main purpose of the Pershings (taken into account in the SIOP plan) was to deliver a “decapitation strike” on the command posts of strategic formations of the USSR Armed Forces and Strategic Missile Forces in Eastern Europe, which was supposed to disrupt the Soviet retaliatory strike. To achieve this, they had all the necessary tactical and technical characteristics: short approach time (8-10 minutes), high shooting accuracy and a nuclear charge capable of hitting highly protected targets. Thus, it became clear that they were intended to solve strategic offensive tasks.

Ground-launched cruise missiles, also considered NATO nuclear weapons, became dangerous weapons. But their use was envisaged in accordance with the SIOP plan. Their main advantage was high shooting accuracy (up to 30 m) and stealth flight, which took place at an altitude of several tens of meters, which, combined with a small effective dispersion area, made interception of such missiles by an air defense system extremely difficult. The targets of destruction for the Kyrgyz Republic could be any highly protected pinpoint targets such as command posts, silos, etc.

However, by the end of the 80s, the USA and the USSR had accumulated such a huge nuclear potential that it had long outgrown reasonable limits. A situation arose where it was necessary to make a decision on what to do next. The situation was aggravated by the fact that half of the ICBMs (Minuteman-2 and part of Minuteman-3) had been in operation for 20 years or more. Keeping them in combat-ready condition became more and more expensive every year. Under these conditions, the country's leadership decided on the possibility of a 50% reduction in strategic offensive arms, subject to a reciprocal step on the part of the Soviet Union. Such an agreement was concluded at the end of July 1991. Its provisions largely determined the path of development of strategic weapons in the 90s. An instruction was given for the development of such strategic offensive weapons, so that in order to fend off the threat from them, the USSR would need to spend large financial and material resources.

The situation changed radically after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a result, the United States achieved world dominance and remained the only “superpower” in the world. Finally, the political part of the American military doctrine was fulfilled. But with the ending " cold war“According to the Clinton administration, threats to US interests remain. In 1995, the report “National Military Strategy” appeared, presented by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, and sent to Congress. It became the last of the official documents outlining the provisions of the new military doctrine. It is based on a “strategy of flexible and selective engagement.” Certain adjustments in the new strategy have been made to the content of the main strategic concepts.

The military-political leadership continues to rely on force, and the Armed Forces are preparing to wage war and achieve “victory in any wars, wherever and whenever they arise.” Naturally, the military structure is being improved, including strategic nuclear forces. They are entrusted with the task of containing and intimidating a possible enemy, both in a period of peace and during a general or limited war using conventional means defeats.

A significant place in theoretical developments is devoted to the place and methods of action of the SNS in a nuclear war. Taking into account the current balance of forces between the United States and Russia in the field of strategic weapons, the American military-political leadership believes that goals in a nuclear war can be achieved as a result of multiple and spaced-out nuclear strikes against military and economic potential, administrative and political control. In time, these can be either proactive or reactive actions.

The following types of nuclear strikes are envisaged: selective - to hit various command and control organs, limited or regional (for example, against groupings of enemy troops during a conventional war if the situation develops unsuccessfully) and massive. In this regard, a certain reorganization of the US strategic offensive forces was carried out. Further changes in American views on the possible development and use of strategic nuclear weapons can be expected at the beginning of the next millennium.

The one who invented the atomic bomb could not even imagine what tragic consequences this miracle invention of the 20th century could lead to. It was a very long journey before the residents of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced this superweapon.

A start has been made

In April 1903, the famous French physicist Paul Langevin's friends gathered in the Paris Garden. The reason was the defense of the dissertation of the young and talented scientist Marie Curie. Among the distinguished guests was the famous English physicist Sir Ernest Rutherford. In the midst of the fun, the lights were turned off. Marie Curie announced to everyone that there would be a surprise.

With a solemn look, Pierre Curie brought in a small tube with radium salts, which shone with a green light, causing extraordinary delight among those present. Subsequently, the guests heatedly discussed the future of this phenomenon. Everyone agreed that radium would solve the acute problem of energy shortages. This inspired everyone for new research and further prospects.

If they had been told then that laboratory work with radioactive elements will lay the foundation for the terrible weapons of the 20th century, it is unknown what their reaction would have been. It was then that the story of the atomic bomb began, killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians.

Playing ahead

On December 17, 1938, the German scientist Otto Gann obtained irrefutable evidence of the decay of uranium into smaller elementary particles. Essentially, he managed to split the atom. In the scientific world, this was regarded as a new milestone in the history of mankind. Otto Gann did not share Political Views third Reich.

Therefore, in the same year, 1938, the scientist was forced to move to Stockholm, where, together with Friedrich Strassmann, he continued his scientific research. Fearing that Nazi Germany will be the first to receive terrible weapons, he writes a letter to the President of America warning about this.

The news of a possible advance greatly alarmed the US government. The Americans began to act quickly and decisively.

Who created the atomic bomb? American project

Even before the outbreak of World War II, a group of American scientists, many of whom were refugees from the Nazi regime in Europe, were tasked with developing nuclear weapons. Initial research, it is worth noting, was carried out in Nazi Germany. In 1940, the government of the United States of America began funding its own program to develop atomic weapons. An incredible sum of two and a half billion dollars was allocated to implement the project.

Outstanding physicists of the 20th century were invited to implement this secret project, among whom were more than ten Nobel laureates. In total, about 130 thousand employees were involved, among whom were not only military personnel, but also civilians. The development team was headed by Colonel Leslie Richard Groves, and Robert Oppenheimer became the scientific director. He is the man who invented the atomic bomb.

A special secret engineering building was built in the Manhattan area, which we know under the code name “Manhattan Project”. Over the next few years, scientists from the secret project worked on the problem of nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium.

The non-peaceful atom of Igor Kurchatov

Today, every schoolchild will be able to answer the question of who invented the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union. And then, in the early 30s of the last century, no one knew this.

In 1932, Academician Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov was one of the first in the world to begin studying the atomic nucleus. Gathering like-minded people around him, Igor Vasilyevich created the first cyclotron in Europe in 1937. In the same year, he and his like-minded people created the first artificial nuclei.

In 1939, I.V. Kurchatov began studying a new direction - nuclear physics. After several laboratory successes in studying this phenomenon, the scientist receives at his disposal a secret research center, which was named “Laboratory No. 2”. Nowadays this classified object is called "Arzamas-16".

The target direction of this center was the serious research and creation of nuclear weapons. Now it becomes obvious who created the atomic bomb in the Soviet Union. His team then consisted of only ten people.

There will be an atomic bomb

By the end of 1945, Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov managed to assemble a serious team of scientists numbering more than a hundred people. The best minds of various scientific specializations came to the laboratory from all over the country to create atomic weapons. After the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Soviet scientists realized that this could be done with the Soviet Union. "Laboratory No. 2" receives from the country's leadership a sharp increase in funding and a large influx of qualified personnel. Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria is appointed responsible for such an important project. The enormous efforts of Soviet scientists have borne fruit.

Semipalatinsk test site

The atomic bomb in the USSR was first tested at the test site in Semipalatinsk (Kazakhstan). On August 29, 1949, a nuclear device with a yield of 22 kilotons shook the Kazakh soil. Nobel laureate physicist Otto Hanz said: “This is good news. If Russia has atomic weapons, then there will be no war.” It was this atomic bomb in the USSR, encrypted as product No. 501, or RDS-1, that eliminated the US monopoly on nuclear weapons.

Atomic bomb. Year 1945

In the early morning of July 16, the Manhattan Project conducted its first successful test of an atomic device - a plutonium bomb - at the Alamogordo test site in New Mexico, USA.

The money invested in the project was well spent. The first atomic explosion in human history was carried out at 5:30 am.

“We have done the devil’s work,” Robert Oppenheimer, the one who invented the atomic bomb in the United States and later called the “father of the atomic bomb,” would later say.

Japan will not capitulate

By the time of the final and successful testing of the atomic bomb, Soviet troops and allies had finally defeated Nazi Germany. However, there was one state that promised to fight to the end for dominance in the Pacific Ocean. From mid-April to mid-July 1945, the Japanese army repeatedly carried out air strikes against allied forces, thereby inflicting heavy losses on the US army. At the end of July 1945, the militaristic Japanese government rejected the Allied demand for surrender according to Potsdam Declaration. It stated, in particular, that in case of disobedience, the Japanese army would face rapid and complete destruction.

The President agrees

The American government kept its word and began a targeted bombing of Japanese military positions. Air strikes did not bring the desired result, and US President Harry Truman decides to invade Japanese territory by American troops. However, the military command dissuades its president from such a decision, citing the fact that an American invasion would entail a large number of casualties.

At the suggestion of Henry Lewis Stimson and Dwight David Eisenhower, it was decided to use more effective way end of the war. A big supporter of the atomic bomb, US Presidential Secretary James Francis Byrnes, believed that the bombing of Japanese territories would finally end the war and put the United States in a dominant position, which would have a positive impact on the further course of events in the post-war world. Thus, US President Harry Truman was convinced that this was the only correct option.

Atomic bomb. Hiroshima

The small Japanese city of Hiroshima with a population of just over 350 thousand people, located five hundred miles from the Japanese capital Tokyo, was chosen as the first target. After the modified B-29 Enola Gay bomber arrived at the US naval base on Tinian Island, an atomic bomb was installed on board the aircraft. Hiroshima was to experience the effects of 9 thousand pounds of uranium-235.
This never-before-seen weapon was intended for civilians in a small Japanese town. The bomber's commander was Colonel Paul Warfield Tibbetts Jr. The US atomic bomb bore the cynical name “Baby”. On the morning of August 6, 1945, at approximately 8:15 a.m., the American “Little” was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. About 15 thousand tons of TNT destroyed all life within a radius of five square miles. One hundred and forty thousand city residents died in a matter of seconds. The surviving Japanese died a painful death from radiation sickness.

They were destroyed by the American atomic “Baby”. However, the devastation of Hiroshima did not cause the immediate surrender of Japan, as everyone expected. Then it was decided to carry out another bombing of Japanese territory.

Nagasaki. The sky is on fire

The American atomic bomb “Fat Man” was installed on board a B-29 aircraft on August 9, 1945, still there, at the US naval base in Tinian. This time the commander of the aircraft was Major Charles Sweeney. Initially, the strategic target was the city of Kokura.

However weather conditions They did not allow us to carry out our plans; large clouds interfered. Charles Sweeney went into the second round. At 11:02 a.m., the American nuclear “Fat Man” engulfed Nagasaki. It was a more powerful destructive air strike, which was several times stronger than the bombing in Hiroshima. Nagasaki tested an atomic weapon weighing about 10 thousand pounds and 22 kilotons of TNT.

The geographic location of the Japanese city reduced the expected effect. The thing is that the city is located in a narrow valley between the mountains. Therefore, the destruction of 2.6 square miles did not reveal the full potential of American weapons. The Nagasaki atomic bomb test is considered the failed Manhattan Project.

Japan surrendered

At noon on August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito announced his country's surrender in a radio address to the people of Japan. This news quickly spread around the world. Celebrations began in the United States of America to mark the victory over Japan. The people rejoiced.
On September 2, 1945, a formal agreement to end the war was signed aboard the American battleship Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay. Thus ended the most brutal and bloody war in human history.

For six long years, the world community has been moving towards this significant date - since September 1, 1939, when the first shots of Nazi Germany were fired on the territory of Poland.

Peaceful atom

In total, 124 were carried out in the Soviet Union nuclear explosion. What is characteristic is that all of them were carried out for the benefit of the national economy. Only three of them were accidents that resulted in the leakage of radioactive elements.

Programs for the use of peaceful atoms were implemented in only two countries - the USA and the Soviet Union. Nuclear peaceful energy also knows an example of a global catastrophe, when on April 26, 1986, a reactor exploded at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.