Nuclear Age Chronology
for SS11 Students
References:
1. National Post: Milestones of the Nuclear Age 4/3/2009
2. Maclean’s Magazine: Canada’s Nuclear Legacy
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0012035
Accessed: 16 April 2009
3. Canadian Encyclopedia: Bomarc Missile Crisis
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTA0000854
Accessed: 16 April 2009
1945:
July 16 The USA explodes the world's first atomic bomb in New Mexico.
August 6 Little Boy, a uranium bomb, is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by USAF
B-29 Enola Gay. Between 80,000 and 140,000 killed. Little Boy had a yield of 15
kilotons. A kiloton is an explosive force equivalent to that of 1,000 metric tons of
TNT.
Aug. 9 Fat Man, a plutonium bomb, is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan by USAF
B-29 Bockscar. Around 74,000 killed.
September Canada’s first nuclear reactor was switched on at Chalk River,
Ontario.
1946:
June 30 USA conducts an atmospheric atomic test (21 kilotons) and a shallow
underwater atomic test (21 kilotons) at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The test
series was intended to study the effects of nuclear weapons on warships,
equipment, and material. 77 ships of all types were assembled at Bikini Atoll to be
exposed to the effects of the bomb blasts/radiation contamination.
Shallow Underwater Test Bikini Atoll
1949:
Aug. 29 USSR detonates its first atomic bomb, Joe 1, at Semipalatinsk in
Kazakhstan.
1950:
Canada permits the USA to keep Mark IV atomic bombs at its Goose Bay,
Labrador air base. The Mark IV was carried by USAF Strategic Air Command
long-range bombers that flew out of the Goose Bay air station.
1952:
Oct. 3 First British atomic bomb, Hurricane, tested at Monte Bello Islands,
Australia.
November USA explodes the first H-bomb (Hydrogen Superbomb) at Eniwetok
Atoll in the Pacific. ‘Mike’ produced a cloud that extended out over 1oo miles.
1957:
July 29 The UN International Atomic Energy Agency created. The Agency was set
up to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health
and prosperity throughout the world.
1958:
PM John Diefenbaker's Conservative government accepts Bomarc-B anti-aircraft
missiles from the USA, but won’t fit them with nuclear warheads.
Canadian Bomarc Anti-aircraft Missile
1959:
February 20 Prime Minister Diefenbaker cancels the Avro Arrow (CF-105)
design and production program. This jet aircraft had a top speed of 1,650 mph
and was one of the most advanced in the world. The Arrow was intended to stop
Soviet aircraft from successfully attacking North America.
Avro Arrow Simulated Image
1960:
Feb. 13 The first French nuclear test occurs at Reganne, Algeria, in the Sahara
Desert.
1961:
October 30 Tsar Bomba (the ‘Emperor Bomb’) exploded by the USSR in the
Novaya Zemlya archipelago. This hydrogen bomb was the largest, most powerful
nuclear weapon ever detonated. It had a yield of 50 Megatons, an explosive force
equivalent to 50 million metric tons of TNT.
Tzar Bomba
1962:
Oct. 16-28 Cuban Missile Crisis. The closest the world has ever come to nuclear
war.
“Following intelligence reports that the USSR was installing ballistic missiles in
Cuba capable of hitting US and Canadian targets, President John Kennedy
announced an American naval blockade of the island, threatening further action
if preparation of the sites continued. Informed of Kennedy's intentions only oneand-a-half hours in advance, the issue for the Canadian government was whether
to comply with an American request to move Canadian forces to an alert status
known as ‘Defcon 3.’ With the approval of Minister of National Defence Douglas
Harkness, Canadian units quietly did so, but formal authorization was delayed
while Cabinet debated October 23-24. Harkness argued that the nature of the
crisis, combined with existing arrangements for defence co-operation, made the
alert necessary.
Fearing a Canadian alert would provoke the USSR and believing the American
Cuban policy to be generally unbalanced, angered by the lack of advance
consultation and concerned about implications for Canadian policy on nuclear
weapons, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and Secretary of State for External
Affairs Howard Green were reluctant to acquiesce to Kennedy. About half of
Canada's ministers remained undecided, but as Soviet ships approached the
quarantine zone later in the week the Harkness position gained support and on
October 24 the Diefenbaker government authorized the Defcon 3 alert.
Canada's hesitant response reflected in part the desire of the prime minister and
others to preserve the independence of Canadian foreign policy and to maintain a
balanced posture in crisis conditions. The delay, however, was widely criticized
and contributed to a growing perception of indecisiveness in the Diefenbaker
government. It also exacerbated already difficult relations with the Kennedy
administration and fuelled further controversy over nuclear weapons. The crisis
itself ended October 27-28 when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to
dismantle and remove the USSR missiles in Cuba.”1
1
The Canadian Encyclopedia: Cuban Missile Crisis
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0002063
Accessed 16 April 2009
1963:
August 5th Limited Test Ban Treaty signed by the United States, Great Britain,
and the Soviet Union. The LTB Treaty banned nuclear weapons testing in the
atmosphere, in outer space, and under water.
31 December The Liberal government of Prime Minister Pearson equips
Canadian Bomarc-B anti-aircraft missiles with nuclear warheads.
1964:
Oct. 16 China explodes its first atomic bomb at the Lop Nur test site.
Lop Nur, XinJiang Province
1965:
Royal Canadian Air Force installs defensive Genie air-launched missiles (nuclear
warhead) on its CF-101 VooDoo fighter interceptor aircraft based in Comox,
British Columbia and Bagotville, Quebec and Falcon air-to-air missiles (nuclear
warhead) on other aircraft.
Canadian VooDoo fighter aircraft
1967:
Canada’s first CANDU nuclear reactor was completed. Such technology would
come to supply about one-half of the electricity used in the Province of Ontario
and one-third of the electricity used in the Province of New Brunswick.
1968:
Canada allows for storage of anti-submarine nuclear bombs (nuclear depth
charges) for use by the US Navy at the Argentia Bay, Newfoundland naval base.
Note: Between 250 and 450 nuclear warheads were available to the Canadian
Armed Forces during the late 1960’s.
1969:
PM Trudeau's Liberal government announces that the Canadian Armed Forces
would be withdrawn from their nuclear roles.
1970:
March 5 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) comes into force; 100 nations ratify the
NPT by 1980.
1971:
Bomarc-B nuclear warhead-equipped anti-aircraft missiles phased out of service
on Canadian soil.
1972:
SALT I (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty) Treaty signed between USA (Richard
Nixon) and USSR (Leonid Brezhnev). The Treaty was the culmination of talks
that had proceeded from 1969 to 1972. SALT I consisted of an Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty and an Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive
Arms. The SALT I Treaty froze the total number of Inter-Continental Ballistic
Missiles, but allowed for the replacement of old missiles with new ones. SALT II
talks commenced soon thereafter, to determine whether an actual reduction in
nuclear weaponry, and prevention of future advances in destructive technology,
could be agreed to.
1974:
May 18 India sets off a low-yield device under Rajasthan desert.
1977:
July 7 United States successfully tests a neutron bomb. The neutron bomb is a
small hydrogen bomb that differs from standard nuclear weapons in that its
primary lethal effects come from the radiation damage caused by the neutrons it
emits. It is also known as an enhanced-radiation weapon (ERW). This means that
blast and heat effects are reduced so that physical structures, including houses
and industrial installations, are less affected. Because neutron radiation effects
drop off very rapidly with distance, a sharper distinction can be made between
areas with lethal levels of radioactivity and areas with minimal radiation levels.
1979:
Sept. 22 South Africa conducts a nuclear test.
June 18 SALT II agreement. Bi-lateral, un-ratified agreement between the
USA and USSR establishing ceilings and sub-ceilings on strategic offensive
weapon systems and imposing restraints on existing and future strategic systems.
Specifically, the SALT II equal ceilings included: (1) 2,400 aggregate limit on
strategic nuclear delivery vehicles (ICBMs, SLBMs, and bombers), and (2) 1,320
sub-ceilings on MIRV’ed ballistic missiles.
ICBM: Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile
SLBM: Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile
MIRV: Multiple Independently Target-able Re-entry Vehicle
Although never ratified by the United States Senate, the SALT II agreement was
respected by both sides until 1986.
1984:
Canada's nuclear involvement ends when its Genie missiles go out of service with
her obsolete CF-101 VooDoo fighter.
1991:
July 31 The United States (President Bush) and Russia (President Gorbachev)
sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) calling for elimination of
almost 50% of nuclear warheads carried by ballistic missiles.
1993:
March South Africa confirms that it has successfully developed nuclear weapons,
but has voluntarily destroyed them.
1998:
May 11-13 India conducts nuclear tests.
May 28-30 Pakistan conducts nuclear tests.
2002:
Oct. 16 North Korea says it has developed a secret nuclear weapons program.
2003:
Jan. 10 North Korea announces it will withdraw from the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty.
Feb. 9 Iran acknowledges it has uranium ore reserves and that it will reprocess
the spent fuel. Iran insists the nuclear program is designed solely for civilian use.
2005:
Jan. 22 North Korea announces that it is a nuclear power.
2007:
Sept. 6 Israel stages an air raid on a suspected Syrian nuclear site.
2008:
May 26 Former USA President Jimmy Carter says that Israel has around 150
nuclear weapons in its arsenal.
July 26 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran possesses more than
5,000 centrifuges, which can produce nuclear material for a power plant or, if
highly enriched, an atomic bomb.