Launch Pad Uk Britain And The Cuban Missile Crisis

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Launch Pad UK

Author : Jim Wilson
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 246 pages
File Size : 40,6 Mb
Release : 2009-04-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781781599167

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Launch Pad UK by Jim Wilson Pdf

For most British people the weekend of 27/28 October 1962 could so very easily have been their last weekend on earth, yet astonishingly the fact that Britain's nuclear deterrent forces went to an unprecedented level of readiness was kept secret from the public. Thor nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles stood on a round-the-clock wartime state of alert ready to be fired, these were the 'other' missiles of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which made Britain, in effect, America's launch pad. During the height of the crisis both RAF Bomber Command and the US Strategic Air Command were poised at the highest states of readiness. Both were ordered to a level of war readiness unparalleled throughout the whole of the forty years of Cold War. There is evidence to suggest that had the US needed to launch an air strike against Russian missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy might have been willing to absorb a Soviet nuclear assault on a NATO ally without retaliation, if it would have avoided escalation to World War Three. It is sobering to those who lived through that period that, the British Ambassador to Cuba commented: 'If it was a nuclear war we were headed for, Cuba was perhaps a better place to be than Britain!'

Britain on the Brink

Author : Jim Wilson
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 331 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2012-12-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781783378425

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Britain on the Brink by Jim Wilson Pdf

This Cold War history examines the Cuban Missile Crisis from a British perspective, following events as they developed in London, Washington, and Moscow. During the Cold War, the possibility of nuclear destruction was never too far away. But for several days in October of 1962, that possibility came closer than most civilians could ever imagine. The Cuban Missile Crisis put the UK squarely on the frontlines, with the Strategic Air Command’s UK bases on high alert. Nuclear weapons were loaded, some nuclear-armed aircraft went on round-the-clock airborne patrol, and others were held at cockpit readiness. Britain on the Brink examines how the UK was threatened by the Soviet Union’s deployment of nuclear missiles ninety miles off the US coast. It looks at secret planning in the UK for World War III, and the activities of the JIGSAW Group (Joint Inter-Services Group for the Study of All-Out War). It also examines how close the UK went to activating Visitation, the code name for the movement of parts of the British State into a secret bunker referred to in Whitehall as The Quarry.

Launch Pad UK: Britain and the Cuban Missile Crisis

Author : Jim Wilson OBE
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2009-04-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781844157990

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Launch Pad UK: Britain and the Cuban Missile Crisis by Jim Wilson OBE Pdf

For most British people the weekend of 27/28 October 1962 could so very easily have been their last weekend on earth, yet astonishingly the fact that Britain's nuclear deterrent forces went to an unprecedented level of readiness was kept secret from the public. Thor nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles stood on a round-the-clock wartime state of alert ready to be fired, these were the 'other' missiles of the Cuban Missile Crisis, which made Britain, in effect, America's launch pad. During the height of the crisis both RAF Bomber Command and the US Strategic Air Command were poised at the highest states of readiness. Both were ordered to a level of war readiness unparalleled throughout the whole of the forty years of Cold War. There is evidence to suggest that had the US needed to launch an air strike against Russian missiles in Cuba, President Kennedy might have been willing to absorb a Soviet nuclear assault on a NATO ally without retaliation, if it would have avoided escalation to World War Three. It is sobering to those who lived through that period that, the British Ambassador to Cuba commented: 'If it was a nuclear war we were headed for, Cuba was perhaps a better place to be than Britain!'

The Silent Guns of Two Octobers

Author : Theodore Voorhees
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
Page : 381 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2021-09-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9780472038718

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The Silent Guns of Two Octobers by Theodore Voorhees Pdf

The Silent Guns of Two Octobers uses new as well as previously under-appreciated documentary evidence to link the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Checkpoint Charlie tank standoff to achieve the impossible—craft a new, thoughtful, original analysis of a political showdown everyone thought they knew everything about. Ultimately the book concludes that much of the Cold War rhetoric the leaders employed was mere posturing; in reality neither had any intention of starting a nuclear war. Theodore Voorhees reexamines Khrushchev’s and Kennedy’s leadership, decision, and rhetoric in light of the new documentary evidence available. Voorhees examines the impact of John F. Kennedy's domestic political concerns about his upcoming first midterm elections on his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis through his use of back-channel dealings with Khrushchev during the lead-up to the crisis and in the closing days when the two leaders managed to reach a settlement.

An International History of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Author : David Gioe,Len Scott,Christopher Andrew
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 329 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2014-06-05
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781317813149

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An International History of the Cuban Missile Crisis by David Gioe,Len Scott,Christopher Andrew Pdf

This edited volume addresses the main lessons and legacies of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis from a global perspective. Despite the discoveries of recent research, there is still much more to be revealed about the handling of nuclear weapons before and during the Cuban Missile Crisis (CMC). Featuring contributions from a number of eminent international scholars of nuclear history, intelligence, espionage, political science and Cold War studies, An International History of the Cuban Missile Crisis reviews and reflects on one of the critical moments of the Cold War, focussing on three key areas. First, the volume highlights the importance of memory as an essential foundation of historical understanding and demonstrates how events that rely only on historical records can provide misleading accounts. This focus on memory extends the scope of the existing literature by exploring hitherto neglected aspects of the CMC, including an analysis of the operational aspects of Bomber Command activity, explored through recollections of the aircrews that challenge accounts based on official records. The editors then go on to explore aspects of intelligence whose achievements and failings have increasingly been recognised to be of central importance to the origins, dynamics and outcomes of the missile crisis. Studies of hitherto neglected organisations such as the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the British Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) both extend our understanding of British and American intelligence machinery in this period and enrich our understanding of key episodes and assessments in the missile crisis. Finally, the book explores the risk of nuclear war and looks at how close we came to nuclear conflict. The risk of inadvertent use of nuclear weapons is evaluated and a new proposed framework for the analysis of nuclear risk put forward. This volume will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, international history, foreign policy, security studies and IR in general.

Worst-Case Scenario?

Author : Doctor Stuart Price
Publisher : Zed Books Ltd.
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2013-07-04
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781780321370

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Worst-Case Scenario? by Doctor Stuart Price Pdf

In this original and provocative new book, Stuart Price identifies the existence of a practice that lies at the core of the western security regime - the worst-case scenario. This consists of the projection of a significant material threat, made by an authoritative or executive power, used to bolster the security agenda of the neo-liberal state. This in turn has altered the conduct of military and police operations, which are increasingly directed against any substantial expression of dissent. Using a wide range of official sources and case studies, from 9/11 to the Stockwell shooting, Price analyses the paramilitary, political, economic and cultural manoeuvres of the security regime as it attempts to reproduce a 'command structure' within civil society. In doing so, he demonstrates that, unlike the openly totalitarian states of the past, bureaucratic rule is favoured over charismatic leadership, and the ostentatious display of coercive authority is characterised as a temporary measure. It is, he argues, a process that must be recognised and resisted.

The Routledge Handbook of Civil-Military Relations

Author : Florina Cristiana Matei,Carolyn Halladay,Thomas C. Bruneau
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 407 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2021-11-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781000471557

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The Routledge Handbook of Civil-Military Relations by Florina Cristiana Matei,Carolyn Halladay,Thomas C. Bruneau Pdf

This second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Civil-Military Relations offers a wide-ranging, internationally focused overview of the field of civil-military relations. The armed forces are central actors in most societies and are involved in many different roles. Amongst other activities, they engage in peace operations, support the police in fighting crime, support civilian authorities in dealing with natural disasters, and fight against terrorists and in internal conflicts. The existing literature on this subject is limited in its discussion of warfighting and thus does not do justice to the variety of roles. This second edition not only fills this important lacuna but offers an up-to-date comparative analysis and provides a conceptual framework to analyze how strategies can realistically be implemented. Amalgamating ideas from key thinkers in the field, the book is organized into three main thematic parts: Part I: Civil-Military Relations in Non-Democratic States and Illiberal Democracies; Part II: Civil-Military Relations in New Democracies; Part III: Civil-Military Relations in Established Democracies. This handbook will be essential reading for students and practitioners in the fields of civil-military relations, defense studies, war and conflict studies, international security, and IR in general.

A Century of Air Power

Author : Dave Sloggett
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 203 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2013-07-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473828483

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A Century of Air Power by Dave Sloggett Pdf

An extensive history of the first century of aerial warfare, covering the every major conflict including the two world wars. No other technical development since the introduction of gunpowder has had as great an influence on warfare as the aircraft. From its early beginnings as simply a means of aerial reconnaissance to its utter supremacy on the battlefield, the aircraft has evolved into the most versatile and precise killing machine known to man. In this wide-ranging and comprehensive study, David Sloggett, an internationally-respected defence analyst, investigates the changing role and increasing significance of air power over the course of the previous 100 years. This is accomplished by detailing every major conflict during that period including not only the two world wars and the recent conflicts in the Middle East but also the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Falklands War and Russian use of air power in Afghanistan. Air power’s role in Malaya, Oman, Kenya and in Northern Ireland is also explained. A Century of Air Power is the most important study of the use of military aircraft ever undertaken and as such provides valuable lessons for the future—not only for the commanders who have to apply these all-powerful weapons but also for the politicians who have to determine its use.

The Midnight Swimmer

Author : Edward Wilson
Publisher : Arcadia Books
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2013-06-01
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781908129840

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The Midnight Swimmer by Edward Wilson Pdf

October, 1962. If the Cuban gamble goes wrong and war breaks out, Britain will no longer exist. London dispatches a secret envoy to defuse the confrontation. Spawned in the bleak poverty of an East Anglian fishing port, Catesby is a spy with a big anti-establishment chip on his shoulder. He loves his country, but despises the class who run it. Loathed by the Americans and trusted by the Russians, Catesby is sent to Havana and Washington to make clandestine contacts. London has authorised Catesby to offer Moscow a secret deal to break the Cuban Missile Crisis deadlock. But before that can happen, Catesby meets the Midnight Swimmer who has a chilling message for Washington. A triangle of love and death that began in Berlin ends in Cuba. On one corner is a war disabled KGB general, on another corner is his unfulfilled wife... This sophisticated novel is full of twists and turns that merge historical fact with fiction. Sleaze and high politics literally share the same beds. A white-knuckle superpower standoff is played out against a backdrop of honey trap blackmail, Mafia contracts, assassinations and Vatican scandal. The real blurs into the surreal as Che's car surfs on the Havana seafront and Fidel takes the pitcher's mound against a professional baseball team.

Nuclear Command and Control Norms

Author : Salma Shaheen
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2018-09-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780429790799

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Nuclear Command and Control Norms by Salma Shaheen Pdf

This book offers a new analytical framework for studying nuclear command and control (C2), based on a comparative study of four nuclear weapons states (NWS). The subject of nuclear operations management has long been shrouded in secrecy, and whilst the importance of nuclear C2 cannot be disputed, there are few academic studies into how and why states develop these systems. This volume includes a comparative study of the development of nuclear C2 by four different NWS (Britain, China, India, and Pakistan) and demonstrates that, despite several differences, there is a central set of factors that remain constant. The analytical framework used in this study identifies key factors that can potentially shape the evolution and stability of nuclear C2. These factors include geostrategic (threat) environment, international norms, leadership, and control of nuclear operations (civil-military control). The book also analyses the interaction among different stakeholders within the nuclear C2 enterprise. It recognises that politicians, the military and scientists all have key but different roles to play, and the way these stakeholders have learned to co-exist with each other is explored. This volume offers a set of dynamics that could form a global norm for nuclear C2, serving as a standard for new entrants into the nuclear club. This book will be of much interest to students of nuclear proliferation, global governance, and International Relations in general.

Futureproofing

Author : Roy Lilley,Peter Cochrane
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2018-04-19
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781315349053

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Futureproofing by Roy Lilley,Peter Cochrane Pdf

If you can imagine it it will happen...if you can't you're out of it! This book is a white-knuckle ride. It drills down into what we are doing now and comes up in the future to see what comes next. The book is a commentary and a clarion call and an invitation to see round corners and a clarion call to respond to what's there. Roy Lilley has been speaking on Futureproofing around the world throughout the 'nineties. His aim has been to awaken managers entrepreneurs and anyone who will listen to the fact that the world is changing. Faster and faster like a spiral fundamentally and structurally leaving behand those who are unprepared. Thousands of people are now meeting the challenges Futureproofing presents. You decide - keep up or give up. If you have heard Roy Lilley speak on Futureproofing you will want this book ...if you have not yet heard him read it first.

The Profumo Affair

Author : Vanessa Holburn
Publisher : Pen and Sword History
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2024-05-30
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781399062510

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The Profumo Affair by Vanessa Holburn Pdf

In the hot and steamy July of 1961, a hedonistic weekend at Lord Astor’s Buckinghamshire estate Cliveden set in motion a chain of events like no other. It was where John Profumo, Secretary of State for War, first decided he must bed the 19-year-old Christine Keeler, a model and showgirl. But that weekend Keeler headed home to London with diplomat, and known Russian spy, Yevgeny Ivanov instead. Undeterred, Profumo quickly started dating Keeler, and begun to mix in her circle, which included society osteopath Stephen Ward and fellow model Mandy Rice-Davies. But alongside flirting with the decadent upper classes, Ward and Keeler also enjoyed the seedier side of city life, becoming entangled with violent petty criminals. The heady mix of sex and espionage soon exploded. With Profumo exposed as a fraud, the government was left scrabbling to protect its reputation. Had its war minister been duped by the Soviets into careless pillow talk instigated by a Communist sympathiser? Both Ward and Keeler would become victims of the subsequent witch hunt. Ward would die by suicide and Keeler was branded a whore and liar. The Profumo Affair was the scandal that rocked the 60s. But how and why did a brief romance between a married MP and a young showgirl go on to shatter so many lives and bring down the government of Harold ‘Supermac’ Macmillan? Using the official Denning Report, recently released archival material and the accounts of those involved, Vanessa Holburn pieces together this surprisingly relatable story and asks; what really happened behind the headlines?

The Kremlin's Nuclear Sword

Author : Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher : Smithsonian Institution
Page : 286 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2014-05-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9781588344854

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The Kremlin's Nuclear Sword by Steven J. Zaloga Pdf

The prevailing Western view of Russia’s Cold War strategic nuclear weapons policy is that it resulted from a two-part interplay between the leaders of the Communist Party and the military. Steven J. Zaloga has found that a third contributor—the Russian defense industry—also played a vital role. Drawing from elusive Russian source material and interviews with many proud Russian and Ukrainian engineers, Zaloga presents a definitive account of Russia’s strategic forces, who built them, and why. The book is the first in English to refer to the weapons by their actual Soviet names, providing the bedrock for future works. Helpful appendices list U.S., NATO, and other designations, and the illustrations provide clear visual references.

Atomic Audit

Author : Stephen I. Schwartz
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 750 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2011-12-01
Category : History
ISBN : 081572294X

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Atomic Audit by Stephen I. Schwartz Pdf

Since 1945, the United States has manufactured and deployed more than 70,000 nuclear weapons to deter and if necessary fight a nuclear war. Some observers believe the absence of a third world war confirms that these weapons were a prudent and cost-effective response to the uncertainty and fear surrounding the Soviet Union's military and political ambitions during the cold war. As early as 1950, nuclear weapons were considered relatively inexpensive— providing "a bigger bang for a buck"—and were thoroughly integrated into U.S. forces on that basis. Yet this assumption was never validated. Indeed, for more than fifty years scant attention has been paid to the enormous costs of this effort—more than $5 trillion thus far—and its short and long-term consequences for the nation. Based on four years of extensive research, Atomic Audit is the first book to document the comprehensive costs of U.S. nuclear weapons, assembling for the first time anywhere the actual and estimated expenditures for the program since its creation in 1940. The authors provide a unique perspective on U.S. nuclear policy and nuclear weapons, tracking their development from the Manhattan Project of World War II to the present day and assessing each aspect of the program, including research, development, testing, and production; deployment; command, control, communications, and intelligence; and defensive measures. They also examine the costs of dismantling nuclear weapons, the management and disposal of large quantities of toxic and radioactive wastes left over from their production, compensation for persons harmed by nuclear weapons activities, nuclear secrecy, and the economic implications of nuclear deterrence. Utilizing archival and newly declassified government documents and data, this richly documented book demonstrates how a variety of factors—the open-ended nature of nuclear deterrence, faulty assumptions about the cost-effectiveness of nuclear weapons, regular misrepresentati

With Stars in Their Eyes

Author : Jim Bernard Breckinridge,Alec M. Pridgeon
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 533 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2022
Category : Astronomers
ISBN : 9780190915674

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With Stars in Their Eyes by Jim Bernard Breckinridge,Alec M. Pridgeon Pdf

"Aden B. Meinel and wife Marjorie P. Meinel stood at the confluence of several overarching technological developments of the 20th century: postwar aerial surveillance by spy planes and satellites, solar energy, the evolution of telescope design, interdisciplinary optics, and photonics. In 1945 he was a Navy Ensign ordered to find the secret tunnels in Nazi Germany where the V-2 rockets menacing Great Britain and Belgium were being manufactured. After receiving both his B.A. degree and Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley within three years, Aden was invited to join the scientific staff at Yerkes Observatory/University of Chicago. While there he was selected by the National Science Foundation to manage the development of a new national observatory on Kitt Peak, Arizona, and served as its first Director. In the early 1960s he founded the Optical Sciences Center at the University of Arizona, which later metamorphosed into the College of Optical Sciences with the doctoral program in interdisciplinary optics. It was here that he also designed the first Multiple Mirror Telescope and with wife Marjorie pioneered the feasibility of solar energy power on a commercial scale. Aden's knowledge and expertise in optics made him invaluable in research on cameras for spy satellites and spy planes overflying the Soviet Union and Southeast Asia. After retirement the Meinels worked for NASA/JPL on the precursor of the James Webb Space Telescope and on the exoplanet program. They also served on the team that corrected spherical aberration in the Hubble Space Telescope"--