The Official History of the UK Strategic Nuclear Deterrent

Volume I: From the V-Bomber Era to the Arrival of Polaris, 1945-1964

Matthew Jones

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781351755399
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Volume I of The Official History of the UK Strategic Nuclear Deterrent provides an authoritative and in-depth examination of the British government's strategic nuclear policy from 1945 to 1964.

Written with full access to the UK documentary record, this volume examines how British governments after 1945 tried to build and then maintain an independent, nationally controlled strategic nuclear capability, and the debates this provoked in official circles. Against a background of evolving British ideas about deterrence during the Cold War, it focuses on the strategic, political and diplomatic considerations that compelled governments, in the face of ever-increasing pressures on the defence budget, to persist in their efforts to develop nuclear weapons and to deploy a credible nuclear force, as the age of the manned bomber gave way to the ballistic missile. Particular attention is given to controversies over the portion of the defence budget devoted to the deterrent programme, the effects of the restoration of Anglo-American nuclear collaboration after 1958, increasing reliance on the United States for nuclear delivery systems, the negotiations that led to the Nassau Agreement of 1962 and the supply of Polaris, and discussions within the Western Alliance over the control of nuclear forces. By the time of the October 1964 election, when this volume concludes, previous dismissal of the prospects for successful ballistic missile defence were giving way to growing doubts over the long-term effectiveness of the Polaris system in its role as an independent deterrent, several years before it was due to enter service with the Royal Navy.

This book will be of much interest to students of British politics, Cold War history, nuclear proliferation and international relations.

Abbreviations for Volume I

ABM	Anti-Ballistic Missile
ACSA(N)	Assistant Chief Scientific Adviser (Nuclear)
AEA	Atomic Energy Authority
AEC	Atomic Energy Commission
ARPA	Advanced Research Projects Agency
AWRE	Atomic Weapons Research Establishment
BNDSG	British Nuclear Deterrent Study Group
CAS	Chief of the Air Staff
CDS	Chief of the Defence Staff
CEA	Commissariat a l’energie atomique
CENTO	Central Treaty Organization
CGWL	Controller of Guided Weapons and Electronics (Ministry of Supply)
CIA	Central Intelligence Agency
CIGS	Chief of the Imperial General Staff
CNS	Chief of the Naval Staff
COS	Chiefs of Staff
CPE	Chief Polaris Executive
CSA	Chief Scientific Adviser
DAWD	Director of Atomic Warhead Development (Ministry of Supply)
DDRE	Director of Defense Research and Engineering (US Department of Defense)
DOPC	Defence and Overseas Policy Committee
DRPC	Defence Research Policy Committee
EASAMS	Elliot Automation Space and Advanced Military Systems
EEC	European Economic Community
EFTA	European Free Trade Area
FO	Foreign Office
HMG	Her Majesty’s Government
ICBM	Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
IRBM	Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile
JCAE	Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy
JCS	Joint Chiefs of Staff
JIB	Joint Intelligence Bureau
JIC	Joint Intelligence Committee
JIGSAW	Joint Inter-services Group for the Study of All-Out War
JOWOG	Joint Working Group
JPS	Joint Planning Staff
JRSWG	Joint Re-entry System Working Group
JSTG	Joint Steering Task Group
LMSC	Lockheed Missiles and Space Company
MDA	Mutual Defence Agreement
MLF	Multilateral Force
MoA	Ministry of Aviation
MoD	Ministry of Defence
MoS	Ministry of Supply
MRBM	Medium Range Ballistic Missile
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NIE	National Intelligence Estimate
NRDC	Nuclear Requirements ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations for Volume I
• 1 The making of a deterrent force, August 1945–November 1957
• 2 The rise of ballistic missile defence
• 3 In the shadow of Sputnik: the nuclear sufficiency debate and the restoration of Anglo-American nuclear collaboration, March 1957–February 1959
• 4 Breaking the impasse? Polaris and future deterrent policy, February 1959–March 1960
• 5 The future nuclear programme and the cancellation of Blue Streak, December 1959–April 1960
• 6 Skybolt, Polaris and the control of Western nuclear forces, March 1960–May 1961
• 7 An arms race intensifies: ABM defence, nuclear testing and the criteria of deterrence, January 1961–January 1962
• 8 Revising the criteria, January–May 1962
• 9 The prelude to Nassau, June–December 1962
• 10 Securing Polaris: the Nassau negotiations, December 1962–January 1963
• 11 The path to the Polaris sales agreement, January–April 1963
• 12 The origins of a Polaris improvement programme: HR 169 and the emergence of the Moscow ABM system
• 13 The MLF, the size of the Polaris force and the approach of the general election, May 1963–October 1964
• Index