Quote:
Originally Posted by Oberon
To be honest...I do ponder if Soviet and American generals and politicians would have been so reluctant to use a nuclear weapon in action had they not used two on Japan already and seen the destruction that they caused.
The two bombs on Japan could well have prevented several being used on China during the Korean war. After all, no-one really believes in the destructive force of something until they witness it for themselves in action.  |
A most interesting comment. There was consideration for the US to "drop" the first nuclear weapon on an island as a show of capability. This was not adopted for several reasons, both logical and emotional.
1. There was not enough 235U for a second uranium device
2. Implosion construction was still pretty new and uncertain. This is why the PU device was equipped with contact single point ignition fuses as a back up so that there would be "some" explosion, and the device would be destroyed to prevent examination.
3. It would be a lot easier to over look a "dud" if it were dropped in combat, then if it were part of an advertised and witnessed "demonstration".
But your comment is most interesting to consider. Did we, in fact, destroy two cities in order to save the world? hmmmm