The Cold War Defense of the United States: Strategy, Weapon Systems and Operations

by John E Bronson

Overview

During the Cold War, as part of its defense strategy against the Soviet Union, the U.S. was forced to establish means of massive long-range attack in response to Soviet advancements in weaponry. These defenses detected and tracked manned bomber aircraft, hostile submarines and missiles launched from the other side of the world. This book shows how these defenses evolved from fledgling stop-gap measures into a complex fabric of interconnected combinations of high-tech equipment over 40 years. Maps illustrate the extent of the geographic coverage required for these warning and response systems and charts display the time frames and vast numbers of both people and equipment that made up these forces.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476635811
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	04/26/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Retired engineer John E Bronson lives in Bend, Oregon.
Retired engineer John E Bronson lives in Bend, Oregon.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Politics and Motivations
Changes on the World Scene and U.S. Actions 5 delete• deleteDetection and Response Forces 12
2. Defending Against Attack by Airplanes
Defending the U.S. from ­Long-Range Attack 21 delete• deleteThe First Radar Networks: Lashup and Permanent 22 delete• deleteInitial Fighter Aircraft Area Defenses 25 delete• Deploying ­Ground-Based Point Defenses 42 delete• deleteThe Pine Tree Line Radars 56 delete• delete
The DEW Line of Radars 59 delete• deleteCentralizing the Control of Radars, Fighters and Missiles 63
3. Defense Against Submarines
Finding Submarines at the End of World War II 88 delete• deleteNaval Fleet to Find Submarines 133 delete• deleteKeeping Up with the Soviets’ Improving Submarines 146 delete• deleteImproved Naval Fleet to Find Submarines 161
4. The U.S. Establishes Strategic Deterrence
History of Aerial Bombardment in U.S. Forces 165 delete• deleteBuilding SAC’s Global Bombardment Force 179 delete• deleteThe First ­Long-Range Missiles: Thor, Jupiter and Atlas 199 delete• deleteEstablishing Submarine Bases: Polaris, Poseidon and Trident 210 delete• delete
The Minutmen: Improved Continental Range Missiles 213
5. Sky Watching
Collecting the Information at a Single Site called NORAD 223 delete• deleteBallistic Missile Early Warning System 227 delete• deleteAnti-Missile Missiles: Nike Zeus or X 228 delete• delete
Deploying an ABM: Sentinel and Safeguard 231 delete• deleteTracking Space Objects 233 delete• deleteHow NORAD Is Watching 237
6. Results and Conclusions
A Tremendous Amount of Building 240 delete• deleteMany People Did Military Service in These Defenses 244 delete• deleteThe Fall of the Soviet Communist Threat 246 delete• deleteWhere Does That Leave Us? 247
Glossary
Historic Sites
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index