World War 2 New Weapons Technology

War, what is it good for? Absolutely something. In modern history, war has led to many of the most important technological advancements of all time. World War 1 was really the first war to rely not just on pure soldier on soldier combat, but also machines and technology*. WW1 showed that developing new technologies was just as important as training and growing an infantry population; this began the race to develop new weapon technology in order to get a step ahead of the enemy. The situation was much the same during World War 2, nations were flexing their power and ingenuity with the use of new weapons and other technology. In the years following World War 2, power vacuums existed across Europe and both Americans and Soviets wanted to take

During times of elevated tension, the ability to have nuclear weapons capable of activation on a minutes notice is a crucial part of the US’s deterrence strategy, ensuring both the attacking and defending parties would be completely annihilated upon a nuclear strike. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles(ICBMs) are missiles launched well past the earth’s atmosphere where the warhead payloads are then detached and fall back to earth at high speeds; unlike bombers carrying nuclear payloads, these ballistic missiles are virtually impossible to shoot down once the warhead detaches and begins its journey back towards earth.** The massive threat of ICBMs during the Cold War is believed by many to have sparked what we now know as the space race, when news broke that the russians would be able to launch satellites into orbit capable of gaining information on the Americans military proceedings, Dwight Eisenhower responded by forming a government funded civilian led agency to direct the US’ future space endeavors, known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Having already been beaten to the first ‘first’ by the Russians, the US had much higher aspirations, in 1961 John F. Kennedy asked his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, to figure out how to catch up, he was soon presented with two options to demonstrate the First World’s celestial prowess: establish a orbital space station/laboratory or put the first man on the moon. Less than a year later, JFK authorized a budget increase for NASA to hopefully land a man on the moon before 1970 as he felt a successful manned moon landing was farther in the future, which gave the Americans a fighting chance at being the first to achieve the ambitious feat.** During the 8 years following the decision, the Americans achieved numerous ‘firsts” and other technological accomplishments that eventually trickled down to the average consumer. An example of this being the integrated circuit, which was developed to shave off precious ounces of weight on spacecraft**, led to the the compression of computers, which made them more feasible for personal use, now one can find a toaster with a small computer and a touch screen. The advancement of cabin pressurization, creation of flight simulators, and the invention of wind tunnels all occurred as a result of the space race and made commercial flying a viable method of transportation. After Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and