Nuclear Illusion, Nuclear Reality:Britain, the United States and Nuclear Weapons, 1958-64

This new history, based on extensive archive research, weaves together the political, military and technical histories of Britain's nuclear weapons programme under the Conservative governments of Harold Macmillan and Alex Douglas-Home. It contrasts Britain's perceived political decline and reliance on the United States with growth in available military nuclear capability. In summer 1958, around 50 hand-built atomic bombs were available in the UK, and just one fully successful British two-stage megaton thermonuclear device had been tested; by 1964, despite setbacks, Britain had hundreds of well-engineered nuclear weapons, a Well-exercised low-level bomber force, and advanced new warhead and weapons programmes underway. The book also presents new evidence and analysis on key political events of the period, including the Blue Streak cancellation and the Skybolt crisis. It should be read by anyone interested in the history and military technology of the cold war.

Richard Moore is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies at the University of Southampton, UK. He studied history and international relations at the University of Cambridge, and his PhD dissertation for the University of Hull was published as The Royal Navy and Nuclear Weapons (2001).