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Strath Committee
The Strath Committee, chaired by Sir William Strath, was set up by the British Ministry of Defence to consider the short- and long-term effects of a hydrogen bomb attack on the United Kingdom. The committee began its work in November 1954, and submitted a preliminary report to Defence Minister Harold Macmillan a month later. The final report was issued in March 1955; while it was officially known as "The Defence Implications of Fall-Out from a Hydrogen Bomb: Report by a Group of Officials", the report is normally cited as the Strath Report instead. Consisting of thirty-two pages plus appendices, the report established that, if war broke out, the Soviet Union would seek to "eliminate ritainfrom the contest" due to the country possessing a nuclear arsenal as well as hosting American nuclear weapons. The report sought to estimate the degree of damage and casualties that would be suffered from a "limited" attack of ten hydrogen bombs, each with a 10 megaton payload, dropped on British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Strath
Sir William Strath, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, KCB (16 November 1906 – 8 May 1975) was a Scottish civil servant and industrialist. Educated at Girvan Academy, Girvan High School and the University of Glasgow, he entered the civil service in 1929 as an official in the Inland Revenue; he moved to the Air Ministry in 1938 and then the Ministry of Aircraft Production in 1940. His post-war career included spells at the Ministry of Supply (UK), Ministry of Supply and HM Treasury. In 1954, as head of the Cabinet Office's central war plans secretariat, he was charged with chairing a committee on the impact of a hydrogen bomb attack on Britain; the "Strath Committee" would find that even a limited attack of ten bombs would have dire consequences for the country. He sat on the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, UK Atomic Energy Authority from 1955 to 1959 and then served as Permanent secretary, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Supply in 1959 and the Ministry of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet Union, it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country by area, extending across Time in Russia, eleven time zones and sharing Geography of the Soviet Union#Borders and neighbors, borders with twelve countries, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, third-most populous country. An overall successor to the Russian Empire, it was nominally organized as a federal union of Republics of the Soviet Union, national republics, the largest and most populous of which was the Russian SFSR. In practice, Government of the Soviet Union, its government and Economy of the Soviet Union, economy were Soviet-type economic planning, highly centralized. As a one-party state go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1955 In The United Kingdom
Events from the year 1955 in the United Kingdom. The year is marked by changes of leadership for both principal political parties. Incumbents * Monarch of the United Kingdom, Monarch – Elizabeth II * Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister – Winston Churchill (Conservative Party (UK), Conservative) (until 6 April), Anthony Eden (Conservative Party (UK), Conservative) (starting 6 April) Events * 1 January – The UK's first atomic bomber unit, No. 138 Squadron RAF, is formed, flying Vickers Valiants from RAF Gaydon in Warwickshire. * 7 January – UK release of the Halas and Batchelor film animation of George Orwell's ''Animal Farm (1954 film), Animal Farm'' (completed April 1954), the first full-length British-made animated feature on general theatrical release, covertly funded by the CIA. * 11 January – 1955 RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearance: Two Royal Air Force Avro Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft flying from RAF St Eval in Cornwall disappear withou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Four-minute Warning
The four-minute warning was a public alert system conceived by the British Government during the Cold War and operated between 1953 and 1992. The name derived from the approximate length of time from the point at which a Soviet nuclear missile attack against the United Kingdom could be confirmed and the impact of those missiles on their targets. The warning system Basic details The warning would be initiated by the detection of inbound missiles and aircraft targeted at the United Kingdom. Early in the Cold War, Jodrell Bank was used to detect and track incoming missiles, while continuing to be used for astronomical research. Throughout the Cold War, there was a conflict between the Royal Air Force and the Home Office about who was in charge of the warning system. This was not for any practical or technical reason but more to do with who would be blamed if a false alarm were given or if an attack occurred without warning. By the 1980s, the warning was to be given on the ord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
