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Overview
Overview presents articles and resources that provide a closer look
at key moments in the Cold War from leading scholars, journalists and
authors.
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Assault
Brigade 2506 and the Bay of Pigs -- When the men of Assault Brigade 2506 left the coast of Florida on the night of April 16, 1961, they thought they were sailing to wrest their homeland back from the grip of Castro's Red menace. Instead, they sailed into one of the most misunderstood and vilified chapters of American Cold War foreign policy.
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| Atomic
Airpower -- Just one aircraft in history carried this tail
marking showing the now-familiar symbol for radioactivity. Read
more about it and its contributions to the Cold War in this Military.com exclusive
look at attempts to build
atomic-powered aircraft during the Cold War. |
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Atoms
Explode -- This pictorial lets users browse photos of
atomic tests prior to 1963.
B-29
in Korea --
In spite of the daunting threat of enemy jet fighters, Boeing B-29s served throughout the Korean War.
Bay
of Pigs -- An obsession with 'plausible
deniability' doomed the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion from the outset.
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Bomb that Ended WWII -- "We started an approach [to Nagasaki], but Beahan couldn't
see the target area. Van Pelt, the navigator, was checking by radar to
make sure we had the right city . . . At the last few seconds, Beahan yelled into his mike, 'I've got a hole! I can see it! I can
see the target!'"
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Cold
War Documents -- Browse some of the most influential speeches,
treaties and agreements that shaped the Cold War
Cold War Gallery
-- Browse pictures documenting the American
Cold War experience. Contribute
your own.
Cold
War Resources -- A collection of research material and resources
exploring all aspects of the Cold War.
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| Defining
the Jet -- While jets were being developed as far back as the
late 1930s and throughout World War II, the Cold War accelerated jet aircraft development
without a shot being fired in the 1940s. Legends like Chuck Yeager
and John Glenn are just two of the many men who had the "right
stuff" when test pilots were first exploring the wonders of jet
flight. |
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Devotion
to the Chief -- President Harry S. Truman relied
heavily on Dean Acheson for his most significant foreign policy
achievements.
Francis
Gary Powers: One Man, Two Countries and the Cold War -- The
shootdown of Powers was one of the many examples of when the Cold War
turned hot.
Greatest
Battle Never Fought -- The invasion of the Japanese home
islands promised to be the largest and costliest amphibious assault in
history, but the atomic bomb reduced Operation Downfall to a footnote.
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Civil
Defense: More than 'Duck and Cover' -- For many Americans, civil
defense became a way of life during the Cold War. From in-home
fallout shelters to city-wide evacuation plans, civil defense became
part of the calculations behind the Cold War. This Military.com
exclusive looks at its rise and fall in America.
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Missile
Early Warning: Peeking over the Curtain -- While missiles,
nuclear warheads and long-range bombers are often the most talked about
features of the Cold War, the development of reconnaissance and
surveillance satellites played perhaps an even bigger part in the
outcome of the Cold War.
Missile
with a Man in it -- The breathtakingly sleek Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
was designed for a purpose that was too far ahead of its time.
Operation
Ivy Bells -- Off the Soviet coast, U.S. submarines maintained a
sensitive eavesdropping mission, only to be sold out by espionage.
Operation
Vittles -- More than fifty years ago, a massive airlift
into Berlin showed the Soviets that a post-WWII blockade would not work.
Run
Silent: The Birth of a Nuclear Navy -- In the years following World War II, the
U.S. Navy found itself with an aging fleet of diesel submarines ill equipped to deal with the new rules of a new type of war, the Cold War.
In secrecy and stealth the submarine became the sentinel and remained
vigilant for any rumbling of the Soviet bear.
Taking
the Atom Undersea -- Adm. Hyman Rickover fathered the nuclear navy, transforming an aging fleet of diesel WWII-era submarines into the force that brought new meaning to the old adage, "silent but deadly."
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| Thermonuclear
Legacy -- Since its only use in war 50 years
ago, the atomic bomb has had a far-reaching impact on the course of
military history and the global experience as whole. Beyond their
role in the Cold War, nuclear history has helped shape this
country. This Military.com exclusive takes a closer look at our
nuclear legacy as it relates to the American military experience - from
testing to top-secret weapons.
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Tibbets:
Paul
Tibbets, Enola Gay, and the Bomb
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The pilot of Enola Gay can claim many more credits than the mission to
Hiroshima. He led the first daylight raid against Nazi-occupied France, led the first American 100-aircraft raid against the Axis
powers, and pioneered the B-29 test project.
U2: Mayday for the U2
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After a Russian missile made "just one more" U.S. spy plane flight the last, American pilot Gary Powers found himself facing KGB interrogators in Moscow while Dwight Eisenhower faced possible embarrassment at home.
X-Jets:
Experimental
Bombers of the Cold War -- This pictorial looks at the good, the
bad and the ugly experiments in bomber design during the Cold War.
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