Bombs for Peace
To justify their use, nuclear weapons were rebranded as a force for good.
In 1969, North Yorkshire was unknowingly under siege. The market towns of Pickering and Whitby faced a looming existential threat: a nuclear bomb. Due to be detonated in North York Moors National Park, roughly ten kilometres away, the bomb was expected to be larger than the one dropped on Nagasaki in 1945, resulting in a 25 kiloton explosion. Couched within this perilous scheme, however, were two further twists: firstly, that it had been initiated by the British government and secondly, that it was supposedly well intentioned. It was a bomb for ‘peaceful purposes’.
To continue reading this article you will need to purchase access to the online archive.
Buy Online Access Buy Print & Archive Subscription
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
