Britain was third in the race for nuclear weapons. Unlike the much more famous process of development in the USA or USSR, Britain's programme and reasons for developing such weapons is barely understood. So how and why did Britain develop them? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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We all know how the US, via the Manhattan Project, came to create the world's first nuclear weapons, and how the USSR, via espionage and its own program of reverse engineering, managed to build its own bomb 4 years later.

But the third nation to create an atomic weapon was Britain, and something not often discussed is the means in which it achieved this.

How did Britain get hold of nuclear weapons and why did it feel the need to have them?

So, Britain was 1 of the first nations to research the feasibility of nuclear weapons and had its own independent weapons program called the Tube Alloys Program.

When the United States joined World War II, Britain agreed to give it all of the information it had gathered on developing nuclear weapons.

In 1943, both the US and UK agreed to share all knowledge concerning the creation of atomic weapons, and as such you'd naturally assume that Britain would also have access to all of the data and know-how from the Manhattan Project, but fun fact, no.

You see, the US government, after it became clear that atomic weapons were feasible, wanted to maintain a monopoly on these for as long as possible.

The Brits took this news poorly and saw it as a bit of a betrayal, whereas for the US, it was just politics.

Whilst the 2 were still allies, there were some concerns that Britain, in order to maintain its crumbling empire, may consider pursuing an independent foreign policy from the US.

And adding nuclear weapons to that mix was a no-no.

So when the US cut off British access In 1946, Britain was run by Clement Attlee, whom the US government assumed would adopt a semi-pacifist foreign policy, and given the state of Britain's finances wouldn't pursue the creation of nuclear weapons.

You see, Attlee was a firm pragmatist when it came to foreign policy, and he knew that if Britain was to maintain any international relevance whatsoever, it needed its own nuclear arsenal.

Attlee was also concerned that the US would return to its previous position of isolationism and just leave Europe to it.

And so, in 1947, Attlee authorised the creation of a nuclear programme at very considerable cost to the country.

The project, codenamed High Explosive Research to really throw off anyone looking for a secret nuclear program, was centred in Aldershot, and it only took 5 years to build its first nuclear weapon.

And it was done so quickly because British scientists had already worked on the Manhattan Project, and so it was just a case of continuing their research to its logical conclusion.

The US also did little to dissuade Britain from building nukes because Britain had a trump card.

It controlled most of the world's uranium supply at this point and had agreed to share it with the US.

That said, the Americans didn't share much information with the UK during the development of its weapons programme.

And a lot of this came from the fact that there were numerous incidents of British scientists being Soviet spies and so obviously the US didn't wish to share any secrets.

Originally, Britain had hoped to beat the USSR to the punch, but when the Soviets tested their own weapon in 1949, it was seen as a monumental embarrassment.

So, having developed a weapon, the next issue was where it was to be tested.

As any map will tell you, Britain is not exactly a spacious place and 1 which is densely populated.

And so, the British government looked to its imperial territories for testing and settled on Australia.

Now you might be wondering why Australia agreed to be nuked, and there are several reasons.

The first is that Australia was a colony, and colonies don't generally get opinions on things that affect them.

And the second reason is that Britain promised to aid Australia in the creation of civilian nuclear power in return.

The first test, Operation Hurricane, was carried out in 1952 and it was a success.

By 1955, Britain's nuclear deterrent was fully operational, with roughly 15 bombs at its disposal.

3 years later, the US allowed for Britain to collaborate on nuclear weapons again, and Britain was firmly established as the world's third nuclear power.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching with a special thanks to my patrons James Bizonette Sam Kelly Moneymaker The Pastry Section Danny Maloney Mo Marvin Casale Rob Waterhouse James Castaneda, Jordan Longley, Spinning3plates, Gustav Swan, Jerry Lambdin, Rashid Ali, Marcus Arsner, Izzy, Maggie Pakskowski, Kooling Castleman, David Silverman, Copper Tone, Anthony Beckett, Matthew Shipley, Lexi Schwinn, Robert Wetzel, Sky Chappell, Winston Cawood, Aaron the White, Spencer Lightfoot and Fobo Jern.


Speaker 0: We all know how the US, via the Manhattan Project, came to create the world's first nuclear weapons, and how the USSR, via espionage and its own program of reverse engineering, managed to build its own bomb 4 years later. But the third nation to create an atomic weapon was Britain, and something not often discussed is the means in which it achieved this. So how did it? How did Britain get hold of nuclear weapons and why did it feel the need to have them? So, Britain was 1 of the first nations to research the feasibility of nuclear weapons and had its own independent weapons program called the Tube Alloys Program.

When the United States joined World War II, Britain agreed to give it all of the information it had gathered on developing nuclear weapons. In 1943, both the US and UK agreed to share all knowledge concerning the creation of atomic weapons, and as such you'd naturally assume that Britain would also have access to all of the data and know-how from the Manhattan Project, but fun fact, no. You see, the US government, after it became clear that atomic weapons were feasible, wanted to maintain a monopoly on these for as long as possible. The Brits took this news poorly and saw it as a bit of a betrayal, whereas for the US, it was just politics. Whilst the 2 were still allies, there were some concerns that Britain, in order to maintain its crumbling empire, may consider pursuing an independent foreign policy from the US.

And adding nuclear weapons to that mix was a no-no. So when the US cut off British access In 1946, Britain was run by Clement Attlee, whom the US government assumed would adopt a semi-pacifist foreign policy, and given the state of Britain's finances wouldn't pursue the creation of nuclear weapons. But they were wrong. You see, Attlee was a firm pragmatist when it came to foreign policy, and he knew that if Britain was to maintain any international relevance whatsoever, it needed its own nuclear arsenal. Attlee was also concerned that the US would return to its previous position of isolationism and just leave Europe to it.

And so, in 1947, Attlee authorised the creation of a nuclear programme at very considerable cost to the country. The project, codenamed High Explosive Research to really throw off anyone looking for a secret nuclear program, was centred in Aldershot, and it only took 5 years to build its first nuclear weapon. And it was done so quickly because British scientists had already worked on the Manhattan Project, and so it was just a case of continuing their research to its logical conclusion. The US also did little to dissuade Britain from building nukes because Britain had a trump card. It controlled most of the world's uranium supply at this point and had agreed to share it with the US.

That said, the Americans didn't share much information with the UK during the development of its weapons programme. And a lot of this came from the fact that there were numerous incidents of British scientists being Soviet spies and so obviously the US didn't wish to share any secrets. Originally, Britain had hoped to beat the USSR to the punch, but when the Soviets tested their own weapon in 1949, it was seen as a monumental embarrassment. So, having developed a weapon, the next issue was where it was to be tested. As any map will tell you, Britain is not exactly a spacious place and 1 which is densely populated.

And so, the British government looked to its imperial territories for testing and settled on Australia. Now you might be wondering why Australia agreed to be nuked, and there are several reasons. The first is that Australia was a colony, and colonies don't generally get opinions on things that affect them. And the second reason is that Britain promised to aid Australia in the creation of civilian nuclear power in return. The first test, Operation Hurricane, was carried out in 1952 and it was a success.

By 1955, Britain's nuclear deterrent was fully operational, with roughly 15 bombs at its disposal. 3 years later, the US allowed for Britain to collaborate on nuclear weapons again, and Britain was firmly established as the world's third nuclear power. I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching with a special thanks to my patrons James Bizonette Sam Kelly Moneymaker The Pastry Section Danny Maloney Mo Marvin Casale Rob Waterhouse James Castaneda, Jordan Longley, Spinning3plates, Gustav Swan, Jerry Lambdin, Rashid Ali, Marcus Arsner, Izzy, Maggie Pakskowski, Kooling Castleman, David Silverman, Copper Tone, Anthony Beckett, Matthew Shipley, Lexi Schwinn, Robert Wetzel, Sky Chappell, Winston Cawood, Aaron the White, Spencer Lightfoot and Fobo Jern.

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Why did Britain Build Nuclear Weapons? (Short Animated Documentary)