Britain kept nuclear weapons in Singapore during cold war?
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Britain Kept Secret Nuclear
Weapons In Singapore & Cyprus
By Tom Rhodes
Britain kept nuclear weapons at bases in Cyprus and Singapore during the cold war without telling the governments of the two countries, according to a study to be published this week.
Tactical nuclear weapons were deployed at RAF Akrotiri in southern Cyprus as early as 1960. Two years later Harold Macmillan, then prime minister, personally authorised the storage of nuclear weapons at RAF Tengah in Singapore.
"There are a number of people in those countries who will be none too thrilled to discover what the British government was up to at the time," said Stephen Schwartz, publisher of the Chicago-based Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, which will publish the report.
"If this information had been available to the public in Cyprus and Singapore, I don't think these operations would ever have been carried out."
While the Foreign Office told its diplomats of strategic deployments, neither Tunku Abdul Rahman, then prime minister of Malaysia (of which Singapore was part), nor Archbishop Makarios, the Cypriot leader, were party to Whitehall's decision to keep the weapons on their soil.
The account is based on recently declassified British government documents showing that America was not the only country to have taken the controversial and secretive measure of deploying its nuclear weapons abroad.
The documents not only describe various British deployments but also the lengths to which London went to keep its allies unaware of covert weapon movements.
In one declassified 1960 memorandum, an official in the Air Ministry insists that all those involved maintain their silence. "All possible measures should be taken in Cyprus to conceal the arrival and storage of nuclear bombs," wrote the official, "whether they be inert or drill or the real McCoy."
Deployment to the Mediterranean island was seen by military planners as an inexpensive contribution to the region in the event of nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the western allies.
As early as 1956 discussions had started about developing the British base at Akrotiri as a permanent home for Canberras, light aircraft that were able to drop nuclear bombs.
By 1960 part of the base had been prepared for 16 Red Beard tactical nuclear weapons. The following year permanent storage facilities for 32 of these weapons was opened nearby at Cape Gata.
Richard Moore, a historian of Britain's nuclear defences and author of the new study, said last week that by the end of 1962 facilities had been upgraded to handle heavier nuclear bombers. "We can assume that Britain had a full low-altitude nuclear bombing capability in Cyprus by that stage," said Moore.
Vulcan nuclear bombers remained on the island until 1975. Whitehall officials also advocated the deployment of nuclear weapons in the Far East, saying they would have to be used in the event of a war between China and the West or a war against Britain's regional allies such as Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand.
By 1960 the RAF was involved in nuclear planning for the region, drawing up targets and making plans to move 48 Red Beards to Tengah, an RAF base in Singapore, two years later. It was planned that Vulcans and Canberras would be based there. In 1960 a dummy Red Beard was flown for the first time by RAF transport aircraft to Singapore via Libya, Yemen and the Maldives.
The political problems inherent in moving nuclear weapons to the Far East were already clear. Duncan Sandys, minister of defence between 1957 and 1959, caused widespread controversy when he suggested nuclear weapons might be stored in Malaysia and Singapore.
In 1961 Lord Selkirk, British high commissioner to Singapore, advised that the presence even of dummy weapons in the region would be politically sensitive.
This did not prevent Macmillan from issuing his directive a year later, however, resulting in the deployment of Vulcans. The squadron at Tengah began low-altitude nuclear bombing exercises at the end of 1963 and remained in the region until 1970 - although it is still not known for how long it remained equipped with nuclear weapons.
From: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2000/12/31/stinwenws02015.html
Wonder if there's any truth to it... -
its true... but its like... SUPER old news and we have like... talked about it 2 or 3 times over the past year or so...
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how they transport those weapon into singapore?
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The only thing that matters , is whether the weapons are still kept in Singapore.
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I don't think so because currently Singapore is more closely allied to the US as compared to UK. Furthermore i seriously don't think the Singapore government will ever allow this to happen due to safety concerns.
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Anyway, i don't think even the ministers/mps knows about it,if its kept in Singapore.Originally posted by tankee1981:I don't think so because currently Singapore is more closely allied to the US as compared to UK. Furthermore i seriously don't think the Singapore government will ever allow this to happen due to safety concerns.
Other then the CDF,scientists,Defense minister , DPM , PM , SM , MM..
Nobody would know. -
Having a nuclear deterrent would safeguard's Singapore 's interests for centuries to come.
The armed forces can , In my honest opinion , slack a little. -
So if the nukes are still in Singapore, can we be considered a nuclear power?
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Don't get wet dreams. The nukes never belonged to us -- they were always Her Majesty's big stick. No one in the Singapore government or armed forces even knew at the time that they were here. They definitely went back to the UK when the British forces withdrew.
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But why kept it in SG?
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why? read the article then..
just like some western european countries could not be called 'nuclear powers' when the us stored nuclear warheads in them [for explicit use by us forces], same reason singapore couldnt be classed as a nuclear power.
the nuclear warheads wouldve been withdrawn long before the major pullout of forces in singapore.
even moreso because the type of operations that the british bomber forces planned for changed during the cold war, as well as regional / geopolicitical changes. -
The reasons why they were stored overseas are quite simple.
Firstly, it places them closer to the target (China), making a strike easier and more surprising.
Secondly, it allows a atomic bomber strike to come from multiple directions, making it harder for the target to defend against them. This was before ICBMs and SLBMs were perfected, against which there are no practical defences yet.
Lastly, it makes it harder for the enemy to destroy your nuclear weapons in a counterforce strike. It also made it possible for the UK to take revenge against the enemy even if it had been completely annihilated. This increases the deterrent value of the nuclear weapons.
The last reason is the problem. If the UK had gotten into a nuclear war with China, Singapore would have become a target for Chinese nuclear bombs. They would have nuked us in "self defence", hoping to catch the British nukes on the ground, never mind how many Singaporeans got in the way. This is why it is unethical to store nuclear weapons in other countries, especially without their knowledge or consent. In an all-out nuclear war, storage or staging grounds for nuclear weapons are counterforce targets. -
Hmmm I know a few potential nuclear bombs sail into Singapore every once in a while... Does that count in making us a nuclear power?
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If a Canberra is a light aircraft.. (Max Takeoff 54,950 lbs. 29,924 kg!!)Originally posted by ah_kwang:Britain Kept Secret Nuclear
Weapons In Singapore & Cyprus
By Tom Rhodes
Yahda yahda...
As early as 1956 discussions had started about developing the British base at Akrotiri as a permanent home for Canberras, light aircraft that were able to drop nuclear bombs.
Canberra is considered a light/medium bomber.. so sloppy..
(Off topic)
"...I don't know what's scarier: losing nuclear weapons or that it happens so often that there's actually a term for it. "
http://www.jahozafat.com/cgi-bin/mp3s.cgi?Broken_Arrow=term_for.mp3 -
If a Canberra is a light aircraft.. (Max Takeoff 54,950 lbs. 29,924 kg!!)Originally posted by ah_kwang:Britain Kept Secret Nuclear
Weapons In Singapore & Cyprus
By Tom Rhodes
Yahda yahda...
As early as 1956 discussions had started about developing the British base at Akrotiri as a permanent home for Canberras, light aircraft that were able to drop nuclear bombs.
Canberra is considered a light/medium bomber.. so sloppy.. -
double post
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LOL of course not.Originally posted by Shotgun:Hmmm I know a few potential nuclear bombs sail into Singapore every once in a while... Does that count in making us a nuclear power?
Canberra, in its original role, is a light/mdium bomber - lighter in class than say its heavier peers, the Valiant, Victor and Vulcan.
Americans are the most famous for losing their nuclear bombs [savannah, florence, palomares and greenland amongst several others, a total of maybe 20 nuclear warheads], but for others, esp. the ex-Soviets.. its a less clearer picture and perhaps that should be more worrying.
Broken Arrow
"A Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff term to identify and report an accident involving a nuclear weapon or warhead or nuclear component." (Broken Arrow is the worst case scenario.)
Bent Spear
"A Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff term used in the Department of Defense to identify and report a nuclear weapon significant incident involving a nuclear weapon or warhead, nuclear components, or vehicle when nuclear loaded."
Empty Quiver
"A reporting term to identify and report the seizure, theft, or loss of a U.S. nuclear weapon."
Faded Giant
"A reporting term to identify an event involving a nuclear reactor or radiological accident." -
very smart plan.. so when attack china and they launch them from here, china will think it's us and come find us.. lolOriginally posted by dkhoo:The reasons why they were stored overseas are quite simple.
Firstly, it places them closer to the target (China), making a strike easier and more surprising.