AHC: Nukes for everyone!

Conditions:

  • With a PoD of any point after July 16, 1945, make as many nations as possible by the present day nuclear-weapon powers.
  • No ASBs allowed, but nations may help others with their programs if they so wish.
 
First and foremost, make Operation Downfall occur rather than the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The nukes which hit Japan showed the world the horrors of nuclear weapons and was one of the factors that saved us from nuclear annihilation during the Cold War. Also, this may prevent any nuclear non-proliferation treaty from being considered. Maybe you can also get Trotsky in power in the USSR and *possibly* give nukes to revolutionary socialists in other countries (though I believe this will backfire horribly). These are just very broad but plausible thoughts.
 
First and foremost, make Operation Downfall occur rather than the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The nukes which hit Japan showed the world the horrors of nuclear weapons and was one of the factors that saved us from nuclear annihilation during the Cold War. Also, this may prevent any nuclear non-proliferation treaty from being considered. Maybe you can also get Trotsky in power in the USSR and *possibly* give nukes to revolutionary socialists in other countries (though I believe this will backfire horribly). These are just very broad but plausible thoughts.

Well, nuking of Hiroshima and Nagaski didn't stop other nations develope nukes so I doubt that Operation Downfall instead nuking helps spread nukes. It might make countires more willingful use them but nothing more.

- Sweden had plans to build nukes in 1950's. So they decide go forward instead aborting that.
- South Africa never abort its own nuclear program.
- Shah is not ever ousted and Iran develops its own nuke.
- If you manage to create United Arab Republics and keep that around it could develope nukes.
 
Switzerland would be one candidate to develop nuclear weapons as it had program OTL - perhaps with less powerful NATO?

Italy too would be a candidate, as well as Spain. Of South America Brazil and Argentina are naturally good candidates?

Japan would have money and skills, without US nuclear umbrella it might be a prime candidate?

How about the US turning isolationist as a POD?
 
"Nukes for Everyone!"

Why stop with countries? Corporations? Private individuals?

I'm reminded of an old favorite SF story, "The Cosmic Computer" by H. Beam Piper where on a planet that had once been a huge military base, ordinary folks could dig up old missiles and salvage the warheads :)
 
Switzerland would be one candidate to develop nuclear weapons as it had program OTL - perhaps with less powerful NATO?

Italy too would be a candidate, as well as Spain. Of South America Brazil and Argentina are naturally good candidates?

Japan would have money and skills, without US nuclear umbrella it might be a prime candidate?

How about the US turning isolationist as a POD?

Would former Axis powers be allowed possess nukes? And I doubt strongly that USA is going back to isolationism after WW2. At least not easily anymore.
 
Would former Axis powers be allowed possess nukes? And I doubt strongly that USA is going back to isolationism after WW2. At least not easily anymore.

Italy had a nuclear program in OTL, and by 1950's the Axis status was fairly irrelevant. As for "nukes for everyone" , it would require some radical POD :)
 
Forget Downfall, that would expose far more people to radiation effects through tactical use,.
Have a tactical strike seemingly work in Korea; suddenly everyone wants the new 'tactical problem solver'.
Implement the Multi-Lateral Force within NATO; Polaris on most major warships, diesel-electric ballistic missile boats, selling Polaris (and successors) to France (who stays within NATO), multi-national crewed SSBNs.
Kill the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
National and Multi-national projects, e.g. the joint Swedish/Swiss/Italian weapons and missile programme.
 
Australia seems like a plausible nuclear state - ISTR they actually had that in mind sometime in the 1960s, although that might just be rumour. But they have the industrial and scientific base to do that, the resources and space required (easily!), and a strategic situation where nukes might be seen as the ultimate guarantor of their security. Note that they maintained a long-range strike capability via the FB-111s until relatively recently.
 
This is a quite exotic and out of the field suggestion but could it have been possible for Congo to acquire nuclear weapons? They did have a small-scale nuclear energy program and if Mobutu had shown more interest towards it, he could have just started to throw more money in it. If more countries had nuclear weapons ITTL, it might have been also easier for the country to buy technology and expertice from elsewhere too.
 
This is a quite exotic and out of the field suggestion but could it have been possible for Congo to acquire nuclear weapons? They did have a small-scale nuclear energy program and if Mobutu had shown more interest towards it, he could have just started to throw more money in it. If more countries had nuclear weapons ITTL, it might have been also easier for the country to buy technology and expertice from elsewhere too.
Interesting. I don't know enough about Congo's nuclear situation, but I have to imagine South Africa would have had a few words about Congo gaining a nuclear capability.
 
This is a quite exotic and out of the field suggestion but could it have been possible for Congo to acquire nuclear weapons? They did have a small-scale nuclear energy program and if Mobutu had shown more interest towards it, he could have just started to throw more money in it. If more countries had nuclear weapons ITTL, it might have been also easier for the country to buy technology and expertice from elsewhere too.

Intresting but probably there should be more prosperous and stable Congo firstly. Perhaps someone another not so corrupt strongman instead Mobutu? Or try make Congo stable democracy.
 
One way to spread more nukes around is for Britain to develop its own dual-key nukes like the US did with NATO. That could get nukes into the hands of several countries that IOTL didn't get any whatsoever.
 
One way to spread more nukes around is for Britain to develop its own dual-key nukes like the US did with NATO. That could get nukes into the hands of several countries that IOTL didn't get any whatsoever.

Commonwealth dual-key -nukes with joint ANZAC-CAN-UK-SA nuclear program, perhaps with throwing India (India, no Pakistan) and Malaysia into mix?
 
How about the US turning isolationist as a POD?
I suspect an isolationist US that explicitly refused under any circumstances to use its nuclear arsenal to protect other western democracies might prompt a number of those nations to produce their own nuclear weapons.

That it turn might prompt other nations to acquire nuclear weapons.

If one or more nations decides to sell nuclear weapons as a means of making money then lots of nations might end up with nuclear weapons quite quickly.
 
Commonwealth dual-key -nukes with joint ANZAC-CAN-UK-SA nuclear program, perhaps with throwing India (India, no Pakistan) and Malaysia into mix?

Possible given the right circumstances (especially if nations such as Canada and Australia (which IMHO could probably build their own fision weapons if needed) decide they need access to thermonuclear weapons and don't want to develop them themselves.)
 
Top