Swiss nuclear weapons program

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When nuclear weapons program in Switzerland from 1945 to 1988 there was a program to further the development and manufacture of atomic bombs for the Swiss army .

history

One month after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki , the Swiss National Defense Commission discussed in 1945 what an atomic bomb could do for the national defense of Switzerland. In 1946 the Federal Council set up the Study Commission for Atomic Energy (SKA). It should investigate the possibilities of civilian use of nuclear power. However, this commission was secretly instructed by Federal Councilor Karl Kobelt to push ahead with the «creation of a Swiss uranium bomb or other suitable means of war based on the principle of the use of atomic energy». In 1947 the Swiss parliament granted a loan of 18 million Swiss francs without knowing of Kobelt's military intentions and thus also of the Commission.

With Paul Scherrer , a renowned nuclear physicist was chairman of the SKA. He had good contacts with colleagues such as Werner Heisenberg , Lise Meitner and Otto Hahn . He was directly involved in the Matterhorn project for research into nuclear fusion. With his specialist knowledge and contacts, he was therefore an important pillar of the Swiss nuclear weapons program. By 1955, the SKA had managed to procure 10 tons of uranium, half of which was stored as military war reserves.

In July 1958, the Federal Council issued a declaration of principle in which the following was recorded:

“In accordance with our centuries-old tradition of military strength, the Federal Council is of the opinion that the army must be given the most effective weapons in order to preserve independence and protect our neutrality. This includes nuclear weapons. "

The Federal Council itself understood this statement, as one could see from a diplomatic memorandum, to mean that the procurement of nuclear weapons would only be necessary if other countries in addition to the previous three nuclear powers (USA, Great Britain, Soviet Union) were to break this monopoly. However, it should be clearly demonstrated that Switzerland was on the threshold of producing nuclear weapons. In particular, the German neighbors were watched with suspicion. It is assumed that in the event of a nuclear armament in the German armed forces, Switzerland would have taken the same step. In response to the Federal Council's declaration, a federal popular initiative was launched which called for a ban on nuclear weapons for Switzerland. The initiative was only accepted by a third of those who voted in 1962. With the rejection of the popular initiative “Right of the people to decide on the equipment of the Swiss army with nuclear weapons”, which followed in 1963, the decision on nuclear weapons to be subject to a mandatory referendum was also rejected.

In the spring of 1964 a working group of the Federal Military Department (EMD), which approved atomic bomb tests in Switzerland, presented a secret equipment plan for the introduction of the atomic bomb. In the first phase of the plan, “fifty sixty to one hundred KT aircraft bombs ” should be procured. In phase two, another 200 bombs were to be procured at a later date. In order to search for uranium in Switzerland, to promote the ultracentrifuges for uranium enrichment and nuclear weapon technology itself, and to finally clarify whether atom bomb tests could be carried out in Switzerland, the then Chief of Staff Jakob Annasohn applied to Federal Councilor Paul Chaudet, the head of the EMD To seek approval of the total budget of CHF 20 million from the Federal Council.

The application was submitted to the Federal Council on the same day that a decision was made on the additional loan of 576 million francs for the procurement of the Mirage III. The resulting Mirage affair led to a major setback in Switzerland's nuclear endeavors. The Federal Council granted Annasohn's request, but torpedoed its own decision by severely limited human resources. Even after this development, Paul Scherrer explained in a conversation with a Swiss military attaché in 1967 that Switzerland knew everything about the construction of the bomb and that after a development period of four years and an investment of one billion Swiss francs, an atom bomb could be built independently. With the conclusion of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in July 1968, efforts to develop Switzerland as a nuclear power also met with clear political headwinds from abroad for the first time. Because of this and as a result of the steadily growing domestic political pressure, Switzerland signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in November 1969. The treaty was not ratified until March 1977, however, after it became clear that non-party states were facing increasing political and economic pressures.

Only Federal Councilor Arnold Koller put an end to the efforts in November 1988 when he dissolved the SKA's successor, the Working Committee for Nuclear Issues. In 1995, Switzerland agreed to the unlimited extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which provides for a complete ban on nuclear tests and an efficient monitoring system. In 1996 there was also a commitment to a comprehensive nuclear test ban agreement.

technology

Reactors

Two reactors are often mentioned in connection with the Swiss nuclear weapons program. It has not been proven that the Lucens reactor in the canton of Vaud was used for military purposes. The possible military use of the reactor was both accepted and rejected in scientific papers.

However, the Diorit research reactor in Würenlingen , Canton Aargau , was demonstrably the location of uranium purchased for the nuclear weapons program.

Fissile material

Between 1953 and 1955, Switzerland procured around ten tons of uranium through a secret agreement from England and the Belgian Congo . 5,000 kilograms of this were allocated to the Diorit research reactor in Würenlingen. 3,238 kilograms of uranium and 2,283 kilograms of uranium oxide were stored as “war reserves” in a depot in Wimmis .

From 1960 to 1973, plutonium was incubated in the “Diorit” research reactor. In France and Belgium this was enriched to a 239 Pu share of 92% and then sent back to Switzerland. 20 kg of the powdered plutonium were then stored in vaults on the site of what is now the Paul Scherrer Institute. In February 2016, the transport of this plutonium, which had been in federal property since the 1960s, to the USA was announced.

Weapon Bearer Mirage III

In addition to the French Mirage III -Dassault, the Swedish Saab J-35 Draken and the American starfighter were also evaluated as weapon carriers . In November 1960 the selection was limited to the Saab J-35 Draken and the Mirage III.

In December 1960 the Federal Council made a decision in favor of the Mirage III. In 1961 the councils approved the procurement credit of CHF 871 million for 100 Mirage IIIS. In 1962, a single Mirage IIIC was taken over from the French Air Force for testing weapons and in 1964 Switzerland received two two-seater Mirage IIIBS for pilot training.

After the Mirage affair occurred due to massive miscalculations, especially in connection with the specialized equipment as a nuclear weapon carrier, the number of Mirage III aircraft to be procured was reduced to 57 aircraft.

  • Mirage III

  • Mirage III RS R-2115

  • Mirage III S during a JATO take-off in front of the tower of the Payerne military airfield

  • Mirage IIIRS “White” in the Buochs ​​brake house

Deployment concept

In addition to the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons, preventive or retaliatory strikes against possible aggressors were also mentioned. Colonel Divisionaire Etienne Primault once remarked that an aircraft like the Mirage III would have been able to carry atomic bombs as far as Moscow , which would also make use in enemy territory possible. It was planned to be even more explosive, however, to use the weapons on Swiss soil in the event of a possible invasion of Switzerland by an aggressor.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g nuclear power Switzerland. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved December 17, 2012 .
  2. ↑ a b c d The dream of the Swiss atomic bomb
  3. ↑ Resolution minutes of the Federal Council July 1958 in the Dodis database of Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland
  4. ↑ a b c d e The sunk atomic bomb. In: The weekly newspaper. Retrieved December 17, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Marco Jorio : Nuclear weapons. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . October 6, 2011 , accessed December 17, 2012 .
  6. ↑ 20 kilograms of Swiss plutonium transferred to the USA. In: Swiss radio and television. janes.com, February 26, 2016, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  7. ^ Transport of dissolved plutonium stores of the federal government to the USA has taken place
  8. ↑ Mirages for Switzerland. In: mirage-buochs.ch. Retrieved December 17, 2012 .
  9. ↑ If necessary also against the own population. In: tagesanzeiger.ch. Retrieved December 17, 2012 .