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

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.
/ histmattersyt
Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=4973164
Merch: teespring.com/stores/history-...
A special thanks to all of these Patrons below, without whom the show wouldn't be possible:
Southside Mitch
Franco La Bruna
Richard Wolfe
Ian Jensen
kevinh
Can’t Think Of A Name
David archaeologist
Tim Stumbaugh
אורי פרקש
Kevin Sanders
James Nile
Robert Brockway
Kevin Phoenix
Mickey Landen
Ian Smith
Brian Giordano
KNSTRKTVST
Chase Labiste
sharpie660
jdk
Brian Hamilton
Andreas Mosand
Connor Glaze
Rod D. Martin
Blah Blah Blah
Qi Xiao
D. Mahlik
Dexter_McAaron
Nathan Perlman
Paul Franche
Joseph Reinsch
Paul McGee
SirAlpaka
anon
Ainar Garipov
Curt Helmerich
Porkmeister
Juan Castillo
Wolf
Chris Fatta
Alexander Washofsky
Dragan
Joel Cromwell
Mantodea
Jack Mcbeth
Adam Stalter
John Bisges
Andrew Niedbala
John Garcia
Jeremy
Burt Clothier
Ryan Haber
Andrew Patane
Bernardo Santos
Scott O'Donnell
Riley davidson
Yick Chung
SkyEye
Chris Hall
Danny Anstess
Syagrius Beans
Jane Sumpter
William Hilton
Scott P
ScottishTrekkie
Tristan Kreller
Warren Rudkin
Heytun
Käs
Jack River
Justin Pearson
Mik Scheper
Perry Gagne
Chris Dolan
Robert Woodward
Tim Lane
Clay Carroll
Christopher Godfrey
Magdalena Reinberg-Leibel
Zachary Oertel
Vance Christiaanse
Joseph Kerckhoff
Phil Simmons
Henry Rabung
Super Bee 426
Joshua A Bishop
Kim Huett
Neil Jones
Joooooshhhhhh
Alen
Raymond He
Gregory Priebe
Michael Wagner
Joker 54
Vilelmus_veliki
Eddie
Richard W Quarles
Craig Cunningham
Chach
I'm Not In The Description
MrBanana
William Wold
Liam Gilleece
Ciege Engine
Alteredcorgi
Ellen Teapot
Mark Ploegstra
bas mensink
Matt Reed
Kinfe85
Blake Dryad
Anthony McCann
JAY ALAN EDELMAN
David Chaid
Jeffrey Schneider
Layne Nielsen
Kevin Stolz
Luke Robinson
Matthew O'Connor
Brian McKinley
Jack Nelson
James Bisonette Fan #1
Colm Byrne
Sethars
Canadian Pats
Haydn Noble
James
Thomas Wang
Spencer Smith
Chrisaztec
Colm Boyle
HelloAgainThere
Phillip Gathright
TooMuchWaterYouDie
Josh Cornelius
Arthur Hosey Jr.
Gerald Armstrong
Tailsdoll
Harley Raptopoulos
Matthew Hogan
SmythProductions
Björn Wittmann
Gabriel Lunde
Eóghan Ó'nia
Piotr Wojnowski
Dennis the Cat
Steve Bonds
StukaJi86
Dakota Brunell
Serius_Loyola
Alan Romero
Konstantin Bredyuk
Christine Purvis
Richard Manklow
João Santos
Richard Hartzell
Donald Weaver
Pierre Le Mouel
Bumble Jones
mohd
Peter Konieczny
Steve Noworyta
Seth Reeves
Mr Sandman
Imperial Pony
Ben L
Erik Carlsson

[@HistoryMatters]

Hi all. Just to correct myself. I used the term colony to describe Australia. It was actually a Dominion at this time which was a different status. I was just being flippant but I should be a bit more careful.

[@rajatsinghbhandari9549]

You forgot to mention that Australia wanted Brits to nuke them to beat the emus in the Great Emu War.

[@item6931]

No, it wasn't even a dominion at that point. It was an independent country at that time. Dominion status ended in 1942 (backdated to 1939). They cooperated because they wanted to. No wonder we have citizenship tests for people like you lol

[@ghost_curse]

@@rajatsinghbhandari9549 Emus are immune to nukes

[@johnmccnj]

[@alwaysdisputin9930]

@History Matters I'VE MADE SUBTITLES FOR 30 OF YOUR VIDEOS. *Please can you add them* because YT have a new policy that *only you* can add subtitles. The audience can't add subtitles any more. I could email or post them under each video?

[@adrielsebastian5216]

A nuclear weapons programme codenamed "High Explosive Research" is the most British thing ever

[@jakehughes6087]

Lol

[@MausOfTheHouse]

After a town called "Little arseington"

[@KingMatthewXV]

No it seems American

[@elias_xp95]

@@KingMatthewXV The American one would be Big Boom Shroom Oorah

[@aleksandarvil5718]

**LAUGHS IN BRITISH** 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@jakestriker3251]

The Soviets had better access to the Manhattan project than the brits lol

[@Red_Pee]

Kek’d

[@itrthho]

They had great spies

[@attiepollard7847]

I still want to know why the US didn't put a bullet in Theodore Hall head for selling nuclear secrets to the Russians?

[@attiepollard7847]

@Jason Tempel you want to get rid of nuclear waste? Then let's build the technology to shoot it into the sun

[@Ziggurath76]

@Jason Tempel The amount of residue from the nuclear tests that you eat or breathe is incredibly small and poses no threat to your well being. You are in much higher danger from the natural radon gas that seeps through the soil into your house, but you don't feel so concerned about that, do you?

[@Musikur]

Fun fact, America also pulled this "let's share our notes, thanks, actually no you can't see ours now" business on supersonic flight and rockets as well.

[@Jasontvnd9]

Backfired massively when brits created the Gloster Meteor and ended up selling turbofan technology to the soviets.

[@samuelhutchinson2137]

@@Jasontvnd9 yep very true

[@TimRuffle]

There was an interesting documentary about the supersonic flight projects on Channel 4 I think which interviewed many of the people involved including at least one fellow from Bell. As you say the US completely reneged on an agreement to share information after Bell's team visited Miles with some BS about national security which, presumably, they'd forgotten about until then. There was a different perspective hinted at by the Bell chap who said they returned from Britain feeling quite glum. "We've got good news and bad news" they said, "The good news is that we got a hell of a lot from the British- data, test results, drawings..." "Great- What's the bad news" they were asked. "The bad news is that they had all this information because they're so far ahead of us. The only way they're not going to beat us is if the project is cancelled." Is seems likely that Bell simply didn't have anything worth showing and may have been a bit embarrassed about it. Of course the Miles M52 project was cancelled in early '46 with prototypes under construction...

[@jwadaow]

@@TimRuffle That was a devastating decision that could easily have been the result of political pressure from Washington.

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

You can’t blame them as the UK was full of Soviet spies.

[@bobing1752]

0:03 lol I just noticed that when the bomb explodes, the guy without sunglasses becomes blind. Funny detail

[@frut_jooos]

Lmao

[@H.R.King.]

Thanks for pointing it out

[@Marylandbrony]

I thought he just became little orphan Annie.

[@morganreading1127]

Good spot

[@stevemc01]

"Why has everything gone white...?"

[@mbogucki1]

So this raises the question; How and Why did France build Nuclear Weapons?

[@orpheonkatakrosmortarchoft4332]

Mostly because De Gaulle didn't trust the US and the UK to actually defend Europe if the Soviets tried something.

[@MausOfTheHouse]

Mostly because the Brits beat them to it.

[@Cailus3542]

Because...er...well, why not?

[@jascrandom9855]

Their wounded national ego wouldn't allow them to fall behind the Brits, Amaricans and the Soviets.

[@llewynwrynn6909]

They surrendered... Their humanity.

[@Eboreg2]

UK: "Hey, Australia, can we nuke one of your unpopulated areas?" Australia: "Anything to kill the spiders."

[@megaangelic]

It just made them bigger

[@brandonlyon730]

I heard they have a bigger problem with Rabbits then Spiders.

[@Onio_]

@@brandonlyon730 That's true, rabbits are considered a pest here as they tend to ruin the flora. And spread diseases of course.

[@namelastname796]

Yeah... the areas they nuked weren’t unpopulated. Just weren’t white.

[@vettman762]

...and sadly killed the indigenous human population, thanks Britain

[@ImperialJustinian]

You missed the best part; At a small committee meeting in october 1946 on whether or not to go ahead with creating a nuclear bomb, they were about to decide against it on grounds of cost when Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary, arrived late from a meeting with the US Secretary of State and declared that they needed it and "We've got to have the bloody Union Jack flying on top of it". Apparently he did not appreciate how the Secretary of State talked to him.

[@LaKravenStudios]

You missed something important (in my opinion) The reason the U.S. resumed collaboration with us (the British) in respect of nuclear weapons development was to do with the Hydrogen bomb. See, early nukes were fairly primitive (despite their destruction) and yielded only a small percentage of their energy release (this destructive) potential. The U.S. developed and successfully tested a high yield (megaton) hydrogen bomb, as did the Soviets. We (the UK) however, couldn’t get the implosion trigger to function properly as quickly as was necessary to negotiate the nuclear agenda with the Americans, and so we basically faked it. We detonated a very large, very dirty conventional (low yield) nuclear weapon, such that it would measure an explosive force of around one megaton. When this was brought up with the Americans, they insisted on reviewing the designs for our Hydrogen bomb, and only let the UK back in to the nuclear agenda because, despite cheating the results, our science was indeed sound and stood up to academic scrutiny. Enjoy knowing even more 🙏

[@owensmith7530]

Except the Americans weren't fooled and realised we'd detonated a very large fission bomb. Only once Britain had actually demonstrated a working H-bomb did the Americans collaborate with us again. Look up the full history of the Grapple and Grapple X tests.

[@davidhealy4534]

Wrong. The U.S. mutual agreement with the U.K. was started in 1958, after Grapple Y test(2 stage weapon with a 3 megaton yield)

[@alanpennie]

They respected the hustle, as was only reasonable.

[@KyleMcNicol]

Didn’t the grapple tests yield upwards of 3 megatons?

[@Nalothisal]

It also lead to the near Level 7 event in Britain known as Windscale. Fortunately a smart lad had the bright idea to stop the reactor fire by shutting the fans off. And before anyone asks, the Brits at Windscale built two reactors that were air-cooled with giant fans. You can probably see why this is a very bad idea.

[@FourOf92000]

"Why did Britain build nuclear weapons?" you can come up with a faster way to boil water for tea I'd love to hear it

[@SirZanZa]

Truly is the holy grail to us Brits

[@monkeydetonation]

Despite what the press will tell you "Trident" is really just a massive kettle

[@DotmatrixHistory]

America: Uses a nuclear reactor to generate electricity for thousands Britain: Uses a nuclear reactor to boil the kettle

[@electricpizza5774]

_Drinks tea_ Why is my tongue glowing?

[@bahmet6928]

Fun fact: turks drink more tea then british people Because its tradition to drink tea after eating to chat or just to enjoy the place you are staying at

[@bananawaltz8807]

The reason why Britain was only 3rd to nuclear bombs was because James Bisonette cut funding in favor of this channel’s Patreon.

[@rustyyy1k]

You had me worried for a second

[@felipevillalba9311]

@Humanity Galatica 3:19

[@peterstickney7608]

The funding was there, they had the initial designs from before the information cutoff - what took so long was getting the thing to leak oil.

[@AbrahamLincoln4]

Well, you're the senate

[@RobertJRoman]

You mean Clement Atlee's Patreon

[@jimslim4227]

I think you can confidently rephrase "saw this as a bit of a betrayal" into "this was a betrayal"

[@mrglayden1690]

What I really like about this is your probably one of the only people ive seen on youtube that, when highlighting a map of britian, doesnt forget about us here in the channel islands

[@chrisnation1432]

Britannia rules the microwaves.

[@chrisnation1432]

@@magnussandstrom1853 I say, good sir, please do belt up and engage in moderate merriment without resorting to pedantry. God Save the Queen, and Britannia rules the microwaves! 🇬🇧

[@adrielsebastian5216]

When Britain *third* at Heaven's command

[@aarshabhdevsingh6937]

Damn

[@elias_xp95]

@@magnussandstrom1853 Oh dear, how sad, never mind, stiff upper lip old chap.

[@pritsingh9766]

God take the queen !

[@mattwho81]

Jim Hacker: “Why do we need trident?” Humphrey: “To defend Britain.” Hacker “From the soviets?” Humphrey: “No from the French!”

[@HanzGrozny]

Hacker: The French?! But that's astounding! Sir Humphrey: Why? Hacker: Well they're our allies, our partners. Sir Humphrey: Well, they are now, but they've been our enemies for the most of the past 900 years. If they've got the bomb, we must have the bomb! Hacker: If it's for the French, of course, that's different. Makes a lot of sense. Sir Humphrey: Yes. Can't trust the Frogs. Hacker: You can say that again!

[@walidfakhir9111]

@@HanzGrozny not a lot of humor here

[@cloric1]

@Johnny Jackson im sure its from an 80’s comedy called yes minister. KZbin it.

[@syllogism5843]

A superb series!

[@sallyquinn9851]

I loved Yes Minister 😂😂

[@jarnodatema]

Fun fact: not only did Stalin have better access to the atomic program than the British, but Stalin knew about the bomb before Truman did.

[@gammamaster1894]

Yet another phenomenal example of the “special relationship” in full effect

[@nickdanger3802]

As of 2006 the UK still owed the US 4.4 billion 1934 USD in WWI debt. The US wrote off 21 billion USD of UK Lend Lease debt in 1945. Under the Marshall Plan, 1948-52, UK received 2.7 billion USD. If you can provide any information on the "special relationship" please do so.

[@-GS-]

​@@nickdanger3802and the US owes the UK 431 billion.... So I'd say the amounts you mentioned in your comment could be taken as small re payments.

[@-GS-]

​@@nickdanger3802also I think you'll find that the UK paid off all their debt to the US in 2006. Every penny. So not only are you wrong the opposite is actually true and it's the US that owes the UK. I recommend doing some research before you start making incorrect statements..

[@nickdanger3802]

@@-GS- "and the US owes the UK 431 billion" Source? "I recommend doing some research before you start making incorrect statements.." Good advice, you should try taking it. "First and foremost, they note that they have written off the main body of Lend-Lease, amounting to something of the order of £4,000,000,000 to £5,000,000,000 (16 to 20 billion USD) net" below 678 Hansard ANGLO-AMERICAN FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS HL Deb 17 December 1945 United States: War Loans to UK HL Deb 27 May 2002 vol 635 cc126-7WA127WA §Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they owe money to the United States Government as a result of World War Two debt: if so, how much is owed; when it will be repaid; and what representation they have made to the United States Government concerning the debt being cancelled. [HL4422] §Lord McIntosh of Haringey Under a 1945 agreement, the United States Government lent the United Kingdom a total of $4,336 million (around £1,075 million at 1945 exchange rates) in war loans. These loans were taken out under two facilities: (i) a line of credit of $3,750 million (around £930 million at 1945 exchange rates); and (ii) a lend-lease loan facility of $586 million (around £145 million at 1945 exchange rates), which represented the settlement with the United States for lend-lease and reciprocal aid and for the final settlement of the Financial claims of each government against the other arising out of the conduct of the Second World War. Under the agreement the loans would be repaid in 50 annual instalments commencing in 1950. However, the agreement allowed deferral of annual payments of both principal and interest if necessary because of prevailing international exchange rate conditions and the level of the United Kingdom's foreign currency and gold reserves. The United Kingdom has deferred payments on six occasions. Repayment of the war loans to the United States Government should therefore he completed on 31 December 2006, subject to the United Kingdom not choosing to exercise its option to defer repayment. As at 31 March 2001, principal of $346,287,953 (£243,573,154 at the exchange rate on that day) was outstanding on the loans provided by the United States Government in 1945. The Government intend to meet their obligations under the 1945 agreement by repaying the United States Government in full the amounts lent in 1945 and so no representation has been made.

[@thequeenofspades]

Britain: "So there's all of my research. Are you going to send me yours now?" America: "Yes. But also no"

[@andreylucass]

Friendzoned

[@walsh9080]

Britain *sheds single manly tear* : That's my boy, daddy taught you well.

[@dbdb9334]

Yet the Uk government keeps trusting america at the cost of British lives!. Not acceptable.

[@walsh9080]

@@dbdb9334 Britain more than anyone understands; guns are the weapon of war, lies are the weapon of peace. You don't get to be powerful unless you dick people over and say a whole bunch of shit you don't really mean. That's why we don't hate America for it. We did it and you can bet your last pound the next major power will do it too. Politics is an ugly trade.

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

@@walsh9080 You are a gentleman and a scholar, sir

[@jihadsadi1575]

-UK : "HiGh ExpLOsIvE ReSeArCh " -Soviet spy : understood, nothing to see here, have a nice day.

[@LordInquisitor701]

Maybe that because the spies are British

[@sarveedahassan3723]

@@LordInquisitor701 yea...WAIT WHAT

[@gustavofring9148]

@@LordInquisitor701 Britain spying on Britain

[@Starman062]

These people are most known for making the largest espionage plot ever and proceed to do this. Yep totally british

[@electrohalo8798]

its to obvious, that it becomes to obvious so they wont think it is the obvious! ITS FLAWLESS

[@koharumi1]

Fun fact: Britain never cleaned up their testing site at Maralinga leaving radiation everywhere contaminating land that the Aboriginals (first nation people) in the area lived on. And told Australia that they had cleaned it up. (The Maralinga site was inhabited by the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal people, for whom it had a great spiritual significance.) [Nuclear engineer Alan Parkinson observed that "an Aboriginal living a semi-traditional lifestyle would receive an effective dose of 5 mSv/a (five times that allowed for a member of the public). Within the 120 km², the effective dose would be up to 13 times greater."] Australian servicemen were ordered to: repeatedly fly through the mushroom clouds from atomic explosions, without protection; and to march into ground zero immediately after bomb detonation. Airborne drifts of radioactive material resulted in "radioactive rain" being dropped on Brisbane and Queensland country areas. A 1999 study for the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association found that 30 per cent of involved veterans had died, mostly in their fifties, from cancers

[@mikerivera373]

And this is why the US doesn’t feel bad about about screwing the British over every now and then

[@AFistfulOf4K]

That's just good accounting, nobody's going to notice if a few hundred square kilometers of Australia are 10% more uninhabitable.

[@ElonTusk.]

i mean Australia is a British colonie. so its like cleaning ur own mess.

[@FirstnameLastname-jd4uq]

@@ElonTusk. was*

[@ElonTusk.]

@@FirstnameLastname-jd4uq okay and?

[@rollsroycegriffon2375]

"But fun fact: NO." - Every History Matters episode ever

[@blitzwaffe]

The US is basically that guy who asks for help on homework but never gives his own answers to others...

[@jafr99999]

It was a bit more complicated than that.

[@alexplotkin3368]

Your forgetting about the billions of dollars of Lend Lease aid the USA gave Britain for free to the UK during World War II. And this was followed by a post war loan with favorable repayment terms and then Marshall Plan aid. Britain mismanaged its economy as early as the 1920s, falling behind in several key technologies including chemical engineering. England had expertise in radar. But the country underinvested in research and development. Read the books of the noted British historian Correlli Barnett. One of his titles: The Collapse of Britain as a superpower

[@jj0493]

@@alexplotkin3368 I don’t think selling weapons to get yourself out of the Great Depression, especially considering how late the USA was to actually fighting, should be counted as charitable.

[@caleblott399]

Because it is better to give no answers than wrong answers!

[@rare6499]

@@alexplotkin3368 we were all but totally bankrupt after the war unfortunately, but as you know the Anglo-American Loan Agreement was as much about American security as Britain’s.

[@koalabrownie]

Yeah Fun Fact, same exchange of information happened between Britain and the US with regards to supersonic flight development. In that case the US again did not reciprocate and then took credit for breaking the sound barrier even though their success hinged on British technology. And in fact the US supersonic jet looked like a carbon copy of what the Brits had already made.

[@burstcity3832]

Sir Frank Whittle owned the rights to the jet engine, he had the right to charge whatever he liked for every engine built, being very British about it he never did. Even the German scientists the Americans rescued said that it was Whittle who had it right.

[@BobC250]

Yanks. Don't trust 'em! It's me -me-me.

[@josm1481]

Yes, people expect debt right off or defense collaboration were part of that. The group in the UK were told to trash their supersonic plane by the gov.

[@koalabrownie]

@@josm1481 The Avro Arrow in Canada got trashed as well when it was promising in trials. It was over budget, but- a lot of people suspect the americans asked the PM to kill it. We've been buying yankee planes ever since

[@andyUKZ]

“Broke the sound barrier” credit, almost laughable

[@SGz_Eliminated]

Was worried this was gonna sugarcoat just how much America tried to screw us but it didn't so that's appreciated. Long story short we just researched and developed them ourselves.

[@AG-yc7vt]

You still owe us debt from WW1, would you prefer we start seizing assets or get screwed over on military secrets?

[@mikepagani6996]

@@AG-yc7vt we payed that back in 2015 mush get your fact straight

[@queenbean7071]

​@@AG-yc7vt You realise screwing other nations over doesn't affect the average person in america right? It's only helping the big businesses that want to make you have to charge to breathe

[@randomvidz20]

I just realised I absolutely love that there's no stupid background music in your videos! ❤️

[@Daimo83]

I hate it too

[@eternalgreed5953]

0:04 poor guy didn't wear a sunglass and is now blind

[@DT2007]

I noticed this as well.

[@PitofTrogness]

yikes that must hurt

[@ecmorgan69]

LOL I didn’t notice that. Nice catch. It seems these videos are chock full of Easter eggs.

[@semihguner1]

holy makarona, didnt see it

[@cb-gill9423]

Missed it and only picked it up when you commented. Good catch!

[@prezzyjim]

Some say the site chosen to nuke within Australia was a vital Emu breeding ground...

[@cassidybrash4243]

Actually it was an area inhabited by Aboriginal communities who were just casually killed without being told about the nuke tests.

[@cjmartinez8318]

@@cassidybrash4243 are you joking? Or you dont get the joke?

[@ethanquirk28]

@KingT_ 02 almost as lame as a military who loses a war to emus

[@cjmartinez8318]

@KingT_ 02 lmao calling it a war over those animals is a joke. Its not even political.

[@Stiffeno]

Is that you Kevin Rudd Wumao? Or is it Xu?

[@samueleveleigh2767]

I love how Americas history is essentially them breaking deals and screwing over countrys theb using their weight to prevent any consequences

[@CultureCrossed64]

Did you mean- the history of every empire ever?

[@donalain69]

Right.. And being the first empire that pretends NOT to be an empire doesn't change that..

[@walz4635]

Right cause the brits have never acted for their own self interest before... Irish potato famine for example. Every single country acts for the interests of it self and its people

[@donalain69]

@@walz4635 except for the US. their governement acts in the interest of whoever "donates" them the most.

[@walz4635]

​@@donalain69 idk life is pretty good here in new england free health care and other benefits euros think we don't have for some reason, so i'm thankful for that and it might be surprising for you to hear but i've donated the government a total of zero dollars!

[@charliegenis4228]

Hey love the videos - keep up the good work! I showed this to my dad and he says it wasn't Aldershot but Aldermaston where the research was based

[@crashfaff]

UK gave so much information to USA on nukes, supersonic aircraft etc. and what they get back in return loans with interest for 60 years.

[@Robertfochs]

Unforgivable really! Watch the documentary 'WW2 from above'. It's very American centred documentary but shows just how much they took from the UK.

[@mattheww.6232]

They got to continue existing under the protection of Pax Americana, which they still enjoy to this day.

[@chaosXP3RT]

@@Robertfochs You're just mad that we're better than you

[@matthewmulvey8860]

@@chaosXP3RT ur country has less history than my local pub step off

[@Robertfochs]

@@chaosXP3RT In what? School shootings

[@aarshabhdevsingh6937]

Honestly never thought someone’s actually gonna make a video about this topic thanks man.🔥

[@edwardh4136]

That’s what he does man

[@scottcantdance804]

I hope next he will make a video about how the Soviets got nukes, and all the swindlers that were embedded in America and Britain who betrayed their host nations to give the Soviets nuclear secrets.

[@riowarner0617]

Glad he discussed it we've got good nukes and are powerful

[@walsh9080]

I'm still waiting for the day someone makes a video about Salazar in the English language. I don't speak Portugese and even the literature seems pretty lacking, other than as footnotes in a general Portugese history.

[@Ozblu3y]

The video was incredibly shallow and missed many important details, including but not limited to the atrocities once again committed against Indigenous groups in the area such as just directly nuking them and seeing what would happen to them via radiation.

[@darko8894]

"High Explosive Research" best code ever for a nuclear program

[@dannydacheedo1592]

3:19 Turning History Matters character doesn't exist, he can't hurt you. Turning History Matters character:

[@mukhtar3052]

This is irrelevant but who else loves the death sound.

[@tsunderedev2584]

Yes

[@mukhtar3052]

@@tsunderedev2584 Thank you comrade!

[@louisbouvier6679]

@@mukhtar3052 I probably sound dumb but what flag is that country ball for?

[@tsunderedev2584]

@@mukhtar3052 no problem, my comrade

[@mukhtar3052]

@@louisbouvier6679 Somaliland. An unrecognized republic located in the horn of africa. 😊

[@folksinger2100]

Perfect example of how there has never been a Special Relationship

[@nickdanger3802]

In 2006 Britain still owed the USA 4.4 Billion 1934 USD in WW One debt. In 1945 about 21 Billion 1945 USD of Britains' Lend Lease debt was written off. Under the Marshall Plan (ERP), 1948-52, Britain received 2.7 Billion USD. In 1946 Attlee allowed the sale of the Rolls Royce Nene jet engine to the USSR. It was reverse engineered and used in the Mig 15. In 1947 it was sold to the USA.

[@nickdanger3802]

Cambridge Five "Perhaps as important as the intelligence they passed was the demoralizing effect to the British Establishment of their slow unmasking, and the mistrust in British security this caused in the United States." Wackipedia

[@joemck74]

We had our own space-program too - the perfectly functional Black Arrow system. Until we were 'persuaded' to kill it by our 'allies'. I think if the UK had been allowed to continue it's rocket program we'd all be much further along in space exploration - simply because the british way of doing things is to find clever and sometimes simpler (and *always* cheaper ) ways of doing things, due to being a small country with limited resources; while the american way is to waste trillions of dollars and decades of time, and only really try hard if it looks like the soviets are beating you.

[@mrcaboosevg6089]

Black Arrow was only to put a man in space, Britain could have been first but it would have been highly unlikely that it ever went further than that. It was more or less just using a V2 which if memory serves had already been to space

[@tdegrddeehjgd]

@@mrcaboosevg6089 we also had the Blue Streak which was shut down and then sold to the French which the Ariane rocket is based on.

[@user-ut3jk7it6c]

actually... you do need more mass migration, diversity, feminism and invigilation

[@garlonschuman1014]

This comment is really fucking stupid lmao, it’s so hilariously pro uk and anti-America. The claim itself has no evidence behind it either, it’s just comjecture

[@edwinhuang9244]

Full disclaimer: I'm a American. I mean, the USSR just used multiple engines for their attempt to land on the moon. It was quicker and cheaper than building a few massive engines. The problem? Well, there were multiple, but I'll focus on 1 of the problems. They used too many engines, and they also didn't have the ability to test all those engines and the rocket. It's a bit more complicated than "Americans waste a lot of money to do things that don't need to have so much money wasted". Sometimes it's true, sometimes it's not true.

[@tinylord335]

1:25 Most accurate Venn diagram I have ever seen

[@Hacktheplanet_]

Preach

[@cozzaronero]

@Ja Determig give us the documents or from where you got this info until you don’t do it you will only be an idiot that doesn’t know history

[@cozzaronero]

@Ja Determig nah dude you are just spitting bullshit... yes they were working on some kind of nuclear weapon using heavy water but never came close to even test it

[@hhubbs]

@Ja Determig But when you google it, it literally says 'unsuccessful'

[@hhubbs]

@Ja Determig ...What? You're seriously tapped in the head. It says that when you search it because there's a book, it isn't saying that the world is flat

[@AndasMus]

US: asks Britain to support their war in Vietnam Britain: it’s payback time...

[@ClarinoI]

Britain actually offered to help the US with Vietnam, but American generals didn't think there was anything the Brits could teach them about fighting a jungle war against a guerilla army.

[@JohnSmith-mj5wl]

and yet Australia still says “yes” 🇦🇺

[@ronanwaring3408]

@@ClarinoI Which being as we had just finished fighting a war in burma I.E. a massive F-ing jungle was absurd

[@ClarinoI]

@@ronanwaring3408 Yep, but you know; America! Fuck yeah!

[@tomben6180]

@@ClarinoI Bollocks

[@UkuleleNews]

As a child, my cousin had an action replay, I had cheat codes, and the deal was I gave him the codes and we both get amazing stuff and I now live in a council house and he's flying around on a mew, my cousin was america

[@gloryfiedrebel]

Pretty much the UK-US relationship since the 30s. We advance their tech and science by decades, they keep any benefits from that sharing, we get shafted. Such wonderful allies.

[@MadLFC]

That's an oversimplification. Like most relationships, there's give and take. I think we Brits have had our fair share of benefits from the close relationship.

[@nickdanger3802]

Like electronic TV, Link Trainer and Klystron tube?

[@derekp2674]

@@nickdanger3802Didn't Alan Blumlein develop the 1st British electronic TV pre-WW2?

[@nickdanger3802]

@@derekp2674 On September 7, 1927, Philo Farnsworth's image dissector camera tube transmitted its first image, a simple straight line, at his laboratory at 202 Green Street in San Francisco.[60][61] By September 3, 1928, Farnsworth had developed the system sufficiently to hold a demonstration for the press. This is widely regarded as the first electronic television demonstration.[61]

[@KingcupXI]

Britain could have used nukes to maintain her colonies. Gandhi: It would be shame if someone uses nuke without much provocation in some games which is not made yet.

[@maladetts]

Too difficult. Didn't get it.

[@miguelfernandez6767]

@@maladetts search for gandhi nukes on YT you wont be disappointed

[@gamegamesoumic]

Civilization games 🙄😍 Nuclear Gandhi

[@TRISTANTHEGAMER]

@@miguelfernandez6767 oh fuck that bastard has nuked me so many times in CIV throughout the years

[@KasperOfTheTower]

@@maladetts The first poster refers to Gandhi from Sid Meier's civilization games where due to a bug he has a tendency to develop and use nuclear weapons before anyone else.

[@reecewestmoreland6137]

"High Explosive Research" was just Britain playing 3D chess while everyone else was playing checkers. As when looking at codnames nobody expects the codename to in fact also describe the project.

[@frut_jooos]

But, normal chess is already 3D

[@vamountainman2512]

@@frut_jooos 🤣🤷‍♂️

[@nathanjohn9151]

@@frut_jooos its more like a 14D chess game they played against themselves on a mixture of LSD and ketimine

[@xanx1234]

hiding in plain sight;-)

[@michaelsims1160]

About half the Scientists working on the Tube alloy project were Canadian. Nice of you to leave that out.

[@oliversherman2414]

I love your channel keep up the great stuff!

[@calmkat9032]

Fun Fact: One of the greatest nonproliferation advocates was an aborigional man whose first contact with the West was a nearby nuclear detonation in Australia.

[@MPHJackson7]

What was his name?

[@lordfedjuvekinval252]

@@MPHJackson7 after a quick Google search i assume Marcus was talking about Yami Lester

[@MrRushhour4]

Imagine being isolated from civilisation only to see a city ending bomb detonate

[@maladetts]

If so, this "fun" fact should have been featured in the video, most definitely.

[@user-mj9sj1rp6t]

We Europeans simply know how to make a good first impression

[@RevBrettMurphy]

Slight correction, Australia was not a colony in the 1950’s, it had been an independent nation but still part of the Empire since the Balfour declaration in 1926 and a semi independent Commonwealth since federation in 1901.

[@slewone4905]

Technically they are still a colony. Their are more than one definition, and one is being a territory of another nation, but the other is something that was colonized and retain close relations with the originating nation. India wouldn't because it wasn't truly Colonized, but Australia I believe is dominated by British.

[@yarpen26]

Nobody knows when (or whether at all) Australia, Canada, New Zealand or anybody else from the bunch exactly gained their "full" independence and far more qualified minds than us have argued the topic for decades now without reaching any definite conclusions so let's leave it at that. What matters, however, is that regardless of the relationship between the Mainland UK and Australia in the 1940s, the UK government would _not_ dare to force Australia into hosting a nuclear test against the will of the local authorities.

[@ironcheater1012]

@@slewone4905 your a little wrong here. yes it was colonised by british people but that doesnt. mean its still a colony today :)

[@brienboru7203]

@@yarpen26 yes we do, it was 1st of January 1901 for Australia. Source, am Australian, our history books are pretty clear on this. Although you and the other joker are invited to come down here and claim that we are still a colony. See how long you keep your teeth

[@1978sjt]

Just scrolling through the comments to make sure no one else has said it before I do.... ahh there it is :p

[@olivermorris828]

The UK’s first atomic research actually started in Rhydymywyn, a North wales village that originally started out a Mustard gas research bunker but changed to atomic bomb research and they’re the ones that handed the info over to the U.S

[@MrGChuff]

As a kid back in the 80’s I used jump the fence along the old railway track and walk around the place. Btw you share the same surname as my mum’s maiden name.

[@ANDROLOMA]

I tried pronouncing "Rhydymywyn," and developed a hairline fracture in my jaw. Do you happen to know who I can sue for damages and pain and suffering?

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

THE WELSH MADE THE FIRST ATOMIC STEPS!

[@saguntum-iberian-greekkons7014]

@Rappin' Ronnie Reagan dude, i just said that in a ironic way when the gentlemen said that they started in Rhydymyn, don't be offended

[@whatsreal7506]

The humor in your work is awesome!😅

[@ahmetkarl1229]

0:05 that poor, poor guy without glasses

[@DanoTheAnimator]

He became blind due to the brightness of the Nuclear bomb… which lead him to loose his black dots eyes.

[@Noobatron]

"Say my name." "James Bisonett." "You're goddamn welcome."

[@blitzwolf17]

Please don’t take the Lords name in vain

[@simplythebest7260]

This is not far off spot on. Good job by the channel.

[@christophers_verified]

1:24 "But they were wrong" Ha ha 😂 Love the dynamic Venn diagram!!

[@amadoudiallo8557]

I would love for this to be a series. I wanna know about the 4th, 5th, 6th and so on.

[@w925gaming6]

kin john-un further up in the comments will be happy.

[@birkobird]

“Why Have I Built Nuclear Weapons?”

[@Starman062]

That not as possible. As the later 1/2 of nations kept a very tight lip on their programs. And also deny having them for most of them

[@golagiswatchingyou2966]

@@Starman062 israel

[@1creeperbomb]

France, China, India, and Pakistan. Oh and Israel somewhere in between. Yeah I definitely wanna see this become a series.

[@nikolaevkatesla3823]

You know, those Irish look suspicious

[@trollinape2697]

*irish

[@uptank8461]

*UK slowly starts reaching for the big red button*

[@prezzyjim]

@@uptank8461 0-0

[@dl5498]

We are developing our own. I'm going to move to Russia now because I just let out government secrets that can send me to jail for 10 years

[@hugh.g.rection5906]

the black and tans put the irish in their place

[@sumitanne7818]

naming it "High explosive research" is just like a CIA spy would wear Army uniform instead of civilian clothes, so that no one could guess he is a CIA spy...

[@matthewhungerford8957]

Well done!!

[@cursedex3755]

"High Explosive Research" *Sometimes my genius is... its almost frightening*

[@alwaysdisputin9930]

It's the perfect disguise. Any Soviet spy would think "There's no way that's the nuke development site. They wouldn't make it so obvious. It must be a decoy site."

[@spk1121]

I actually felt _really_ bad for the guy without sunglasses in the first few seconds. Amazing how one can still feel empathy for a motionless, squarish animation of a human being. :(

[@madman19931612]

@Ja Determig Pardon me? Can you please give more info, this sounds intruiging

[@madman19931612]

@Ja Determig ah thanks for the suggestions As for the "it is known by everyone", might I suggest you Google "xkcd 1053"

[@madman19931612]

@Ja Determig no and no Also, I was genuinely thankful for your reading tips, that part of my comment wasn't being snarky😂 But thanks for making baseless assumptions about a stranger you know nothing about I guess Btw: my name really is Gijs, a name so incredibly un-english that I must say it's impressive you think I actually live in America

[@ANDROLOMA]

"...a motionless, squarish animation of a human being." Wow! You've met my old boss?

[@YoonbeenPark]

It's the eyebrows.

[@nik65stgt60]

Great content!

[@benjaminplotke4716]

I like how the Patreon supporters in the description, in the frame at the end of the video, and in the narration at the end of the video are all completely different

[@thehighscalls]

Fun Fact: In one of the nuke projects, they used a centurion tank to test the durability of a tank against nukes.

[@sshep86]

Is that the one that after the explosion, a mechanic had a quick look and it was driven away?

[@eraldorh]

@@sshep86 After it was refueled yes.

[@artiz29]

And an even funner fact, after that test it was driven back to base by its original crew without being decontaminated. 12 out of 16 of that crew later died of cancer. It was then put back into service in the Australian military, and served in Vietnam. Nice work British and Australian governments!

[@drumboarder1]

@@artiz29 I could never guess our military and government were incompetent

[@deusvult6920]

@@drumboarder1 don't attribute to incompetence that which bears malice

[@ProjectEkerTest33]

We may have been third but at least we still beat the French!

[@pliat]

exactly

[@simonlamoureux5440]

When they call this a short documentary, they mean it. Tube Alloys only got real traction after the Fall of France wherein France gave the British all of their nuclear research that they had been devising since Marie-Curie and before. Every injustice of the U.S not assisting the British with their nuclear program goes double for France rebuilding from the fall of France and allied bombing campaigns. The difference is the British today use U.S Nukes as they became friendly with a presidential change and it's cheaper to use their equipment than design and build you own, but because of France leaving NATO it's militarily independent and has it's own complete nuclear program, also leading to being amongst the biggest nuclear producers for civilian and military matters.

[@ProjectEkerTest33]

@@simonlamoureux5440 That is a very well reasoned and informed statement that raises a number of interesting points. However this was a meme comments so my response is this: There's no medals for 4th place, suck it Frenchie

[@tomben6180]

Hear hear and that’s all that matters

[@skiteufr]

But France developped its nukes and missiles in complete independence. Today, if Britain launch a nuke, they have to get permission from Washington. Paris does whatever it wants

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

Cool stuff

[@mark261166]

Really interesting, thanks.

[@Jay-ln1co]

My favorite part is when the US and UK scientists finally get together to share info, neither knows where to start and what to say. Finally the Brits give their research to the Americans, who go over it and conclude with something like "We're glad to see the laws of physics apply in Britain the same they do in the US." Basically saying, "Yeah, your findings are about the same as ours."

[@shaunsimpson3499]

More like “fuck me I didn’t know that”

[@zaimnaqvi8893]

@@shaunsimpson3499lol

[@piers389]

Except that's not how it happened. The US was at least a few years behind the UK in nuclear weapons research. It was the British research that made allowed the US to take first place.

[@yzlfc95]

@@piers389 but there were many obstacles with regard to the huge calculations involved and the computation power wasn't enough at the time. It took a team of geniuses to figure out the rest, one of which was the brilliant Richard Feynman who came up with new calculation technique which reduced the time frame by months and months

[@piers389]

@freneticness _ I partially agree. Some of what you've written is what I stated. However, you make the US out to be nice guys, whereas the US is a friend to no country and imperialistic. It demanded the UK hand over research, scientists, gold reserves, etc. in order to consider offering support. After the War, the UK's position as the global superpower had been severely weakened and the British Empire started to fall. It was at that point the US 'helped' the UK once more by offering the UK a loan to rebuild - with interest that took 64 years to pay. The US is very rarely a friend to any country, exports cancerous culture, and destabilises countries across the world - including so-called friendly nations. The sooner the US falls and is no longer a superpower - a process that started about a decade ago and has recently accelerated - the more the Western world (and perhaps the wider world) can start to heal.

[@itaybron]

US: sorry Britain but we're keeping the nuclear research data to ourselves. UK: it's treason then?

[@ScottOrr95]

Oddly enough they where looking into civilian uses for atomic bombs as well, one project that never really got off the ground was to use them to deepen the harbour at Port Headland in Western Australia

[@simonfrost7094]

I've never heard of this in Australia, but the American version was called 'Operation Ploughshare' and one of the ideas was to create (or deepen) a harbour in Alaska. The idea of using nukes in civil engineering was abandoned though because of the radiation left behind.

[@l0os176]

Honestly, considering how many people wanted to use nukes for "problems" that didn't need nukes to be resolved, I'm glad things turned out the way they did.

[@charlessaint7926]

"Right, chaps. We have this operation here to develop our nukes. It needs a codename to throw off any suspicion. Thoughts?" "How about Operation High Explosive?" "Dave, you're a damn genius!"

[@George_Bland]

no it was High Explosive Research

[@eriksgasins9086]

noone would ever think a top secret nukes programme would be called so obviously, its actually genius.

[@jimmyyu2184]

UK: "We need a desert like area, to test our new A-Bomb, like U.S. did." Australia: "Please pick S. Africa, please Lord. Pick S. Africa, if not Sudan." UK: "Hello Australia, you are the lucky winner!!" Australia: "Crickey!!!"

[@cjmartinez8318]

Well, U.K dont have a place to test their nuclears. So *AUSTRALIA IT IS*

[@nathanjohn9151]

Australia be like OK but can you at least nuke some emus

[@stanrogers5613]

You want the ashes? We'll give you the ashes, mate!

[@cyanoticspore6785]

@Ja Determig where's your fucking evidence? If your gonna make up bullshit you should have some "proof"

[@cyanoticspore6785]

@Ja Determig 3 sentences in you realise it says it was an unsuccessful program. Meaning it failed. Meaning the weapon was never developed.

[@iain349]

Awesome video! Can i be finicky and say that Australia was not a colony at the time; it was in fact a dominion right? Also, it did have a decent degree of control over its foreign policy, I think 100% control at that point, although of course it had friendly/close relations with the UK. But also important to remember that Australia turned to the US as its main ally during WW2 as well, so clearly couldn't be forced to do things in its foreign policy by UK. :D

[@alanpennie]

Strictly it was a commonwealth. But most certainly it was formally independent and only deferred to The Brits out of habit.

[@trentnordhagen]

1:25 That venn diagram is delightful.

[@nickvliet4614]

Man I always just thought we gave them nukes. That was such a dick move for us to not give them the information after we had promised to share it with them

[@TheGM-20XX]

Well the video even says the British scientists were often soviet spies. they had of reputation of leaky boat at the time.

[@itzimperiumxvi2620]

@@TheGM-20XX but after Hiroshima, inevitably the soviets would pursue these weapons. Best case is to arm US and UK to have way more rather than shut out allies

[@TheGM-20XX]

@@itzimperiumxvi2620 it wasn't just the British atomic program that had a spy problem, it was the entirety of the British government. their entire intelligence apparatus was compromised and the US was weary of sharing anything with them. Leaky Boat.

[@PATTHECATMCD]

Roosevelt made the commitment, but he died. Truman went "hang on a minute". Presidential decision...

[@bigleady]

You're lucky that us Brits were also extreme geopolitical pragmatists for years, because the US really did turn the screws for loads of stuff post war. Also no in the UK knows about these things either :) Still rather better than either of the other two outcomes during the war and the 100 year lease is up in 21 years so that might be interesting

[@Elongated_Muskrat]

"High Explosive Research" is my euphemism for the diarrhea I have after trying out new spicy foods.

[@slayerdearly]

Omg XD

[@maladetts]

Do you really research your fecal matter? That information is really invaluable indeed.

[@VenomousCompany]

@@maladetts I mean. It is explosive. It can maybe he used as a weapon?

[@the-real-mr-man]

@@VenomousCompany weaponized fecal matter yes

[@VenomousCompany]

@@the-real-mr-man Poo can kill

[@greenbutter3190]

Stable video 👍

[@karleaves]

One correction. You say the U.K. developed its weapons due to British involvement in the Manhattan Project. Not true. You can argue that the U.K. was about 10 years in front of the U.S. when FDR created the Manhattan Project. At the time, U.S. scientists weren't seriously engaged in atomic research. In the interim, the U.K. (with a range of German and French Physics refugees) had: * Theoretically proven the atom could be split * Identified the best material to split the atom from, i.e. U235. * Run a variety of tests in 4 separate UK universities to identify how to turn naturally occurring U238 into fissile U235. * Identified the necessary mass of fissile material to create a workable weapon * Identified the best way to sustain a nuclear reaction (using heavy water as the moderator) * Secured the only supply of heavy water from the Norwegians via the French * Theoretically understood how to create U239 plutonium once a stable atomic reaction was available, the material that is used to this day as the principle material for the production of nuclear weapons. The U.S. scientists probably only knew as much as had been published in December's 1938 Nature magazine, when European Scientists working out of Britain first wrote up their findings on bombarding barium to create an unstable isotope. So no. To think that the Manhattan Project created the first atomic and nuclear weapons, and British hangers on took that knowledge back to the U.K. - as you infer - is total bunkum. The U.K. lacked the security (due to the imminent Nazi threat of invasion) and the industrial capacity (because it was directing all it's industrial might toward production of tanks, aircraft, artillery, landing vessels and ammunition). Right up until the Tizard Mission to the U.S. handed over all it's secret research findings, the U.S. wouldn't have been even in the same ball park as the U.K. The fact the U.S. subsequently welched on the deal to share the outcomes of the research conducted in the U.S. that had been facilitated by U.K. technical expertise, is probably the 2nd largest crime of the second World War.

[@ilikelampshades6]

Considering Britain taught the Americans so much about how to build nuclear weapons it was kind of shit for the yanks not to share the final piece of the puzzle.

[@tashaely3660]

@Cameron yes really.

[@joeymurdazalotmore6355]

Uz brittle brits would drop it on ur own head. In the 1770s u said we can have em if we save ur lives. U lived

[@ilikelampshades6]

@@joeymurdazalotmore6355 That doesnt make any sense

[@damedusa5107]

@@joeymurdazalotmore6355 what does that even mean?

[@tashaely3660]

@Cameron i'll be sure to get the tissues out m8

[@ZearthGJL]

"This enraged the United Kingdom, who punished them severely."

[@Dave-hu5hr]

Like in 1812..

[@beaucaspar3990]

@@Dave-hu5hr True. 😂 We’re strong allies now however. 🇬🇧🇺🇸

[@beaucaspar3990]

@Paul Manser When the Americans invaded into Canada, they outnumbered the British soldiers garrisoned there, however every attack into Canada was repelled and America took heavy casualties. ❄️

[@scottjohnson3389]

Britain was fighting 2 wars at once. The only reason america won. And thats a fact

[@suddencrysis3134]

@@scottjohnson3389 less not forget that was against napoleon as well. And in the orginal war for independence the uk just got finished fighting France and Spain and couldn't fund a full scale mobilisation so only sent a smaller number of troops then it could have mustered normally.

[@red4life848]

Oh the good old tubes alloys I remember it well 👍

[@pyromagic7113]

1:30 That serious painting in the background is hilarious. 😂

[@jakehammond7491]

Insert joke about pateron funding led to Britain's nukes

[@warbler1984]

Something something funded by James Bayonette

[@maximilianbeyer5642]

It was James bisonette. It was always James bisonette

[@shivanshna7618]

It did though

[@Sceptonic]

@@warbler1984 James B A Y O N E T T E

[@gustavofring9148]

@@Sceptonic *Y E S*

[@maskthem0ney295]

Topic idea: what did senators do during the Roman empire?

[@loganr746]

I’d like to see that

[@prezzyjim]

@@samrevlej9331 Tea

[@fcalvaresi]

Fun fact: the Roman Senate continued to assemble in Rome during many decades after the fall of the Western Empire. We don’t even know when they really stopped.

[@Marinealver]

Stab Ceasars

[@gustavofring9148]

@@prezzyjim I heard India does not like you very much

[@Arandombrittishguy]

This information should’ve never left Britain🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@heidibarker9550]

1:27 that Venn diagram gets more and more accurate each year.

[@octaviousharper3873]

3:10 "15 Nukes, yo" - Great Britain

[@mufradr]

-xd-

[@dan69420]

James Bissonette looking at James Bissonette comments be like: 0_0

[@markusz4447]

Name's Bissonette.... James Bissonette

[@vincent5880]

@@markusz4447 😂😂😂 Next in cinema's: James Bissonette: The Lost Gun

[@PwnZombie]

Why? Because we’re a fucking world power with every right, and the need to defend ourselves.

[@beaucaspar3990]

Yep.

[@calebigbinomwanhia158]

Alright

[@SkyhookBball]

and to retain international relevancy, especially back then

[@stevemc01]

IKEA Reference is gold right there... The small bit of two pictures right after one of the American scientists got blinded in the beginning.

[@shaunmattice6413]

"How Britain got nukes." *James Bisonett has a lot of money*

[@JohnDoe-vm2di]

Would someone explain the James Bisonette jokes in every single video this channel produces? I dont get it. Who is this guy?

[@agustincorales4786]

@@JohnDoe-vm2di Apparently a mayor patron for the channel. Gets mentioned as a "thank you for paying for my food" in every video. Good guy I guess, if he is willing to keep donating money for historical divulgation.

[@Marinealver]

Agent 007

[@JohnDoe-vm2di]

@@agustincorales4786 that would be why. As soon as i see the patreon list appear at the end of the video i close out of the video. I dont ever stick around to hear the list of supporters

[@DwRockett]

Clement Attlee as a History Matters character is still low key iconic ngl

[@billmilligan1705]

Maybe be an idea to a remake. AWE Aldermaston is the centre of atomic weapons research in the UK. Aldershot is the office corps are trained. There is also Rysley, Renfrew, Doneray and Winfrith. There is also a still classified site in the UK that deals with emerging nuclear weapon technologies. Up until 1956 the UK had a veto on wither the USA could use nuclear weapons due to an agreement with the Manhattan project and a little known fact Klaus Fuch was not only spying for the Russians but also the British. Unfortunately a lot of early records of the early nuclear research has been reclassified.

[@user-po8ly4xs8z]

1:36 I wish the US did that

[@buttersstotch7981]

I laughed my ass off when I saw cranky Clement Attlee carrying a nuke behind the window XD 2:57

[@TyrannoJoris_Rex]

0:03 I love the little detail of the guy on the left going temporarily blind

[@GHTTTRPR]

This was surprisingly amusing

[@Witheredgoogie]

Britain did do something useful with it - start nuclear power stations.

[@patkub3214]

1:18 When you ask your mom to buy a candy during shopping and she says yes

[@therodyman700]

so basically Brits: "Hey USA! is the lock broken? i can't get in" USA: "nah that's good, you need to be cool to get in" Brits build nukes* USA: "alright, now you're part of the cool club"

[@dbdb9334]

No.

[@eternalpwnge8173]

no actually Britain was the first country to even design nuclear weapons reason we weren't the first to build or test them was because there was not enough money because ww2 was still happening at the time an the only reason the US even entered the war with germany was two demands of Britain first to dissolve the empire second to give the blueprints for the atomic bombs to them

[@eternalpwnge8173]

@Tetra by helping initiate the effort to build the first atomic bombs in the United States during World War II, and helped carry it through to completion in August 1945 by supplying crucial expertise. Following the discovery of nuclear fission in uranium, scientists Rudolf Peierls and Otto Frisch at the University of Birmingham calculated, in March 1940, that the critical mass of a metallic sphere of pure uranium-235 was as little as 1 to 10 kilograms (2.2 to 22.0 lb), and would explode with the power of thousands of tons of dynamite. The Frisch-Peierls memorandum prompted Britain to create an atomic bomb project, known as Tube Alloys. Mark Oliphant, an Australian physicist working in Britain, was instrumental in making the results of the British MAUD Report known in the United States in 1941 by a visit in person. Initially the British project was larger and more advanced, but after the United States entered the war, the American project soon outstripped and dwarfed its British counterpart. The British government then decided to shelve its own nuclear ambitions, and participate in the American project.

[@walsh9080]

@Tetra I've seen people credit Da Vinci with the invention of the helicopter/ flying machines despite the fact his design isn't functional. Just saying.

[@fatmandoobius]

You gotta love the US UK special relationship. The UK come up with loads of "quirky" technological ideas and concepts then gives them to the US who via big budget and industry flesh them out then the UK buys them from the US. That's a special relationship alright.

[@shafamarsaaiman]

I dunno why uk is so simp to us

[@curtisthedevil_2940]

@@shafamarsaaiman cos ur our child

[@burstcity3832]

@@shafamarsaaiman Same reason the world feared the British and was very compliant for centuries..power and money.

[@MadLFC]

I'm afraid that's how business works. No deal is ever exactly 50/50. The Americans never really shaft us but they do remind us who the senior partner is.

[@fatmandoobius]

@@MadLFC idk they've had their moments. 5 minutes after WW2 they were essentially knee capping us with things like the suez crisis. I don't hate our cousins for it. They played the great game brilliantly and we simply overreached and began our own demise before they even started playing. I'll take a pax America over say the soviets lol.

[@jamesw7223]

Always amazed at how few people know about ‘The Tizard Mission’.

[@nickdanger3802]

The Quebec Agreement was a secret agreement between the United Kingdom and the United States outlining the terms for the coordinated development of the science and engineering related to nuclear energy and specifically nuclear weapons. It was signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt on 19 August 1943, during World War II, at the First Quebec Conference in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.