The US Nuclear History: Nuclear Arms and Politics in the Missile Age, 1955-1968 microfilm collection presents an integrated record of US decision making relating to the development, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons, 1955-1968. Documents are generated from a number of sources including the US Department of State, US Department of Defense, US Air Force, US Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Strategic Air Command, the Executive Office of the President, US National Security Council, and Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Material relating to early US policy planning and decisions on thermonuclear weapons includes relevance studies by the RAND Corporation, a US non-partisan government policy guidance institution, 1952; memoranda from the Office of the White House relating to nuclear weapons stockpiles and projections, 1959; and, memoranda from the US Department of State and the Atomic Energy Commission relating to underground and atmospheric nuclear testing, 1959-62. Papers relating to nuclear weapons development, acquisition and testing include memoranda from Gen Curtis E LeMay, Commander-in-Chief, US Strategic Air Command, relating to increased budgetary needs for the proposed nuclear build-up, Jan 1956; memorandum from Gen Andrew Jackson Goodpaster, Defense Liaison Officer and Staff Secretary to the President, relating to the concept of 'massive retaliation' in the event of a Soviet first-strike, May 1956; memorandum from the US Joint Chiefs of Staff relating to emergency war plans, nuclear strategy, and preventive war, Sep 1956; memorandum from the Gen Lyman L Lemnitzer, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, relating to US doctrine on thermonuclear attack, Apr 1961; memorandum from the US Department of Defense to President John Fitzgerald Kennedy relating to scenarios for US and Soviet first-strikes, Oct 1961; memorandum from Secretary of Defense Robert Strange McNamara to the Office of the Secretary, US Army, relating to nuclear damage limitation and 'assured destruction'. Papers relating to nuclear strategy and planning include memoranda concerning the applicability of Soviet cities as targets of US nuclear attack; the US Strategic Air Command Basic War Plan, [Feb 1960]; papers relating to target co-ordination and planning for a functional Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP), 1960-1961; papers on 'war-gaming', net evaluation exercises of US capabilites in the event of a general nuclear war with the Soviet Union, including memoranda from Robert R Bowie, Director of US State Department Policy Planning Staff, concerning Soviet capabilities to inflict direct damage on the US, 1953-1967. Material relating to air, land and sea nuclear delivery systems, missile deployments, alert programs, and defence appropriations include memoranda from Goodpaster concerning Eisenhower's endorsement plans for missile program acceleration and for upgrading US Strategic Air Command capabilities, 1957; memoranda from the President's Science Advisory Committee relating to the construction of civil defence structures and missile deployments, 1958; report from the US Department of Defense, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group, reviewing US weapons systems and directly-related functions which constitute the strategic offensive posture of the US 1964-1967; press statements and memoranda from US Secretary of Defence McNamara relating to the doctine of 'assured destruction', defence appropriations, and weapons development, 1961-66; US National Security Briefings on strategic intelligence, Soviet capabilities for strategic attack, anti-missile and air defence, and economic trends, 1963. Papers relating to nuclear strategy, planning, weapons and delivery systems in the European theatre include reports regarding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's strategy for nuclear war, 1954-1969; the deployment of Chrysler 'Jupiter' PGM-19 IRBMs in Western Europe; the establishment of the Douglas 'Thor' PGM-17 IRBM program in Great Britain, 1956-1963; the escalation of US-Soviet hostilies in Berlin, 1961; reports concerning British co-operation with with US Strategic Air Command; speech by US Secretary of State McNamara, in Athens, Greece, relating to US assurances to its European allies in the event of a general war, 1962. Papers relating to nuclear warning and defence include reports from the US Department of State concerning the immediate construction of a Distant Early Warning (DEW) system in Canada and Alaska, 1952-1953; reports from the President's Science Advisory Committee, including studies of civil defence measures in the event of a nuclear attack, 1957-1958; reports from the US Department of State regarding the construction of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) in the United Kingdom, 1958; memoranda from the North American Aerospace Command (NORAD), relating to nuclear pre- emption and tactical warnings, 1958-1959; reports from the President's Science Advisory Committee's Anti-Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Panel, 1958-1959; papers from the President's Science Advisory Committee and the US Department of Defense relating to the construction and deployment of Bell Laboratory Nike-Zeus and Nike X Anti-Ballistic Missiles (ABMs) in the US, Canada, and Western Europe, 1959-1968.

Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement are microfilmed copies of minutes of meetings, official meeting files and supporting documentation, and detailed records relating to meeting of the National Security Council, 1947-1956. Document material relates to policies and procedures governing the National Security Council, 1947; initial directives to the Central Intelligence Agency, 1947; the US political position concerning Italy, Greece, China, and Palestine, 1947; US policy with respect to the Republic of Korea, 1948-53; conversations with the British in regard to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East, 1948; US position with respect to perceptions of Soviet-directed world communism, 1948-55; the dispatch of US B-29 bombers to Great Britain, 1948; US policy on atomic and nuclear warfare, 1948-55; possible Soviet interruptions to the Berlin air-lift, 1948; organisation under the Atlantic Pact and the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), 1949; the re- armament of the Federal Republic of West Germany, 1950; the position of the US with respect to Indochina, 1951-55; the death of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, President of the Soviet Council of Ministers and General Secretary, Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1953; the Mutual Security Program, 1953; US objectives with respect to Indonesia, 1953; US objectives in the event of a general war with the Soviet bloc, 1954; overseas reaction to the Atomic Energy Commission, 1955; US policy towards the People's Republic of China, Formosa and the government of the Republic of China, 1955

Records of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, part 2: 1946-53 is a themed microfilm collection containing copies of official documents of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), 1946-1953. Documents include meeting minutes and memoranda and reports relating to strategic issues; Europe and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); the Far East; the Middle East; the Soviet Union; and the United States. Meeting minutes include those of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1948-1954, and its committees, the US Joint Logistics Committee, 1946-1947; the US Joint Logistics Plans Committee, 1946-1947; the US Joint Staff Planners, 1946-1947; and the US Joint Strategic Plans Committee, 1947-1953. Documents relating to strategic issues include Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting memoranda and official reports concerning the effect of the atomic bomb on warfare and military organisation; scientific representation from British Admiralty and Air Ministry at the atomic bomb trials, 1945; projected Soviet atomic capabilities; armed forces participation in proof-testing operations for atomic weapons; the control and direction of strategic atomic operations; requirements for the stockpile of atomic weapons in North America and Western Europe; atomic requirements from NATO member states; US psychological and unconventional warfare; US industrial mobilisation planning; US Joint Chiefs of Staff plans for global demarcation into areas of strategic control; and post-war US military requirements, 1945-1954. Documents relating to Europe and NATO include Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting minutes concerning the political stability of post-war Austria, Hungary, Finland, the Balkans, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Iceland, Italy, the Trieste Free Territory, and Spain; the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty; NATO command arrangements; the state of the armed forces in European NATO member states; the defensive capabilities of Western Europe; the establishment of Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE); and the establishment and function of the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR). Documents relating to the Far East include meeting minutes and memoranda concerning the demilitarisation of China, 1945; reform of the Japanese government, 1945; British and Canadian requests for information on the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 1945-1948; US military assistance to the Netherlands Indies Forces, Netherland East Indies, 1946; US military assistance to the Philippines; US policy in reference to the adoption of the Japanese Constitution, 3 Nov 1946; the post-war disposition of combatant vessels of the Imperial Japanese Navy; the implications of possible Chinese Communist attack on foreign colonies in South China, 1949; the defence of Formosa, 1949-1953; the withdrawal of US occupation forces from Japan; the planning and conduct of the Korean War, 1950-1953; talks with French and British military representatives regarding the defence of Indochina, 1950; possible US military involvement in Indochina, 1950-1953; the Treaty of Peace with Japan, Aug 1951; US military assistance to Japan, 1951-1954. Documents relating to the Middle East include US Joint Chiefs of Staff reports on political and military relations with Iran, Palestine and Israel, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, 1946-1954. Documents relating to the Soviet Union include US Joint Chiefs of Staff political estimates of Soviet policy; intelligence estimates assuming war developed between the Soviet Union and the Non-Soviet Powers, 1946-1953; Soviet objectives in relation to the strength of its armed forces; Soviet capabilities in the Far East, Central and South America, and the Middle East; estimates of the scale and nature of Soviet attacks on the United Kingdom and Western Europe; plans for military aid to US allies and NATO member states. Documents relating to the United States include US Joint Chiefs of Staff memoranda and reports concerning the strategic defence of US territory; US programmes for national security; and civil defence capabilities, 1946-1953.

Copies of papers, 1953-1981, including typescript article by Scotter entitled 'Streamlining the Infantry Division', 1953; three typescript articles by Scotter, 'Streamlining the Infantry Division' [1954], 'Tactics in nuclear war' 1955, and 'Unification-Management and Command' 1970; typescript notes for Joint Services Staff College Exercise GAZETTE, 1959; typescript essay by Scotter on future options for global deployment of British forces, Staff College Camberley Bertrand Stewart essay competition, 1961; correspondence with Maj Gen Terence Douglas Herbert McMeekin, General Officer Commanding 3 Div, on Army relations with civilians, 1968; correspondence with Gen Sir John Mogg, General Officer Commanding in Chief Army Strategic Command, on future planning for Army administration, 1969; typescript memorandum entitled 'Needs for Canadian forces', 1970; correspondence with Maj I E Kerr, Royal Corps of Signals, 1976, on Scotter's command of 19 Infantry Bde (1967-1969); typescript texts of speeches, 1977-1981, including address as Vice Chief of the General Staff to the Director of Infantry's Conference, 1977, and speech made at Headquarters 1 (British) Corps Study Period, Bielefeld, West Germany, 1980; lecture text by Scotter on command and motivation, 1981, prepared as a Kermit Roosevelt lecture to be delivered shortly after his new appointment as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe  (DSACEUR), though Scotter died before taking office.

Papers relating to the RAF Levies (Iraq), 1955-1959, including typescript copy of speech by Sir Michael (Robert) Wright, British Ambassador to Iraq at the RAF Levies (Iraq) disbandment parade, RAF Habbaniya, 2 May 1955; typescript copy of report to the Air Ministry by Riall entitled 'The Royal Air Force Levies (Iraq) [1955]; typescript 'The RAF Regiment bulletin report on the RAF Levies (Iraq) - the final two years', 15 Jun 1955; typescript 'Iraq Levies - history prior to disbandment', 1955; edition of The Arab World with article entitled 'The Aden Protectorate Levies', Jun 1959. Papers relating to RAF training, 1950-1958, including edition of Air Ministry Restricted booklet 'Manual of ground defence for the Royal Air Force. Volume 1, Active defence', Jun 1950; typescript course notes, Senior Officers Course, Civil Defence Staff College, Sunningdale, Ascot, Berkshire, Feb 1958; typescript notes on nuclear, biological and chemical warfare, Mar-Dec 1958. Papers relating to the Royal Exodus Hunt, Iraq, 1937-1938 and 1953-1954, including correspondence, bills and accounts, May 1937-Feb 1938; manuscript hunting diary and typescript accounts, 15 Nov 1953-7 Feb 1954.

Correspondence, articles, texts for speeches, notes and background information relating to defence issues, particularly nuclear deterrence, in an ethical and theological context. Specific topics include:Iran's nuclear programme, 2005-2006; Iraq; background information, 1960s-1970s on intermediate range nuclear missiles; nuclear issues in South Asia, 1998-2008.

Correspondence, 1976-1998, used in Tanya Ogilvie-White (editor) On nuclear deterrence: the correspondence of Sir Michael Quinlan (London, Adelphi Books, 2011), transferred from the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Correspondents are civil servants, politicians, theologians, campaigners and academics, including: General Sir Hugh Beach, Rev Robert Beresford, T F Burns, Sir Frank Cooper, Leonard Cheshire, Lawrence Freedman, David Fisher, John Finnis, Cardinal Basil Hume, Sir Arthur Hockaday, Rev Jack Mahoney, Gerald Mahon, Dan Martin, Lawrence Martin, Richard Perle, Walter Stein and Francis Winters.

Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series 1, Volume 4, and, Series 2 Volume 2, are microfilmed copies of documents relating to British foreign policy, 1945-1950. Part of a larger collection encompassing British foreign policy, 1945-1955, the microfiche in this collection relate specifically to Anglo-American relations, Dec 1945- Jun 1950. This collection is in two sections. The first includes documents relating to the establishment of an Anglo- American Cold War strategy; the exchange of atomic information and technology between the US and Britain; the use of British mainland and colonial bases by US armed forces; and the allocation of American funds to Britain as part of the European Recovery Program. The second section relates specifically to Anglo-American strategic and defence conferences which took place in London, Jan-Jun 1950. Documents concern the exchange of nuclear technology between the two powers; British and American political and military support to nations wishing to prevent communist insurrection; US involvement in the Middle East; the security of British and American sectors in the Federal Republic of Germany; British and American relations with Western European nations; and the strengthening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Various texts including printed report of a Royal United Services Institute seminar on defence and the mass media given by AVM Stewart William Blacker Menaul, 13 Oct 1970; official Egyptian publication, 6 October: An Arab War of Liberation (Al Muttahida Arab Co, Cairo, 1973), relating to the Arab-Israeli War, 6 Oct-22 Oct 1973; Nuclear Vulnerability Handbook by Ian Bellany (University of Lancaster, Centre for the Study of Arms Control and International Security, 1981)