South African Nuclear Weapons Programme

[ches]

The following is an interesting link I found: http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/rsa/nuke/stumpf.htm

It is a paper presented at the "50 Years after Hiroshima" conference in October 1995. The author is Waldo Stumpf, from the Atomic Energy Corporation of South Africa Ltd. The title of the paper is "Birth and Death of the South African Nuclear Weapons Programme" and it documents the entire life of South Africa's nuclear history.

[Avatar]

Interesting article.

Perhaps it's the Paranoia in me coming out, but I have often wondered if we really did just discard our Nuclear Program.

I certainly wouldn't put it past ANY government, and certainly not ours, either then OR now, to have salted away at least the makings of some more "Deterrents", if not a couple of completed ones.

We'll hopefully never know.

Take it easy

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[Sucram]

Hi.

I am new to the list so my posting is somewhat dated. At present South Africa does not possess any nuclear weapons. All being deactivated in 91/92. What I would like to know is how close SA came to using their nukes operationally in 1988? During the 1987 the SAAF had modified at least one Buccaneer with the electronics to deliver a bomb. During the later part of 1988 conventional Cuban forces in the vicinity of Ruacana/Mahanene/Ombalantu were on the verge of attacking SWA. This was Castro’s 50th Div. The SADF would have been unable to stop this invasion by conventional means. What is the possibility of the SADF nuking this Cuban Div if it had pushed for the border?

[ches]

Hey,

You're unlikely to find anyone who can answer your questions here.

The apartheid government whose war it was did their best (which was very damn good) to prevent South Africans from finding out what the war was about. We did not learn about it in school, all we knew was that our friends were conscripted to fight. My brother and a friend of mine actually left the country to avoid conscription. They were both lucky to be from the last generation to be conscripted, which meant that they didn't have long to sit it out.

It is impossible to say how likely the apartheid government were to use nuclear weapons -- they certainly didn't shirk from other horrors, although fortunately never used anything stronger than tear gas and automatic weapons. Their modus opperandi was closer to hands-on brutality.

Also, the war in Angola was more about crushing SWAPO opposition to South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia and against Mkonto weSizwe. I'm not sure that the government would've used nukes against a foreign power. Certainly I'm glad that they didn't, because the ANC has continued its close ties to Cuba, perhaps originating during the Angola war, and many poor people in rural areas would be without doctors were it not for the good relationship with Cuba.

[Sucram]

Hi all

Does anybody on this list by any chance know of any sites on the net that contain photo's of SA's nukes? I have been searching like mad on the net but can't get decent photo's of the bombs. Although "secret" I assume that photo's of the weapons must have been taken?

Thanx

[Jaybang]

Black Market

By Dafna Linzer and Craig Timberg
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 4, 2004; Page A26

A South African man arrested Thursday is suspected of playing a major role in the nuclear black market that supplied Libya, according to American and foreign officials. They said arrests and raids in South Africa, Germany and Switzerland over the past week mark a significant turning point in the international investigation of the network.

Johan Andries Muller Meyer, a 53-year-old director of a manufacturing firm in the South African town of Vanderbiljpark, was arrested Thursday and charged Friday on three criminal counts of trafficking in some of the most sensitive nuclear equipment available.

................

"South Africa had nuclear weapons until 1991, when the government voluntarily dismantled six completed bombs. It still has a domestic nuclear energy program and, experts say, the kind of sophisticated manufacturing machinery, expertise and industrial infrastructure sought by those seeking to build nuclear weaponry. South Africa also has one of the world's strictest anti-proliferation laws, with severe sentences and financial penalties for violators. "

...........

full story allthough old (sept 04): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2004Sep3.html

[Jaybang]

For full details on the south african nuclear weapons program, have a look at http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Safrica





The casings made for the atomic bombs and stored at Advena. These are probably unused casings for new bombs,
since the Chicago Tribune reported on 2 May 1999 that pieces of the casings of the actual atomic bombs were beaten
into miniature, ornamental plowshares, "suitable as gifts for inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency".









RSA ("Arniston") launch vehicle on display in South Africa.