Mark 6 nuclear bomb
TheMark 6 nuclear bombwas an Americannuclear bombbased on the earlierMark 4 nuclear bomband its predecessor, theMark 3 Fat Man nuclear bombdesign.
The Mark 6 was in production from 1951 to 1955 and saw service until 1962. Seven variants and versions were produced, with a total production run of all models of 1100 bombs.
The basic Mark 6 design was 61 inches (150 cm) in diameter and 128 inches (330 cm) long, the same basic dimensions as the Mark 4. Various models of the Mark 6 were roughly 25% lighter than either the Mark 4 or Fat Man, and weighed 7,600 to 8,500 pounds (3,400–3,900 kg).
Early models of the Mark 6 used the same 32-pointimplosion systemdesign concept as the earlier Mark 4 and Mark 3; theMark 6 Mod 2and later used a different, 60-point implosion system.
Various models andpitoptions gave nuclear yields of 18, 26, 80, 154, and 160 kilotons for Mark 6 models.
Survivors
[edit]There are several Mark 6 casings on display:
- Defense Nuclear Weapons School on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Cold WarGallery of theNational Museum of the United States Air ForceinDayton, Ohio
- Museum of Aviation (Warner Robins)inWarner Robins, Georgia
- Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden, Utah
Variants
[edit]Mark 13
[edit]TheMark 13 nuclear bombandW13 missile warheadwere developed as higher-efficiency Mark 6 successors, the same size and basic configuration as the Mark 6 but utilizing an improved 92-point implosion system. The Mark 13 was cancelled in August 1954 and the W13 cancelled September 1954, in both cases without ever seeing production service.
Mark 18
[edit]TheMark 18 nuclear bombwas a follow-on to the Mark 6 and Mark 13, utilizing a fissile pit assembly with around 60 kilograms ofHEUand delivering a yield of 500kilotons,the largest pure-fission (non-thermonuclear) bomb design ever developed by the US. Mark 18 bombs were eventually recycled intoMark 6 Mod 6bombs after thermonuclear weapons were deployed in quantity. The Mark 18 was tested once in OperationIvy King.
XM1 Atomic Demolition Munition
[edit]An Atomic Demolition Munition, theXM1was developed. Few details on the system exist.[1]
Gallery
[edit]-
The XM1 ADM that contained a Mark 6 nuclear warhead
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Glen George McDuff (2018-08-22).Army Nukes(Report). Los Alamos National Lab. p. 32.OSTI1467305.
External links
[edit]- Allbombs.htmllist of all US nuclear warheads atnuclearweaponarchive.org