B57 nuclear bomb
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The B57
nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War
.
Entering production in 1963 as the Mk 57, the bomb was designed to be dropped from high-speed tactical aircraft. It had a streamlined casing to withstand
kilograms
(500 lbs).
Some versions of the B57 were equipped with a parachute retarder (a 3.8 m/12.5 ft diameter
hydrostatic fuze for use as a depth charge for anti-submarine
use.
The B57 was produced in six versions (mods) with explosive yields ranging from 5 to 20
U.S. Navy, replaced the Mk 101 Lulu
and had selectable yield up to 10 kt.
The B57 used the
Tsetse primary
design for its core design, shared with several other mid- and late-1950s designs.
The B57 was produced from 1963 to 1967. After 1968, the weapon became known as the B57 rather than the Mk 57. 3,100 weapons were built, the last of which was retired in June 1993.
The B57 could be deployed by most U.S.
CF-104s in Germany, and the Royal Air Force's Nimrod from RAF St Mawgan and RAF Kinloss in the United Kingdom and Malta
in the Mediterranean.
See also
- Tsetse primary
- List of nuclear weapons
References
- ^ Polmar, Norman (1983). "Tactical Nuclear Weapons". Proceedings. United States Naval Institute. 109 (7): 125.
External links
- Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear weapons at nuclearweaponarchive.org
- Beware the old story by Chuck Hansen, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March/April 2001 pp. 52–55 (vol. 57, no. 02)
- A guide to British nuclear weapons by Brian Burnell
- Video showing shipboard handling procedures for the B57 bomb