Mark 18 nuclear bomb
The Mark 18 nuclear bomb, also known as the SOB or Super fission bomb produced by the US. The Mark 18 had a design yield of 500 kilotons. Nuclear weapon designer Ted Taylor was the lead designer for the Mark 18.
The Mark 18 was tested once, in the
Enewetak atoll in the Pacific Ocean
on November 16 1952. The test was a complete success at full yield.
Description
The Mark 18 bomb design used an advanced 92-point implosion system, derived from the
aluminum/boron chain designed to absorb neutrons was placed in the fissile pit to reduce the risk of accidental high yield detonation, and removed during the last steps of the arming sequence.[1][2]
Deployment
Beginning in March 1953, the United States deployed a number of Mark 18 bombs. A total of 90 were manufactured and placed in service.
The weapon had a short lifetime, and was replaced by
thermonuclear weapons in the mid-1950s. The Mark 18 weapons were all modified into lower yield Mark 6 nuclear bomb
variants in 1956.
See also
- List of nuclear weapons
- Ivy King
- Nuclear weapon design
- Mark 13 nuclear bomb
- Mark 6 nuclear bomb
- Mark 4 nuclear bomb
- Fat Man Mark 3 nuclear bomb
- Orange Herald
References
- ^ Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear warheads at nuclearweaponarchive.org. Accessed April 16, 2007.
- ^ Historical US nuclear weapons at Globalsecurity.org, accessed April 17, 2007