Mark 6 nuclear bomb

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Mark 6 nuclear bomb at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

The Mark 6 nuclear bomb was an American

nuclear bomb based on the earlier Mark 4 nuclear bomb and its predecessor, the Mark 3 Fat Man nuclear bomb
design.

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-point implosion system design concept as the earlier Mark 4 and Mark 3; the Mark 6 Mod 2 and later used a different, 60-point implosion system.

Various models and

pit
options gave nuclear yields of 18, 26, 80, 154, and 160 kilotons for Mark 6 models.

Survivors

There are several Mark 6 casings on display:

Variants

Mark 13

The

W13 missile warhead
were 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

The

kilotons, the largest pure-fission (non-thermonuclear) bomb design ever developed by the US. Mark 18 bombs were eventually recycled into Mark 6 Mod 6 bombs after thermonuclear weapons were deployed in quantity. The Mark 18 was tested once in Operation Ivy King
.

XM1 Atomic Demolition Munition

An Atomic Demolition Munition, the XM1 was developed. Few details on the system exist.[1]

  • The XM1 ADM that contained a Mark 6 nuclear warhead
    The XM1 ADM that contained a Mark 6 nuclear warhead


See also

References