Mark 6 nuclear bomb

The Mark 6 nuclear bomb was an American

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

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:

• Defense Nuclear Weapons School on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Cold War Gallery of the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio
• Museum of Aviation (Warner Robins) in Warner Robins, Georgia
• Hill Aerospace Museum in Ogden, Utah

Variants

Mark 13

The

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

.

XM1 Atomic Demolition Munition

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

Gallery

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  The XM1 ADM that contained a Mark 6 nuclear warhead

See also

• List of nuclear weapons
• 1958 Mars Bluff B-47 nuclear weapon loss incident

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mark 6 nuclear bomb.

• Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear warheads at nuclearweaponarchive.org