W67 (nuclear warhead)

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The W67 was an American

thermonuclear warhead developed from June 1966 but then cancelled prior to any production or service use approximately 18 months later.[1]

Developed by Los Alamos,[2] the warhead was in the megaton range[3] and was to have a yield comparable to that of the W56.[4] It was housed in the Mark 17 reentry vehicle and one of the warhead's design goals was the highest maximum output temperature possible. Only one partial yield test of the warhead was performed before the warhead was cancelled in January 1968.[5] Hansen identifies this test as Crosstie Zara.[6]

The Mark 17 RV had a difficult development. The planned total RV and warhead weight was 900 pounds (410 kg), but by November 1966 it weighed 938 pounds (425 kg) due to the higher than anticipated levels of hostile weapons effects protection needed. The actual warhead weight was 675 pounds (306 kg).[7]

After its cancellation, the W68 warhead was developed for Poseidon and the W62 warhead for Minuteman III.[8]

The W67 was briefly revived in 1970 for the CAFE (C-3 Alternative Front End) program for Poseidon. CAFE was a contingency program for in the event that

MIRV warheads were banned and Poseidon needed to be fitted with a single warhead. Two W67 designs were examined and would use the Mark 1 Prime reentry body. Total warhead weight was 680 pounds (310 kg).[9]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-9791915-6-5
    .
  2. OSTI 1429158. Archived
    from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  3. S2CID 153754053. Archived
    from the original on 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-08-26.
  4. ^ MIRV: A Brief History of Minuteman and Multiple Reentry Vehicles (PDF) (Report). Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 1976. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-07-02. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  5. ^ MIRV: A Brief History of Minuteman and Multiple Reentry Vehicles, p. 62.
  6. ^ Swords of Armageddon Volume VI, p. 459-450.
  7. ^ Bernard C Nalty (1969). USAF Ballistic Missile Programs 1967-1969 (PDF) (Report). p. 43. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-26. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  8. ^ Swords of Armageddon Volume VI, p. 343-345,460-465.
  9. ^ Betty L Perkins (2003-11-03). Tracing the Origins of the W76: 1966-Spring 1973 (PDF) (Report). Los Alamos National Labs. p. V-82 - V-83. Retrieved 2021-07-23.

External links

F A Ross (May 1967). Preliminary Test Proposal on QEST for XW67 (Report). Sandia National Lab. ALSNLDE98057263.


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