W9 (nuclear weapon)

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Test of a W9 nuclear artillery shell during Operation Upshot-Knothole (1953). The grenade had an explosive force of 15 kt TNT, which roughly corresponds to the size of the first military atomic bomb Little Boy , which was dropped on Hiroshima .

The W9 was an American nuclear artillery shell , which made special howitzers of the type M65 was fired with a caliber of 280 mm.

construction

The W9 was a gun-type mission explosive device. A total of 50 kg of highly enriched uranium in a ring-shaped arrangement and a smaller ball was used for the nuclear explosive device . This bullet was shot in a tube by a conventional explosive device at the ring-shaped arrangement, which thereby reached its critical mass.

Production and commissioning

The production of the grenades started in 1952. They were taken out of service again in 1957. The explosive devices of the W9 units were used from 1957 for the production of smaller T-4 Atomic Demolition ammunition that could be moved by the infantry . W19 and W23 are further developments of the W9 warhead.

Testing

A W9 warhead, codenamed Grable , has only been detonated once during Operation Upshot-Knothole on May 25, 1953. It achieved an effect of 15 kt TNT.

Technical specifications

  • Diameter: 280 mm (11 inches )
  • Length: 138 cm (55 inches)
  • Mass: 364 kg (850 lb)
  • Explosive power: 15 kt TNT

(The non-metric data refer to US military data.)

commitment

The W9 was a tactical nuclear weapon . As such, it was designed to combat enemy troop concentrations. This made it particularly suitable for fighting the then quantitatively superior ground troops of the Soviet Union. An operation against enemy supply lines was only possible to a limited extent due to their limited range.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Nuclearweaponarchive.org
  2. ↑ Conditionally ready for defense . In: Der Spiegel . No. 41 , 1962 ( online ).