12/26/2017 B53 nuclear bomb

B53 nuclear bomb

The Mk/B53 was a high-yield bunker buster thermonuclear weapon developed by the
United States during the Cold War. Deployed on Strategic Air Command bombers, the B53
B53, with a yield of 9 megatons, was the most powerful weapon in the U.S. nuclear
arsenal after the last B41 nuclear bombs were retired in 1976.

The B53 was the basis of the W-53 warhead carried by the Titan II Missile, which was
decommissioned in 1987. Although not in active service for many years before 2010,
fifty B53s were retained during that time as part of the "Hedge" portion[3] of the
Enduring Stockpile until its complete dismantling in 2011. The last B53 was
disassembled on 25 October 2011, a year ahead of schedule.[4][5]

With its retirement, the largest bomb currently in service in the U.S. nuclear arsenal is
the B83, with a maximum yield of 1.2 megatons.[6] The B53 was replaced in the Type Thermonuclear weapon
bunker-busting role by a variant of the two-stage B61 nuclear bomb.
Place of origin United States

History Service history

In service 1962–1997
Development of the weapon began in 1955 by Los Alamos National Laboratory, based Production history
on the earlier Mk 21 and Mk 46 weapons. In March 1958 the Strategic Air Command Designer
issued a request for a new Class C (less than five tons, megaton-range) bomb to replace LANL[1]

the earlier Mk 41.[2] A revised version of the Mk 46 became the TX-53 in 1959. The Designed 1958–1961[1]
development TX-53 warhead was apparently never tested, although an experimental Manufacturer Atomic Energy Commission
TX-46 predecessor design was detonated 28 June 1958 as Hardtack Oak, which
Produced 1961–1965[1][2]
detonated at a yield of 8.9 Megatons.
Number built About 340[2]
The Mk 53 entered production in 1962 and was built through June 1965.[2] About 340
Specifications
bombs were built. It entered service aboard B-47 Stratojet, B-52G Stratofortress,[1] and
B-58 Hustler bomber aircraft in the mid-1960s. From 1968 it was redesignated B53. Weight 8,850 lb (4,010 kg)[1]
Length 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)[1]
Some early versions of the bomb were dismantled beginning in 1967. About 50 bomb
and 54 Titan warhead versions were in service through 1980. After the Titan II program Diameter 50 in (4.2 ft; 1.3 m)[1]
ended, the remaining W-53s were retired in the late 1980s. The B53 was also intended
to be retired in the 1980s, but 50 units remained in the active stockpile until the
Filling
deployment of the B61-11 in 1997. At that point the obsolete B53s were slated for Fission: 100% oralloy
immediate disassembly; however, the process of disassembling the units was greatly
hampered by safety concerns as well as a lack of resources.[7] In 2010 authorization Fusion: Lithium-6 and deuteride[1]
was given to disassemble the 50 bombs at the Pantex plant in Texas.[8] The process of Blast yield 9 megatons
dismantling the last remaining B53 bomb in the stockpile commenced on 25 October
2011 and was completed soon afterwards.[9]

Specifications
The B53 was 12 feet 4 inches (3.76 m) long with a diameter of 50 inches (4.17 ft; 1.27 m). It
weighed 8,850 pounds (4,010 kg), including the 800-to-900 lb (360-to-410 kg) parachute system
and the honeycomb aluminum nose cone to enable the bomb to survive laydown delivery. It had
five parachutes:[1] one 5-foot (1.52 m) pilot chute, one 16-foot (4.88 m) extractor chute, and three
48-foot (14.63 m) main chutes. Chute deployment depends on delivery mode, with the main chutes Hardtack Oak nuclear weapon test.
used only for laydown delivery. For free-fall delivery, the entire system was jettisoned.

The warhead of the B53 used oralloy (highly enriched uranium) instead of plutonium for fission, with a mix of lithium-6 deuteride fuel for
fusion. The explosive lens comprised a mixture of RDX and TNT, which was not insensitive. Two variants were made: the B53-Y1, a
"dirty" weapon using a U-238-encased secondary, and the B53-Y2 "clean" version with a non-fissile (lead or tungsten) secondary casing.
Explosive yield was approximately nine megatons.

Role
It was intended as a bunker buster weapon, using a surface blast after laydown deployment to transmit a shock wave through the earth to
collapse its target. Attacks against the Soviet deep underground leadership shelters in the Chekhov/Sharapovo area south of Moscow
envisaged multiple B53/W53 exploding at ground level. It has since been supplanted in such roles by the earth-penetrating B61 Mod 11, a
bomb that penetrates the surface to deliver much more of its explosive energy into the ground, and therefore needs a much smaller yield to
produce the same effects.

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12/26/2017 B53 nuclear bomb
The B53 was intended to be retired in the 1980s, but 50 units remained in the active stockpile until the deployment of the B61-11 in 1997.
At that point the obsolete B53s were slated for immediate disassembly; however, the process of disassembling the units was greatly
hampered by safety concerns as well as a lack of resources.[7][8] The last remaining B53 bomb began the disassembly processes on
Tuesday, 25 October 2011 at the Energy Department’s Pantex Plant.[5]

An April 2014 GAO report notes that the NNSA is retaining canned subassemblies (CSAs) " associated with a certain warhead indicated
as excess in the 2012 Production and Planning Directive are being retained in an indeterminate state pending a senior-level government
evaluation of their use in planetary defense against earthbound asteroids."[10] In its FY2015 budget request, the NNSA noted that the B53
component disassembly was "delayed", leading some observers to conclude they might be the warhead CSAs being retained for potential
planetary defense purposes.[11]

W53
The W53 warhead of the Titan II ICBM used the same physics package as the B53, without the air
drop-specific components like the parachute system and crushable structures in the nose and sides
needed for lay-down delivery, reducing its mass to about 6,200 lb (2,800 kg).[12] The 8,140-pound
(3,690 kg) Mark-6 re-entry vehicle containing the W53 warhead was about 123 inches (10.3 ft;
3.1 m) long, 7.5 feet (2.3 m) in diameter and was mounted atop a spacer which was 8.3 feet (2.5 m)
in diameter at the missile interface (compared to the missile's core diameter of 10 feet [3.0 m]).
With a yield of 9 megatons, it was the highest yield warhead ever deployed on a US missile. About
65 W53 warheads were constructed between December 1962 and December 1963.[12]

On 19 September 1980 a fuel leak caused a Titan II to explode within its silo in Arkansas, throwing
the W53 warhead some distance away. Due to the safety measures built into the weapon, it did not W53 physics package
explode or release any radioactive material.[13] 52 active missiles were deployed in silos prior to
the beginning of the retirement program in October 1982.[12] With the retirement of the Titan fleet,
disassembly of the W53 warheads was completed by about 1988.

Effects
Assuming a detonation at optimum height, a 9 megaton blast would result in a fireball with an
approximate 2.9 to 3.4 mi (4.7 to 5.5 km) diameter.[14] The radiated heat would be sufficient to
cause lethal burns to any unprotected person within a 20-mile (32 km) radius (1,250 sq mi or
3,200 km2). Blast effects would be sufficient to collapse most residential and industrial structures
within a 9 mi (14 km) radius (254 sq mi or 660 km2); within 3.65 mi (5.87 km) (42 sq mi or
110 km2) virtually all above-ground structures would be destroyed and blast effects would inflict
near 100% fatalities. Within 2.25 mi (3.62 km) a 500 rem dose of ionizing radiation would be
received by the average person, sufficient to cause a 50% to 90% casualty rate independent of
thermal or blast effects at this distance.[15] B53 on display at the Atomic Testing
Museum
Artifacts
B53 on display in the free introduction exhibit room at the Atomic Testing Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada
B53 on display at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum at the former Lowry AFB, Denver, Colorado
Mark 53 casing is on display in the Cold War Gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson
AFB in Dayton, Ohio
B53 casing in display yard of The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, adjacent to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New
Mexico
W-53 on display in the visitors center of the Titan Missile Museum near Tucson, Arizona

References
Notes

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cochran 1989, p. 58
2. 1 2 3 4 Hansen 1988, pp. 162–163
3. ↑ "Hedge stockpile": fully operational, but kept in storage; available
within minutes or hours; not connected to delivery systems, but
delivery systems are available (i.e. missile and bomb stockpiles kept
at various Air Force bases)
4. ↑ Blaney, Betsy (25 October 2011). "US's most powerful nuclear
bomb being dismantled". The Associated Press. Retrieved
25 October 2011.
5. 1 2 Ackerman, Spencer (23 October 2011). "Last Nuclear 'Monster
Weapon' Gets Dismantled". Wired. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/B53_nuclear_bomb.html
6. ↑ Betsy, Blaney (25 October 2011). "Most powerful US nuclear
bomb dismantled". MSNBC. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
7. 1 2 Johnston, William Robert (6 April 2009). "Multimegaton
Weapons: The Largest Nuclear Weapons". Retrieved 27 October
2011.
8. 1 2 Walter Pincus (19 October 2010). "The Story Of The B-53
'Bunker Buster' Offers A Lesson In Managing Nuclear Weapons".
The Washington Post. p. 13. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
9. ↑ Watson, Leon (25 October 2011). "Dismantling the mega-nuke:
America begins to take apart B53 that was 600 times more powerful
than bomb that flattened Hiroshima". The Daily Mail. Retrieved
25 October 2011.
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