W56

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The W56 is an American thermonuclear warhead produced starting in 1963 which saw service until 1993, on the Minuteman I and II ICBMs.

The W56 was manufactured in a series of models, all the same rough size and 1.2 megaton yield. The Mod-1, Mod-2, and Mod-3 variants weighed 600 pounds, with the Mod-4 variant weighing 680 pounds. All versions were 17.4 inches diameter by 47.3 inches long.

The early models (Mod-1, Mod-2, and Mod-3) were produced starting in 1963 and retired in September 1966. The Mod-4 model was in production through 1969 and saw service until 1993. 1,000 total were produced, of which 455 were Mod-4.

The early models had to be retrofitted to fix a reliability problem, likely leading to their early retirement.

All W56 warheads were dismantled by the end of June, 2006.[1]

[edit] See also

• LGM-30 Minuteman
• List of nuclear weapons
• United States and weapons of mass destruction

[edit] External links

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

• "Cold War Relic in Pieces, but Next Generation Looms" By Walter Pincus, The Washington Post, June 29, 2006