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.. One warhead nearly detonated in 2005 because an unsafe amount of pressure was applied while it was being disassembled [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- 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
- "Mishap in dismantling nuclear warhead" UPI.
