| Nuclear
artillery
Shortly after the development of the first atomic bombs
the USA and the USSR began investigations into devices
with limited yield that could by used in sub-strategic
situations, even tactically. This developed into a number
of short-range delivery systems and low yield warheads
from the late 1950s onwards. The weapons included
landmines, depth charges, torpedoes, demolition munitions
and artillery shells.
US nuclear artillery
The US development resulted in a number of test weapons.
The first artillery test was on May 25, 1953 at the
Nevada Test Site. Fired as part of Operation
Upshot-Knothole and codenamed Shot GRABLE a 280 mm shell
with a gun-type fission warhead was fired 10,000 m and
detonated 160 m above the ground with an estimated yield
of 15 kilotons. This was the only nuclear artillery shell
actually fired. The shell was 1384 mm long and weighed
365 kg, it was fired from a specially built artillery
piece by the Artillery Test Unit of Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
Around 3,200 personnel were present. The warhead was
designated the W-9 and 80 were produced from 1952-53 for
the T-124 shell, it was retired in 1957.
Development work continued and
resulted in the W-19. A 280 mm shell it was a linear
development of the W-9. Only 80 warheads were produced
and the system was retired in 1963 with the development
of the W-48 warhead. The W-48 was 846 mm long and
weighing 58 kg, it could be fitted in a 155 mm M-45 AFAP
(artillery fired atomic projectile) and used in a more
standard 155 mm howitzer. The fission warhead was a
linear implosion type, consisting of a long cylinder of
subcritical mass which is compressed and shaped by
explosive into a supercritical sphere. The W-48 yielded
just 72 tons TNT equivalent.
The W-48 went into production from 1963, 135 examples of
the Mod 0 variant were built up to 1968 when it was
retired. It was replaced by the Mod 1 which was
manufactured from 1965 up until 1969, 925 of this type
were made. Efforts were made to update the warheads, the
203 mm W-74 was developed from around 1970, intended to
have a yield of 100 tons or higher it was cancelled in
1973. A further development program began in the 1980s,
the W-82 was for a 155 mm shell, the XM-785, it was
intended to yield up to 2 kt with an enhanced radiation
capability. Development was halted in 1983, a W-82-1
fission only type was designed but finally cancelled in
1990.
Other developments also continued. In 1958 a fusion
warhead was developed and tested, the UCRL Swift. It was
622 mm long, 127 mm diameter, and weighed 43.5 kg. At its
test it yielded only 190 tons, it failed to achieve
fusion and only the initial fission explosion had worked
correctly. As well as linear implosion devices the US
developed a spherical implosion device that was very
close to the theoretical limit of nuclear weapons. The
Mk-54 Davy Crockett was designed to be fired from the
M-388 recoilless rifle. Weighing only 23 kg the warhead,
in its casing, was 400 mm by 273 mm. It was first tested
in October 1958 as part of Operation Hardtack and yielded
10 tons, later developments increased that to 1 kt. 400
Mk-54 warheads were produced from 1961-65 and the last
was withdraw in 1971. The warhead was also adapted for
the Mk-54 SADM (Special Atomic Demolition Munition), this
was a cylinder 40 cm by 60 cm and weighed 68 kg, fired by
a mechanical timer it had a variable yield from 10 tons
up to 1 kt. 300 SADMs were made and they remained in the
US arsenal until 1989.
Only one type of artillery round other than the W-48 was
produced in large numbers, the W-33 for use in a 203 mm
shell. Around 2,000 warheads of this type were
manufactured from 1957-65, each was 940 mm long and
weighed around 109 kg, they were fitted in the T-317 AFAP
and fired from a specialised howitzer. The warhead yield
was greater than the W-48 and it was made in four types,
three yielding 5 to 10 kt and one 40 kt.
In 1991 the US unilaterally withdrew its nuclear
artillery shells from service, and Russia responded in
kind in 1992. The US removed around 1,300 nuclear shells
from Europe.
Davy
Crockett - Nuclear Bazooka
The Davy Crockett nuclear bazooka is a one-of-a-kind
device that was deployed by the United States in West
Germany from 1961-1971, during the Cold War. The smallest
missile-launched nuclear weapon ever built, the Davy
Crockett carried a variable 10-250 tonne W-54 fission
warhead. The Davy Crockett could be launched from either
an M28 (102mm) or an M29 (155mm) recoilless rifle, with
the only difference being the effective range, between
only 1.24 miles for the smaller M28 and 2.5 miles for the
larger M29.
Operated by a 3-man team, the Davy Crockett was mounted
on a small triangular launcher that could be mounted on a
Jeep or tank, or on the ground. This enabled small teams
of the Atomic Battle Group (charged with operating the
device) located every few kilometers to effectively guard
against any Soviet attack, as the Davy Crockett could
kill every man in an advancing army and irradiate the
area so that it was uninhabitable for up to 48 hours -
long enough to mobilize American troops.
The warhead was tested on July 7, 1962 in the LITTLE
FELLER II weapons effects test shot and again in an
actual firing of the Davy Crockett from distance of 1.7
miles in the "SMALL BOY" test shot (LITTLE
FELLER I) on July 17. This was the last atmospheric test
detonation at the Nevada Test Site.
The Davy Crockett rocket made an appearance with both a
nuclear and conventional payload in the 1962 movie King
Kong vs Godzilla, even though the rocket system was still
classified at the time.
Text is available under
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