Mark 13 nuclear bomb

The Mark 13 nuclear bomb and its variant, the W-13 nuclear warhead, were experimental nuclear weapons developed by the United States from 1951 to 1954. The Mark 13 design was based on the earlier Mark 6 nuclear bomb design, which was in turn based on the Mark 4 nuclear bomb and the Mark 3 nuclear bomb used at the end of World War II.

Description

The Mark 13 bomb was nearly the same size as the Mark 6 nuclear bomb it was developed from; 61 inches in diameter and 128 inches long (150 cm by 320 cm), weighing 7,400 lb (3,300 kg). The W-13 warhead was somewhat smaller, being roughly 58 inches in diameter and 100 inches long, with a 6,000 to 6,500 lb weight (145 cm by 250 cm, 2,700 kg to 2,900 kg). ^[1]

The Mark 13 design used a 92-point nuclear implosion system (see Nuclear weapon design). A similar 92-point system was used in later variants of the Mark 6 weapon.

Testing

The Mark 13 nuclear bomb design was tested at least once, in the Operation Upshot-Knothole Harry test shot conducted on May 19, 1953. The estimated yield of this test was 32 kilotons.

Deployment

As the Mark 13 neared production, advances in thermonuclear weapon design, particularly the Ivy Mike thermonuclear test in November 1952, made the Mark 13 obsolete. Development continued for research purposes (the Upshot-Knothole Harry test shot came months after the first thermonuclear test in Ivy Mike), and in two variant designs, but the Mark 13 proper was never deployed. The Mark 13 bomb version was cancelled in August 1953, and the W-13 warhead version was cancelled in September 1953.

Variants

Mark 18

The Mark 18 nuclear bomb also known as the Super Oralloy Bomb (or its initials SOB) utilized the 92-point Mark 13 implosion system, but a different fissile core with around 60 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (Oralloy). This was the largest pure fission nuclear bomb ever tested, with a yield of nearly 500 kilotons. The Mark 18 was produced in moderate quantities (90 units) and in service from 1953 to 1956.

Mark 20

The Mark 20 nuclear bomb was a planned successor to the Mark 13 incorporating some improvements in its design. Research was halted at the same time as the Mark 13.

The Mark 20 was the same size as the Mark 13, but weighed only 6,400 lb.

References

↑ Complete list of all US nuclear weapons, Carey Sublette, at the nuclearweaponarchive.org website. Accessed April 17, 2007.

United States nuclear devices

Fission

World War II bombs	Gadget Little Boy Thin Man Fat Man

Post-war bombs	Mark III Mark 4 Mark 5 Mark 6 Mark 7 Mark 8 Mark 10 Mark 11 Mark 12 Mark 13 Mark 18 Mark 20

Primaries	Swan Python Robin Tsetse Kinglet

Post-war warheads	W4 W5 W7 W8 W9 W12 W13 W19 W23 W25 W44 W45 W48 W54 W70 W72 W74 W79 W82

Atomic demolition munitions (mines)	T-4 SADM TADM MADM

Boosted
fission

Warheads	W30 W31 W33 W34 W40

Thermonuclear

Bombs	Mark 14 Mark 15 TX-16 Mark 17 Mark 21 TX-22 Mark 24 Mark 26 Mark 27 B28 Mark 36 Mark 39 B41 B43 TX-46 B53 B57 B61 B77 B83 B90

Depth bombs	Mark 90 Mk 101 B57

Warheads	W15 W27 W28 TX-29 XW-35 W38 W39 W47 W49 W50 W52 W53 W55 W56 W58 W59 W62 W67 W68 W69 W71 W73 W76 W78 W80 W81 W84 W85 W86 W87 W88 W89 W91 RRW

Enhanced radiation warheads	W66 W70 Mod 3 W79 Mod 0 W82 Mod 0

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