From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia W25 (nuclear warhead)
W25 (nuclear warhead)
Description
The W25 is 17.4 inches (44 cm) in diameter and 26.6 inch-
es (68 cm) long, with a reported weight of 218-221
pounds.[2] As noted above, yield was a relatively low 1.7
kilotons.
The W25 was described as a composite pit (utilizing
both Uranium and Plutonium), unboosted, and the first
US sealed pit design. A sealed pit means that a solid metal
barrier is formed around the pit or nuclear material com-
ponents inside a nuclear weapon, with no openings. This
protects the nuclear materials from environmental
degradation and helps reduce the chances of their re-
lease in case of an accidental fire or minor explosion.
See also
• List of nuclear weapons
• W53 - the warhead used on the Titan II ICBM
• W54 - very small yield warhead, one of the smallest
warheads built
• W61 - the basis for most US weapons today
• W80 - warhead which armed nuclear cruise missiles
Plumbbob John Nuclear Test, a live test of nuclear AIR-2A Ge- • W81 - development of the W61 for the Navy’s
nie rocket on July 19th 1957. Fired by an US Airforce F-89J over Standard missile
Yucca Flats Nuclear Test Site at an altitude of 15,000 feet • W84 - similar development for the Air Force’s
(4.6 km).
aborted GLCM missile
• W85 - similar development for the Army’s Pershing II
The W25 was a small nuclear warhead developed by
missile
the United States Air Force and Los Alamos Scientific
• W88 - warhead for the Trident missile
Laboratory for air-defense use. It was a fission device
with a nominal yield of 1.7 kt. Development of the
weapon began in 1954 at the behest of Douglas Aircraft References
for use against enemy bombers. [1] John Clearwater (1998), Canadian Nuclear Weapons:
The W25 was used for the MB-1 "Ding Dong", an un- The Untold Story of Canada’s Cold War Arsenal,
guided air-to-air rocket used by the F-89 Scorpion, Dundurn Press Ltd, ISBN 1550022997,
F-101B, and F-106 interceptor aircraft. The MB-1 entered http://books.google.com/?id=5-R7EJ0r680C,
service in 1957, and was eventually redesignated the retrieved 2008-11-10
AIR-2 Genie. The only non-U.S. user was Canada, whose [2] List of all U.S. Nuclear Weapons at
CF-101 Voodoos carried Genies until 1984 via a dual-key nuclearweaponarchive.org. Accessed Sept 2, 2007
nuclear sharing arrangement.[1] Limited numbers were
still used for Air National Guard F-106 aircraft until De-
cember 1984.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=W25_(nuclear_warhead)&oldid=410573135"
Categories:
• Cold War weapons of the United States
• Nuclear warheads
• Nuclear weapons of the United States
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia W25 (nuclear warhead)
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