Mark 12 nuclear bomb
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The Mark-12 nuclear bomb was a lightweight nuclear bomb designed and manufactured by the United States which was built starting in 1954 and which saw service from then until 1962.
The Mark-12 was notable for being significantly smaller in both size and weight compared to prior implosion-type nuclear weapons. For example, the overall diameter was only {{convert|22|in|cm}}, compared to the immediately prior Mark-7 which had a {{convert|30|in|cm}} diameter, and the volume of the implosion assembly was only 40% the size of the Mark-7's.
There was a planned W-12 warhead variant which would have been used with the RIM-8 Talos missile, but it was cancelled prior to introduction into service.
Specifications
File:FJ-4B VX-5 with Mk 12 nuclear bomb over China Lake c1958.jpg carrying a Mk 12 bomb (shape) over China Lake.]]
The complete Mark-12 bomb was {{convert|22|in|cm}} in diameter, {{convert|155|in|m|2}} long, and weighed {{convert|1100|to|1200|lb}}. It had a yield of {{convert|12|to|14|ktTNT|lk=in}}.
Features
The Mark-12 has been speculated to have been the first deployed nuclear weapon to have used beryllium as a reflector-tamper inside the implosion assembly (see nuclear weapon design). It is believed to have used a spherical implosion assembly, levitated pit, and 92-point detonation.
In popular culture
Though the weapon went out of service in 1962, it resurfaced in a fictional role in Tom Clancy's 1991 book The Sum of All Fears and the 2002 film, where the plot included an Israeli copy of the Mark-12 being lost by accident in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War in southern Syria near the Golan Heights, and then recovered by a terrorist organization.{{cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Martin. H. |title=The Tom Clancy Companion |page=[https://archive.org/details/tomclancycompani00clan/page/270 270] |year=1992 |url=https://archive.org/details/tomclancycompani00clan/page/270 |isbn=9780425134078 |publisher=Berkley Books }}
See also
References
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External links
- [http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html allbombs.html list at nuclearweaponarchive.org]
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/nuke-list.htm Historical nuclear bombs list at globalsecurity.org]
{{United States nuclear devices}}
Category:Cold War aerial bombs of the United States