Mark 11 nuclear bomb
Encyclopedia
The Mark 11 nuclear bomb was an American nuclear bomb developed from the earlier Mark 8 nuclear bomb
in the mid 1950s. Like the Mark 8, the Mark 11 was an earth-penetrating weapon, also known as a Nuclear bunker buster
bomb.
(see also Nuclear weapon design#Gun-type assembly weapon). It used a fixed large target assembly of highly enriched uranium or HEU, a gun like barrel, and a powder charge and uranium bullet or projectile fired up the barrel into the target.
The Mark 11 was first produced in 1956, and was in service until 1960. A total of 40 were produced, replacing but not expanding the quantity of Mark 8 bombs. It was 14 inches in diameter and 147 inches long, with a weight of 3,210 to 3,500 pounds. Yield was reportedly the same as the Mark 8, 25 to 30 kilotons.
The two bombs reportedly used the same basic fissile weapon design, but the Mark 11 had a much more modern external casing designed to penetrate further and more reliably into the ground. The Mark 8 had a flat nose, much like a torpedo. The Mark 11 nose was a pointed ogive
shape.
Mark 8 nuclear bomb
The Mark 8 nuclear bomb was a nuclear bomb designed late 1940s and early 1950s, which was in service from 1952 to 1957.- Description :The Mark 8 was a gun type nuclear bomb, which rapidly assembles several critical masses of fissile nuclear material by firing a fissile projectile or "bullet" into a...
in the mid 1950s. Like the Mark 8, the Mark 11 was an earth-penetrating weapon, also known as a Nuclear bunker buster
Nuclear bunker buster
Bunker-busting nuclear weapons, also known as earth-penetrating weapons , are a type of nuclear weapon designed to penetrate into soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to a target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers buried deep in the ground...
bomb.
Description
As with the Mark 8, the Mark 11 was a Gun-type nuclear bombGun-type fission weapon
Gun-type fission weapons are fission-based nuclear weapons whose design assembles their fissile material into a supercritical mass by the use of the "gun" method: shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another...
(see also Nuclear weapon design#Gun-type assembly weapon). It used a fixed large target assembly of highly enriched uranium or HEU, a gun like barrel, and a powder charge and uranium bullet or projectile fired up the barrel into the target.
The Mark 11 was first produced in 1956, and was in service until 1960. A total of 40 were produced, replacing but not expanding the quantity of Mark 8 bombs. It was 14 inches in diameter and 147 inches long, with a weight of 3,210 to 3,500 pounds. Yield was reportedly the same as the Mark 8, 25 to 30 kilotons.
The two bombs reportedly used the same basic fissile weapon design, but the Mark 11 had a much more modern external casing designed to penetrate further and more reliably into the ground. The Mark 8 had a flat nose, much like a torpedo. The Mark 11 nose was a pointed ogive
Ogive
An ogive is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object.-Applied physical science and engineering:In ballistics or aerodynamics, an ogive is a pointed, curved surface mainly used to form the approximately streamlined nose of a bullet or other projectile.The traditional...
shape.
See also
- List of nuclear weapons
- Mark 8 nuclear bombMark 8 nuclear bombThe Mark 8 nuclear bomb was a nuclear bomb designed late 1940s and early 1950s, which was in service from 1952 to 1957.- Description :The Mark 8 was a gun type nuclear bomb, which rapidly assembles several critical masses of fissile nuclear material by firing a fissile projectile or "bullet" into a...
- Mark 1 Little Boy nuclear bombLittle Boy"Little Boy" was the codename of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets of the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, of the United States Army Air Forces. It was the first atomic bomb to be used as a weapon...
External links
- Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear warheads at nuclearweaponarchive.org