The Mark 16 nuclear bomb was a large thermonuclear bomb, based on the design of the Ivy Mike

Ivy Mike

Ivy Mike was the codename given to the first United States test of a thermonuclear weapon, in which a major part of the explosive yield came from nuclear fusion. It was detonated on November 1, 1952 by the United States at on Enewetak, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean, as part of Operation Ivy...

, the first hydrogen bomb test fired. The Mark 16 is more properly designated TX-16/EC-16 as it only existed in Experimental/Emergency Capability versions.

The TX-16 was notable because it was the only deployed thermonuclear bomb which used a cryogenic liquid deuterium

Deuterium

Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...

 fusion fuel, the same fuel used in the Ivy Mike test device. The TX-16 was in fact a "weaponized" version of the "Sausage" design tested in the Ivy Mike shot. This required both a considerable reduction in weight of the actual physics package and the replacement of the cryogenic system with a system for replenishing boiled-off deuterium from Dewar flasks

Vacuum flask

A vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel which keeps its contents hotter or cooler than its surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck...

 installed in the carrier aircraft. The carrier aircraft was to be the B-36 as modified under Operation Barroom.
Only one B-36 was so modified. The TX-16 shared a common forward and aft casing sections with the TX-14 and TX-17/24 and in the EC version was almost indistinguishable from the EC-14. The TX-16 was scheduled to be tested during the Castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 series as the "Jughead" device until the overwhelming success of the "Shrimp" device tested as the "Bravo" shot.

Specifications

The TX-16 bomb was 61.4 inches in diameter, 296.7 inches long, and weighed 39,000 to 42,000 pounds. Design yield was 6-8 megatons

TNT equivalent

TNT equivalent is a method of quantifying the energy released in explosions. The ton of TNT is a unit of energy equal to 4.184 gigajoules, which is approximately the amount of energy released in the detonation of one ton of TNT...

.

Manufacture and service

Five units were manufactured in January 1954, and deployed in an interim "emergency capability" role with the designation EC-16.

By April 1954 they were all retired, as the alternative solid-fueled thermonuclear weapons had been tested successfully. These solid fuel thermonuclear bombs were far easier to handle, requiring no cryogenic temperature materials or cooling system. It was replaced with the five EC-14 weapons brought up to an acceptable standard as the TX-14

Mark 14 nuclear bomb

For the Sinclair Research Ltd. SC/MP based computer system see MK14.The Mark 14 nuclear bomb was a 1950s American thermonuclear bomb, the first solid-fuel staged hydrogen bomb. It was an experimental design, and only five units were produced in early 1954. It was tested in April 1954 during the...

 and production Mark 17 nuclear bomb

Mark 17 nuclear bomb

The Mark 17 and Mark 24 were the first mass-produced hydrogen bombs deployed by the United States. The two differed in their "primary" stages. The MK 17/24 bombs were long, diameter. They weighed 21 tons. The Mark 17 had a yield in the range of 25 megatons TNT equivalent...

s in mid 1954.

The planned test of the TX-16 bomb in the Castle Yankee

Castle Yankee

Castle Yankee was the code name given to one of the tests in the Operation Castle series of American tests of thermonuclear bombs.-Jughead:...

 test of Operation Castle

Operation Castle

Operation Castle was a United States series of high-energy nuclear tests by Joint Task Force SEVEN at Bikini Atoll beginning in March 1954...

 was canceled due to the spectacular (and frightening) success of the "Shrimp" device in the Castle Bravo

Castle Bravo

Castle Bravo was the code name given to the first U.S. test of a dry fuel thermonuclear hydrogen bomb device, detonated on March 1, 1954 at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, as the first test of Operation Castle. Castle Bravo was the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the United States ,...

 test.

Popular culture

The fact that the nuclear warhead "Jughead" was never used was integrated into the storyline of the Lost

Lost (TV series)

Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...

 season 5 episode by the same name: "Jughead

Jughead (Lost)

"Jughead" is the third television episode of the fifth season of ABC's Lost. The 89th episode of the show overall, "Jughead" aired on January 28, 2009 on ABC in the United States, being simulcast on A in Canada...

"