Mark 39 nuclear bomb
Thermonuclear warhead / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Mark 39 nuclear bomb and W39 nuclear warhead were versions of an American thermonuclear weapon, which were in service from 1957 to 1966.
The Mark 39 design was a thermonuclear bomb and had a yield of 3.8 megatons.[1] It weighed 6,500–6,750 pounds (2,950–3,060 kilograms),[2] and was about 11 feet, 8 inches long (3.556 meters)[2] with a diameter of 35 inches (89 cm).[2] The design is an improved Mark 15 nuclear bomb design (the TX-15-X3 design and Mark 39 Mod 0 were the same design). The Mark 15 was the first lightweight US thermonuclear bomb.
The W39 warhead was 35 inches (89 cm) in diameter and 106 inches (270 cm) long, with a weight of 6,230 pounds (2,830 kg) to 6,400 pounds (2,900 kg). It was essentially identical to the Mark 39 bomb, but lacked its parachute, fins, and "false" nose. It was used on the SM-62 Snark missile, PGM-11 Redstone short-range ballistic missile, and in the B-58 Hustler weapons pod. It was designated as a possible warhead to use in the SM-64 Navaho missile prior to the latter's cancellation. A lower-yield variant of the Mark 39 was developed for use with the Redstone missile. Sources indicated it may have been as low as 425 kilotons, or as high as 500 kilotons.[3][4]
A total of 700 Mark 39 bombs (of three "mod" variants) were produced between February 1957 and March 1959. Retirement of the Mark 39 began in January 1962 and concluded in November 1966. 60 W39 warheads were produced for the Redstone missile and stockpiled between 1958 and 1963, and 30 W39 warheads were produced for the Snark missile in 1958 and retired between August 1962 and September 1965.[5]