View source for B53 nuclear bomb

{{short description|American high-yield nuclear gravity bomb}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name            = B53
|image           = B53 at Pantex.jpg
|caption         = 
|origin          = United States
|type            = [[Thermonuclear weapon]]
<!--Type selection -->
|is_explosive    = yes
<!-- Production history -->
|designer        = [[LANL]]<ref name="nucdatabook58">{{harvnb|Cochran|1989|p=58}}</ref>
|design_date     =1958–1961<ref name="nucdatabook58" />
|service         =1962–1997
|manufacturer    =[[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]]
|unit_cost       =
|production_date =1961–1965<ref name="nucdatabook58" /><ref name="hansen162" />
|number          = About 340<ref name="hansen162" />
<!-- General specifications -->
<!-- Note on units - the weapon was designed and specified in inches (or feet) and pounds.  All the original references are in inches and pounds.  Wikipedia policy is to use as the primary values the original units system and provide conversions from that to the other unit system.  Changing the natively english units values to metric as the base unit violates Wikipedia policy.  As does removing the english units entirely.  Please leave this alone.  -->
|weight          = {{convert|8850|lb|kg|abbr=on}}<ref name="nucdatabook58" />
|length          = {{convert|12|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}}<ref name="nucdatabook58" />
|part_length     =
|width           =
|height          =
|diameter        = {{convert|50|in|ft m|abbr=on}}<ref name="nucdatabook58" />
|crew            =
<!-- Explosive specifications -->
|filling         = Fission: 100% [[oralloy]] <br/>
Fusion: [[Lithium#Nuclear|Lithium-6]] [[deuterium|deuteride]]<ref name="nucdatabook58" />
|filling_weight  =
|detonation      =
|yield           = Y1: 9 [[TNT equivalent|megatons]]<br/>Y2: Unknown
}}

The ''' Mk/B53''' was a high-yield [[nuclear bunker buster|bunker buster]] [[thermonuclear weapon]] developed by the [[United States]] during the [[Cold War]]. Deployed on [[Strategic Air Command]] bombers, the B53, with a [[nuclear weapon yield|yield]] of 9 megatons, was the most powerful weapon in the [[Nuclear weapons and the United States#United States strategic nuclear weapons arsenal|U.S. nuclear arsenal]] after the last [[B41 nuclear bomb]]s were retired in 1976.

The B53 was the basis of the '''W-53 warhead''' carried by the [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II missile]], which was decommissioned in 1987. Although not in active service for many years before 2010, fifty B53s were retained during that time as part of the "hedge" portion{{efn-lr|'Hedge stockpile': fully operational, but kept in storage; available within minutes or hours; not connected to delivery systems, but delivery systems are available (i.e. missile and bomb stockpiles kept at various Air Force bases)}} of the [[Enduring Stockpile]] until its complete dismantling in 2011. The last B53 was disassembled on 25 October 2011, a year ahead of schedule.<ref>{{cite news |last=Blaney |first=Betsy |title=US's most powerful nuclear bomb being dismantled |url=http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16026/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=0aJn5uIa |access-date=25 October 2011 |agency=The Associated Press |date=25 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425092131/http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16026/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=0aJn5uIa |archive-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="wired">{{cite magazine |first=Spencer |last=Ackerman |title=Last Nuclear 'Monster Weapon' Gets Dismantled |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/b53-dismantled/ |date=23 October 2011 |access-date=23 October 2011 |archive-date=19 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019140704/http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/b53-dismantled/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

With its retirement, the largest bomb in service in the U.S. nuclear arsenal is the [[B83 nuclear bomb|B83]], with a [[variable yield|maximum yield]] of 1.2 megatons.<ref>{{cite news |last=Betsy |first=Blaney |title=Most powerful US nuclear bomb dismantled |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna45031536 |work=NBC News |date=25 October 2011 |access-date=26 October 2011 |archive-date=6 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130406231213/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45031536 |url-status=live }}</ref> The B53 was replaced in the [[nuclear bunker buster|bunker-busting]] role by the [[B61 nuclear bomb#Mods|B61 Mod 11]].

==History==
[[File:HardtackOak.JPG|thumb|Hardtack Oak nuclear weapon test.]]
Development of the weapon began in 1955 by [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]], based on the earlier [[Mark 21 nuclear bomb|Mk 21]] and [[B46 nuclear bomb|Mk 46]] weapons. In March 1958 the [[Strategic Air Command]] issued a request for a new '''Class C''' (less than five tons, megaton-range) bomb to replace the earlier [[B41 nuclear bomb|Mk 41]].<ref name="hansen162">{{harvnb|Hansen|1988|pp=162–163}}</ref> A revised version of the '''Mk 46''' became the '''TX-53''' in 1959. The development TX-53 warhead was apparently never tested, although an experimental TX-46 predecessor design was detonated 28 June 1958 as [[Operation Hardtack I|Hardtack]] Oak, which detonated at a yield of 8.9 [[TNT equivalent|Megatons]].

The '''Mk 53''' entered production in 1962 and was built through June 1965.<ref name="hansen162" /> About 340 bombs were built. It entered service aboard [[B-47 Stratojet]], [[B-52 Stratofortress|B-52G Stratofortress]],<ref name="nucdatabook58" /> and [[B-58 Hustler]] [[bomber aircraft]] in the mid-1960s. From 1968 it was redesignated '''B53'''.

Some early versions of the bomb were dismantled beginning in 1967. After the Titan II program ended, the remaining W-53s were retired in the late 1980s. The B53 was retired in 1986, but in 1988 50 units were brought back into service and received the '''B53 Mod 1''' safety upgrade so the air force could cover certain targets previously covered by Titan II.<ref name=Handbook>{{cite report |author= |author-link= |date=September 1990 |title=Sandia Weapon Review: Nuclear Weapon Characteristics Handbook |url=https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nnsa/NuclearWeaponsCharacteristicHandbook.pdf |publisher=Sandia National Labs |pages=47, 64 |docket=SAND90-1238 |access-date= |quote= |ref={{harvid|Sandia Weapon Review: Nuclear Weapon Characteristics Handbook}} |archive-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112004633/https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nnsa/NuclearWeaponsCharacteristicHandbook.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> These weapons remained in the active stockpile until the deployment of the [[B61 nuclear bomb|B61-11]] in 1997. At that point the obsolete B53s were slated for immediate disassembly; however, the process of disassembling the units was greatly hampered by safety concerns as well as a lack of resources.<ref name="mmw">{{cite web |first=William Robert |last=Johnston |title=Multimegaton Weapons: The Largest Nuclear Weapons |url=http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/multimeg.html |date=6 April 2009 |access-date=27 October 2011 |archive-date=4 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604052656/http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/multimeg.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2010 authorization was given to disassemble the 50 bombs at the [[Pantex]] plant in Texas.<ref name="WP2010">{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101805915.html | author=Walter Pincus | title=The Story Of The B-53 'Bunker Buster' Offers A Lesson In Managing Nuclear Weapons | page=13 | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=19 October 2010 | access-date=19 October 2010 | archive-date=8 November 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108224145/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101805915.html | url-status=live }}</ref> The process of dismantling the last remaining B53 bomb in the stockpile was completed in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nnsa.energy.gov/mediaroom/pressreleases/b53dismantle102511 |title=NNSA Announces Dismantlement of Last B53 Nuclear Bomb &#124; National Nuclear Security Administration &#124; (NNSA) |access-date=4 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904112002/https://nnsa.energy.gov/mediaroom/pressreleases/b53dismantle102511 |archive-date=4 September 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Reporter2013">{{cite book|author=((The Editors of the National Catholic Reporter))|title=Best Catholic Spirituality Writing 2012: 30 Inspiring Essays from the National Catholic Reporter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5hgOLMVHT7QC&pg=PT8|date=21 March 2013|publisher=eBooks2go|isbn=978-1-61813-984-9|pages=8–}}</ref>

==Specifications==
The B53 was {{convert|12|ft|4|in|m|2}} long with a diameter of {{convert|50|in|ft m|2}}. It weighed {{convert|8850|lb|kg}}, including the W53 warhead, the  {{convert|800|to|900|lb|kg|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[parachute]] system and the honeycomb aluminum [[nose cone]] to enable the bomb to survive [[laydown delivery]]. It had five parachutes:<ref name="nucdatabook58" /> one {{convert|5|ft|adj=on|2}} [[pilot chute]], one  {{convert|16|ft|adj=on|2}} extractor chute, and three {{convert|48|ft|adj=on|2}}  main chutes. Chute deployment depends on delivery mode, with the main chutes used only for laydown delivery. For free-fall delivery, the entire system was jettisoned.

The W53 warhead of the B53 used [[enriched uranium|oralloy]] (highly enriched [[uranium]]) instead of [[plutonium]] for fission,<ref>{{cite report |author= |author-link= |date=1 October 1993 |title=Nuclear Explosive Safety Study of B53 Mechanical Disassembly Operations at the USDOE Pantex Plant |url=http://www.nukestrat.com/us/afn/GP95-18h_DOE082394.pdf |publisher=Department of Energy Nuclear Explosive Safety Study Group |page=21 |docket= |access-date= |quote= |ref={{harvid|Nuclear Explosive Safety Study of B53 Mechanical Disassembly Operations at the USDOE Pantex Plant}} |archive-date=11 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611021050/http://www.nukestrat.com/us/afn/GP95-18h_DOE082394.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> with a mix of [[lithium]]-6 [[deuterium|deuteride]] fuel for fusion. The [[explosive lens]] comprised a mixture of [[RDX]] and [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]], which was not [[insensitive munitions|insensitive]]. Two variants were made: the '''B53-Y1''', a "dirty" weapon using a U-238-encased secondary, and the '''B53-Y2''' "clean" version with a non-fissile ([[lead]] or [[tungsten]]) secondary casing.<ref>{{cite report |author1=A W Betts |author2=G JKeto |date=17 June 1963 |title=TWX to A W Betts, Subject: Guidance Regarding MK 53Y2 (Deleted) |url=https://www.osti.gov/opennet/detail?osti-id=16166545 |docket=NV0104000 |archive-date=11 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211012159/https://www.osti.gov/opennet/detail?osti-id=16166545 |url-status=live }}</ref> The explosive yield for the Y1 version was declassified in 2014 as being 9 Mt.<ref>{{cite report |first1=Matthew |last1=Moury |first2=Vahld |last2=Majldl |date=28 November 2014 |title=(U)Declassification Determination |url=https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/decl/b53-yield.pdf |page=US DoD |access-date=20 September 2018 |quote=that the total weapon yield of the B53/W53 Y1 was 9 Mt. |archive-date=28 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328045136/https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/decl/b53-yield.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1988, some B53s were upgraded to the B53 Mod 1 (B53-1) variant to improve weapon safety and to provide compatibility with the G/H variants of the B52 bomber. During this upgrade the weapon lost full-fuzing capability, retaining only the laydown fuzing mode.{{sfn|Sandia Weapon Review: Nuclear Weapon Characteristics Handbook|p=64}} The B53-1 had a selectable laydown time of 30 to 240 seconds in 30 second increments.{{sfn|Nuclear Explosive Safety Study of B53 Mechanical Disassembly Operations at the USDOE Pantex Plant|p=21}}

==Role==
It was intended as a [[bunker buster]] weapon, using a surface blast after laydown deployment to transmit a [[shock wave]] through the earth to collapse its target. Attacks against the Soviet deep underground leadership shelters in the [[Chekhov, Moscow Oblast|Chekhov]]/[[Sharapovo]] area south of [[Moscow]] envisaged multiple B53/W53 exploding at ground level.  It has since been supplanted in such roles by the earth-penetrating [[B61 nuclear bomb|B61 Mod 11]], a bomb that penetrates the surface to deliver much more of its explosive energy into the ground, and therefore needs a much smaller [[TNT equivalent|yield]] to produce the same effects.

The B53 was intended to be retired in the 1980s, but 50 units remained in the active stockpile until the deployment of the B61-11 in 1997. At that point the obsolete B53s were slated for immediate disassembly; however, the process of disassembling the units was greatly hampered by safety concerns as well as a lack of resources.<ref name="mmw" /><ref name="WP2010" /> The last remaining B53 bomb began the disassembly processes on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 at the Energy Department's [[Pantex Plant]].<ref name="wired" />

An April 2014 [[GAO]] report notes that the [[National Nuclear Security Administration|National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)]] is retaining canned sub-assemblies (CSAs) "associated with a certain warhead indicated as excess in the 2012 Production and Planning Directive are being retained in an indeterminate state pending a senior-level government evaluation of their use in [[Asteroid impact avoidance|planetary defense against earthbound asteroids]]."<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/662840.pdf#page=46|title = "Actions Needed by NNSA to Clarify Dismantlement Performance Goal", Report to the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, United States Government Accountability Office|date = April 2014|access-date = 4 August 2014|archive-date = 26 July 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140726094125/http://gao.gov/assets/670/662840.pdf#page=46|url-status = live}}</ref> In its FY2015 budget request, the NNSA noted that the B53 component disassembly was "delayed", leading some observers to conclude they might be the warhead CSAs being retained for potential planetary defense purposes.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f14/Volume%201%20NNSA.pdf#page=108|title = Department of Energy FY 2015 Congressional Budget Request for the National Nuclear Security Administration|date = March 2014|access-date = 4 August 2014|archive-date = 7 August 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140807005610/http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f14/Volume%201%20NNSA.pdf#page=108|url-status = live}}</ref>

==W-53==
{{Redirect|W53|the train station|Minami-Bifuka Station}}
[[File:W53 nuclear bomb.jpg|thumb|W53 [[physics package]]]]
[[File:W-53 Sandia 1968 History of Mk 53 weapon.png|thumb|W53/Mk53 thermonuclear warhead inside its Mk6 RV.]]
The '''W-53''' nuclear warhead of the [[LGM-25C Titan II|Titan II]] ballistic missile used the same [[physics package]] as the B53, without the air drop-specific components like the parachute system and crushable structures in the nose and sides needed for lay-down delivery, reducing its mass to about {{convert|6200|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref name=nucdatabook59>{{harvnb|Cochran|1989|p=59}}</ref> The {{convert|8140|lb|adj=on}} Mark-6 re-entry vehicle containing the W53 warhead was about {{convert|123|in|ft m}} long, {{convert|7.5|ft}} in diameter and was mounted atop a spacer which was {{convert|8.3|ft}} in diameter at the missile interface (compared to the missile's core diameter of {{convert|10|ft|disp=sqbr}}). With a yield of 9 [[TNT equivalent|megatons]], it was the highest yield warhead ever deployed on a US missile. About 65 W53 warheads were constructed between December 1962 and December 1963.<ref name="nucdatabook59" />

On 19 September 1980 a fuel leak caused a Titan II to [[1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion|explode]] within its [[missile silo|silo]] in [[Arkansas]], throwing the W53 warhead some distance away. Due to the safety measures built into the weapon, it did not explode or release any [[Radionuclide|radioactive material]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themilitarystandard.com/missile/titan2/lr_afb.php |title=Titan II at Little Rock AFB |work=The Military Standard |access-date=27 October 2011 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717013612/http://www.themilitarystandard.com/missile/titan2/lr_afb.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Fifty-two active missiles were deployed in silos prior to the beginning of the retirement program in October 1982.<ref name="nucdatabook59" />

==Effects==
[[File:AtomicTestingMuseumB53nuclearbomb.jpg|thumb|B53 on display at the Atomic Testing Museum]]
Assuming a detonation at optimum height, a 9-megaton blast would result in a fireball with an approximate {{convert|2.9|to|3.4|mi|abbr=on}} diameter.<ref>{{Cite web | last=Walker | first=John | author-link=John Walker (programmer) | title=Nuclear Bomb Effects Computer | publisher=Fourmilab | date=June 2005 | access-date=2009-11-22 | url=http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Bombcalc?yield=9&yunit=1000&range=5&runit=1&rotate=340&imsize=1500 | archive-date=24 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924015018/http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Bombcalc?yield=9&yunit=1000&range=5&runit=1&rotate=340&imsize=1500 | url-status=live }}</ref> The radiated heat would be sufficient to cause lethal [[Burn (injury)|burns]] to any unprotected person within a {{convert|20|mi|adj=on}} radius ({{convert|1250|sqmi|disp=or|abbr=on}}). Blast effects would be sufficient to collapse most residential and industrial structures within a {{convert|9|mi|abbr=on}} radius ({{convert|254|sqmi|disp=or|abbr=on}}); within {{convert|3.65|mi|abbr=on|sp=us}} ({{convert|42|sqmi|disp=or|abbr=on}}) virtually all above-ground structures would be destroyed and blast effects would inflict near 100% fatalities. Within {{convert|2.25|mi|abbr=on}} a 500-[[Roentgen equivalent man|rem]] (5-[[sievert]]) dose of [[ionizing radiation]] would be received by the average person, sufficient to cause a 50% to 90% casualty rate independent of thermal or blast effects at this distance.<ref>{{Cite web | last=Wellerstein | first=Alex | author-link=NUKEMAP | title=NukeMap v2.42 | publisher=NukeMap | date=2012–2014 | access-date=2014-07-28 | url=http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&ff=50&linked=1&kt=9000&lat=55.751667&lng=37.617778&hob_ft=0&zm=10 | archive-date=8 August 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808212340/http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&ff=50&linked=1&kt=9000&lat=55.751667&lng=37.617778&hob_ft=0&zm=10 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Accidents==
* January 13, 1964 -[[1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash]] (involved two B53-0 Y1 bombs being shipped in ferry configuration)
* December 8, 1964 - USAF B-58 aircraft carrying a B53 nuclear bomb internally, and four B43 nuclear bombs externally, caught fire while taxiing after its landing gear collapsed. The B53 burned, causing contamination of the crash area. Two of the B43s caused some plutonium and uranium contamination.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mason & Hanger - Silas Mason Co. Inc.|title=Broken Arrow Examination|p=13-38 of PDF|date=16 February 1965|url=https://www.governmentattic.org/40docs/NNSApost1980BrokenArrow_2021.pdf|publisher=Government Attic}}</ref>
* September 18–19, 1980 - [[1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion]] (involved a Titan II missile with a W-53 warhead)

==List of B53s on display==
Currently, seven actual B53s are on display at the following facilities or museums.
*B53 on display in the free introduction exhibit room at the [[Atomic Testing Museum]], [[Las Vegas, Nevada]]
*B53 on display at the [[Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum]] at the former [[Lowry AFB]], [[Denver]], [[Colorado]]
*B53 on display at the [[Grissom Air Museum]] at [[Grissom Air Reserve Base]], the former [[Grissom AFB]], in [[Peru, Indiana|Peru]], [[Indiana]]
*Mark 53 casing is on display in the [[Cold War]] Gallery at the [[National Museum of the United States Air Force]] at [[Wright-Patterson AFB]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]]
*B53 casing in display yard of [[The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History]], adjacent to [[Kirtland AFB]] in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]
*W-53 on display in the visitors center of the [[Titan Missile Museum]] near [[Tucson, Arizona]]
*B-53 in display yard of Freedom Museum USA in [[Pampa, Texas]]
*B-53 (training version) in display at the [[Königstein Fortress|Festung Königstein]], Saxony, Germany

{{-}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist-lr}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|url=http://docs.nrdc.org/nuclear/files/nuc_84000001b_01.pdf|title=Nuclear Weapons Databook: United States Nuclear Forces and Capabilities|last=Cochran|first=Thomas B.|publisher=Ballinger Pub Co|year=1989|isbn=978-0-88730-043-1|volume=1|pages=58–59|chapter=US Nuclear Stockpile|access-date=26 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331055614/http://docs.nrdc.org/nuclear/files/nuc_84000001b_01.pdf|archive-date=31 March 2012|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book|title=US Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History|last=Hansen|first=Chuck|publisher=Aerofax|year=1988|isbn=978-0-517-56740-1|location=Arlington, Texas|author-link=Chuck Hansen}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

*[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/B53.html The B-53 (Mk-53) Bomb]

{{United States nuclear devices}}

[[Category:Cold War aerial bombs of the United States]]
[[Category:Nuclear bombs of the United States]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1960s]]
[[Category:2011 disestablishments in the United States]]