- W55
The W55 was an American thermonuclear warhead used as the warhead for the
SUBROC antisubmarine rocket system. The W55 was designed in the early-1960s , and produced from 1964 to 1968. The last units were retired from service in 1990. A total of 285 W55 weapons were produced.The W55 had a yield which has been variously described as 1, 5, and 250 kilotons. Some sources suggest that the W55 evolved from the experimental bomb tested in the Hardtack I Olive nuclear test on
July 22 ,1958 , which had a yield estimated at 202 kilotons.The W55 is 35 cm (13.5 inches) in diameter, 1 metre (39.4 inches) long, and weighs 213 kg (470 pounds).
Researcher Chuck Hansen claims based on his US nuclear program research that the W55 and
W58 warheads shared a common Primary or fission first stage, and that this design was nicknamed theKinglet primary [http://www.thebulletin.org/article.php?art_ofn=ma01hansen Hansen 2001] .ee also
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List of nuclear weapons
*Kinglet primary
*W58 External links
* [http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html Allbombs.html nuclear weapon list at nuclearweaponarchive.org]
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