B43

Aircraft bombUnited StatesThermonuclear (staged)

No freely licensed photo of this device yet.

Yield · TNT equivalent0.07–1 Mt

Key specs

Country: United States
Design: Thermonuclear (staged)
Type: Aircraft bomb
Weight: 950 kg
Length: 3.81 m
Diameter: 460 mm
In service: 1961–1991
Number built: 1,000

Overview

A thermonuclear bomb of 70 kt to 1 Mt designed for laydown delivery at high speed and low altitude, carried by many US and NATO strike aircraft. About 1,000 were built; the last were retired in 1991.

Effect radii: estimates

Calculated for 1 Mt

Fireball, maximum radius: ≈ 970 m
Initial radiation, 500 rem (5 Sv): ≈ 3.1 km
Blast 5 psi: most buildings collapse: ≈ 7.1 km
Thermal: third-degree burns: ≈ 11 km
Blast 1 psi: windows shatter: ≈ 22 km

Estimated ground ranges for an air burst at the optimum height over flat, open ground, computed from the yield with standard scaling laws. These are not measurements: real effects depend on the height of burst, terrain, buildings and weather.

Formulas from: Glasstone & Dolan, The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (1977), chapter II; Carey Sublette, Nuclear Weapons FAQ, section 5

Sources

Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons, Nuclear Weapon Archive (Carey Sublette)
B43 nuclear bomb, Wikipedia