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Blue Danube

Blue Danube
Aircraft bombUnited KingdomImplosion fission
Blue Danube
Photo: Wiltshireboy · CC0 · background removed
Yield · TNT equivalent12 kt

Key specs

Design
Implosion fission
Type
Aircraft bomb
Weight
4.5 t
Length
7.3 m
Diameter
1.57 m
In service
1953–1962
Number built
58

Overview

Britain's first operational atomic bomb: a plutonium implosion weapon of 10–12 kt for the V-bomber force, based on the device tested in Operation Hurricane in 1952. At about 4.5 tonnes and more than 7 m long, it filled the bomb bay of a Valiant.

The first bomb reached RAF Wittering in November 1953. In the Kite test of October 1956 a Valiant dropped one with a reduced yield over Maralinga in Australia, the first live drop of a British atomic bomb. 58 were built before production moved to the lighter Red Beard, and it left service around 1962.

Effect radii: estimates

Calculated for 12 kt

Fireball, maximum radius
≈ 160 m
Initial radiation, 500 rem (5 Sv)
≈ 1.3 km
Blast 5 psi: most buildings collapse
≈ 1.6 km
Thermal: third-degree burns
≈ 1.9 km
Blast 1 psi: windows shatter
≈ 5 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

Tests and use

DateEventSiteYield
Oct 11, 1956Kite (Operation Buffalo)First live drop of a British atomic bomb, from a Valiant of No. 49 Squadron; yield deliberately reduced.Maralinga, South Australia3 kt

Sources

  1. Britain's Nuclear Weapons: From MAUD to Hurricane, Nuclear Weapon Archive (Carey Sublette)
  2. Blue Danube (nuclear weapon), Wikipedia