RDS-3 “Marya”

Aircraft bombSoviet UnionImplosion fission

No freely licensed photo of this device yet.

Yield · TNT equivalent41.2 kt

Key specs

Country: Soviet Union
Design: Implosion fission
Type: Aircraft bomb
In service: 1953

Overview

A composite bomb with a plutonium core inside a uranium shell, and the first Soviet nuclear weapon dropped from an aircraft: a Tu-4 released it over Semipalatinsk in October 1951 (41 kt). Its RDS-3T version was the first Soviet nuclear bomb in series production, issued to Long Range Aviation in 1953.

Effect radii: estimates

Calculated for 41.2 kt

Fireball, maximum radius: ≈ 270 m
Initial radiation, 500 rem (5 Sv): ≈ 1.7 km
Blast 5 psi: most buildings collapse: ≈ 2.5 km
Thermal: third-degree burns: ≈ 3.1 km
Blast 1 psi: windows shatter: ≈ 7.6 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

Date	Event	Site	Yield
Oct 18, 1951	RDS-3 “Marya”	Semipalatinsk Test Site, Kazakh SSR	41.2 kt

Sources

Soviet Nuclear Test Summary, Nuclear Weapon Archive (Carey Sublette)
RDS-3, Wikipedia