Red Beard

Aircraft bombUnited KingdomImplosion fission

No freely licensed photo of this device yet.

Yield · TNT equivalent15–25 kt

Key specs

Country: United Kingdom
Design: Implosion fission
Type: Aircraft bomb
Weight: 794 kg
Length: 3.66 m
Diameter: 710 mm
In service: 1961–1971

Overview

Britain’s first tactical nuclear bomb, of 15 or 25 kt, carried by RAF Canberras and V-bombers and by Royal Navy carrier aircraft such as the Scimitar, Sea Vixen and Buccaneer. Its design was tested at Maralinga in 1956; it served from 1961 to 1971.

Effect radii: estimates

Calculated for 25 kt

Fireball, maximum radius: ≈ 220 m
Initial radiation, 500 rem (5 Sv): ≈ 1.5 km
Blast 5 psi: most buildings collapse: ≈ 2.1 km
Thermal: third-degree burns: ≈ 2.5 km
Blast 1 psi: windows shatter: ≈ 6.4 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
Sep 27, 1956	Buffalo One Tree	Maralinga, South Australia	15 kt

Sources

Red Beard (nuclear weapon), Wikipedia