TN 60 / TN 61

Missile warheadFranceThermonuclear (staged)

No freely licensed photo of this device yet.

Yield · TNT equivalent1 Mt

Key specs

Country: France
Design: Thermonuclear (staged)
Type: Missile warhead
In service: 1977–1996

Overview

France’s 1 Mt missile warheads of the late 1970s: the TN 60 entered service in early 1977 on the M20 submarine-launched missile and was soon replaced by the TN 61, also used on the S3 land-based missile. The TN 60 was the first French warhead hardened against the Moscow missile defences.

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

TN 60, Wikipedia