W48 nuclear artillery shell

W48 (M454)

Artillery shellUnited StatesImplosion fission

W48 nuclear artillery shell — Photo: United States Army · Public domain · background removed

Yield · TNT equivalent100 t

Key specs

Country: United States
Design: Implosion fission
Type: Artillery shell
Weight: 54 kg
Length: 860 mm
Diameter: 155 mm
In service: 1963–1992
Number built: 1,060

Overview

A 155 mm nuclear shell (M454) for the US Army's standard medium howitzers. Its linear-implosion design fitted a plutonium charge into a shell only 86 cm long; the yield is given as about 0.1 kt (estimates range from 72 to 100 tons of TNT).

Production began in October 1963. The shell stayed in service until 1992, when the United States withdrew its nuclear artillery. 1,060 were built.

Effect radii: estimates

Calculated for 100 t

Fireball, maximum radius: ≈ 24 m
Thermal: third-degree burns: ≈ 260 m
Blast 5 psi: most buildings collapse: ≈ 330 m
Initial radiation, 500 rem (5 Sv): ≈ 540 m
Blast 1 psi: windows shatter: ≈ 1 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)
W48, Wikipedia