The
Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM) was a family of man-portable
nuclear weaponA nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion...
s fielded by the US military in the 1960s, but was never used in actual combat. The US Army planned to use the weapons in Europe in the event of a Soviet invasion. US Army Engineers would use the weapon to irradiate, destroy, and deny key routes of communication through limited terrain such as the
Fulda GapThe Fulda Gap is a region of lower elevation between the former East German border and Frankfurt, Germany. Named for the town of Fulda, the Fulda Gap was strategically important during the Cold War...
. US Army Special Forces were trained to jump the SADM into Soviet overrun/occupied western Europe and destroy power plants, bridges, and dams.
The project, which involved a small nuclear weapon, was designed to allow one person to
parachuteA parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are made out of cloth, most commonly nylon....
from any type of aircraft carrying the weapon package and place it in a harbor or other strategic location that could be accessed from the sea. Another parachutist without a weapon package would follow the first to provide support as needed.
The two-person team would place the weapon package in the target location, set the timer, and swim out into the ocean where they would be retrieved by a
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...
or a high-speed surface water craft. The parachute jumps and the retrieval procedures were practiced extensively.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
developed several different types of lightweight nuclear devices. The main one was the
W54The W54 was the smallest nuclear warhead deployed by the United States. It was a very compact implosion-type nuclear weapon design, designed for tactical use and had a very low yield for a nuclear weapon.- Development :...
, a cylinder 40 by 60 cm that weighed 68 kg. It was fired by a mechanical timer and had a
variable yieldVariable yield, or dial-a-yield is an option available on most modern nuclear weapons. It allows the operator to specify a weapon's yield, or explosive power, allowing a single design to be used in different situations...
equivalent to between 10 tons and 1 kiloton of TNT. Three hundred SADMs were assembled and remained in the US arsenal until 1989.
Popular culture
- In the video game Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, a SADM known as "The Ark" is used by Georgian
Georgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
terroristsTerrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism...
to threaten the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- In the James Bond
James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr...
video game Everything or NothingJames Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is a third-person shooter video game, where the player controls Ian Fleming's master spy, James Bond. Bond is modeled after and voiced by the former James Bond actor, Pierce Brosnan...
, the opening level involves Bond obtaining an SADM that is being sold.
- In the episode titled "Brig Break" of the TV-series JAG
JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
(1995), extremists attempt to steal SADMs from a naval base.
- In the 2005 Steven Seagal
Steven F. Seagal is an American action movie actor, producer, writer, director, martial artist, philanthropist, guitarist, and singer-songwriter...
film Black DawnBlack Dawn also known as Foreigner 2: Black Dawn is a 2005 straight-to-video action film, a directorial debut for cinematographer Alexander Gruszynski...
, a SADM is sold to a group of terrorists.
- In the T.V. Series Spooks
Spooks is a BAFTA award-winning British television drama series produced by the independent production company Kudos for BBC One. The title is a popular colloquialism for spies, as the series follows the work of a group of MI5 intelligence officers based at the service's Thames House headquarters,...
the Russian FSB attempt to detonate a portable nuclear bomb outside the American Embassy in London.
See also
- Medium Atomic Demolition Munition
Medium Atomic Demolition Munition was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War. They were designed to be used as nuclear land mines and for other tactical purposes, with a relatively low explosive yield from a W45 warhead, between 1 and 15 kilotons —...
- Suitcase nuke
- List of nuclear weapons
- Mini-nuke
External links