Tsetse primary
Encyclopedia
The Tsetse was the common design nuclear fission bomb core for several Cold War designs for American nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, according to researcher Chuck Hansen.
Primary is the technical term for the fission bomb component of a thermonuclear or fusion bomb, which is used to start the reactions going and implode and detonate the second, fusion stage.
The Tsetse primary was used in the US B43 nuclear bomb
, W44 nuclear warhead
, W50 nuclear warhead
, B57 nuclear bomb
, and W59 nuclear warhead
, according to Hansen.
Historical evidence indicates that these weapons shared a reliability problem, which Hansen attributes to miscalculation of the reaction cross section of tritium
in fusion reactions. The weapons were not tested as extensively as some prior models due to a mid-1960s nuclear test moratorium, and the reliability problem was discovered and fixed after the moratorium ended. This problem was apparently shared by the Python primary
designs.
Characteristics of these weapons are:
Based on this information it can be assumed that the Tsetse design itself corresponds to the size of the W44 warhead, 13.75 inches diameter and 25.3 inches long, with a weight of around 170 pounds.
Primary is the technical term for the fission bomb component of a thermonuclear or fusion bomb, which is used to start the reactions going and implode and detonate the second, fusion stage.
The Tsetse primary was used in the US B43 nuclear bomb
B43 nuclear bomb
The B43 was a United States air-dropped variable yield nuclear weapon used by a wide variety of fighter bomber and bomber aircraft.The B43 was developed from 1956 by Los Alamos National Laboratory, entering production in 1959. It entered service in April 1961. Total production was 2,000 weapons,...
, W44 nuclear warhead
W44
The W44 was an American nuclear warhead used on the ASROC tactical anti-submarine missile system.The W44 had basic dimensions of 13.75 inches diameter and 25.3 inches length, a weight of 170 pounds, and a yield of 10 kilotons....
, W50 nuclear warhead
W50 (atomic weapon)
The W-50 or W50 thermonuclear warhead was a nuclear bomb used on the MGM-31 Pershing intermediate range nuclear missile.There were two major variants produced , in three yield options .All variants were in diameter and long, weighing .The W50 used the Tsetse primary design...
, B57 nuclear bomb
B57 nuclear bomb
The B57 nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War.Entering production in 1963 as the Mk 57, the bomb was designed to be dropped from high-speed tactical aircraft. It had a streamlined casing to withstand supersonic flight. It was 3 m long, with a...
, and W59 nuclear warhead
W59
The W59 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on some Minuteman I ICBM missiles from 1962-1969.The W59 was 16.3 inches in diameter and 47.8 inches long, and it weighed 550 pounds...
, according to Hansen.
Historical evidence indicates that these weapons shared a reliability problem, which Hansen attributes to miscalculation of the reaction cross section of tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
in fusion reactions. The weapons were not tested as extensively as some prior models due to a mid-1960s nuclear test moratorium, and the reliability problem was discovered and fixed after the moratorium ended. This problem was apparently shared by the Python primary
Python primary
According to researcher Chuck Hansen, the W34 Python was a gas-boosted fission primary used in several designs of American thermonuclear weapons....
designs.
Characteristics of these weapons are:
| Tsetse primary based nuclear weapons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Max Yield (kt) | Diameter (in) | Length (in) | Weight (lb) |
| B43 | 1,000 | 18 | 150-164 | 2,060 |
| W44 | 10 | 13.75 | 25.3 | 170 |
| W50 | 400 | 15.4 | 44 | 410 |
| B57 | 20 | 14.75 | 118 | 490 |
| W59 | 1,000 | 16.3 | 47.8 | 550 |
Based on this information it can be assumed that the Tsetse design itself corresponds to the size of the W44 warhead, 13.75 inches diameter and 25.3 inches long, with a weight of around 170 pounds.
External links
- Beware the old story, Chuck HansenChuck HansenChuck Hansen compiled, over a period of 30 years, the world's largest private collection of documents on how America developed the atomic bomb. These documents were obtained through the U.S...
, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, March/April 2001 pp. 52-55 (vol. 57, no. 02)